'Kui-kake' rice drying marks harvest season in Japan's scenic Yamagata Pref. terraces
YAMANOBE, Yamagata -- Rows of harvested rice stacked to dry in the sun now line the Owarabi terraced rice fields here, creating a traditional Japanese
YAMANOBE, Yamagata -- Thick stacks of sun-dried rice adorn the Owarabi terraced rice fields, evoking a classic Japanese harvest panorama. The picturesque rice terraces in Yamanobe, Yamagata Prefecture, are celebrated as one of Japan's top 100 scenic rice fields. Local farmers employ the age-old practice of kui-kake, a traditional method involving rice being stacked on wooden stakes about 2 meters tall.
Approximately 1,000 stakes are erected across the 2.5-hectare fields, allowing the rice to dry under the sun for roughly three weeks. This labor-intensive technique is believed to accentuate the rice's flavor and sweetness. Kazuyuki Inamura, 73, leader of Group Nofu-nokai, is spearheading a restoration project for the terraced fields.
He lamented, "The shortage of hands to carry on is grave due to the aging populace, yet we yearn for young folks to join in and safeguard this scenery." The freshly harvested rice will also be up for grabs via an online store starting from November 1.
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
