Rice Planting documents the essential agricultural ritual that has shaped Japanese culture for millennia. Watanabe lifetime editions of this seasonal labor scene sell for $800-$2,000. The figures bent in the flooded paddies provide human scale and narrative interest that distinguish this from Kasamatsu's more contemplative unpopulated landscapes.
Workers wade through flooded paddies transplanting rice seedlings in the communal labor of taue — rice planting — the figures bending to push each seedling into the mud with practiced precision. Kasamatsu's rice planting prints observe the rhythmic, collective nature of this agricultural work, which in Japan was traditionally accompanied by music and prayer as well as physical effort. The flooded paddy's reflective surface doubles the figures and the sky above them, creating a composition of unusual visual richness.
Woodblock print
c. 1832/38
Color woodblock print; oban
Yuki no Miyajima
1929
Color woodblock print; oban
1932
Woodblock print
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Rice Planting was created by Shiro Kasamatsu (笠松紫浪).
Rice Planting uses Bokashi, Nishiki-e, and Moku-hanga, on woodblock print.
Rice Planting was published by Watanabe Shozaburo.
Rice Planting depicts snow scenes and food & drink.
