Bokake, a traditional method for drying rice, began in one of the rice-producing regions in Hirosaki city, Aomori Prefecture.
AOMORI, Sept. 21 — Bokake, a traditional method for drying rice, began in one of the rice-producing regions in Hirosaki city, Aomori Prefecture.
Bokake, which means hanging rice on a pole in Japanese, is a traditional way for drying rice by hanging them on a pole under the sunlight for two to three weeks. Here at Makanae region in Hirosaki city, farmers set up poles of approximately 2.5 meters and hang approximately 50 bundles of rice around each pole.
An 83-year-old farmer, Kikue Jin, her family, and relatives have just finished the work with 150 poles in her rice field. “We’ve been doing this for about 50 years. Sun and wind make our rice even more beautiful,” she said with a smile on her face.
Her 31-year-old grandson, Keisuke Narita, is a deputy leader of the youth group of an agricultural cooperative in Hirosaki (JA Tsugaru Hirosaki). “I want to continue doing this and preserve this gramma’s beautiful scenery,” he said.