Spirit of the Ancient Lotus
Designed by Teruko Kogure · Kodaihasu no Sato, Gyoda, Saitama
Photo: photographer not credited in the source post, as published on Street Art Utopia.
Spirit of the Ancient Lotus (古代蓮の精, Kodaihasu no Sei) was Gyoda’s rice paddy art for 2013: a woman standing above the city’s ancient lotus, planted in coloured rice in the field on the east side of Kodaihasu no Sato. Gyoda’s city newsletter says doll artist Teruko Kogure designed it, drawing on a local story, and that it was the city’s first formal application for a Guinness World Record. Source Source Source Checked
Gone 2013 — rice paddy art lasts one growing season. The city’s September 2013 newsletter said the picture could be seen until the rice harvest on 20 October; the next year a new design, 古の行田 (Gyoda of Old), was planted. Source Source Checked
💡 4 things to know
- A Guinness bid that fell shortThis was Gyoda’s first application to Guinness World Records. After the inspection on 1 August 2013, the record was not granted: rice in the yellow parts of the picture had grown poorly and soil showed through. Source Source Source Checked
- Based on a local storyThe theme came from 行田蓮物語 (The Gyoda Lotus Story), written by city resident 田代敬二. Teruko Kogure, a doll artist and Gyoda’s lotus ambassador, turned it into the design. Source Source Checked
- Seven rices, five coloursThe picture was planted with seven rice varieties in five colours. The design covered 73.2 per cent of the field, more than the year before; by then Guinness required the picture to cover at least 60 per cent. Source Source Source Source Checked
- The record came two years laterGuinness World Records recognised Gyoda’s rice paddy art as the largest in the world on 8 September 2015, with an area of 27,195 square metres. Source Source Checked
📍 Where it is
The rice field on the east side of Kodaihasu no Sato (古代蓮の里), a park at 小針2375, Gyoda, Saitama. The whole picture could be seen from the 50-metre observation room of the Kodaihasu Kaikan in the park. The art was seasonal; the map shows the park. Source Source Source Checked
🗓️ Sightings
- 201326 Jul
Colorful Palette blog photographs it from the 50 m tower · camera date
- 20131 Aug
Guinness inspection: record not granted (city)
- 20134 Aug
Sakata photographs it from the observation deck · camera date
- 2013Sep
City newsletter: now at its best
- 201320 Oct
Harvest set for 20 Oct ends the season (city, Sept notice)
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
“今年の絵柄は「古代蓮の精」。市内在住の田代敬二さん原作の「行田蓮物語」を題材に、行田市蓮の大使であり市内在住の人形造形作家、木暮照子さんがデザインしたものです。”
“This year’s design is ‘Spirit of the Ancient Lotus’. Based on The Gyoda Lotus Story, an original work by city resident 田代敬二, it was designed by Teruko Kogure, a doll artist who lives in the city and is Gyoda’s lotus ambassador.”
“理由は、絵柄の黄色部分に植えた稲が生育不足で、土が見えるなどして「一つの大きな絵としては不十分」と判断されたのです。”
“The reason: the rice planted in the yellow parts of the design had not grown enough, the soil showed through, and it was judged ‘not sufficient as one large picture’.”
“「古代蓮の精」が今年のテーマです。”
“‘Spirit of the Ancient Lotus’ is this year’s theme.”
“古代蓮の里の展望台から田んぼアート「古代蓮の精」を撮影してみました。”
“I photographed the rice paddy art ‘Spirit of the Ancient Lotus’ from the observation deck at Kodaihasu no Sato.”
✅ The facts
- Made by
- Planted by Gyoda’s rice paddy art council with members of the public and volunteers Source Checked
- Title
- 古代蓮の精 (Kodaihasu no Sei); “Spirit of the Ancient Lotus” is our translation Source Source Source Source Checked
🔗 Related
- Artists Make Portraits and Figures From Bamboo, Driftwood, Pebbles, Rice and Sand (10 Photos) — Street Art Utopia
- Gyoda City newsletter, September 2013 (PDF, Japanese)
- Ukiyo-e and kabuki rice paddy art, Gyoda (2021) — Artwork File
- All Artwork Files
All sources & image credits
- city.gyoda.lg.jp: 世界最大級、最高傑作を体感しよう。 (市報ぎょうだ, Gyoda City newsletter, September 2013, pp. 2–3, PDF)
- photoxp.jp: 田んぼアート, photo by Sakata, Exif date 4 August 2013
- colloooon.blog.fc2.com: 古代蓮の里 田んぼアート (Colorful Palette, 28 July 2013)
- guinnessworldrecords.jp: 行田市、世界一へ!! 「世界最大の田んぼアート」 (Guinness World Records Japan interview, February 2016)
- Japanese Wikipedia: 古代蓮の里 (section 田んぼアート事業, with coordinates)
- Image: photographer not credited in the source post, as published on Street Art Utopia; a 16:9 share version was made from it.
Last checked: 31 October 2026. How we verify art