The reed grass of Udono are famous for being used to make the hichiriki, an instrument used in gagaku music. To preserve the reeds and eradicate harmful weeds and insects, the reed field burning was carried out from around 1952 or 1953. However, this practice was discontinued after a fire at a farmhouse caused by a leapt fire. After reed field burning was suspended, the wetlands dried out, causing the reeds to decrease rapidly. Burning resumed in February 1975.
These movie films are from Dr. Mitsuru Hotta, a botanist who worked as an assistant professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Kyoto University from 1972 to 1988. They show the scenes of the reed field burning at the time when reed field burning resumed and for several years thereafter.
(Reference) 高槻公害問題研究会. 道鵜の古老は語る. 自然観察会ニュース: 鵜殿のヨシ原. 1981, 特集号1, p.6-13.
