Slimes draw near following conclusion of rice field art project.
Over the last few years, certain rural communities in Japan have been turning their rice paddies into massive art displays. Creating rice field art is a lengthy process, involving careful planning, precision planting of seeds, and plenty of patience until the plants sprout and finally complete the image for visitors to ooh and aah over.
While Aomori Prefecture’s Inakadate was the first town to attract widespread attention for its rice field art, Gyoda, in Saitama Prefecture, got a special feather in its rice-farming cap last year, when its 2015 project was the recipient of a Guinness World Record recognizing it as the “world’s largest rice field art.” For 2016, Gyoda’s rice artists decided to salute long-running video game series Dragon Quest, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
But since the scene of a heroic swordsman battling a fierce dragon was made of living plants, it couldn’t last forever. With winter just around the corner, the rice has since been cut. That doesn’t mean the plants’ artistic contributions are finished, though, as some of the leftover straw trimmings have been assembled into a massive King Slime.
As the largest and most regal member of the loveable Dragon Quest Slime monster family, the King Slime is a mix of charming goofiness and massive size, towering over even the full-grown adults.
▼ The King Slime is illuminated after sundown, appropriately in blue light evocative of his in-game hue.
There was also enough straw to make a couple of non-regal Slimes, which still look to be taller than the average human adventurer.
▼ Slime vs. samurai
The straw Slimes are currently on display at the Kodaihasu no Sato park in Gyoda. Being made of organic matter means that there’s a limit to even this second lease on life for the rice field art, but the Dragon Quest creatures will be on display until March 26 of next year.
Park information
Kodaihasu no Sato / 古代蓮の里
Address: Saitama-ken, Gyoda-shi, Kobari 2375-1
埼玉県行田市小針２３７５−１
Admission free
Website
Source: Asashi Shimbun Digital
Follow Casey on Twitter, where decades later he’s still kicking himself for buying the bamboo pole instead of the club at the start of the original Dragon Quest.