A fruitful autumn! Participate in the Sanmu Rice Field Art Project Harvest Festival!
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
October 18, 2017
The "Sanmu Rice Field Art Project," in which Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is involved, held a harvest festival on Saturday, September 30th, after the rice planted in May had ripened. Approximately 50 students from the school participated, harvesting the rice together with local people and helping run the harvest festival.
Rice field art is pictures made with different colored rice plants in rice fields. Sanmu City held the event for the third time this year, with the hope that foreign tourists will remember the rice field art seen from above as a memorable experience, as well as promoting exchange between urban and local people through agriculture, food, and art. This year, rice planting was carried out on Saturday, May 20th, following a design based on the theme of "Rolling rice balls." In late July, the rice art stood out vividly in the lush rice fields, delighting visitors.
For the rice harvest, the foreign families who experienced rice planting in May also returned to the rice fields and experienced hand-harvesting rice together with the students under the guidance of the project staff. They bundled the harvested rice by type and even dried it. For lunch, they enjoyed fresh vegetables from Sanmu City, and by participating in rice field art, it was a valuable opportunity to learn about the appeal of agriculture and food unique to the region.
The students will use this experience to further their understanding of the issues facing the local community and their practical efforts to resolve them.
Student Voices
I was happy to be able to connect with people during the rice planting, viewing, and harvesting seasons. This project is also linked to rice field art in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, an area affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, so the circle of interaction has grown even larger, and I was able to visit Soma City and see the current situation for myself. It was a good opportunity to think about the local community through rice field art.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Atsuta (graduated from Sakura Nishi High School)
I have visited Sanmu City many times for rice field art activities, and the local people have learned my name and I have had many conversations with them. When communication becomes more active, I realize that there are many different ways of looking at things and thinking. I would like to continue to participate in activities and broaden my horizons. It was my first time to experience rice planting and harvesting, but it was a lot of fun.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Tajima (graduated from Isobe High School)