0 00:00:07,773 --> 00:00:09,172 In central Japan, 1 00:00:09,308 --> 00:00:13,472 a spider weaves her web in a field of growing rice. 2 00:00:21,153 --> 00:00:22,711 Rice has been a part of Japan 3 00:00:22,855 --> 00:00:25,881 for so long that it has shaped the land. 4 00:00:26,259 --> 00:00:29,956 Indeed, it has become so much a part of the Japanese landscape 5 00:00:30,096 --> 00:00:33,497 that it has created a unique environment essential to 6 00:00:33,633 --> 00:00:35,464 both the people who created it 7 00:00:35,701 --> 00:00:38,226 and the wild animals that now share it. 8 00:00:43,776 --> 00:00:46,438 Japan is a country of steep mountains 9 00:00:46,579 --> 00:00:48,843 surrounding wide flat plains 10 00:00:48,981 --> 00:00:51,575 where people have lived for thousands of years. 11 00:00:52,752 --> 00:00:56,153 The country's largest freshwater lake, Lake Biwa, 12 00:00:56,289 --> 00:00:59,656 lies not far from the ancient city of Kyoto. 13 00:01:10,336 --> 00:01:12,099 The slopes that stretch down towards 14 00:01:12,238 --> 00:01:14,035 the lake have been terraced. 15 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,841 Rice seedlings need shallow water in which to grow 16 00:01:17,977 --> 00:01:19,842 and the neat, meticulously constructed 17 00:01:19,979 --> 00:01:22,277 paddy fields provide just this. 18 00:01:22,982 --> 00:01:24,574 Some of them have been cultivated 19 00:01:24,717 --> 00:01:27,743 continuously for thousands of years. 20 00:01:29,622 --> 00:01:30,850 Alongside them stand 21 00:01:30,990 --> 00:01:33,686 patches of woodland where, for centuries, 22 00:01:33,826 --> 00:01:36,761 the people have found their fuel and their food. 23 00:01:37,730 --> 00:01:40,631 This is a land that has been touched by people, 24 00:01:40,766 --> 00:01:43,326 yet the people tread lightly upon it. 25 00:01:43,703 --> 00:01:45,136 It's a land that has been ruled 26 00:01:45,271 --> 00:01:48,001 for centuries by the demands of the rice, 27 00:01:48,140 --> 00:01:49,334 yet it's still dominated 28 00:01:49,475 --> 00:01:51,466 by the rhythmic cycle of the seasons 29 00:01:51,611 --> 00:01:53,545 as they change throughout the year. 30 00:01:54,580 --> 00:01:57,572 This is a landscape that the Japanese people hold 31 00:01:57,717 --> 00:01:59,446 so close to their hearts 32 00:01:59,585 --> 00:02:01,553 that they have a special word for it. 33 00:02:01,854 --> 00:02:04,322 They call these places where the forested mountains 34 00:02:04,457 --> 00:02:07,620 meet the terraces of rice - Satoyama. 35 00:02:21,907 --> 00:02:23,272 lt's April now. 36 00:02:23,643 --> 00:02:26,407 The days are lengthening and it's getting warmer. 37 00:02:26,746 --> 00:02:28,646 Spring is on its way. 38 00:03:52,732 --> 00:03:56,327 As the progressing year brings changes to the country, 39 00:03:56,469 --> 00:03:59,461 there is also another rhythm which transforms the land, 40 00:03:59,605 --> 00:04:01,539 as it has done for centuries. 41 00:04:01,841 --> 00:04:03,001 Early in the spring 42 00:04:03,142 --> 00:04:06,543 the dry fields are turned into wetlands. 43 00:04:30,136 --> 00:04:33,435 The cold mountain water spreads over to the dry fields. 44 00:04:33,973 --> 00:04:35,065 As they slowly fill, 45 00:04:35,207 --> 00:04:39,166 the water once again links them both to the mountains above 46 00:04:39,311 --> 00:04:41,211 and to Lake Biwa, below. 47 00:04:43,983 --> 00:04:46,076 Gradually it seeps into the earth, 48 00:04:46,218 --> 00:04:49,210 reawakening the soil after the frozen months of winter 49 00:04:49,555 --> 00:04:51,182 and rousing the small creatures 50 00:04:51,323 --> 00:04:53,655 that have lain dormant there since the autumn. 51 00:05:21,687 --> 00:05:24,121 Mountain water is rich in nutrients 52 00:05:24,256 --> 00:05:28,989 so each year its return enhances the fertility of the rice fields. 53 00:05:36,268 --> 00:05:38,668 Early spring is a time of intense work 54 00:05:38,804 --> 00:05:39,600 for the farmers, 55 00:05:39,738 --> 00:05:42,468 as they prepare their fields for the rice. 56 00:06:26,952 --> 00:06:28,817 Satoyama is an environment 57 00:06:28,954 --> 00:06:31,388 created by human beings, certainly; 58 00:06:31,657 --> 00:06:33,352 but it's also one that is in harmony 59 00:06:33,492 --> 00:06:35,517 with the natural world that surrounds it. 60 00:06:35,828 --> 00:06:40,060 Animals on all sides are awaiting the return of the water. 61 00:06:45,838 --> 00:06:47,237 Woken from her hibernation 62 00:06:47,373 --> 00:06:49,705 and attracted by the fresh scent of water, 63 00:06:49,842 --> 00:06:53,642 a pond turtle moves down into this new wetland. 64 00:06:54,113 --> 00:06:56,809 Here she will mate and in a few days time, 65 00:06:56,949 --> 00:06:59,816 she will lay her eggs on the terrace banks. 66 00:07:14,700 --> 00:07:17,294 Tree frogs return to the flooded paddies 67 00:07:17,436 --> 00:07:19,495 to feed and to spawn. 68 00:07:24,410 --> 00:07:27,208 lnsects of many kinds gradually appear. 69 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,841 Over a thousand different species of them 70 00:07:29,982 --> 00:07:33,110 will eventually find what they need in the rice fields. 71 00:07:34,086 --> 00:07:37,112 A fire-bellied newt starts its search for food. 72 00:07:42,695 --> 00:07:45,027 Some creatures have come to the flooded fields 73 00:07:45,164 --> 00:07:47,462 from a considerable distance away, 74 00:07:47,599 --> 00:07:49,863 others have been here all through the year. 75 00:07:53,639 --> 00:07:56,005 This water scorpion spent winter months 76 00:07:56,141 --> 00:07:57,699 buried in the dried earth. 77 00:07:58,177 --> 00:08:01,374 It too has been aroused by the cold mountain water. 78 00:08:07,987 --> 00:08:11,320 Many of these small creatures become prey for water birds 79 00:08:11,457 --> 00:08:13,721 which time their arrival to coincide 80 00:08:13,859 --> 00:08:15,724 with the flooding of the terraces. 81 00:08:34,213 --> 00:08:37,705 The rhythm of change - from wet to dry and back again ¡ª 82 00:08:37,850 --> 00:08:41,411 was imposed on this landscape by farmers so long ago 83 00:08:41,553 --> 00:08:43,487 that it has now become an integral part 84 00:08:43,622 --> 00:08:45,749 of the workings of the natural world. 85 00:08:55,234 --> 00:08:57,566 The people themselves are also governed 86 00:08:57,703 --> 00:08:59,261 by the rhythms of the seasons. 87 00:08:59,938 --> 00:09:01,929 At crucial times they hold festivals 88 00:09:02,074 --> 00:09:04,133 to ask the gods for a healthy crop 89 00:09:04,276 --> 00:09:06,141 and a bountiful harvest. 90 00:09:10,616 --> 00:09:12,743 They regularly pay their respects 91 00:09:12,885 --> 00:09:16,719 to the forces of nature that still control their fields. 92 00:09:42,114 --> 00:09:44,776 lrrigation canals, lined with cement, 93 00:09:44,917 --> 00:09:47,579 link these terraced fields to Lake Biwa, 94 00:09:49,021 --> 00:09:51,080 and on a spring night in May, 95 00:09:51,223 --> 00:09:54,454 catfish from the lake fight their way up them, 96 00:09:54,726 --> 00:09:57,058 struggling against the flow of the water. 97 00:10:01,066 --> 00:10:02,624 The flooding of the terraced fields, 98 00:10:02,768 --> 00:10:04,497 combined with seasonal rain, 99 00:10:04,636 --> 00:10:07,764 has created many waterways that lead down to the lake. 100 00:10:08,307 --> 00:10:10,798 For the catfish, the timing is crucial. 101 00:10:13,645 --> 00:10:14,577 One after another, 102 00:10:14,713 --> 00:10:17,181 they laboriously make their way up the channels 103 00:10:17,316 --> 00:10:19,716 into the newly planted rice paddies. 104 00:10:30,762 --> 00:10:33,822 They have spent the winter in the deep waters of the lake, 105 00:10:34,066 --> 00:10:35,966 but now they need shallow water 106 00:10:36,101 --> 00:10:38,228 and mud in which to lay their eggs. 107 00:10:38,971 --> 00:10:42,338 Satoyama provides them with exactly what they want. 108 00:10:57,756 --> 00:10:59,155 Just before dawn, 109 00:10:59,291 --> 00:11:02,727 adult fish congregate in one of the rice paddies 110 00:11:02,861 --> 00:11:06,991 and begin to court amongst the newly-planted rice seedlings. 111 00:11:19,411 --> 00:11:22,437 The female is large and heavy with eggs. 112 00:11:22,915 --> 00:11:24,815 A male, who is smaller, follows her, 113 00:11:24,950 --> 00:11:26,884 trying to attract her attention. 114 00:11:37,763 --> 00:11:41,597 Entwining his body around hers, he rubs her abdomen, 115 00:11:41,733 --> 00:11:45,464 stimulating her to lay her eggs which he will then fertilize. 116 00:11:59,184 --> 00:12:01,243 Their coupling is sometimes so vigorous 117 00:12:01,386 --> 00:12:04,913 that they often damage the newly planted rice seedlings - 118 00:12:05,057 --> 00:12:08,117 but the farmers nonetheless gladly share their fields 119 00:12:08,260 --> 00:12:10,524 with such wild creatures as these. 120 00:12:18,403 --> 00:12:21,429 The spawning is all over within a single day. 121 00:12:22,174 --> 00:12:25,371 The adult fish then return down the waterways to the lake, 122 00:12:25,510 --> 00:12:28,445 leaving behind them countless tiny eggs 123 00:12:28,580 --> 00:12:30,309 in the flooded fields. 124 00:12:44,763 --> 00:12:46,355 Two days after spawning, 125 00:12:46,498 --> 00:12:49,729 the embryonic fish are moving inside the security 126 00:12:49,868 --> 00:12:51,995 of their tiny egg capsules. 127 00:13:35,914 --> 00:13:38,712 Day by day, as the earth tilts fractionally 128 00:13:38,850 --> 00:13:40,374 more towards the sun, 129 00:13:40,519 --> 00:13:41,747 day-light lasts longer 130 00:13:41,887 --> 00:13:44,117 and the shallow water becomes warmer. 131 00:13:44,923 --> 00:13:48,359 The emergence of the catfish has coincided miraculously 132 00:13:48,493 --> 00:13:50,984 with a sudden abundance of food. 133 00:14:00,806 --> 00:14:03,138 The earth of the paddy fields when they were dry 134 00:14:03,275 --> 00:14:06,073 contained millions of microscopic eggs, 135 00:14:06,211 --> 00:14:08,611 laid the previous year by water fleas. 136 00:14:09,281 --> 00:14:11,215 Now that the paddies are flooded once again, 137 00:14:11,350 --> 00:14:13,341 these eggs also hatch. 138 00:14:13,685 --> 00:14:16,552 So the waters have become rich with food. 139 00:14:28,100 --> 00:14:30,227 A dragonfly larva is hunting. 140 00:14:30,769 --> 00:14:33,260 The water fleas are an easy prey. 141 00:14:55,861 --> 00:14:58,295 The young catfish are also feeding on them 142 00:14:58,430 --> 00:14:59,920 and growing quickly. 143 00:15:19,718 --> 00:15:21,310 As the seedlings sprout, 144 00:15:21,453 --> 00:15:25,446 the land is transformed yet again and turns green. 145 00:15:26,224 --> 00:15:29,523 Beneath the surface of the water the duels between the hunters 146 00:15:29,661 --> 00:15:31,128 and the hunted continue. 147 00:15:33,899 --> 00:15:36,424 A water stick-insect sits,poised, 148 00:15:36,668 --> 00:15:39,159 waiting for its prey to come within range. 149 00:15:51,249 --> 00:15:53,843 And a dragonfly larva, once a hunter, 150 00:15:53,985 --> 00:15:56,579 now itself becomes a victim. 151 00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:18,336 A water scorpion conceals itself in the mud. 152 00:16:18,510 --> 00:16:20,876 The young catfish seem totally unaware 153 00:16:21,012 --> 00:16:22,877 of the danger that threatens them. 154 00:16:35,093 --> 00:16:37,357 A blood-worm - the larva of a midge - 155 00:16:37,496 --> 00:16:39,487 is food for a fire-bellied newt. 156 00:16:57,849 --> 00:17:00,317 The giant water-bug is a giant indeed. 157 00:17:00,385 --> 00:17:02,512 It's the largest insect in Japan 158 00:17:02,888 --> 00:17:04,515 and a formidable hunter. 159 00:17:44,396 --> 00:17:45,624 With grim persistence, 160 00:17:45,764 --> 00:17:48,733 the giant water bug sucks out the nutritious fluids 161 00:17:48,867 --> 00:17:50,027 from the frog's body. 162 00:17:50,635 --> 00:17:53,365 The empty husk will then be cast aside 163 00:17:53,505 --> 00:17:55,473 and be absorbed into the mud. 164 00:18:06,351 --> 00:18:07,579 A black kite hunts 165 00:18:07,719 --> 00:18:09,880 above one of the small patches of woodland 166 00:18:10,021 --> 00:18:12,649 that grow alongside the terraced fields. 167 00:18:19,598 --> 00:18:23,694 These woods are a vital element in the complex world of satoyama. 168 00:18:24,169 --> 00:18:26,262 They act as water reservoirs, 169 00:18:26,404 --> 00:18:27,769 absorbing the falling rain 170 00:18:27,906 --> 00:18:31,000 and then gradually releasing it so that it can seep down 171 00:18:31,142 --> 00:18:33,235 through the soil to the plains there, 172 00:18:33,378 --> 00:18:36,506 to evaporate and so to return to the atmosphere. 173 00:18:38,650 --> 00:18:40,413 The woods have been used for centuries 174 00:18:40,552 --> 00:18:43,885 by the local people who come here to forage for food, 175 00:18:44,022 --> 00:18:46,547 to gather firewood and to make charcoal. 176 00:18:48,226 --> 00:18:51,718 Many of the oaks have strange multiple trunks. 177 00:18:52,163 --> 00:18:54,256 That is because they have been used by the people 178 00:18:54,399 --> 00:18:58,733 to grow a delicacy that is much relished by Japanese gourmets. 179 00:19:10,582 --> 00:19:12,709 The slender trunks and branches of oaks 180 00:19:12,851 --> 00:19:15,877 are regularly cut and then stacked in piles 181 00:19:16,021 --> 00:19:17,318 called "hodagi." 182 00:19:24,763 --> 00:19:28,028 They are then left here for about a month to dry out. 183 00:19:35,807 --> 00:19:39,243 When the sap has all gone, holes are bored into them. 184 00:19:41,046 --> 00:19:44,607 Plugs,made of a mixture of sawdust and mushroom spawn 185 00:19:44,749 --> 00:19:49,015 are then hammered into each hole and sealed with a plug of wood. 186 00:19:54,492 --> 00:19:56,756 "Shiitake" mushrooms eventually sprout 187 00:19:56,895 --> 00:19:58,055 from the plugs of wood - 188 00:19:58,196 --> 00:20:01,063 and Japanese cooks will pay high prices for them. 189 00:20:05,437 --> 00:20:07,962 The oak tree - in spite of its harsh treatment - 190 00:20:08,106 --> 00:20:09,164 does not die. 191 00:20:09,607 --> 00:20:11,768 lts stump sprouts once more. 192 00:20:16,648 --> 00:20:19,947 It will not be cropped again for eighteen years or so. 193 00:20:27,759 --> 00:20:31,786 As the young branches grow, they attract new visitors. 194 00:20:32,097 --> 00:20:35,294 Longicorn beetles come to drink their sap. 195 00:21:00,859 --> 00:21:04,920 The larvae of the silkworm moth prefer more aged branches. 196 00:21:05,263 --> 00:21:08,391 Having fed on the leaves, they spin their cocoons. 197 00:21:08,867 --> 00:21:09,731 Silk from these 198 00:21:09,868 --> 00:21:11,927 provides another crop for the people 199 00:21:12,070 --> 00:21:14,231 and has done so for centuries. 200 00:21:14,706 --> 00:21:16,731 They use its thin delicate filaments, 201 00:21:16,875 --> 00:21:18,740 spun together into a thread 202 00:21:18,877 --> 00:21:21,402 to weave the most sumptuous of fabrics. 203 00:21:22,046 --> 00:21:22,910 For the caterpillar, 204 00:21:23,047 --> 00:21:25,743 the silk will serve as a shroud beneath 205 00:21:25,884 --> 00:21:29,411 which it will transform itself into a winged adult. 206 00:21:50,475 --> 00:21:53,842 So the long rhythms of the forest repeat themselves. 207 00:21:54,279 --> 00:21:57,373 After five years the hodagi logs are exhausted 208 00:21:57,515 --> 00:22:00,313 and of no further use for growing mushrooms, 209 00:22:00,451 --> 00:22:03,852 so they are dumped and left to rot. 210 00:22:04,455 --> 00:22:07,982 The humus produced by their decay seeps back into the ground 211 00:22:08,126 --> 00:22:11,391 where it's reclaimed by the roots of living trees 212 00:22:11,529 --> 00:22:13,963 and provides food for other creatures. 213 00:22:17,435 --> 00:22:19,869 The larva of the scarab beetle is one of them. 214 00:22:20,338 --> 00:22:22,568 Having spent half a year as a grub, 215 00:22:22,707 --> 00:22:24,334 feeding voraciously, 216 00:22:24,475 --> 00:22:26,466 it has now turned into a pupa. 217 00:22:26,845 --> 00:22:30,110 lts newly formed shell is still soft. 218 00:22:40,058 --> 00:22:44,017 In Japanese,this insect is called "kabutomushi," 219 00:22:44,162 --> 00:22:45,254 as the shape of its head 220 00:22:45,396 --> 00:22:47,762 reminds people of the war helmet worn 221 00:22:47,899 --> 00:22:48,991 by the Samurai 222 00:22:49,367 --> 00:22:50,629 and the plates of its body 223 00:22:50,768 --> 00:22:53,532 of the armor of those ancient warriors 224 00:22:53,671 --> 00:22:55,138 of medieval Japan. 225 00:23:10,655 --> 00:23:12,384 As spring changes to summer, 226 00:23:12,657 --> 00:23:15,649 so the flooded fields become grasslands. 227 00:23:24,135 --> 00:23:24,897 This is the time 228 00:23:25,036 --> 00:23:27,334 when the giant water-bug lays its eggs. 229 00:23:27,906 --> 00:23:31,239 The female produces as many as eighty in one batch. 230 00:23:31,576 --> 00:23:33,908 Having done so,she abandons them. 231 00:23:36,581 --> 00:23:38,674 But the male remains on guard 232 00:23:38,816 --> 00:23:41,512 and stays with them for over a week. 233 00:23:49,661 --> 00:23:50,423 Every now and then, 234 00:23:50,561 --> 00:23:52,324 he leaves them briefly to collect 235 00:23:52,463 --> 00:23:55,057 the water necessary to keep them moist. 236 00:24:23,328 --> 00:24:25,796 One week later - in the middle of the night - 237 00:24:25,930 --> 00:24:29,127 the giant water-bugs begin to hatch. 238 00:25:26,057 --> 00:25:28,218 It's summer and water from the forest 239 00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:31,089 continues to flow down into the rice fields. 240 00:25:31,229 --> 00:25:33,629 It travels along their network of channels 241 00:25:33,765 --> 00:25:36,632 and then goes on down to Lake Biwa. 242 00:25:38,469 --> 00:25:41,370 The young catfish are now about two months old. 243 00:25:41,606 --> 00:25:44,575 It's time for them to prepare to leave these warm shallows 244 00:25:44,709 --> 00:25:45,937 and to make their way down 245 00:25:46,077 --> 00:25:48,443 to the deeper, colder waters of the lake 246 00:25:48,579 --> 00:25:51,241 where they will spend most of their adult lives. 247 00:26:01,092 --> 00:26:03,492 Their parents came up through the farmer's waterways 248 00:26:03,628 --> 00:26:05,220 to reach these rice fields. 249 00:26:05,830 --> 00:26:07,957 Now their offspring use the same channels 250 00:26:08,099 --> 00:26:09,760 to take them down to the lake. 251 00:26:10,368 --> 00:26:11,892 Without the work of the farmers 252 00:26:12,036 --> 00:26:13,435 and the methods they have developed 253 00:26:13,571 --> 00:26:14,629 to grow their rice, 254 00:26:14,972 --> 00:26:16,496 the catfish of Lake Biwa 255 00:26:16,641 --> 00:26:19,610 would not have these extensive nurseries. 256 00:26:30,521 --> 00:26:32,284 Once they reach the safety of the lake, 257 00:26:32,423 --> 00:26:36,189 they will stay for 2 or 3 years, feeding and growing, 258 00:26:36,327 --> 00:26:39,626 until the time comes for them too to swim back up 259 00:26:39,764 --> 00:26:42,198 the very same channels to spawn. 260 00:26:46,137 --> 00:26:47,900 Now another small creature 261 00:26:48,039 --> 00:26:50,166 is preparing to leave the rice fields. 262 00:26:50,408 --> 00:26:52,876 It uses a different exit. 263 00:26:53,144 --> 00:26:55,009 The larva of the red dragonfly, 264 00:26:55,146 --> 00:26:58,445 after two months of feeding, crawls up the rice stems 265 00:26:58,583 --> 00:27:01,051 from which it will launch itself into the air. 266 00:27:01,619 --> 00:27:04,520 To do that it must first change its shape 267 00:27:04,655 --> 00:27:06,646 and acquire wings. 268 00:29:28,866 --> 00:29:31,391 The dragonfly will leave these terraced fields 269 00:29:31,535 --> 00:29:33,765 and fly away to the nearby mountains 270 00:29:33,904 --> 00:29:34,962 for the summer months. 271 00:29:35,273 --> 00:29:38,436 So it forms a link between the world of satoyama - 272 00:29:38,576 --> 00:29:39,804 the cultivated land - 273 00:29:39,944 --> 00:29:41,969 and the wilderness that surrounds it. 274 00:30:25,356 --> 00:30:26,550 The end of June. 275 00:30:26,691 --> 00:30:27,988 it's midsummer. 276 00:30:28,125 --> 00:30:30,286 The days are long and warm. 277 00:30:33,197 --> 00:30:34,721 The people living in the small villages 278 00:30:34,865 --> 00:30:36,423 alongside the rice fields 279 00:30:36,567 --> 00:30:38,558 make their own special contributions 280 00:30:38,703 --> 00:30:41,228 to the living landscape of satoyama. 281 00:30:45,676 --> 00:30:49,077 The flowers in the gardens are an important source of nectar 282 00:30:49,213 --> 00:30:50,373 for many species - 283 00:30:53,484 --> 00:30:55,952 including swallowtail butterflies. 284 00:31:03,694 --> 00:31:07,892 In the corner of a village garden, a large spider waits on its web. 285 00:31:08,165 --> 00:31:09,860 As in many parts of Japan, 286 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,093 spiders are welcomed and encouraged 287 00:31:12,236 --> 00:31:14,397 to stay as a sign of good fortune. 288 00:31:14,972 --> 00:31:17,839 They do, after all, feed on insects which may be harmful 289 00:31:17,975 --> 00:31:19,465 to both people and crops. 290 00:31:21,579 --> 00:31:22,910 In a hackberry tree, 291 00:31:23,047 --> 00:31:25,572 another small life is about to take its place 292 00:31:25,716 --> 00:31:27,479 in the satoyama community. 293 00:31:43,434 --> 00:31:45,766 This is Japan's national butterfly, 294 00:31:45,903 --> 00:31:47,598 called ""oo-murasaki." 295 00:31:51,842 --> 00:31:53,469 The purple of its wings is the color 296 00:31:53,611 --> 00:31:56,671 that once could be used only by the Emperors 297 00:31:56,814 --> 00:31:59,180 and the high priests of ancient Japan. 298 00:32:06,090 --> 00:32:07,887 In its caterpillar stage, 299 00:32:08,025 --> 00:32:10,755 it lives only on these hackberry trees. 300 00:32:12,163 --> 00:32:13,095 As an adult, 301 00:32:13,230 --> 00:32:18,031 it will fly away to feed on the sap of trees in the woodlands. 302 00:32:32,283 --> 00:32:34,148 During the warm summer nights, 303 00:32:34,285 --> 00:32:37,846 the rice paddies become alive with another insect 304 00:32:37,988 --> 00:32:42,015 much loved by the Japanese - fireflies. 305 00:32:46,297 --> 00:32:47,821 Using the language of light, 306 00:32:47,965 --> 00:32:50,593 they signal courtship messages to one another. 307 00:32:56,407 --> 00:32:59,843 Their adult lives are brief - a mere seven days or so. 308 00:33:00,611 --> 00:33:02,272 Japanese families, by tradition, 309 00:33:02,413 --> 00:33:05,541 come to watch the fireflies every year at this season - 310 00:33:05,683 --> 00:33:09,312 to marvel at the tiny lights winking over the rice fields 311 00:33:09,453 --> 00:33:12,320 and to ponder on the fragility of the lives 312 00:33:12,456 --> 00:33:13,923 of those that produce them. 313 00:33:33,844 --> 00:33:37,143 Fireworks are a special treat on these summer evenings. 314 00:33:37,281 --> 00:33:38,475 In a corner of the garden, 315 00:33:38,616 --> 00:33:40,607 behind the children and their fireworks, 316 00:33:40,751 --> 00:33:43,515 another life is undergoing dramatic change. 317 00:33:44,121 --> 00:33:44,883 For seven years, 318 00:33:45,022 --> 00:33:47,320 this cicada has remained underground. 319 00:33:47,625 --> 00:33:51,220 Now it's emerging to spend the last few days of its life 320 00:33:51,362 --> 00:33:55,059 as a winged creature in urgent search of a mate. 321 00:33:55,733 --> 00:33:58,099 There are many species of cicada in Japan. 322 00:33:58,235 --> 00:34:00,601 Each has its own characteristic song 323 00:34:00,738 --> 00:34:02,467 and each is a reminder to the people 324 00:34:02,606 --> 00:34:05,666 of another stage in the passing seasons. 325 00:34:29,934 --> 00:34:31,424 it's high summer. 326 00:34:32,036 --> 00:34:34,300 The rice has been growing steadily. 327 00:34:36,507 --> 00:34:39,135 But there's still a great deal of work to be done. 328 00:34:42,780 --> 00:34:45,044 The terraces must be kept free of weeds 329 00:34:45,182 --> 00:34:47,207 to allow the rice to grow freely. 330 00:34:51,622 --> 00:34:53,886 It's hard, hot labor. 331 00:35:04,735 --> 00:35:06,896 The farmers wade out into the shallow ponds 332 00:35:07,037 --> 00:35:08,595 that adjoin their rice fields. 333 00:35:08,872 --> 00:35:12,330 These man-made reservoirs hold water throughout the year 334 00:35:12,476 --> 00:35:14,535 and the people stock them with carp. 335 00:35:14,945 --> 00:35:17,937 Now that harvest can also be gathered. 336 00:35:20,417 --> 00:35:22,408 They have their own special devices 337 00:35:22,553 --> 00:35:24,214 with which to collect it. 338 00:36:11,168 --> 00:36:13,932 Each family takes home its own catch. 339 00:36:14,371 --> 00:36:18,205 It's an annual seasonal feast that everyone enjoys. 340 00:36:30,854 --> 00:36:33,049 Summer is a holiday time for the children 341 00:36:33,190 --> 00:36:35,556 and while their parents work in the fields, 342 00:36:35,693 --> 00:36:38,628 they make the most of the long evenings. 343 00:36:51,508 --> 00:36:53,032 The pleasure and fascination 344 00:36:53,177 --> 00:36:55,509 that so many Japanese find in insects 345 00:36:55,646 --> 00:36:58,137 shows itself early in life. 346 00:37:22,039 --> 00:37:24,405 Stag beetles are particular favorites. 347 00:37:24,575 --> 00:37:25,701 The larger the better. 348 00:37:26,110 --> 00:37:28,806 The male beetles, when confronted with one another, 349 00:37:28,946 --> 00:37:30,811 will do what comes naturally - 350 00:37:31,081 --> 00:37:33,743 they will fight for control of a territory. 351 00:38:08,485 --> 00:38:10,180 A scarab beetle has emerged 352 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:12,754 from under its pile of hodagi logs. 353 00:38:13,524 --> 00:38:14,855 As night begins to fall, 354 00:38:14,992 --> 00:38:17,984 it climbs out to look for the sap it feeds on. 355 00:38:18,862 --> 00:38:19,521 Through the night, 356 00:38:19,663 --> 00:38:23,224 battles will be fought and lost as each beetle strives 357 00:38:23,367 --> 00:38:25,267 for the control of the best places. 358 00:38:25,769 --> 00:38:28,795 And it's not just that they themselves want the sap. 359 00:38:29,239 --> 00:38:31,935 Good feeding spots also attract females. 360 00:38:32,242 --> 00:38:35,211 So, like the samurai they so resemble, 361 00:38:35,345 --> 00:38:36,607 they do battle. 362 00:39:33,971 --> 00:39:35,302 It's September. 363 00:39:35,439 --> 00:39:38,135 Summer is vanishing with the shortening days 364 00:39:38,275 --> 00:39:41,608 and the rice fields are about to change yet again. 365 00:39:41,945 --> 00:39:44,573 Soon it will be time for the harvest. 366 00:39:48,051 --> 00:39:49,712 One hundred and fifty days ago, 367 00:39:49,853 --> 00:39:51,912 these terraced fields became wetlands 368 00:39:52,055 --> 00:39:54,546 as water from the mountains flowed into them. 369 00:39:55,592 --> 00:39:58,152 Since then they have been slowly changing 370 00:39:58,295 --> 00:40:00,195 in time with the seasons. 371 00:40:01,231 --> 00:40:05,395 As each field was transformed, different species arrived - 372 00:40:05,602 --> 00:40:07,433 some swimming, some flying - 373 00:40:07,838 --> 00:40:10,739 to take advantage of the changing scene. 374 00:40:25,222 --> 00:40:27,713 For the farmers - and for the rice - 375 00:40:27,858 --> 00:40:29,519 this year has been a good one. 376 00:40:44,441 --> 00:40:47,137 The red dragonfly returns from the mountains 377 00:40:47,277 --> 00:40:48,938 to the land where it hatched. 378 00:40:58,021 --> 00:40:59,921 It's time for the people to collect 379 00:41:00,057 --> 00:41:02,753 the rewards of so many months of labor. 380 00:41:15,872 --> 00:41:18,136 As the rice dries in the autumn sun, 381 00:41:18,275 --> 00:41:21,438 the air is full of the scent of hay. 382 00:41:24,348 --> 00:41:28,307 There is now no place here for the giant water-bug. 383 00:41:52,476 --> 00:41:55,843 Other insects are also abandoning the drying fields. 384 00:41:56,179 --> 00:41:58,340 They take to the wing and fly away 385 00:41:58,482 --> 00:42:01,280 in search of the water that they still need. 386 00:42:07,090 --> 00:42:10,389 The reservoirs provide a new home for those water creatures 387 00:42:10,527 --> 00:42:12,518 that once hunted through the rice paddies. 388 00:42:12,662 --> 00:42:16,154 Here they will be able to spend the winter in safety. 389 00:42:50,967 --> 00:42:52,628 As the land changes color 390 00:42:52,769 --> 00:42:55,135 and the autumn leaves fall to the ground, 391 00:42:55,272 --> 00:42:57,740 the pace of life slows. 392 00:43:06,116 --> 00:43:08,744 Tree frogs that hatched out in the rice paddies 393 00:43:08,885 --> 00:43:11,615 have now returned to the nearby woodlands 394 00:43:11,755 --> 00:43:15,657 and prepare to hibernate under a blanket of fallen leaves. 395 00:43:26,970 --> 00:43:28,301 Before the very last puddles 396 00:43:28,438 --> 00:43:30,599 disappear from the harvested fields, 397 00:43:30,740 --> 00:43:33,868 there is one final act of creation. 398 00:43:36,213 --> 00:43:40,149 In a ritual courtship flight, the red dragonflies mate. 399 00:43:40,851 --> 00:43:42,546 The male clasps the female 400 00:43:42,686 --> 00:43:46,884 and she repeatedly dips the tip of her abdomen into the puddles, 401 00:43:47,023 --> 00:43:48,581 depositing her eggs. 402 00:44:07,577 --> 00:44:11,240 The eggs will remain dormant through the bitter cold of winter. 403 00:44:11,915 --> 00:44:14,475 When spring returns and the mountain water flows 404 00:44:14,618 --> 00:44:16,609 once again into these fields, 405 00:44:16,753 --> 00:44:17,913 they will hatch out 406 00:44:18,255 --> 00:44:21,019 and a new generation of savage larvae 407 00:44:21,158 --> 00:44:23,683 will prowl through the waters of the paddies. 408 00:44:26,696 --> 00:44:27,355 For centuries, 409 00:44:27,497 --> 00:44:31,228 persimmon trees have been planted along the rice terraces. 410 00:44:31,635 --> 00:44:35,435 They are an autumn fruit much loved by the Japanese. 411 00:44:38,508 --> 00:44:41,238 They are gathered singly and with great care. 412 00:44:55,892 --> 00:44:59,794 The persimmon trees are essential for the many damselflies 413 00:44:59,930 --> 00:45:02,023 that now gather around their branches 414 00:45:02,165 --> 00:45:03,996 overhanging the rice paddies. 415 00:45:13,109 --> 00:45:14,133 Like the dragonfly, 416 00:45:14,277 --> 00:45:16,939 the damsel too has changed its behavior 417 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:21,210 to take advantage of the landscape created by humanity. 418 00:45:32,696 --> 00:45:35,392 The damselflies lay on these branches, 419 00:45:35,532 --> 00:45:38,865 twisting their ovipositors so that their eggs will be placed 420 00:45:39,002 --> 00:45:41,300 in safety beneath the bark. 421 00:45:58,288 --> 00:46:00,347 And then they die. 422 00:46:01,124 --> 00:46:02,853 When spring comes and the rice paddies 423 00:46:02,993 --> 00:46:04,017 fill once again. 424 00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:05,957 The damselfly larvae 425 00:46:06,096 --> 00:46:08,360 will drop directly into the waters. 426 00:46:14,537 --> 00:46:15,936 In the harvested fields, 427 00:46:16,072 --> 00:46:20,236 the dragonflies indulge in a final bout of egg-laying. 428 00:46:44,868 --> 00:46:46,563 The skinned persimmon fruits 429 00:46:46,703 --> 00:46:49,228 are neatly hung by the farmers' houses. 430 00:46:53,376 --> 00:46:55,139 These, carefully dried, 431 00:46:55,278 --> 00:46:59,078 used to be a valuable winter food for the people of satoyama - 432 00:46:59,349 --> 00:47:01,681 and also a source of much-needed cash. 433 00:47:07,424 --> 00:47:09,654 Today, when food of one kind or another 434 00:47:09,793 --> 00:47:12,227 is easily available all the year round, 435 00:47:12,362 --> 00:47:15,297 fewer farmers bother with the persimmon crop. 436 00:47:23,273 --> 00:47:25,969 Even so, the appearance of the drying fruit 437 00:47:26,109 --> 00:47:28,043 so carefully placed on their racks 438 00:47:28,178 --> 00:47:31,170 is recognized by all Japanese as a sign 439 00:47:31,314 --> 00:47:33,782 that winter is fast approaching. 440 00:47:45,962 --> 00:47:47,395 As the land freezes, 441 00:47:47,530 --> 00:47:51,057 little life is visible in and around the rice fields 442 00:47:51,201 --> 00:47:53,567 which are now covered by a blanket of snow. 443 00:47:54,504 --> 00:47:56,165 Yet there is life there, 444 00:47:56,306 --> 00:47:59,503 hidden and quietly waiting for the renewal that will come 445 00:47:59,642 --> 00:48:02,475 when the waters return once again with the sun. 446 00:48:03,880 --> 00:48:07,281 Winter is also a time of rest for the farmers. 447 00:48:07,684 --> 00:48:10,619 For their lives too are - perforce - attuned 448 00:48:10,754 --> 00:48:12,745 to the natural rhythms around them. 449 00:48:18,995 --> 00:48:20,860 At the edge of this rice field 450 00:48:20,997 --> 00:48:25,024 a small natural spring bubbles out from the ground. 451 00:48:25,568 --> 00:48:27,934 It will remain unfrozen throughout the winter 452 00:48:28,071 --> 00:48:30,096 and at its edge, the local people 453 00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:34,301 place floral offerings to the gods for this gift. 454 00:48:48,691 --> 00:48:52,593 In a muddy bottom, a water scorpion waits, asleep, 455 00:48:52,862 --> 00:48:55,092 neither moving nor breathing. 456 00:49:18,221 --> 00:49:19,711 Winter settles in. 457 00:49:20,290 --> 00:49:22,485 On the edge of a frozen rice paddy, 458 00:49:22,625 --> 00:49:25,492 a farmer's hut stands deserted. 459 00:49:36,706 --> 00:49:38,037 But in a corner, 460 00:49:38,575 --> 00:49:42,170 there is a reminder of the spring that will come. 461 00:49:50,920 --> 00:49:54,185 The chrysalis of a cabbage butterfly. 462 00:50:02,499 --> 00:50:05,400 February. The year has turned. 463 00:50:05,602 --> 00:50:08,935 The faint heat of the distant sun warms the land long enough 464 00:50:09,072 --> 00:50:12,769 for a cold mist to rise from the thawing fields. 465 00:50:13,109 --> 00:50:15,373 Winter is loosening its grip. 466 00:50:16,813 --> 00:50:19,509 Soon work in these fields will resume. 467 00:50:19,949 --> 00:50:21,507 Once again, the mountain water 468 00:50:21,651 --> 00:50:23,915 will flow, the rice will be planted 469 00:50:24,053 --> 00:50:28,080 and visitors from the woods above and the lake below will come back. 470 00:50:28,458 --> 00:50:32,189 Once again, satoyama will be filled with life.