Rice Crops = Art

Located in southern Japan, around 8,000 Inakadate residents work together to create giant figurative pictures by carefully planting little purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed tsugaru-roman variety, sometimes stretching across multiple farming fields.

Since 1993 the residents have taken it upon themselves to select different themes each year. This year the farmers are using the green phase of the rice cultivation to depict motifs of Hokusai's 36 views of Mount Fuji.



Unlike crop circles, Inakadate Rice Art needs to be well-planned from the beginning instead of an afterthought. These works of art are only visible from aerial vantage points until September when the rice will be harvested.