{
  "id": 13023158,
  "title": "'Kui-kake' rice drying marks harvest season in Japan's scenic Yamagata Pref. terraces",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/kui-kake-rice-drying-marks-harvest-season-in-japans-scenic-yamagata",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-09T04:00:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20261008/p2a/00m/0li/039000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "YAMANOBE, Yamagata -- Rows of harvested rice stacked to dry in the sun now line the Owarabi terraced rice fields here, creating a traditional Japanese",
  "key_points": [
    "Kui-kake rice drying underway in Yamagata Prefecture's terraces",
    "1,000 wooden stakes used to stack rice, drying for three weeks",
    "Local farmer Kazuyuki Inamura leads restoration project for terraces"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The traditional rice drying method helps preserve the flavor and sweetness of the rice and also safeguards the scenic beauty of Yamagata Prefecture's picturesque terraced rice fields.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}