A taiko drum ensemble of young performers from disaster-stricken Fukushima Prefecture are busy sharpening their thunderous drumbeats as they prepare for their upcoming performance scheduled for March 22 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Almost five years after the catastrophe, members of the Yamakiya Taiko group still remain evacuated from their hometown of Yamakiya, where all residents were forced out due to radiation contamination after the March 2011 nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami.
The ensemble in exile hopes to convey their unbroken spirit and Fukushima's current state on the road to recovery to the many people in the United States who supported them through hard times.