by Lisa Jardine
A cool 540 meters above sea level sits the Yamakiya district of Kawamata in Fukushima Prefecture. Prior to March 11, 2011, the mountainous region was known for its silk products and wintertime rice-paddy ice-skating rinks.
No one is skating there this winter -- in fact, no one is living there at all.
In May 2011, it was evacuated when high levels of radiation were found after the nuclear disaster at the Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima.
All of its residents were evacuated to lower ground, scattered and displaced, including the members of the Yamakiya Taiko Club, an award-winning drumming group consisting of children from elementary school through high school that has been around for more than 10 years.
But displacement didn?t stop these kids from banging on their mammoth drums, the largest of which measures 3.5 meters in diameter. And on April 7, they?re leaving Japan and taking the show on the road ... to the United States.
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