Word 104
South of Asuka village, in the hamlet of Inabuchi, layer upon layer of terraced rice paddies cover a gentle hillside. Cultivated by hand since medieval times, these terraces have been named among Japan's Top 100 Rice Terraces, and they still wear a different face with each season.
In spring, the seedlings are planted, and through summer the rice grows straight and green, reaching toward the sky. Even under the strong sun, swaying in the wind, each stalk stands upright and proud.
Then, as the harvest season arrives, the rice ears that once stood so tall begin, one by one, to bow their heads. The heavier the grain grows, the more the stalks bend, until the whole terrace becomes a golden sea of bowed heads.
There is an old saying in Japan: "The riper the rice, the lower the ear bows its head."
The more years, hardships, and experience we gather — the more we learn about the world — the more we come to realize we are not nearly as great as we once believed.
Being arrogant toward others is nothing more than depending on them.
With each passing breeze, countless rice ears sway briefly in the same direction, then settle again with their heads bowed low. No one has taught them to do this — every ripened stalk simply stands the same way, on its own.