Gone with the Wind Rice Art in Japan

Posted on July 20, 2015 in Random // 0 Comments

Thousands of tourists have been flocking to a village in northern Japan, which has transformed a paddy field into a giant work of art.

The image, from classic film Gone with the Wind, was grown from 10 different colored rice plants, and is 140 meters long.

Inakadate village in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture, annually recreates famous pictures to draw visitors and boost the local economy.

Rice paddy art is an art form originating in Japan where people plant rice of various types and colors to create a giant pictures in a paddy field.

In 1993, the people of Inakadate, Aomori were looking for a way to revitalize their village. Archaeological exploration led to a realization that rice had been grown in the area for more than 2000 years. To honor this history, the villagers started a rice field behind the town hall. With the paddy as a canvas, the villagers cultivated and used four different types of heirloom and modern strains of rice to create a giant picture in the field. To allow viewing of the whole picture, a mock castle tower 22 meters high was erected at the village office. In 2006, more than 200,000 people visited the village to see the art.

Such past examples of rice art created have included the Mona Lisa, Geisha and Marilyn Monroe and Ultraman.