By YOSHINOBU MOTEGI/ Staff Writer
October 9, 2023 at 07:00 JST
A straw sculpture of a “toki” Japanese crested ibis at Uwasekigata Koen park in Niigata (Yoshinobu Motegi)
NIIGATA--Featuring three massive sculptures fashioned from rice straw, the city’s annual Wara Art Festival is now under way at Uwasekigata Koen park in Nishikan Ward to promote the area’s reputation as a leading producer of rice.
This latest installment, the 15th, is themed on “the sea of Echigo Province” (present-day Niigata Prefecture). The zany straw sculptures intended to entertain visitors are of a “toki” Japanese crested ibis, an octopus and a dolphin.
The works were created by students of Musashino Art University in Tokyo, with assistance from residents. Around 540 kilograms of straw were used for each installation.
The rice was grown in paddy fields at seven elementary schools in the ward. Threshed straw was collected by the ward office in fall last year.
The straw will be used for making compost when the festival is over.
“We decided to depict a toki this year because the bird looks so graceful when it flies over the sea and because we wanted to make our work the one that is loved by people of Niigata,” said Futaba Nishiya, a sophomore at the university who was in charge of producing the toki sculpture.
The festival runs until Oct. 31.
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