Rice Harvest Season: The Last Work of Art Drawn in the Rice Fields

We’ve finally entered the rice-harvesting season.

Here at our farm, too, we’ve begun harvesting the golden rice.

It’s been about four months since we planted the rice seedlings in the spring. Seeing how the tiny seedlings have grown into tall plants and the entire field has turned golden really makes me realize that this season has arrived once again.

Before the rice harvest gets into full swing, I went to see some nearby rice paddy art.
Rice paddy art involves planting different colored varieties of rice to create pictures and patterns, turning the paddy itself into a giant canvas. While the lush greenery of

summer is beautiful, the pre-harvest scenery—as the rice ears ripen and the color shifts from green to golden—is truly special.

And there’s only a short time left to enjoy this art.
Once the rice harvest begins, the pictures drawn in the paddies will gradually fade away.

From rice planting, through summer growth, to autumn’s harvest—I think

rice paddy art is also a “limited-time landscape” that changes with the seasons.

As I take this year’s scenery deeply into my memory, my thoughts turn to next year.



I wonder what kind of picture will be drawn in the rice paddies next year. I’m already looking forward to encountering a new landscape.

And at our farm, too, the big task of the year—the actual rice harvest—is finally upon us.