Learn about town revitalization through agriculture, food, and art
Full-scale collaborative activities between Sanmu City, Chiba Prefecture and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences began in 2016. As the first step, we are participating in the "Sanmu Rice Field Art Project."
There are many different kinds of rice that we eat, and the leaves and ears are all different colors. Rice field art is the process of creating pictures in rice fields using colorful rice plants. The "Sanmu Rice Field Art Project" is part of the "Rice Field Art Project Connecting the Earth," which is a project to simultaneously create art in three areas facing the sea: Sanmu City, Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture, and Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture. The three teams travel between each other's areas and exchange ideas through art rooted in agriculture.
Sanmu City is aiming to revitalize and globalize the region through this project as one of the new tourism content creation projects for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. By participating in this project in Sanmu City, students will learn the knowledge and skills necessary for regional revitalization and town development that can be utilized in the future. In addition, by interacting with Soma City, an area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, through rice field art, they will deepen their understanding of ideas and practices to support the reconstruction of disaster-stricken areas.
The rice field art project is made possible through smooth cooperation between the project management team, the city hall, and local residents, and by participating in this activity you can learn about town revitalization in a practical way. Children and foreigners also participated in the rice planting, and I thought that the interaction between many people across generations and nationalities would lead to the revitalization of the local area.
Asuka Nakai (graduated from Miyako High School)