What’s Napoleon Doing in a Japanese Rice Paddy?
Across the summer of 2009, this image of Napoleon emerged in a rice field in Inakadate—
a slow reveal for an emperor used to making a grand entrance!
(Image by Captain76)
He’s Growing from Creative Inspiration and Some Seeds!
In fact, Napoleon grew from several different kinds of seeds that sprouted in different colors. They became the “paint” on this giant canvas depicting the French emperor.
Origins of Tanbo Art
Known as tanbo (rice paddy) art, or tambo art, the idea originated in 1993 with Japanese villagers in Inakadate. They had a creative inspiration—grow a huge image in the rice paddy behind town hall.
The fascinating result was a depiction of Mount Iwaki. Across the next 20 years, the idea spread to other Japanese villages, and images became more complex revealing other landscapes and larger-than-life figures of the Mona Lisa,...
