About 30 people gathered at the rice planting event hosted by Dewashonaitokusan LLC. In the mud, there are square marks, called “kata,” set by a rolling wooden frame by Mr. Itagaki. It’s rare these days, but this is the preparation for planting by hand without using a tractor. By planting seedlings regularly at the intersecting marks, each rice plant will have proper ventilation.
At the starting signal, the participants put their feet in the rice field all at once. At that moment, everyone’s feet sink about 30cm, and they express their emotions with an “Eek!” or “Oh!”. Stooping, dividing about 3 seedlings from a bunch of seedlings, and pushing them into the cross marks. The soil is plenty wet, but the amount of water on the surface is very little. In other words, the condition of the soil is that of mud. It has perfect viscosity. The seedlings are firmly placed in the soil, and are not likely to fall down. To make sure of that, everyone is stepping carefully, and other seedlings are planted at the next cross mark.
After this, the seedlings take root in a few days. The harvest will be in October. For Dewashonaitokusan LLC, which focuses mainly on organic farming and special cultivation without using herbicides, the harvesting is an important task, yet water management requires careful attention until harvest. Depending on the season and conditions, having either deeper or shallower water can lead to the steady growth of the rice plants.
If we trace the source of the water in this paddy field, which is nearby the Akagawa River, it originates at Mt. Gassan, the mystic mountain where that forest of beech trees grows. The snow that had entirely covered the forest will all be melted soon, be absorbed into the ground, filtered through layers of soil and rock, picking up minerals along the way, and becoming a river that flows to the plain. From the mountains to the river, to the dams, to the irrigation canals, to the cylindrical tank divider, and to the paddy fields, eventually reaching the ocean. The evaporated water then becomes rain and snow, and returns to the mountains.
Actually, that snowpack will enrich the villages and the people’s lives hundreds of years from now. Thus, by following the laws of nature, the abundant water will come down from mountains to villages and beyond to the sea. The eternal cycle is overwhelming to try to fully comprehend. However, that cycle is by no means to be taken for granted. The fragility of nature should not be treated with disregard or without our help. As a part of this land at this moment, sometimes having both feelings of awe for the water and apprehension towards it, people of the Shonai Plain have been living this ongoing story for hundreds of years.
