Many small rice terrace that overlaps
The rice terrace spreads on a slight slope. Maruyama area in Kiwa-cho. Each rice field is extremely small and over 1300 fields are overlapping each other and covers the whole mountain. This view is called ”Maruyama Senmaida” and was selected as one of the One Hundred Rice Terrace of Japan.
Here at Maruyama area, the temperature difference between the day and night is large due to the mountains and the air flows freely so it is suitable for making rice.
Rice farming has been prosperous from the old days and it is said that 2240 rice terraces already existed in Maruyama Senmaida around 1600.
Established protection regulation for rice terrace
However after the years gone by and by the end of Showa Era, the number of the rice fields declined to 530 due to the government’s crop conversion policy and depopulation of the town. So the movement to protect rice terrace which is the typical landscape of Maruyama area started.
In 1994, they established protection regulation for rice terrace called ”Maruyama Senmaida Regulation”. This is one of the very rare example in Japan. Thanks to its activity, now it has finally revived to about half of the peak numbers.Because the field is small it is difficult to work with the machine so everything is done manually. On top of that, there is the height difference in the slope so it is a considerable hard labor. But the community is working hard together as one with the goal of ”making delicious rice”.
Today, the ownership system of the rice field has also started. The day when Maruyama Senmaida revives to its former days may be close.
