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Japan's Secret Garden
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Program Overview
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NOVA illustrates how the seasonal rhythms of Japan's long-standing
rice paddies—from wet to dry to wet again—has created a
unique environment that sustains a rich variety of animal, insect,
plant, and human life.
The program:
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shows how spring mountain water released into the fields
reawakens dormant life.
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reviews the many species that gather from near and far when the
fields are flooded, a number that eventually will include more
than 1,000 species of insects.
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follows the birth of many species as the days grow warmer.
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explores the predator-prey relationships that take place in the
paddies.
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summarizes the role of the nearby woodlands as a water reservoir
for rain and a source of food, firewood, charcoal, and oak tree
limbs for growing shiitake mushrooms.
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relates how Japanese laborers work the rice paddies and worship
the forces of nature that govern them.
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indicates how, as fall and winter approach, species react in
different ways—by leaving the fields, hibernating, or
depositing eggs that will hatch in spring.
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