Crop circles are elegant, certainly, but rice paddy art is a more brilliant version of field image.

And the form is reaching “new heights of sophistication”, according to a report in the Japanese Asahi Shimbun:

“Rice paddy art,” which the village of Inakadate claims to have pioneered in 1993, has been evolving into a sophisticated form with the increasing addition of rice plants in diverse colors and improved techniques to present intricate designs.

This year’s themes in Inakadate are “the goddess of mercy” and “the god of fire,” to be interpreted in rice paddies measuring 143 x 104 meters …

The “Mona Lisa,” the subject of 2003, marked a major turning point.

When seen from a distant popular viewing deck, the iconic smile of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous muse was disproportionately small. Ever since, the rice paddy pictures have been created so as to look perfect from the deck, with the section farthest away made deliberately larger and the nearest smaller.

The rice paddy art is now a major draw for the village, bringing more than 100,000 visitors a year.

Complex.com has a collection of startling examples here. Watch a time-lapse video of rice paddy art being made here.