Tiny Terraced Paddies Tumbling to the Sea of Japan
The Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Fields (白米の千枚田, Shiroyone no Senmaida) are terraced rice paddies on a steep slope above the Sea of Japan in Shiroyonemachi, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, which in 2001 were designated a Place of Scenic Beauty.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs places them about 8 kilometres east of central Wajima, on a steep slope descending from Mount Takasu to the coast, spread over a drop of about 50 metres from the village to the shore. Wajima City is the managing body.
Ishikawa Prefecture gives the designated area as 18,136 square metres.
History
According to the Agency, the coast here is a landslide zone, and the paddies developed hand in hand with this geology, serving both to grow rice and to hold the slope against landslides.
The village is recorded only from the seventeenth century; a record of 1635 lists seven farming households and five salt-making households. A great landslide in 1684 destroyed most of the paddies, which gradually recovered from the mid-nineteenth century, and a map of 1879 shows fields close to their present shape.
The Agency values the Shiroyone Senmaida, together with the buildings and gardens of the Tokikuni family, as representative of early modern Oku-Noto and a striking cultural landscape shaped by terrain and livelihood.
What to Look For: Some 800 Tiny Fields
The Agency counts about 800 fields averaging only 18 to 20 square metres each, their banks built of earth. Ishikawa Prefecture describes more than a thousand terraces within about 2 hectares.
A local folk song tells of a farmer who counted 999 fields after planting, then found the last one hidden under his straw raincoat. The prefecture notes that water is still passed from field to field by the traditional method.
The Agency singles out the changing views of paddies and shore gained by walking along the banks as unique to Shiroyone.
The Paddies Today and Visiting
The government's public relations site reports that the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake cracked about 80 percent of the terraces and damaged the water channels, and that local residents are leading the repairs.
Conservation is carried out by the Shiroyone Senmaida landscape preservation council (secretariat: Wajima City tourism section, 0768-23-1146), which also runs an owner scheme. When visiting, do not enter fields or banks under cultivation, and take care not to hinder the repair work.
Q&A
- When were the Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Fields designated?
- They were designated a Place of Scenic Beauty on 29 January 2001.
- How many fields are there, and how big are they?
- About 800 fields averaging 18 to 20 square metres each, according to the Agency.
- How old are the Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Fields?
- They are recorded from the seventeenth century, and by 1879 were close to their present shape.
- How did the Noto Peninsula Earthquake affect them?
- The 2024 earthquake cracked about 80 percent of the terraces; residents are leading the repairs.
- How is 白米 read?
- Shiroyone.
Basic Information
| Name | Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Fields (白米の千枚田) |
|---|---|
| Location | Shiroyonemachi, Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture |
| Designation | Place of Scenic Beauty |
| Year Designated | Designated 2001/1/29 (Heisei 13) |
| Quantity | About 800 fields |
| Dimensions | Designated area 18,136 square metres (Ishikawa Prefecture) |
| Owner | Managing body: Wajima City |
| Public Access | Viewable outdoors; do not enter cultivated fields |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Fields (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/401/3286
- Cultural Heritage Online: Shiroyone Senmaida Rice Fields (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/173825
- Ishikawa Prefecture: Shiroyone Senmaida (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.ishikawa.lg.jp/kyoiku/bunkazai/siseki/2-4.html
- Shiroyone Senmaida Preservation Council (Japanese)
- https://wajima-senmaida.jp/
- Government of Japan Public Relations: Shiroyone Senmaida (Japanese)
- https://www.gov-online.go.jp/hlj/ja/june_2025/june_2025-01.html
Last verified: 2026.09.28