Rice-planting event connects Camp Zama residents with Japanese culture

ZAMA, Japan – A rice-planting event held near Camp Zama offered community members from the installation the chance to take part in a pastime that holds both cultural and culinary significance in Japan.

Adults and children from the U.S. Army installation were among the nearly 100 participants from multiple countries who came to a small rice field June 2 for the event.

The Zama International Association, a volunteer organization that promotes bilateral exchange activities in the city, hosted the rice-planting there for the ninth consecutive year.

Following welcome remarks from the ZIA, the group was led to the field, a small expanse of soil saturated in water standing at about ankle level. Everyone was encouraged to step right in and get a feel for the thick, muddy area in which they would be working. Then, a ZIA volunteer led the group in a few foot races and even had parents trudge on all fours with their smaller children on their backs.

The field’s owner gave a tutorial on how to properly plant the rice sprouts in the mud, taking care to show the group how deep and how far apart they should be planted. The rice the group planted will be ready for harvest in the fall, the owner said.

Hiroo Umezawa, vice president of ZIA, said participation in the rice-planting event has grown each year since it started. The event serves both as an opportunity for hands-on experience in growing Japan’s staple food and as a way for Zama residents and non-Japanese community members to interact through a unique cultural activity, he said.

“I was delighted to see both Japanese and foreigners enjoying playing in the mud and planting the rice together,” Umezawa said.

Japanese people have a culture of gratitude for living things and nature, and they express their appreciation for food by saying “Itadakimasu” before eating. Umezawa explained that he wanted the participants to experience what is a significant part of Japan’s food culture.

“I am glad that community members from Camp Zama annually participate in this rice-planting event,” Umezawa said. “We plan to hold other exchange events in the future, so we hope they will join us so we can continue to deepen our friendship.”

Sydney Steele Flores, 20, from Camp Zama, was a first-time participant in the event and said she had been wanting to take part since her family moved to Japan three years ago. Though she was tired after more than an hour of planting, Steele Flores said afterward that she was humbled by the experience and felt connected to the other participants.

“It’s been a cool experience; it felt like I was [part of] the community,” Steele Flores said. “I love eating food and making food, so being able to be [part of] the process of making rice helped connect me to the other people.”

After the participants were finished and rinsed all the mud off themselves, ZIA members handed out to them “onigiri,” rice balls seasoned with salt and served with pickled radish. The onigiri were made from rice harvested during last year’s planting event, and the organizers encouraged the guests to return this fall to likewise see the results of their hard work.