Ehime

Terraces to Heaven

One of Japan's 100 beautiful farming villages in Ehime

Takako Sakamoto Dec 19, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>One meter high and one meter wide, the terraces go up in tiers</p>

<p>Terraced hill reaching for the blue sky. Most of these particular terraces grow potatoes.</p>

<p>Peninsula with many inlets jutting out into Uwajima Bay</p>

<p>Quiet scenery of a small fishing harbor</p>

<p>They somehow look like exotic ruins in a foreign country</p>

<p>Looking at this steep slope, I was forced to appreciate the efforts of the people in the past who had tamed this land</p>

<p>One wrong step could see you tumble down the hillside</p>

<p>Calm sea like this is very rare. Here, a strong wind blows for one third of the year.</p>

<p>Subsidies from the local government and the efforts of local people make it possible to preserve this landscape</p>

<p>Terraced fields covered with green leaves. It looks like flowers decorating stone walls.</p>

In December 2011, I visited the terraced village which faces the sea of Uwajima in Ehime prefecture.

The terraced village of Mizuga-ura in Uwajima City is not well-known, but the view of terraced fields going up to the sky as though they can reach heaven, with the beautiful sea of Uwa in the background, is a sight to behold. Naturally, this village is designated as one of the 100 beautiful farming villages in Japan.

There is a story behind the name of the village, Mizuga-ura (Water Inlet.) In olden days, villagers suffered from the lack of water here. Every time local women who had left a village to marry in different villages came back to visit, they had to carry water to their hometown to help the predicament caused by the lack of water.

This beautiful landscape created by terraced fields is the result of the villagers' effort and creativity in effectively utilizing their steep, water deficient land.

Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...