May the force be with you in long-grain

Star Wars: The Force Awakens may not hit the big screen until December, but that hasn't stopped one Japanese village from celebrating the upcoming release with a large display of characters from the iconic series as drawn using rice.

In Inakadate village in Aomori - where locals have been creating artistic rice paddy displays since 1993 to attract tourists - this year's display includes an impressive Star Wars motif created from rice plants.

^{Eagle-eyed Star Wars fans online have noticed the official logo on this design, indicating it was approved by Lucasfilm Picture: AFP/Getty Images}

Typically planting for the rice paddy designs begins in early June and the image will begin to fade by mid August before the harvest in October. The village grows 11 different varieties of rice which helps achieve the depth and shading required for the intricate works, which are designed using computer software to work out how to plant the seeds to create each motif.

"Master Luke, sir. Pardon me for asking, but what should R2 and I do if we're discovered here?" Picture: AFP/Getty Images

This design, capable of taking fans to a galaxy far, far away, was planted with the help of local school children using seven different colours of rice seeds. Near-by rice paddies feature Gone with the Wind and Ted 2 displays.

"We managed to reproduce the world’s most famous film works as rice-paddy art. We hope the works will attract attention," Koyu Suzuki told Japan Times.

^{Visitors enjoy the rice paddy art Picture: AFP/Getty Images}

Marvel at the incredible scale of this year's work as captured by YouTube user Juzji from the observation deck:

Last year's design which featured Mt Fuji, attracted about 250,000 visitors to the area.

Other designs the village has attempted in recent years include Marilyn Monroe and in 2003, the Mona Lisa:

^{Leonardo da Vinci as recreated in rice Picture: AP/Atsuhiko Hase/ Kyodo News}