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Since ancient times, rice cultivation has been considered a special blessing bestowed by the gods, and it is an essential element in Japanese culture, not only as a source of food, but also for nurturing and maintaining health, life, and spirituality.
Rice is rich in nutrients such as complex carbohydrates, protein, and fat, making it an important source of energy. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals that are extremely important for maintaining good health, so a diet that uses rice as the staple food is thought to be one of the secrets to longevity and good health.
The nutritional value and health benefits of rice are as follows:
1. Carbohydrates
The main component of rice is carbohydrates, which are an essential energy source, and also help prevent sudden increases in blood sugar levels and slow the rise in blood sugar levels after meals.
2. B vitamins
Rice is rich in B vitamins, which are useful for maintaining energy metabolism and nerve function, and vitamin B1 in particular is a nutrient necessary for carbohydrate metabolism.
3. Minerals
Rice contains minerals such as calcium and iron, and calcium in particular is a nutrient necessary for the formation of bones and teeth, and iron helps prevent and improve anemia.
4. Dietary fiber
White rice contains almost no dietary fiber, but brown rice is rich in dietary fiber, which not only helps prevent constipation but also improves obesity, prevents and improves high blood pressure, and reduces blood cholesterol levels.
5. Amino acids
Rice is rich in essential amino acids such as leucine and valine, which are nutrients necessary for muscle synthesis and repair.
In Japan, where the climate changes dramatically with each season, harmony with nature is essential for successful rice cultivation, so there is a legend that seven gods reside in each grain of rice, and it is believed that each god works together to bring about an abundant harvest.
The custom of not treating even a single grain of rice carelessly, such as eating every grain of rice in a bowl and carefully picking up any spilled grains, is strongly reflected in food culture, beliefs, and manners, and can be said to have been nurtured by a delicate awareness and respect in life that rice is not just a source of nutrition, but a precious gift from the gods.
In other words, the tradition of rice cultivation is not only a lifestyle but also an extension of a certain ecological ethics. The lifestyle and cultural identity of the Japanese, whose staple food is rice, firmly connects people, land, and food in a single ecological chain, from cultivation to harvest, and from the kitchen to the dinner table.
The seven gods of rice are water, earth, wind, insects, the sun, clouds, and the rice grower (farmers).
1. The first god is water.
Water refers to the abundant water that rice fields need to grow strong and healthy rice plants.
2. The second god is soil.
Nutrient-rich soil, together with water, helps the rice plants grow well.
3. The third god is wind.
Wind refers to the wind that pollinates the rice plants during the one day they do not bloom. This is because rice flowers are said to be wind-pollinated, and the pollen in the stamens is carried by the wind alone without relying on insects for pollination.
4. The fourth god is insects.
Insects do not refer to pests that eat rice, but to beneficial insects that eat pests. These beneficial insects include dragonflies, spiders, and water striders.
5. The fifth god is the sun.
The sun is essential for rice to grow strong and rapidly. Not only the light of the sun, but also the heat it brings is important for rice growth. In fact, when planting rice, the seedlings are planted at a certain distance from each other so that they receive an equal amount of sunlight.
6. The sixth god is the clouds.
Clouds block the sunlight to a moderate degree. Rice plants love the sun, but too much sunlight can damage the leaves.
7. The seventh god is the protector of the growers.
The last god, the grower, struggles to grow rice, going through 88 steps (procedures). That’s why the kanji for rice (米) is composed of the elements 八, 十, 八 (88).
Abundant grain harvests not only satisfy the needs for food, clothing and shelter, but also serve as a spiritual anchor that brings stability and happiness to life. People have expressed gratitude to the earth and reverence for the blessings of nature through rituals to various gods deeply connected to rice cultivation, such as the Harvest Festival, Inari Festival, and Niiname Festival.
In carrying on the traditional rice-growing culture, people have become harmonious with nature, acquiring wisdom such as farming techniques and management methods that adapt to the laws of nature and changes in the weather, and have coexisted with nature while maintaining the balance of the ecosystem, without destroying the environment through human arrogance.
This is because rice fields provide a good living environment for many kinds of organisms such as rice, fish, and insects, and the water is effectively absorbed and used through the root system of the plants, which has the effect of improving the health of the aquatic ecology by purifying the water quality, the rice roots that penetrate deep into the soil provide a habitat for soil microorganisms, the rice straw becomes a home for insects, and many fish can reproduce and survive in the water, forming an ecological chain.
Therefore, rice cultivation, which has been handed down in Japan since ancient times, can be said to be a blessing to all life, including humans, land, birds, animals, insects, and fish, allowing each of them to coexist and prosper as part of nature, and also a bond of time and space that connects the past, present, and future.
In addition, farmers’ lives were largely regulated by a farming calendar centered on rice cultivation, which created a seasonal rhythm with off-seasons and busy farming seasons, and this instilled in them the idea of
Rice cultivation is believed to have been introduced to Japan during the late Jomon period (2000-1000 BC). Until then, people relied on hunting, gathering, and fishing, and it is believed that they overcame the instability of food by preserving nuts. After rice cultivation was introduced, the land for paddy rice cultivation was expanded, which led to an increase in yield and a large increase in population. According to documents from the Edo period, the population was about 100 times that of the Jomon period, suggesting that a large population came to be supported by food production mainly consisting of rice.
In addition, it is said that the consumption of rice improved nutritional status, strengthened the immune system, and improved physical size, which increased survival rates. Poor nutritional status can sometimes leave abnormalities in the bones, which are called Harris lines. Since many of these Harris lines can be found on the bones of people from the Jomon period, it is said that changes in nutritional status over a lifetime are associated with changes in eating habits.
In any case, the spirit of feeling the blessings of heaven and earth in even a drop of water, and not forgetting the hardships of all people in even a single grain of rice, can even be seen in the words casually muttered at the dinner table, “Itadakimasu” before eating, and “Gochisousama deshita” afterwards. These words are not simply ceremonial and polite greetings at mealtimes, but heartfelt expressions of respect and gratitude for the life, labor, and blessings of nature that have been cultivated and nurtured for many years.
Incidentally, the rice that was introduced to Japan during the Jomon period (縄文時代) was a type of Asian rice (Oryza sativa) called Japonica rice, which is characterized by its short, almost circular shape and its sticky, glossy texture when cooked. It is thought to have originated from Fujian rice, which was cultivated in the middle to lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China.
Indica rice is a variety also known as Thai rice, jasmine rice, or basmati rice. It is long and thin, has little stickiness, and is dry and flaky when cooked. It is suitable for cultivation in hot and humid regions, and accounts for 80% of the world’s rice production today.
Javanica rice, also known as Java type, is intermediate between Japonica and Indica in size, taste, and characteristics, and is used in paella and risotto.
It seems that ancient Japanese rice also included glutinous rice, but most was non-glutinous rice, and in the Jomon period, when there was no rice polishing technology, it was roasted and eaten with the husk still on.
By the Yayoi period (弥生時代, c. 10th century BC – c. mid-3rd century AD), rice was incompletely polished, with the husk not yet completely removed, but gradually it became possible to steam or boil rice in earthenware after removing some of the husk.
From the Asuka period (飛鳥時代, 592 – 710) to the Nara period (奈良時代, 710 – 794), rice was polished using a mallet and mortar, but because this took time and effort, white rice was a luxury item only available to the upper classes. Rice grains that have been pounded and polished are called “shirage no yone”, written as “white rice (白米)”. Because it was cooked by steaming, it was hard and was called kowaii (強飯). Even today, red rice made by steaming red beans is called okowa, a vestige of this. It is said that softly boiled porridge was also common.
From the end of the Heian period (平安時代, 794 – 1185), as ceramic and iron kettles became widespread, it became possible to cook rice in a kettles just like today, and because the rice turned out soft, it came to be called himeii (姫飯).
Incidentally, mochi (餅), which is said to have been around since the Yayoi period, is a food made by steaming glutinous rice (糯米, or mochiii), putting it in a mortar and pounding it with a pestle until it becomes sticky, then dividing it into small portions and shaping it. It was considered a divine food in which gods and spirits reside, and was eaten on special occasions such as weddings, funerals, and when entertaining guests.
A particularly representative sacred mochi is the kagami mochi (鏡餅), which is said to have existed since the Nara and Heian periods and is displayed on the tokonoma alcove during New Year’s. It is decorated with skewered persimmons, daidai, yuzu leaves, and kelp on three sides of a fern leaf cover as a yorishiro (依代, a shrine for the god of the year who visits homes during New Year’s). There is also a story recorded in the Fudoki (風土記) that when an arrow was shot at this kagami mochi, it turned into a swan and flew away.
There are theories that the two-tiered Kagami mochi is a substitute for the so-called unleavened bread mentioned in the Old Testament, and that it is called Kagami mochi because it is shaped like a treasure mirror (宝鏡), one of the Three Sacred Treasures (三種の神器, the Yata mirror – 八咫鏡, the Kusanagi sword – 草薙剣, and the Yasakani no Magatama – 八尺瓊勾玉), and these also suggest a connection between Japan, the land of the rising sun, and ancient Judea.
Returning to the topic of how to eat rice, from the Kamakura to Muromachi periods, productivity improved with the development of ox-horse plowing, double-cropping, irrigation facilities using waterwheels, and fertilizers. As more labor was needed, local rules for communal living in villages also emerged.
Around the middle of the Edo period, pots with thick lids became widespread, and delicious ways of cooking rice were established. The “takiboshi method (炊き干し法)” of adjusting the amount of water depending on whether the rice was new or old and cooking until the rice had absorbed all the water was perfected, and it is said that the delicious way of cooking rice that is still used today, known as “Hajime chorochoro naka pappa akago nakutomo futa toruna,” was established around this time, in which the heat is low at the beginning, increased in the middle, and the lid should not be removed halfway through.
It is generally believed that the more time and effort is put into rice, the more valuable it becomes, and as it changes form – from brown rice to white rice, from cooked rice to onigiri, and from onigiri to mochi – the more sublime it becomes, and when it becomes liquid, sake takes on the most sacred form of rice, fit for the gods to drink. Sake made from rice and offered to the gods is called omiki (御神酒, spelled as sake of the gods).
In the legend of the Kojiki (古事記, 712), which tells of the defeat of the eight-headed, eight-tailed monster Yamata-no-Orochi (八岐大蛇), Susanoo-no-Mikoto (須佐之男命) gives Orochi a sake called Yashiori (八塩折之酒), which was brewed eight times with great effort and time, and while Orochi is asleep, he cuts off all eight of Orochi’s heads, bringing peace to the world.
As the popular belief goes, “No god would refuse to drink omiki (omini agaranu kami wa nashi),” sake is indispensable in religious ceremonies and festivals. The custom of gods and people becoming friendly with each other through festivals, and of people opening their hearts and becoming closer to each other during the festivals through the sake offerings made to calm the gods of violence (荒ぶる神) and welcome the gods of peace (和神, yawaragu-kami), deepening the bonds of the community, is still passed down today.
Sake brewing in Japan is said to have begun with rice cultivation, and initially took advantage of the property of amylase in saliva converting starch into sugar. By putting rice in the mouth, chewing it, and then spitting it out into a sake boat or jar, the starch in the rice or grains was converted into sugar, and wild yeasts that adhered to the sugar promoted fermentation, producing alcohol.
In the 5th century, brewing techniques using sake koji (酒麹) were introduced by Suzukori, a master brewer (杜氏, touji) who had come from the Korean Peninsula, and it became possible to make umashi-sake (味酒), and this method is considered to be the origin of modern sake brewing.
In the late Asuka period, a department called the Sakabe (酒部) was established within the Sake Brewery Office (造酒司, sake or miki no tsukasa) of the Imperial Household Ministry, and sake brewing was later systematized by the Taiho Code (大宝律令, 701).
It seems that several types of sake were already being produced during the Manyo period.
* Shiroki (白酒, white sake)
The finished sake is hand-squeezed in a bag made of coarse cloth, and the lees are removed, resulting in a cloudy whitish color.
* Kuroki (黒酒, black sake)
Shiroki mixed with ash made from the roots of a shrub of the Verbenaceae family called “kusagi”.
* Suki-sake (清酒, clean sake)
The clear top layer of shiroki after removing the settled sake lees.
* Nigoreri-sake (濁酒, cloudy sake)
This is what we would call doburoku sake today, and has a porridge-like consistency.
* Aka-sake (赤酒, red sake)
Sake made from red rice that has tannin pigments in the cambium layer. It has a pale pink color, but quickly turns brown.
* Kata-sake (難酒)
Poorly made sake that had already gone sour, turning into vinegar. There was no technology to pasteurize it on the day.
* Atarashi-sake (新酒, new sake)
The same as what we would call shinshu (new sake) today.
* Furu-sake (古酒, aged sake)
Aged sake.
* Kasuyu-zake (糟湯酒)
Made by adding hot water to the lees left over after the shiroki has been removed, this sake has a low aroma, flavor and alcohol content.
As the Kamakura period (鎌倉時代, late 12th century – 1333) began and the monetary economy spread nationwide and distribution became more active, sake brewing began to flourish as an industry, and so-called tsykuri-zakaya (造り酒屋, sake breweries), which produced and sold sake in their own breweries, began to flourish in Fushimi, Kyoto.
In the Muromachi period (室町時代, 1336 – 1573), sake brewers absorbed koji brewers, which had been a separate occupation from sake brewers until then, and by the end of the Oei era (応永年間, 1394 – 1428), the number of sake breweries in Kyoto alone is said to have reached 342. It is also said that temples produced and sold sake. The Sake Diary (Goshu no nikki, 御酒之日記, 1489) contains descriptions of techniques still used today, such as tiered brewing, lactic acid fermentation, heat sterilization by pasteurization, and charcoal filtration.
During the Azuchi-Momoyama period (安土桃山時代, 573-1603), Tamon-in (多聞院), a sub-temple of Kofuku-ji Temple (興福寺) in Nara, is said to have popularized the pasteurization technique (火入れ) to extend the shelf life of sake, which is said to be the world’s first technique for sterilizing sake.
In the Edo period (江戸時代, 1603-1868), advances in brewing techniques improved the quality of sake, including its clarity, and with the development of logistics, sake from Itami, Nada, , Ikeda, and other breweries began to circulate in the city of Edo, and sake began to permeate the lives of ordinary people.
There are many different types of sake, including Seishu (清酒), Junmaishu (純米酒), Daiginjoshu (大吟醸酒), and more, all of which have alcohol content ranging from 15% to 20%, and each has its own unique flavor and characteristics, depending on the variety of rice used, the degree of polishing, the quality of the water, the type of koji, and the brewing process. The taste also changes depending on the temperature, so there are many ways to enjoy sake, including chilled or hot.
Let’s take a look at the main types of sake and their characteristics.
* Junmaishu (純米酒)
This type of sake is made using only rice and rice malt, with no added brewer’s alcohol. It allows you to enjoy the original taste of the rice, and is characterized by its rich aroma and deep flavor.
* Ginjoshu (吟醸酒)
Made by polishing rice to 60% or less, and allowing the addition of a small amount of brewer’s alcohol, it has a fruity, delicate aroma and flavor.
* Daiginjoshu (大吟醸酒)
Made by polishing rice to 50% or less and fermenting it at low temperature for a long time, it has a very gorgeous aroma and a complex, refined flavor. It requires very high skill to produce.
* Honjozoshu(本醸造酒)
Made by polishing rice to 70% or less and adding brewer’s alcohol. It has a well-balanced flavor, and is generally in the relatively reasonable price range for sake.
* Tokubetsu Honjozoshu (特別本醸造酒)
This sake is made with even more attention to quality than regular Honjozo, with a higher rice polishing ratio and the use of special yeast, resulting in a fruity aroma and flavor.
* Junmai Ginjoshu (純米吟醸酒)
This is a Junmai sake made using the ginjo method, with no added brewing alcohol and a low rice polishing ratio of 60% or less, resulting in a gorgeous aroma and delicate flavor.
* Junmai Daiginjoshu (純米大吟醸酒)
Junmai Daiginjoshu is the highest quality sake, with an extremely refined aroma and flavor, achieved by polishing the rice even lower than Junmai Ginjoshu, to 50% or less, and fermenting it at low temperatures for a long period of time.
In addition to these, there are a wide variety of types, including unpasteurized sake (生酒, kizake or namazake), nigori sake (にごり酒, unfiltered), and aged sake (古酒).
Sake brewing includes many steps that are not included in wine making. The sake brewing process is complex, delicate, and sacred, based on the unique techniques and philosophies of each toji (杜氏), but the following are the basic steps.
1. Selection and polishing of rice
The rice used as raw material is selected from varieties known to be suitable for sake brewing. Polishing is the process of scraping off the outer layer of the rice, and the type of sake changes depending on the amount of polishing. The lower the polishing rate, the less outer protein there is and the purer the sugar content.
2. Washing, soaking and steaming
The polished rice is washed, soaked in water for an appropriate amount of time, and then steamed. This steamed rice is the base for making koji, which is made by adding koji mold, and moromi, which is made by adding yeast.
3. Preparation
The koji, steamed rice, water and yeast are mixed together to make moromi. This moromi is fermented for several days to several weeks. Temperature control is very important during the fermentation process, and this greatly affects the taste of the sake.
4. Squeezing
The fermented moromi mash is placed in a cloth bag and pressure is applied to squeeze out the liquid. This squeezed liquid is sake. The way it is squeezed out also affects the taste of the sake.
5. Pasteurization
It is common to pasteurize (火入れ) the sake once after squeezing. This stabilizes the quality and allows it to be stored for a long time.
6. Aging
The sake is aged for a certain period before being bottled, and the flavor becomes more mellow and rich during this period.
Wakoku (倭国, or Yamataikoku – 邪馬台国), with Himiko (卑弥呼) as queen, is believed to have been founded in the 3rd century, and it is believed that a society with rice farming at the center of life and economy was already formed around this time.
Yui (結) is a custom in which groups were formed within neighborhoods within a village and people exchanged labor due to the need for communal labor, rural communities, and water management associated with rice cultivation, but at the same time it formed the foundation of Japanese society and came to have power to control people and society.
This is because rice has a higher yield than any other cultivated plant, and those who possess rice were able to gain wealth and power very quickly. It is generally said that rice can be harvested from one grain to about 200 grains, while wheat can only produce about 20 grains, and while rice can be cultivated twice a year, wheat cannot be cultivated continuously and a three-field system is used, so rice is said to have at least 10 times the yield of wheat.
In other words, controlling the rice-growing land and farmers through military force and policy led to gaining wealth and power, and ultimately created a social class structure consisting of a ruling class and non-ruling classes.
By the Asuka period (飛鳥時代), after the Yamato court (大和朝廷) had largely unified the country, the court established Miyake (storehouses) all over the country as directly managed cultivated land, implemented the Jori system (条里制) to divide rice paddies into orderly plots, allocated a certain area of
During the Nara period (奈良時代, 710-794), the enactment of the Konden Eien Shizai Law (墾田永年私財法) allowed rice fields that people had cultivated to remain privately owned forever, and the public land and public citizen system was effectively destroyed. However, wealthy aristocrats and temples continued to hire peasants to cultivate the land, increasing their private land and further strengthening their power.
During the Heian period (平安時代, 794-185), the taxes (租) paid were used for Imperial Court ceremonies such as the Niiname-sai and Daijo-sai festivals, and as salaries and food for the people serving at the Imperial Court. Even in the Middle Ages, manor lords collected rice, as well as grains, local specialties, and handicrafts, as annual taxes from peasants.
The Edo Shogunate (江戸幕府, 1603-1868) inherited the land survey system of the Toyotomi era and established the Shogunate system. In the rice yield system based on this land survey, not only the paddy fields but also the fields and house sites were included in the rice yield and calculated, and the rice yield for each domain was determined based on that. The status of samurai was also determined by the amount of rice yield, and peasants were divided into those who owned land (高持百姓) and those who did not own land (水呑百姓), and the village yield was also determined for each village. In this way, feudal society was maintained through economic exploitation based on rice production and the fixation of the social class system.
Feudal lords and domains used the rice they collected as tax from the peasants to sell as a source of revenue, so rice wholesalers flourished in the major rice distribution centers of Edo, Osaka, and local port towns, and wealthy merchants who distributed and transported rice also emerged.
In the Edo period, rice was the basis of the economy, so there was a need to stabilize price fluctuations, and rice futures trading was born. Futures trading was mainly carried out at the Dojima Exchange (堂島取引所) in Osaka, which made it possible to predict price fluctuations and buy and sell rice without actually holding it in hand, and played an important role as a means of managing the risk of price fluctuations. The Dojima Exchange played a role in maintaining the fairness of transactions and ensuring price transparency, and is said to have been used by farmers, merchants, and feudal domains as a means of reducing rice price risk.
The system of paying rice as tax was abolished in the Meiji period (明治時代, 1868-1912) with the land tax reform, and instead, people were required to pay a tax in currency equivalent to 3/100 of the land price calculated from land revenue.
Let’s go back to the topic at the beginning.
Rice cultivation, which was introduced in ancient times, was not just a production technique for agricultural products, but also became an important factor in shaping Japanese society, economy, and culture. It also made it possible to live a settled life and awakened people to the idea of
In the case of Japan, rice came to be placed at the center of the daily meal as a staple food, and it was not only the most commonly consumed source of nutrition, but also led to its sublimation as a food ingredient at the center of culture, a crop that was the axis of the economy, and an object of time, labor, and prayer.
Furthermore, the use of rice as a staple food determined the form of domination and options in social life based on agriculture, which was imprinted with conditions such as geography, climate, ethnicity, and regional history.
* Grow instead of catch
* Store instead of search
* Process instead of eat as is
Rice provides a place for humans and nature to coexist, and humans have entrusted their lives to rice.
In other words, grains have the advantage of being able to be dried and stored and taken out when needed, so by making rice the staple food, people could add planning to their diet. While this created a relationship in which grains bound and restrained humans, it also led to the rise of unique cultures and civilizations that made use of the characteristics and climate of each region.
Furthermore, as the concepts of control and ownership took root and labor and distribution based on communal living emerged, it became possible for each family unit to live a settled life without daily fear of food depletion. In this sense, staple foods are not just food and a source of nutrition, but the very institution that builds a communal society.
When cooking rice, the aroma of rice rises along with the steam, and one feels enveloped in a warm, gentle, and somewhat nostalgic atmosphere.
It is a moment when memories of the topography, climate, customs, culture, prayers, systems, and rule that have been passed down from the distant past are evoked, and the original landscapes woven into time, and the identities, feelings, and ethics imprinted in culture are revived. How to appreciate it, with whom to share it, and what kind of memories to leave behind, we are invited on an eternal timeline that connects to the future.
Sincerely grateful for your financial support.
Sources and references:
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Marching into Oblivion (Part One)
Marching into Oblivion (Part Two)
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