On Shiraishi Island, the radish rah-rah starts in December, when you see "o-baa-chans" pushing wheelbarrows full of daikon. The esteemed radish is wheeled around -- entire radish families are given rides. In December and January, they are pulled out of gardens and transported to houses. If you look closely, spying onto islanders' porches, you'll see the remains of the radishes, heads lopped off and handing on one wall, and their bodies shredded and drying on reed mats in the sun.
Says recent Shiraishi visitor and aspiring daikon photographer Chris Thyregod: "Shiraishi gave me an up-close and personal introduction to daikon. It opened my eyes to the aesthetic beauty of the daikon, the abundance and incredibly orderly lifestyle by which these radishes live."
"Rarely found alone," he observed, "and generally lined up in neat rows hanging around drying themselves on bamboo frames, each daikon has its own unique personality and form."