Rice art crops up in Japan
Aug/090
ARTY farmers have put together these extraordinary murals — by planting different coloured rice in giant paddy fields.
The stunning creations emerge in the late summer months after the rice plants have had chance to grow.
The farmers sketch out their designs on computers first so they know exactly where the rice needs to be planted.
Then hundreds of villagers and other volunteers pitch in to help plant the four different coloured varieties of rice in the huge fields.
The tradition began in the village of Inakadate, 600 miles north of Toyko, Japan, in 1993.
Each year a different design is on show and more than 15,000 visitors turn up to see the creation, which have included a Japanese Sengoku warrior on horseback, a giant frog and a butterfly.
The farmers create the murals by planting purple and yellow-leafed kodaimai rice along with their local green-leafed tsugaru roman variety.
