Rice Industry in Japan

The process of rice harvesting in the early 20th century, from reaping the crop to milling the grains.

Farmers demonstrate how to use a variety of traditional farm tools, such as tomi (a device to winnow the grains with an internal fan), mi (a winnowing basket) and senbanuki (a forked device to comb the rice grains from the straws). Everyone from children to the elderly seems to be engaged in the farm work, but the class differences are indicated by the clothing: the employer is dressed in fashionable kimono and sports a fedora and a moustache, while the other farmers wear plain work clothes.

The title is given in French and the intertitles are in German; different versions would have been distributed across Europe. If an English version existed it doesn't appear to survive. (Kosuke Fujiki)