Annual Japanese Rice Harvest Festival Features Awesome Colossal Mythical Creature Sculptures

The annual Wara Art Festival that happens in the Niigata Prefecture (i.e province), one of Japan’s top locations for rice,  the rice straw that’s created as a byproduct of rice production, is used to create massive pieces of  artwork .

In the past, rice straw was used to make traditional tools utilized in Japanese daily life. However, that form of use is now dying out. In 2006 Niigata City officials and students at the Musashino Art University (known as “Musabi” in Japan) collaborated to create “Wara Art.” A cooperative project of collaboration between Tokyo art students and farmers from Nishikan Ward.

The most unique aspect of Wara Art is the collaboration between urban young people and the agricultural community of Nishikan Ward. Wara Art was born amidst exchange between the people of the former Iwamuro Village (now Nishikan Ward) and Musabi in Tokyo.

Creation and exhibition of Wara Art began in 2006. The idea of undertaking regional revitalization by creating artwork made with rice straw, symbolizing the rice-producing Nishikan Ward, was suggested by Shingo Miyajima, a professor at Musabi at the time.

In the over 10 years that have passed since then, and Musabi students have been successively creating the artworks. At first, they were unaccustomed to rice straw and struggled with handling it. For this, the cooperation of local craftspeople and farmers was indispensable. There was thus a fusion of youthful artistic sensibilities and traditional techniques.

Every year, students are invited to form Wara Art creation teams at Musabi. The students brainstorm motifs and designs for the artwork, and Nishikan Ward craftspeople construct the artwork frames based on that. In addition, Nishikan Ward farmers harvest the rice straw needed for the art and give it to the students. While the students create the artwork, they stay in Nishikan Ward and receive advice from the craftspeople and farmers. They eat local cuisine prepared by the farmers. In this way, the artwork is completed while the students deepen their exchange with the locals.

This exchange continues after the artwork is completed and the students return to Tokyo. The farmers who support the students receive picture postcards each year. There are also students who visit Nishikan Ward from Tokyo after graduating. Powerful Wara Art was born precisely because of the involvement of diverse people with different ages and perspectives.

In 2008, the Wara Art Festival began as an event to exhibit Wara Art.

This Is Colossal: At the time, Department of Science of Design professor Shingo Miyajima suggested that the unused straw be used in a collaborative art project between the university and local farmers, resulting in the first Wara Art Festival in 2008.Today, students design the oversized characters—you can see previous year’s creations in this gallery—and artisans from Nishikan Ward construct the wooden armature and thatched bodies. The monumental figures stand as high as 30 feet, looming over the green landscape in a playful celebration of local culture.

Although the festival paused in 2020 because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s back for its 13th edition at Uwasekigata Park. This year’s motley cast includes insects, animals, and even legendary monsters like the Amabie, all on view through October 31. (via Hyperallergic)