is an art form originating in Japan where people plant rice of various types and colors to create images in a paddy field.
History
In 1993, the people of Inakadate, in Aomori Prefecture, 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.
Another observation tower was built looking down the Tambo art location 2 at Michi no eki Inakadate nicknamed “Yayoi no sato” or a village of prehistoric Yayoi period. Both places charge admission fees, while visitors are encouraged to take bus serving both location 1 and 2 to avoid traffic jam. In August 2015, a video camera was installed for both locations and started live stream the art, and they were registered on Google Street View the same year. A winter campaign since 2016 has been held on location 2 with instruction initially by snow artist Simon Beck.
For the first nine years, the farmers created a simple picture of Mount Iwaki before going to more complex designs.
Following Inakadate's example, other villages such as Yonezawa in Yamagata prefecture and Kakuda in Miyagi prefecture have started to create their own tambo art. In Kakuda, this initiative started in 2007, led by the Nishine Rice Paddy Art Enjoyment Group. Since 2019, the design of the rice paddy art in Kakuda depicts the two-time Olympic figure skating gold medallist Yuzuru Hanyu, who is a native from Sendai, Miyagi.
Inakadate designs
The following is a list of the designs that have been used in the Inakadate pictures. 2003 Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa 2004 Shikō Munakata's and 2005 Sharaku's Utamaro's 2006 Tawaraya Sōtatsu's 2007 Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Fine Wind, Clear Morning from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji 2008 Ebisu, Daikokuten 2009 Sengoku military commanders, Napoleon 2010 by Benkei and Ushiwakamaru 2011 The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter 2012 Kanō Hōgai's , and Acala Seven Lucky Gods, Mazinger Z 2013 Oiran and Marilyn Monroe Ultraman 2014 Mount Fuji and Sazae-san 2015 Gone With the Wind Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2016 Ishida Mitsunari and Sanada Masayuki from Sanadamaru, Shin Godzilla 2017 Yamata no Orochi against Susanoo-no-mikoto Momotarō 2018 Roman Holiday Osamu Tezuka characters (Astro Boy etc.) 2019 Oshin , a puppetry in Okaasan to Issho 2020 Neon Genesis Evangelion (It was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19.) 2021
2022 Mona Lisa and Kuroda Seiki's From the Jōmon to the Yayoi 2023 Girl with a Pearl Earring and Shikō Munakata's One Piece 2024 The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Kitasato Shibasaburō Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again 2025 Inakadate Village's 70-year miracle
Production Every April, the villagers meet and decide what to plant for the year. Prior to planting, farmers sketch out the designs on computers to figure out where and how to plant the rice. In 2007, 700 people helped plant rice. Agreements between landowners have allowed for larger pictures to be created.
Advertising controversy In 2008, it was planned to change the lower part of the field to include the logos of Japan Airlines and To-o Nippo, a local newspaper, for a reported 2 million yen to offset increased costs. The members of the local landowners' organization, along with the former mayor, protested, saying that the land would not be leased from the following year if the plan to display advertising logos was not abandoned. The village revitalization group voted by a narrow margin not to include the advertisements, and the seedlings that were planted were removed.田んぼアート、広告いらない 地権者抗議で苗抜き取り – Asahi Shimbun, 4 July 2008田んぼアートの広告削除へ – Too Nippo, 4 July 2008田んぼアート もったいない? 企業広告絵柄を抜き取り – Mainichi Shimbun, 5 July 2008
See also Tamboāto Station, a railway station built specially to serve an area famous for rice paddy art in Inakadate, Aomori Hill figure Nazca Lines Crop circle
References
External links
Inakadate website (bad link?) Inakadate website (NEW?) 2012 Paddy Art Making from Inakadate website 2014 Paddy Art Making from Inakadate website Connected field paddy art in Anjō