Planted art: Japan rice field work marks Tokyo Olympics

In an ordinary year, about 1,000 people get involved in the complex task of planting the right varieties of rice in the right place to produce the artwork.

Gyoda (Japan) (AFP)
July 30, 2021

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Maintaining the piece takes work, and on Friday nearly a dozen officials from the city’s agricultural department were weeding the field, pacing across the vast area in rubber boots and armed with sickles.

The work is important to stop the different colours from bleeding into each other or being muddied by other plants.

“Can you see the green, tall plants? Those are not rice, weed them,” city official Shuhei Tagashira called out as his fellow workers struggled in the muddy field.

The project is also designed to bring the community together and promote interest in farming.

In an ordinary year, about 1,000 people get involved in the complex task of planting the right varieties of rice in the right place to produce the artwork.

They include volunteers with some farming experience and those with no background in agriculture, including local children.

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