By the early 1980s, Ogawa’s production of a massive film about rice and village history was well underway when an unusual cold front caused serious crop damage in Furuyashiki, a village deep in the mountains behind Magino. While penetrating far into the history of the village, Ogawa plays with the conventions of the science documentary to examine the crop damage problem. In this tiny mountain hamlet, he discovers the entire history of Japan – from ancient sea creatures through the catastrophe of WWII to the quiet violence of the economic miracle. As one old man says, “We thought the paved road would bring modernity; instead, it made it easier for the young people to leave.”