but the intelligent design of these colorful crops becomes apparent only when I ascend the nearby observation tower “Before rice paddy art?” asks Fumihito Suzuki “This was a rice farming area with no tourism and nothing to see.” owls in the forest and frog song in the rice paddies But now we’re standing at the edge of an emerald green swath “My rice field used to be worked by my husband but he passed away and now I’m working it,” says rice farmer Hisako Sasaki mostly farming families whose younger members leave to find work in cities “There are a lot of people who aren’t getting married,” says Sasaki There aren’t any children in the neighborhood except for an occasional middle schooler.” This demographic crisis, coupled with the village’s mounting debt which has been cultivated here for at least 2,000 years and stretches as far as the eye can see “If there’s something that differentiates us ‘this is Inakadate,’ then the population might increase,” says Sasaki “It’s calm and there are no mudslides elementary-school students were planting heirloom purple and yellow rice “The person in charge at town hall saw this and wondered if rice could be planted with words and pictures,” says Suzuki a few hundred villagers planted a simple triangular shape to represent Mt The village council plans the theme a year in advance and former high-school art teacher Atsushi Yamamoto creates the design with careful attention to gradation and perspective “Using a computer image-processing software I make changes as I plan the design,” he says “The original image may be a photograph or a detailed graphic and may use hundreds or thousands of colors … all that is reduced to around seven colors of farm field rice.” around 1,300 mostly local volunteers do the work of planting two different images across two sites The main rice used for the background is an everyday variety called asayuki plus three heirloom varieties and six genetically modified strains “Though heirloom rice may not be tasty it has a sticky consistency resembling mochi and is pretty good,” says Sasaki the village abandoned their plans and planted a simple “Rice-field art has become synonymous with Inakadate,” says Suzuki we’d like to go back to planting both sites so we hope that people can come and see it with their own eyes.” What the residents of Inakadate have achieved is remarkable: Multiple decades of town-wide dedication has made their obscure village internationally known the population remains in decline; children are an even rarer sight than when they started planting and we’re doing everything we can to counter the decrease.” We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world’s hidden wonders Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders Colossal The village of Inakadate is an area of Japan most known for its production of rice an agricultural product that has grown in the surrounding fields for over 2,000 years In order to increase tourism to the small village officials began a traditional of creating large elaborate images by strategically plantings different varieties of rice the town is known throughout the country for its colorful rice drawings which occur each year with the help of hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of local volunteers there is first a conference to discuss possible ideas Next government officials make simple computer mockups of the winning designs which are then sent to local art teachers for more conceptual renderings markers are placed into the fields to create what is essentially a large-scale paint-by-number the entire process taking up to three months Do stories and artists like this matter to you? 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See our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Some sites have specialized in tambo art to attract tourists and revitalize their region Take a rice field and imagine it as a canvas a blank canvas on which anything is possible Your colors will be different varieties of rice and there are plenty of rice paddies all over the country Today, from Hokkaido to Kagoshima about twenty producers and villages participate in Tambo Art Tambo art at Inakadate special 'Star Wars' The city of Gyoda (in the prefecture of Saitama) has embarked on this art by offering the largest artistic field in the world constituting a record registered in Guinness Japan's best-known Tambo Art project is that of Inakadate Village in Aomori Inakadate sees half of its land made up of rice fields with the aim of the economic recovery of the region which is in decline following the aging of the population of Japan revitalize it and pass on the tradition of rice growing the population decides to embark on Tambo Art They started creating works of art in the fields with just three varieties of rice The bet is now largely won because of more and more tourists and curious flock it is possible to appreciate works with 7 different colors of 12 varieties of rice used The designs are very elaborately constructed for a dynamic result 26,000 visitors came to discover the works of Tambo Art by Inakadate Two specific observatories have been built to fully appreciate them Planting takes place in May and harvesting in September thanks to volunteers The best time to see Tambo Art 's works is between mid-July and mid-August you can admire the image of the legendary singer Hibari Misora a performance in the film "Hard to be a man" and "Oshin" an NHK TV movie Tambo art at Inakadate "Japanese Legend" The Akita Kanto matsuri lantern festival the Akita Kanto matsuri lantern festival is a great popular festival in the region Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Hirosaki Castle Park from the end of April until early April and has over 2,600 cherry trees in bloom Nightlife in Japan: Going out, seeing and drinking Temples and shrines in Japan Markets in Japan Onsen, Hot Springs and Public Baths Family Travel Parks and Gardens Outdoor Activities Museums and Galleries View more Sign up and be the first to hear our news and special offers the art of the rice fields in Inakadate","entityTaxonomy":{"content_category":{"1":"All about Japan"}},"userUid":0}); Location Please select your country on the list below: Since 1993, the village of Inakadate in northern Japan has been revitalizing its culture through amazing rice paddy art about 1,300 volunteers come together to plant different varieties of rice in an intricate design attracting thousands of tourists to the site formed the idea as a way to combat rising debt and declining population the designs have become more and more extravagant Among the creations are homages to Western film and literature like Gone With the Wind and Star Wars as well as many depictions of Japanese mythological characters and actors from local television shows These complex designs can be attributed to the planning of former high school teacher Atsushi Yamamoto. The theme is typically decided a year in advance, after which, Yamamoto begins working on the art—taking into account the color scheme and perspective. “Using a computer image-processing software, I make changes as I plan the design,” he says “The original image may be a photograph or a detailed graphic and may use hundreds or thousands of colors…all that is reduced to around seven colors of farm field rice.” From about mid-June until early October, the rice paddy art can be viewed from the observatory tower. The best time to see the art, however, is in July, when the colors of the strains best suit the design. Already the village debt is a third of what it was 10 years ago due to the tourism boost. “Rice-field art has become synonymous with Inakadate,” says Fumihito Suzuki we’d like to go back to planting both sites so we hope that people can come and see it with their own eyes.” You can follow Inakadate Village on Facebook to see more photos of the rice paddy art Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening a nondescript village of around 7,000 people located in Japan’s Aomori prefecture is considered the home of a rice field art form more elaborate than anywhere else in the world The story of Inakadate village as a world-renowned tourist destination began in the early 1990s when local authorities realized that youths were moving to large urban centers in droves and started brainstorming for ways of breathing new life into the village One of the proposed ideas was an art form inspired by the local’s traditional rice cultivation it involved the use of different-color rice varieties to turn local rice fields into giant canvases for intricate designs that revealed their beauty when viewed from above Photo: Aomori.com The project was such a huge success that Inakadate authorities decided to turn it into a yearly event A post shared by Japanfieber (@japanfieber) To create the impressively massive rice field artworks, locals use a technique unique to Japan, which involved surveying the paddies, perspective drawing and the manual plantation of various types of rice plants to create the desired visual effect Tanbo art has come a long way in the last three decades with designs gradually becoming larger and more intricate A post shared by Japanfieber (@japanfieber) Some of the most elaborate rice field artworks created in Inakadate have required the use of no less than 10 differently-colored rice plants The laborious process starts in the spring months the fruits of this labor become clearly visible July and August are the best months to visit this famous Japanese village A post shared by Shuhey Ishikawa (@chupey0120) and by 2016 that number had ballooned to around 340,000 A post shared by Explorando Japón (@explorandojapon) The success of Inakadate village inspired other rice cultivating communities to borrow the Tanbo art concept and today you can find this sort of impressive rice field artworks all across Japan the Aomori prefecture village remains the most famous A post shared by Tohoku Tourism (@tohokutourism) the Covid-19 has heavily impacted artistic events all over the world especially ones that involve large gatherings so it’s unclear if Inakadate village will host its famous Tanbo art event this year there are plenty of photos and videos of its previous creations to admire online A post shared by Masayoshi Nishi (@masayoshinishi) For more amazing perspective artworks, check out Craig Alan’s Populous series A post shared by iida (@zenmairomance) The thriving agricultural village of Inakadate in Aomori Prefecture is the location of an unusual event in which rice paddies serve as canvases for enormous works of nature-made art No article or any part there of may be reproduced without the express permission of the Cabinet Office. Copyright inquiries should be made through this form. © 2009 Cabinet Office, Government of Japan You don't have permission to access the page you requested. What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed. the intricate rice art celebrates the 90th anniversary of Osamu Tezuka a prominent animator and film producer.Image: DW/K DambachPerfecting the craftThe Inakadate village in Japan's Aomori prefecture has been farming rice for more than 2,000 years The villagers have displayed rice paddy art (tambo art) every year since 1993 Local residents decide on the designs that will be on display and plant it themselves there are two different themes: this field depicts the film Roman Holiday The village started working on the rice paddy fields to bring in needed revenue to the farming village More than 250,000 people visit every year to see art in a new way A nearby tambo art field showcases the famous works of renowned manga [Japanese word for comics or cartoons] artist Osamu Tezuka The man was responsible for Japanese comic and animation classics including Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion Tezuka is often considered to be the Japanese equivalent of Hollywood's Walt Disney The Inakadate village center gives people an excellent view of one of the tambo rice fields The tambo art has attracted so many people over the years that there was a new train stop constructed right next to one of the fields The stop is appropriately called Tambo Art there were 11 different kinds of rice that were used in the tambo art fields spread out over 2.3 hectares The rice used in the art is harvested in the fall and consumed during local rice festivals which can only be properly seen from above Profiles of Princess Diana (pictured) and Misora Hibari (the "diva" of Japan's Showa era) were next to the Osamu Tezuka tambo art display The rice paddies of the tiny village of Inakadate in rural Japan are a sea of swaying green but they also hold a secret that draws thousands of visitors every year — and it's only revealed with a bird's eye view Fast forward to the present, and Inakadate's rice art is an attraction as staple as the rice dishes offered by nearby vendors. Visitors pay between 300 and 500 yen (between $2.50 and $4) to view the tanbo art, while some tourists pay to take part in a harvesting experience at the conclusion of the rice paddy's growing season A year in advance, Inakadate officials and volunteers agree on the designs to recreate, then former high school art teacher Atsushi Yamamoto transforms the selected photographs wood cuts or paintings into designs that can be recreated using just seven different colors of rice plants Yamamoto calculates changes in perspective that allow the art to be viewed from its ideal vantage point in the observation tower The concept of tanbo art, created first in Inakadate, has now spread to about 100 other places in Japan tanbo art has lifted the village from obscurity to international fame Inakadate, like other rural villages of Japan, has experienced a steadily shrinking population. With fewer than 8,000 residents most of the young adults in Inakadate's farm families were leaving their agricultural roots for city employment but the introduction of tanbo art in 1993 has created a new industry Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: `;return t.byline_authors_html&&(e+=`By: ${t.byline_authors_html}`),t.byline_authors_html&&t.byline_date_html&&(e+=" | "),t.byline_date_html&&(e+=t.byline_date_html),e+=`\n\t\t\t\t Today's print edition Home Delivery The free foot spa in the village of Inakadate tempts visitors to dangle their toes in the natural onsen hot springs Sulfuric steam rises over the bucolic scene with rice paddies in the near distance and the prefecture’s tallest peak But the geothermal heat is more than just a balm to the weary body: It also adds a touch of sweetness to life in the bitterly cold north in the form of plump year-round strawberries.googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1499653692894-0'); }); Strawberries have been grown in Inakadate — a farming village primarily known for its elaborate rice-paddy art — for about 30 years A local farmer brought strawberry-growing knowledge back from Tochigi Prefecture after a stint migrant farming down south agricultural greenhouses received assistance from the village’s revitalization fund an agricultural commission secretary from Inakadate village In a time of both misinformation and too much information quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ Sponsored contents planned and edited by JT Media Enterprise Division Every year since 1993, the Japanese village of Inakadate transforms its fields into living works of art. Tapping into their history as a farming area, they create incredible rice paddy art by planting different varieties of rice in intricate designs This summer's project depicts two famous female portraits from western and eastern art history On one side is the iconic Mona Lisa by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci and on the other is Japanese 19th and 20th-century artist Seiki Kuroda's painting Lakeside which features a portrait of his wife Taneko Kaneko Both of these figures are rendered by planting seven different types of rice that help produce the necessary amount of contrast to imitate the colors and depth of the real works of art it requires a fair amount of planning to execute it properly Former high school teacher Atsushi Yamamoto has been responsible for all of the complex designs in Inakadate for which he uses a computer to translate the color schemes of the original image into something reproducible with just seven colors of farm field rice As part of a revitalization effort in the early 90s decided on a novel way to boost tourism in their town: large-scale rice paddy art using seven different kinds of rice as their color palette over a thousand local volunteers come together each year to help with the planting process the designs have evolved in complexity and now draw in hundreds of thousands of tourists every year a conference is held to decide on the design for the next year the village officials make a basic digital mockups which is then refined by local art teachers into intricate concept drawings mapping out each drawing before the planting begins Each 15,000-square-meter mural often celebrates local heritage and folklore which depict the legend of Yamata no Orochi (the eight-forked serpent) facing off against the Shinto god of sea and storms h/t: [Colossal, Great Big Story] Indian Folk Art “Rangoli” Uses Colorful Flour and Rice in Stunning Designs Chinese Farmers Grow Extraordinary Rice Paddy Art in Vast Fields Japanese Artist Inspired by Tsunami Creates Large-Scale Watercolor Paintings of Desolation Magnificent Large Scale Sand Artworks Want to advertise with us? 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The page may not be displayed properly if the JavaScript is deactivated on your browser Japanese version This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page A remote Japanese village with rice fields and not much else has put itself on the tourist map with eye-catching artworks painstakingly created on one rice stalk at a time the sports-field-sized masterpieces of Inakadate village are created by more than 1,000 locals and outside volunteers using rice varieties in five different colours This year’s motif is a 12th century warrior monk battling a child swordsman – but in the past the villagers have also used images of Napoleon Mona Lisa and Mount Fuji as seen by woodblock print master Sharaku Tourists climb a nearby observation deck to marvel at the vast rice pictures Pictures are made with rice varieties in ordinary green as well as purple and yellow from old native varieties red from conventional crossbreeding and a white strain that resulted from a genetic mutation The design is specially adjusted for best viewing from the deck “If you were to see the image from right above it the character’s head on the farther side from the tower would look oddly big,” he said “They are calculated to be true to the laws of perspective.” which started in 1993 in the village and has since been copied by scores of other places in Japan drew 170,000 tourists last year to Inakadate But the campaign hasn’t made the village rich Inakadate asks visitors only to give donations which reached seven million yen (€60,600) last year most of which was spent on leasing the paddies guarding the watch tower and buying the rice seeds please register for free or log in to your account.