For centuries, the Minami-soma region of Fukushima has celebrated the Soma Nomaoi festival, honoring the horse's importance to humanity. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, residents were evacuated. Rancher Shinichiro Tanaka returned to find his horses dead or starving, and he defied government orders to kill them. Unlike racehorses raised for meat, Tanaka’s horses had been exposed to radiation, making them unsafe to eat. Yoju Matsubayashi, known for his powerful documentary "Fukushima: Memories of the Lost Landscape," spent the summer of 2011 assisting Tanaka in caring for his horses. Documenting their recovery, he creates a moving reflection on these animals as symbols of the devastating consequences of our reliance on nuclear energy.
Lists with Movie “The Horses of Fukushima”
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