Among the lives forever altered by Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami was Yukari Chikura’s. Although the damage to her apartment was slight — only a few bookcases fell — the event left a deep impression. She sensed the fragility of her life and realized that elements of her country’s culture could easily vanish in an instant, too.

“The earthquake made a serious impact on local Japanese traditions and cultures some of which have been preserved for over 1,000 years,” Ms. Chikura said in an email interview. “I decided that I wanted to present, from my own point of view, the precious things that have been handed down over many generations. So I started on the road to becoming a photographer.”

Though Ms. Chikura had no formal training as a photographer — she had been working as a computer programmer — she set off to document ancient local traditions in northern Japan. Her first stop was in Hachimantai Town, in Akita Prefecture, a mountainous area known for thick forests and heavy snowfall.

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Every Jan. 2, since A.D. 800, the people from four local communities gather at a Shinto shrine and perform sacred dances in hopes that the year will be filled with happiness. Ms. Chikura photographed the preparations leading up to the festival, which include participants throwing ice water on themselves to purify their bodies and souls.

Today, the older participants of the Dainichido Bugaku festival are working hard to educate young people about the traditions. But Japan’s declining birth rate and the ever-present distractions of technology make that increasingly difficult.

Ms. Chikura started studying piano when she was 3 and intended to be a concert pianist. More recently she has composed music, sometimes for herself and other times for television commercials. But mostly she spends her time on photography, making up for a late start. She said that she “wants to express the feeling of music in her pictures.”

Though she has only been photographing for a little more than two years, her images of traditional life are ethereal and beautifully composed.

“I feel it is very important to cherish and protect these precious things.”

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