It’s that time of year again.  The rice field art of Inakadate and other parts of Japan are now in full colour.  This year in Inakadate, two historical figures have been recreated. In the photo above, you see the legendary warrior-monk Benkei on the left and the warrior Ushiwakamaru, a.k.a. Minamoto no Yoshitsune on the right.

Every year, since 1993, Inakadate’s 8000 residents and farmers have worked together to create huge agricultural works of art in their rice paddy fields.  Using green, purple and yellow-leafed rice, the “agri-artists” design and plant their rice, precisely plotting out the colours which bring the images to life. As the rice grows, the art becomes apparent from an elevated position, with the best viewing time in July.

Rice field art is catching on in other parts of Japan as well with a variety of artwork including animals, samurai, princesses and popular anime characters.

To see more of this year’s rice field art, visit Pink Tentacle. For last year’s images read DAF’s post here.

Sources: Pink Tentacle,