field rice

Issa 1819

Dr.David translation

sakuo comment and renku

There are two kind of rice plant in Japan.
One is rice plant cultivated in water field. It is called water rice, 水稲　suito.
One more is cultivated in upland, i.e. field. It is field rice,陸稲 rikuto.
Diffrence is that water rice needs supplying water but field rice doesn’t need it.

In Edo era main tax was rice. The rice was mainly water rice.
So the government of Edo has severely controlled water rice field that were measured and registered.
Water rice field was hard to conceal from tax collectors.
On the centrally field rice doesn’t need water. So it is planted mountainside where easily hidden from tax collector. It was called “hidden field “