Japanese Emperor Sows Rice at Imperial Palace in Annual Tradition

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:29 JST, April 18, 2024

The Emperor sowed rice in an annual tradition in seedbeds at the Imperial Palace on Wednesday. Dressed in a gray jacket, navy blue trousers and black shoes, the Emperor crouched down and sowed about 720 rice seeds. He sowed two rice cultivars, the non-glutinous Nihonmasari and Mangetsumochi glutinous rice, in seedbeds beside the Imperial Palace’s institute of biology. The seedlings grown will be transplanted into the Imperial Palace’s rice paddies around mid-May.