Category Archives: Photos

Maniwa in Okayama Prefecture, Japan’s largest breeding area for Jersey cows

OKAYAMA, Oct. 3 – The city of Maniwa in Okayama Prefecture is known as Japan’s largest breeding area for Jersey milk cows, raising 2,000 such cows, about 20% of those reared nationwide. Brown cows can be seen grazing peacefully in the 40-hectare pastures in the Hiruzen Highlands, located in the northern part of the city at an altitude of 550 to 650 meters. The Jersey is a breed of dairy cattle from Jersey, the largest island of the British Channel Islands. They have brown hair and are characteristically friendly. Because Jerseys are smaller in size than Holstein cows and produce less milk, they are rare in Japan, occupying less than … Continue reading

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Mibu no Hana Daue rice planting rite held in Kita Hiroshima with no audience to preserve tradition

HIROSHIMA, Sept. 27 – “Mibu no Hana Daue (Taue)” in Kita Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, was inscribed in 2011 on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. About a dozen cows powerfully help plow a rice field while a dengaku troupe with traditional musical instruments and saotome rice planting maidens perform the ancient rice planting rite. Usually, over 6,000 people gather to see the event. However, the locals decided to have it without spectators this year. “We could lead the cows safely, although we couldn’t practice enough due to the COVID-19,” Mitsugi Shiramasa, the 53-year-old head of Oasa-kazari-ushi Hozonkai (a local group for preserving the rite), said. … Continue reading

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Festival showing gratitude for water held in Kagawa in western Japan

KAGAWA, Sept. 23 – Hyoge Matsuri, a festival to give thanks for the blessing of water and pray for a rich harvest, was held in the Asano district of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, in mid-September. Around 160 local residents, wearing eccentric makeup and dressed as vegetables, paraded for some 2 kilometers in the district. The festival, named after a word “hyogeru” from the local Sanuki dialect which means to clown around, has a history of more than 300 years. It was resumed this year after being canceled two years in a row due to the spread of COVID-19. The event had been organized by a preservation group made up of local … Continue reading

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Moving forward in autumn sunshine

FUKUSHIMA, Jan. 4 – Farming villages in Japan are filled with dazzling arrays of colors. Here in Fukushima, you’ll find one of the best sights from the villages with a very long farming history. Trains are running on the JR Suigun Line through the golden countryside of Asagawa Town, Fukushima Prefecture. In October 2019, Japan Railways shut down some parts of the Suigun Line when heavy rain caused by a typhoon washed out some bridges over flooded rivers. The rain also left severe damage to local rice growers as it broke down the Yashiro River, which flows through the town. After one year and five months, in March 2021, the … Continue reading

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Neko-chigura cat cradles becoming increasingly popular among cats and cat lovers in Japan

NIIGATA, Dec. 14 – This is neko-chigura, a woven cat house made of rice stalks. As the number of cat lovers increases in Japan, Sekikawa Tourist Information Center “Nya-mu” in Sekikawa Village, Niigata Prefecture, is receiving a growing number of inquiries about the products from all over the country. At Nya-mu, you can see local crafters demonstrating the production process of the handmade huts. Neko-chigura is a folk craft derived from chigura, traditional rice straw baskets for babies of farmers working out in the fields some time ago. Its history began about forty years ago when Sekikawa villagers started to make them as unique local products. The straw cradles are … Continue reading

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