Yoshinobu Rice Terraces

The Yoshinobu rice terraces climb the hillside above the Yoshinobu valley in Motoyama, Kochi Prefecture, following the steep contours of the land in the compact layered pattern typical of traditional Japanese mountain farming. The terraces are still actively cultivated, and their appearance changes through the agricultural calendar: flooded and mirror-like in planting season, bright green through summer, golden before the autumn harvest. A viewing point above the terraces gives perspective on the full scale of the field system. The surrounding Shimanto River watershed is one of the least developed river valleys in Japan, and the terraces feel in keeping with that unhurried, working landscape.