Tanbo art, or rice paddy art, is an unusual art practice originating from Japan. Every summer, the small town of Inakadate in Aomori Prefecture is swarmed by tourists witnessing the transformation of paddies into massive works of art.
Since 1993, the tiny town with a population of 8,000 had been creating these impressive art forms using the paddy as their canvas. Four different types of rice plants with varying colors are seeded in carefully selected positions to form a gigantic picture. The fields used are approximately 15,000 square meters.
Prior to planting, farmers sketch out the designs on computers to figure out where and how to plant the rice. The villagers also have to agree on the design and theme to plant for the year.
You might think that an artwork of this scale would take several months of labor to complete right?
Rather incredibly, it takes less than six weeks before the complex paddy art like the one above emerges. The images were taken in the period from June 1 to July 10.
The art does not last long either; after mid-August the plants are harvested, and visitors will have to wait for next summer to see rice paddy art again.
Until then, we can only admire the incredible art from the comfort of our computers.
After seeing these remarkable images, we might have to add Inakadate to our bucket list. Share this amazing town with others below!