Component 2, Part 5
Centripetal Forces in Japan: Rice Cultivation

Rice is the final centripetal force in this lesson. According to legend, Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, gave her grandson rice grown in Heaven so that he could turn the Japanese islands into productive farmland. Rice grains came to represent the peaceful soul of the Sun goddess (Ohnuki-Tierney, 2004) (Figure 19).

Historically, growing rice involved community effort. The construction of irrigation ditches, management of water levels, flood control, soil conservation, as well as planting and harvesting, all required cooperation (Figure 20). The rice itself became an essential dish at mealtimes, although in pre-modern Japan upper classes ate rice and peasants ate mostly millet and barley. The celebration of agricultural events involves consumption of sake (rice wine) and rice cakes.

Artists featured rice paddies and farmers in the fields. The famous wood block prints, ukiyo-e, of Hiroshige and Hokusai depict scenes of terraced fields and flooded paddies. The scenery of Japan became the art of Japan. Food brought the Japanese together in the field and at the table.

A widely-shared belief among the Japanese is that foreign rice is inferior to domestic rice. The majority of Japanese consumers oppose genetically modified, foreign rice. (Moore, 2004). The politics of Japanese protectionism extends to rice cultivation. This, too, has been a centripetal force, because it unifies a segment of the populace against imported rice and encourages local production.

In an era of increasingly globalized economies, Japan is nearly 100 percent self-sufficient in rice, despite domestic production prices ten times higher than foreign prices. Many Japanese view rice production as multifunctional. Terraced paddies prevent flooding and soil erosion. Paddies restore underground reservoirs which provide drinking water (Figure 21). Rice cultivation still keeps a few rural communities viable. While per capita rice consumption has steadily decreased since World War II, and many young people prefer other foods, the environmental significance of rice is now more important than the economic significance (Moore, 2004). For additional information on Japanese rice production and consumption visit the following website: www.fao.org/rice2004/en/p8.htm. For information on Japanese subsidized rice visit www.unctad.org/infocomm/anglais/rice/ecopolicies.htm.