110609-0005 - Scarecrow in Rice Field

Rice cultivation in Japan: Scarecrow in rice field. This image comes from “The Rice in Japan,” published in 1907 (Meiji 40) by Kobe based photographer Teijiro Takagi.

Original text: “Trusting to good fortune, the farmers watch the crops thrive, and if all goes well the rice comes into ear about the end of October. Some terrible scarecrows are placed here and there, and they (to the terror of birds) perform uncanny postures as they swing about, attached to a yielding bamboo pole.”

5 of 19