Ebisu and Daikokuten — Rice Paddy Art, Inakadate 2008
Rice paddy art by the village of Inakadate, 2008 · Inakadate, Aomori, Japan
Photo: yawning hunter / Flickr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), 31 July 2008 (camera date), the same photo as in the Street Art Utopia post. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
In 2008 the village of Inakadate in Aomori planted Ebisu and Daikokuten in coloured rice, a theme chosen as a wish for economic recovery and a bright future. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Tsugaru Jenne blog, 1 Aug 2008 Checked The picture measured 143 by 104 metres. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 Reported It was drawn in perspective for the viewing room in the village office’s castle tower, and was the first to use pale rice for white. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Checked
4 things to know
- Gods of good fortuneAomori’s tourism blog says the 2008 subject, “Ebisu-sama and Daikoku-sama”, carried a wish for economic recovery and a bright future. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 Checked
- White for the first timeThe village official in charge told Daily Portal Z that white was added to the palette in 2008; Aomori’s blog praised the new pale rice for expressing white. Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 · Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 Checked
- A logo pulled upTo help cover the costs of rising visitor numbers, the committee added a Japan Airlines logo to the 2008 field. The field’s owner, former mayor Ryuji Sato, demanded its removal, and after a week of discussion the committee voted to pull the ad. Pink Tentacle, 4 Jul 2008 Reported
- A picture that changesA local visitor wrote on 1 August 2008 that the look of the picture changes with the colour of the ripening rice, and planned to come back before the harvest. Tsugaru Jenne blog, 1 Aug 2008 Checked
Where it was
- 📍
- Paddies by the Inakadate village office, Aomori; the picture was designed to be seen from the observation room in its castle-style tower. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Checked
- 🌾
- Seasonal: Aomori’s blog said it could be seen until just before the 5 October 2008 harvest tour. Inakadate plants a new design every year. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Checked
Sightings
- 20084 Jul
Sponsor logo uprooted · Pink Tentacle
- 200831 Jul
Photographed by yawning hunter
- 20081 Aug
Local visitor’s first viewing
- 200821 Aug
Aomori tourism report
- 20178 Mar
Recalled as the 2008 design
Every stamp links to its source. The green stamp is a dated photograph (camera date). Amber stamps are reports from the 2008 season. The red stamp is a later interview that looks back on the 2008 design; the picture was a seasonal planting, gone after the 2008 harvest.
On the record
米へのこだわりが生んだ芸術～田んぼアート
“そして今年の題材は、景気回復と明るい未来への願いが込められた「恵比寿様と大黒様」。”
English: “And this year’s subject is ‘Ebisu-sama and Daikoku-sama’, carrying a wish for economic recovery and a bright future.”
青森県田舎館村「田んぼアート」の超絶進化がすごすぎる
“で、翌年、2008年の恵比寿と大黒。この年から白が追加されました”
English: “And the next year, 2008, Ebisu and Daikoku. White was added from that year.” Asari Takatoshi of the village office, in charge of the rice paddy art.
JAL logo uprooted from rice paddy art
“Turning it into a giant advertisement contradicts what we set out to do.”
Ryuji Sato, owner of the rice field and former mayor of Inakadate, quoted by Pink Tentacle.
The facts
- Title
- 恵比寿様と大黒様 (Ebisu-sama to Daikoku-sama), “Ebisu and Daikoku”. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Checked
- Maker
- The village of Inakadate’s rice paddy art project, run by the village office. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Checked
- Designer
- According to the village official in charge, the designs since 2003 have been drawn by Mr Yamamoto, a village resident and art teacher at a prefectural special-needs school; the 2008 picture is not attributed by name. Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Reported
- Year
- 2008. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 · Tsugaru Jenne blog, 1 Aug 2008 · yawning hunter / Wikimedia Commons Checked
- Place
- Paddies by the Inakadate village office, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Checked
- Size
- 143 × 104 metres. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 Reported
- Medium
- Rice varieties with differently coloured leaves; pale rice for white was new in 2008. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Checked
- Sponsor logo
- A Japan Airlines logo planted beside the gods was removed after the field’s owner objected. Pink Tentacle, 4 Jul 2008 Reported
- Series
- Inakadate’s 16th rice paddy picture since 1993, according to Pink Tentacle. Pink Tentacle, 4 Jul 2008 Reported
- Status
- Gone: a seasonal planting, to be seen until just before the 5 October 2008 harvest tour; a new picture followed in 2009. Aomori Tourism, 21 Aug 2008 · Daily Portal Z, 8 Mar 2017 Checked
- Our photo
- yawning hunter, 31 July 2008 (camera date), via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. yawning hunter / Wikimedia Commons Checked
Related
- People Made of Plants (10 Photos): the SAU collection with Ebisu and Daikokuten
- Ukiyo-e Kabuki rice paddy art, Gyoda: another rice paddy picture in the Artwork Files
All sources (6)
Official
- Aomori Tourism (Amazing AOMORI) blog: “米へのこだわりが生んだ芸術～田んぼアート” (Art born of a devotion to rice: rice paddy art), 21 August 2008, in Japanese. The 2008 subject Ebisu and Daikoku; 143 × 104 m; new pale rice for white; perspective for the village office tower; viewable until just before the 5 October harvest tour.
Press
- Daily Portal Z: “青森県田舎館村「田んぼアート」の超絶進化がすごすぎる” (The astonishing evolution of Inakadate’s rice paddy art), 8 March 2017, in Japanese. Interview with Asari Takatoshi of the village office; designs drawn by Mr Yamamoto since 2003; white added in 2008; designs year by year.
- Pink Tentacle: “JAL logo uprooted from rice paddy art”, 4 July 2008. The 2008 Inakadate field and the uprooted Japan Airlines logo.
Blogs
- 津軽ジェンヌのcafe日記 (Tsugaru Jenne’s cafe diary, a local blog): “田んぼアート*2008.08.01（田舎館村）”, 1 August 2008, in Japanese. A local visitor’s first viewing of the year; the theme “恵比寿様と大黒天”.
Photos
- Wikimedia Commons: “Ebisu and Daikokuten, Rice Paddy Art in Inakadate – Jul 31, 2008”, photograph by yawning hunter, 31 July 2008 (camera date), from Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
Street Art Utopia
- Street Art Utopia: “People Made of Plants (10 Photos)”, 20 October 2026. The SAU post with this work.
Artwork File · Last checked 20 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files