Standing ankle high in mud and water in a rice patty in Tenno, station community members experienced a piece of Japanese history firsthand with the Youth Cultural Program here June 12.
Tenno Elementary School students annually invite community members to spend a day learning how rice was traditionally planted so they can appreciate the process and hard work that goes into it.
Rice has been cultivated in Japan for more than two thousand years, and Japan is the ninth largest rice producer in the world.
Approximately 8.7 thousand metric tons of rice is consumed in Japan annually. Some popular processed rice products include rice cakes, wine, flour and vinegar.
The elementary students and local Japanese volunteers briefly explained the process of how to plant the rice and then entered the rice patty to get down and dirty.
Everyone lined up parallel to a white rope with red hash marks that was strung across the rice patty. Clusters of three rice stoops were placed in the mud at each of the hash marks. When all were in place, the rope was moved over and the process was repeated until they reached the other side of the patty.
“It was a lot different than I expected,” said Sydney Jones, a 7-year-old participant. “I thought we were going to plant the rice and then they’d flood the field.”
In contrast, some participants thought the opposite. They anticipated getting wet and muddy and came prepared with towels and clothes they didn’t mind getting dirty.
“I thought the field was going to be deeper and muddier, but it was better than I expected,” said Abigail DeRossette, an 8-year-old participant. “To plant things, you just have to get dirty.”
Most participants agreed the process was a lot different than they expected, but a positive experience nonetheless.
“I learned that rice planters have to work hard, and if someone is volunteering to plant rice, they have to show them it’s not that hard and that it’s really easy to do,” said Joshua Thompson, an 8-year-old participant. “I think people should help farmers plant more rice because with help it goes a lot faster.”
“I wish I could do it for a job, but I’d rather not be mucky and dirty all day. I’d rather be clean,” said Thompson.
Depending on the region of Japan, the main rice season falls between April and July, and the harvesting season falls between August and October.
Community members agreed that they’d like to take a trip back to Tenno to witness and experience the harvesting season and see the fruits of their labor.
“I thought it’d be pretty cool to learn how to plant rice like they did it in the past and just get down and dirty,” said Bailey Jones, a 10-year-old participant who was hesitant at first to enter the patty after seeing how messy things were really going to get.
“After doing this, I’m going to start appreciating my rice!”