The Monthly Special

Highlighting items of note from Harvard's collections of digitized Japanese materials.

 
October 2023:
The harvest season is well on its way in Japan and this month highlights photographs of rice harvesting from the George Butler Collection. Taken in Miyagi in 1951 when George Butler was stationed with the US Army at Camp Matsushima, the collection highlights life as Japan emerges from the post-war era.
 
Image of a man placing bundles of rice on the edges of the field to dry
This first image shows a man placing bundles of harvested rice on the edges of the paddy so they will dry.
 
Image of woman winnowing rice to remove the grains from the stalks
Here, a woman uses a bamboo basket to winnow the rice, removing grain from stalk.
 
Image of two women using a large wooden wheel like machine to hull rice
Lastly, two women use a large wooden wheel-like machinel to remove the husks from the grains of rice. One turns the crank to spin the barrel while the other pours rice into the top.
 
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