I wrote about Naha City's Great Tug-of-War in this blog earlier. Tug-of-wars take place in various communities in Okinawa and those events (with Naha's as the largest) have their roots in the island people's agrarian life style. Straw ropes used in those games are made of rice straws. (Okinawa is the southernmost prefecture in Japan. Haha is the capital city.)
This particular area shown in the photo is a remainder of once much larger landscape in the region called "Haneji," a place where the Kingdom of Ryukyu designated as one of the premier grain zones to produce dietary staple, rice. The kingdom was ruled by the Sho Dynasty that governed the chain of islands stretching across the East China Sea, located between the south of Japan and the north of Taiwan. Though tiny and hard to spot on the world map, it had existed as an independent kingdom for many centuries until 1879. I took the photo as a token of appreciation for the farmers who have preserved this field in the middest of rapid urban development. This small portion of traditional rural landscape in Okinawa reminds me of the good old days when the community people lived in harmony with the natural environment.
A scene of golden carpets of rice paddies that spread underneath the clear autumn sky represents what we all share deep in our hearts as Asians.
If you live in Okinawa, or if you happen to be having your vacation on the mainland Okinawa, you can take photos or enjoy oil-painting at the same point I took the photo. This photo is taken as of Oct. 23, 2010. Farmers may harvest the rice in a few week.
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Sakura Translation Office
Translator/Certified Local Tour Guide Shu Uechi
E-mail: sr-uechi@auone.jp
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