Soma-Nomaoi is a festival that recreates a battle scene from more than 1,000 years ago. It is annually held for 4 days from July 22 to 25 in Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, in the eastern part of Japan. In this historical event, 600 mounted samurai in traditional Japanese armor, with long swords at their side and ancestral flagstaffs streaming from their backs, ride across open fields. Soma-Nomaoi has been designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Photo: A young woman (C) clad in samurai costume leads other local poeple as she rides her horse during a parade at the annual Soma Nomaoi festival in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 28, 2012. The traditional full-scale festival kicked off for the first time after the accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant following the massive earthquake and the tsunami on March 11, 2011. (Photo by Toru Yamanaka/AFP Photo)

(L-R) Senior Drum Major Betts of the Scotts Guard, Bugler Lee Kidd, Guardsman Adam Deer of the Coldstream Guards and Lance corporal Michael Strong of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment pose in their full ceremonial attire at Wellington Barracks on March 21, 2012 in London, England. The group make up part of the ceremonial military personnel who will play a key role during Her Majesty the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations between June 2–5. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A Thai devotee in a state of trance screams while holy water is sprayed as thousands race towards the edifice of the founder monk during the annual Tattoo fesitval at Wat Bang Phra on March 7, 2009 in Nakhom Pathom, Thailand. Some men take on the characteristics of sacred animals that have been carved onto their skin. Thousands of believers from all over Thailand come to take part in one of the country's most bizarre festivals about 50 miles outside Bangkok to pay respect to the temple's monks who are master tattooist. In Thai culture the tattoo or Thai word sak yant is worn as a symbol of spiritual and physical protection, many believe that the tattoo have mystical powers. Many tattoo fanatics choose to have monkeys and tigers as well as the Khmer/Cambodia ancient script on their bodies. (Photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Children play marbles on the dirt in Garut, West Java, Indonesia on October 17, 2025. This traditional game, which was popular in the 1980s, is now rarely played by children due to the increasing popularity of modern games with advanced technology. According to a survey by the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), more than 71.3% of school-age children own gadgets and play them for a considerable amount of time each day, and as many as 79% of child respondents are allowed to play gadgets for purposes other than learning. (Photo by Algi Febri Sugita/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Miniature spring-wound 35-mm film camera in a modified cigarette pack. The Tessina’s small size and quiet operation provided more options for concealment than most commercially available models. (Photo by Central Intelligence Agency)

French fashion model Christiane Richard wears a bikini while drinking her morning coffee, 1950. (Photo by Nat Farbman/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Chicago-based illustrator Alex Solis created fat versions of famous pop culture characters in this funny illustration series entitled “Famous Chunkies”.

The best man in a wedding party, who all declined to be identified, stands near the bride and groom as he holds an AR-10 rifle he was handed while the party was having their pre-wedding portraits taken on the steps of the capitol before a rally nearby by gun-rights advocates to protest a new expanded gun background check law in Washington state Saturday, December 13, 2014, in Olympia, Wash. The wedding party was not part of the protest, but posed for pictures with it after being handed it by gun activist Brandon Lyons, who said “we've all just broken the law”, by handing the gun over. Saturday's protest was called the “I Will Not Comply” rally, and those attending said they will openly exchange firearms in opposition to the state's new voter-approved universal background check law, Initiative 594. The law, which took effect on December 4, requires background checks on all sales and transfers, including private transactions and many loans and gifts. (Photo by Elaine Thompson/AP Photo)