Latest news with #riceplanting
NHK
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- NHK
Rice-planting festival held at Shirakawa-go UNESCO World Heritage site
The UNESCO World Heritage site of Shirakawa-go in central Japan has held a rice-planting festival against the backdrop of traditional houses with steep thatched roofs. The 40th annual event was organized by the tourist association of Shirakawa Village in Gifu Prefecture. On Thursday, about 20 women wearing traditional clothes stood in line in a rice paddy and planted rice seedlings, as elderly villagers sang a traditional tune. A visitor from the United States said it was a good experience to learn about different traditions. A woman who took part for the first time said she is thinking about moving to the village. She added that planting rice is difficult but it is also fun, and she is looking forward to joining in again. The head of the organizing committee said he is happy to learn that the first-timers enjoyed the experience. He said he hopes the event will be held for many more years to come.
NHK
14-05-2025
- General
- NHK
Japan's Emperor plants rice at Imperial Palace in annual tradition
Japan's Emperor Naruhito planted rice seedlings at a paddy inside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday. The Emperor's grandfather, late Emperor Showa, started the tradition as a way to promote farming. At 11 a.m., the Emperor, wearing boots, entered the 240-square-meter paddy. He then planted 20 seedlings of Nihonmasari, a non-glutinous rice variety, and Mangetsumochi, a glutinous rice variety. The seedlings, which had grown to about 10 to 15 centimeters tall, came from seeds the Emperor himself had sown a month ago. The rice will be harvested in autumn and offered to deities in Shinto rituals at the palace, including the Niiname-sai harvest festival in November.
NHK
10-05-2025
- Climate
- NHK
Rice planting starts at quake-hit Shiroyone Senmaida in Japan's Noto Peninsula
Farmers and volunteers started planting rice on Saturday at terraced paddies on the coast of the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, which were hit by a powerful earthquake and torrential downpours last year. The picturesque Shiroyone Senmaida in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, which consists of small paddies along a slope overlooking the Sea of Japan, was heavily damaged by the quake and rain. A group of farmers managing the paddies has been working to restore them. About 100 volunteers from around Japan carefully planted seedlings of the Koshihikari variety with the farmers. Wajima officials say rice will be planted this year on about 250 of the 1,000 paddies that have been restored. A 44-year-old woman from Nara Prefecture said she took part because she wanted to help people in disaster-affected areas. Shirao Tomokazu, who heads a group that manages the paddies, said he is grateful that so many volunteers came to help. He said his group will continue to work to restore the paddies, so that people will get to see them in their original form. The rice planting will continue till Sunday with harvesting planned for September.
BreakingNews.ie
09-05-2025
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Royal ritual in Thailand's capital predicts good year for farmers
Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has presided over an elaborate annual ceremony that marks the start of the rice-planting season and honours the nation's farmers. The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is held to read auguries that predict the farming conditions for the year ahead. Advertisement As is usually the case, good times were predicted, even though Thailand's economy is sluggish. Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn addressed the crowds (Pool via AP) The King and Queen Suthida were sheltered from the bright sun by ornate umbrellas at the ceremony's traditional venue, Sanam Luang, or 'Royal Ground', a large field near the Grand Palace in the capital Bangkok. According to Thai historians, the ritual goes back some 700 years. Then, as now, the cultivation of rice was central to the country's culture and economy, and the ceremony is meant to give encouragement to farmers as the new planting season begins. Advertisement Oxen are presented with a tray of various choices of food by Thai officials during the ceremony (Pool via AP) The ceremony was led by the highest-ranking civil servant in the agriculture ministry, serving as the Lord of the Ploughing Ceremony. In a colourful traditional costume, he chose from a selection of cloths, and the one he picked was interpreted to signify satisfactory rainfall and an abundant harvest. In the ceremony's second stage, he anointed the heads of two 'sacred' oxen, who then pulled a plough around a section of the field several times, as he scattered seeds at the front of a small procession with more traditionally garbed participants. Royal attendants guide the two oxen, called Por and Piang (Pool via AP) The two oxen, called 'Por' and 'Piang' – which together mean 'sufficiency' – then chose from a selection of food offered by Brahmin priests. Advertisement The foods chosen were water, grass and liquor, which symbolise adequate water supplies, abundance of food supplies and what was interpreted as good international trade, respectively. After the departure of the king and queen, onlookers sprinted onto the field to collect the scattered seeds as souvenirs or to add to their own rice stores at home for a meritorious mix.
Washington Post
09-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
An elaborate centuries-old royal ritual in Thailand's capital predicts a good year for farmers
BANGKOK — Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn presided Friday over an elaborate annual ceremony that marks the start of the rice-planting season and honors the nation's farmers. The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is held to read auguries that predict the farming conditions for the year ahead. As is usually the case, good times were predicted, even though Thailand's economy is sluggish.
