Japanese Rice Art (Tanbo Art - 田んぼアート)

It’s the dead of winter already… A bleak winter with blue skies – it truly does remind me of our South African winters (although it’s much colder!). With the little colour left in the pale Shizuoka winter, I realized how lifeless the once lush rice fields around our apartment look.  And it reminded me of our one trip to neighbouring Kikugawa to try and find a raved about artwork. A Rice Field Artwork, that is.

Tanbo Art

Rice field art, or Tanbo art (田んぼアート) isn’t uncommon in Japan. Basically, farmers plant different coloured rice plants to form a picture. This year’s theme was “Ultraman” – a very old Japanese TV series.

Ultraman

Our drive to Kikugawa was rather eventful – we were trying to find the location from a Japanese-only map, whilst trying to navigate down the narrow and crooked roads.  And finally we found it – rather inconspicuous, despite the “there will be a big crane suspended in the air for your viewing pleasure” information we were given.

Suspended from a crane several meters above ground. 

We paid about 300 Yen (30 Rands or 3 Dollars) for entrance – we got some hard hats, climbed on top of a lift crane and were pushed into the air. And then we finally saw the full picture – down below were two clear pictures: Ultraman, fighting some villain that looked like a praying mantis and a picture of a boy with Mt Fuji in the background. It was really impressive to see, considering that someone took the time to outline the picture and plant different coloured rice plants!

The different types of rice

Afterwards we were got 300Yen worth’s tickets to use at the local farmers’ stalls next to the rice art! So we bought some shaved ice (to help cool down in the blistering heat) and some succulent plants.

Once again, I was impressed by the things that the Japanese communities do, making me realize what a privilege it is to be part of such an experience.

So, have you ever been to an artwork made from plants? Or have you ever experienced any Tanbo art?