You might not think of Japanese rice fields as a place to find truly awe-inspiring art, but the practice of tanbo has, for the last 30 years, been transforming paddy fields into stunning multi-colored pictures.
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It starts with hundreds of farmers planting varieties of colored rice in the wet field.
And slowly the image appears.
Getting clearer and clearer…
…until the vibrant finished product is fully grown.
Amazing.
Starting in the 1990s as a way for a small village to honor it’s 2000 year history of growing rice, tanbo art is now jaw-droppingly intricate.
In April, farmers sketch out a design and use computers to plan exactly where to plant which rice grains on 15,000 square meter fields.
And they’ve branched out over time, recreating Japanese national heroes, characters and famous faces.
Now the fields draw thousands of tourists every year who view the art from the air or specially-constructed viewing platforms.
They even did Star Wars.
Just incredible.
