Tiny Japanese Village Inakadate Became Popular For Its Impressive Colorful Rice Field Art

If you happen to be around Hirosaki, Japan, from June to October, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the nearby village in Aomori Prefecture. Famous for its production of rice, this small village decided to make the most of what they already had; they turned their rice fields into artwork.

To bring life back to this tiny village, local administrators created a Tanbo art event. For those who are not familiar with this form of art, Tanbo art, which translates to “rice paddy art,” is a masterpiece where people create images in a paddy field using different types of rice.    

Every year, during the rice planting season, local volunteers strategically plant various types and colors of rice to create mesmerizing art. They are able to use 13 types of rice and have 7 different colors to illustrate well-known individuals from around the world.

Before they even plant one seed, a conference is held in April. At that conference, they make a decision for next year’s design, and after the theme is set, they prepare the plan.  

A different theme is presented each year. Probably their most famous work is the Mona Lisa, followed by illustrations of local folklore, scenes from Gone with the Wind, Star Wars, and many more.

Tanbo art was first demonstrated in 1993.

As Takatoshi Asari from the village’s tourism and planning division said,

“One employee had seen an elementary school rice paddy that was planted with yellow, purple, and green rice plants in a striped pattern and thought, ‘What if we planted a field with three colors of rice plants to make a drawing with text?’ There was no concept of art at the time.”

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Back in 2017, the themes were the Japanese fairy tale Momotaro and The Legend of Yamata no Orochi.

The local folklore is very important to Japanese people, so oftentimes the theme of the rice field art is an homage to local folklore and heritage.

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Rice field art made this tiny village a world-famous tourist attraction.

Local art teacher Atsushi Yamamoto creates the plans for paddy field art, but it is not an easy task to complete. As he stated, “My aunt worked at the village hall. In the year of Heisei 15 [2003], there was a plan to make a rice-paddy artwork of the Mona Lisa, but it was complicated. In the beginning, when I started rice paddy art, there were some failures, but after some trial and error, I gained experience, and now the rice paddy art comes out the way it’s envisioned.”

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Every year they try to choose a design that would satisfy everyone’s taste.

Even though some people are against creating paddy art that represents foreign figures or scenes, the local authorities have decided that this form of art will remain international.

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For more astonishing images of rice field art, take a look at the video below.

The best way to experience this form of art is to attend the viewing platform created especially for that purpose. From there, you can get the whole picture and enjoy the magnificent view.

Even though rice field art is now spread all over Japan, we can say with full responsibility that the pioneer in this form of art, the village of Inakadate, has the most vivid landscapes. The image quality and the amount of energy they put in are just amazing.

Would you agree with us? Share your thoughts in the comment section.