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Tochigi man shares his family’s process for creating 16 years worth of rice paddy art

Krista Rogers Jul 8, 2026
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The Nakano family opens a second rice paddy art site this year and shares more about the process that goes into their annual labor of love.

For the 16th year, the Nakano family in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture creates stunning rice paddy art for the public to enjoy. Part of their mission is for visitors to discover the charm of the northern Kanto region, which consists of the prefectures north of the Greater Tokyo Area but south of the Tohoku region.

This year’s artistic creation, which opened for viewing on June 18, pays homage to local singer Rie Utagokoro and Chika Ozeki, the original Meiji Era (1868-1912)-inspiration for the nurse protagonist of the currently airing NHK TV morning drama Kaze, Kaoru (The Scent of the Wind). The kanji for “wind” is also depicted between them.

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However, for the first time ever this year, a second art site opened for public viewing on July 1. This one features Ujikoji, a Tochigi-based comedian duo, and Kaminari, a comedian duo from neighboring Ibaraki Prefecture. The former’s likenesses have returned to the rice paddy art after two years while the latter two have made their field debut.

A final bonus scene depicts a simple but sleek Mt. Fuji, which officially opened for climbing season on July 1.

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If you’re wondering about the mastermind behind these unusual works of art, that would be 81-year-old rice paddy artist Tokio Nakano, pictured here in front of this year’s creation. He recently shared a bit of insight into the behind-the-scenes process that he’s perfected over the years. The four main steps for creating his rice art paddy are detailed below.

Step 1. Nakano makes a blueprint of the illustration he has in mind while considering factors such as the size of the rice field and the viewing angle. He then makes adjustments as needed to arrive at the correct perspective.

Step 2. He prepares eight varieties of rice that differ in the color of their leaves and rate of growth, deciding how to position them based on the image blueprint.

Step 3. He uses a projector at night to shine the blueprint onto the rice paddy and carefully figure out zones for the different plants with markers. Accuracy is extremely important at this stage.

Step 4. The Nakano family plants the individual rice plants by hand. It takes an enormous amount of time and energy to accomplish, but it’s always worth it to see the final image materialize in the end.

Nakano further shares that while the rice is harvested at the end of September, there’s actually a second crop after that–so the artwork can be enjoyed all the way up until the first frost of the season.

We love seeing residents take pride in their local communities by making some kind of meaningful impact. Perhaps Nakano would someday be willing to partner with our own two “Kita Kanto Brothers” (“North Kanto Brothers”) writers who have a similar mission to promote the charm of the region!

Rice Paddy Art information
Site 1 address: Tochigi-ken, Nasushiobara-shi, Nishiosozawa 279-1
栃木県那須塩原市西遅沢 279-1
Site 2 address: Tochigi-ken, Nasushiobara-shi, Sekiya 416-1 (next to the Michi no Eki Yunokashiobara)
栃木県那須塩原市関谷416-1 (「道の駅湯の香しおばら」の隣)
Duration: June 18 (Site 1)/July 1 (Site 2) through October (exact date TBD)
Hours: 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Source, images: @Press
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