The rice paddies of the Oyama Senmaida rice terraces undulating up the mountainside, are the very image of Japan
The curvy rice paddies and fields of the Oyama Senmaida rice terraces undulating up the mountainside, are the very image of a Japanese farm village. Because of the increase in machinery use and the aging farmer population in Japan, terraced rice fields are rapidly disappearing as it must be done mostly by hand. Oyama Senmaida is now maintained by an unusual co ownership system. This both helps preserve this landscape and gives urban dwellers a chance to try their hand at farming. Thanks to this innovative system the terraced rice paddies of Oyama Senmaida Chiba continue to be cultivated to this day. Terraced rice fields are common in Japan’s mountainous countryside, where agriculture has been active for thousands of years. They are built in stair-like tiers along the slope of a mountain or a valley and are often called “Senmaida”, or thousand rice fields, because the field is divided into many small sections. Stones and mud are used to separate the sections and prevent the water from leaking out of them.
Size: 5400px × 3600px
Location: Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan
Photo credit: © John Lander / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: agribusiness, agriculture, chiba, community, curvy, effort, farm, farmer, farmers, farming, fields, food, harvest, oyama, paddi, paddies, paddy, paddys, planted, planting, rice, senmaida, sustainability, sustainable, tanada, terrace, terraced, terraces
