Rice 101

Before I came to Japan, I didn't have much respect for rice. Most of the rice I'd eaten in the U.S. had been mushy and without much flavor - I much preferred pasta or bread.

Of course in Japan, rice is king. No meal is complete without rice, and the Japanese seem to have a special fondness for their staple food that's beyond anything Americans feel for our cuisine. As one Japanese woman told me, "Even if we have plenty of other food, without rice, we feel like we do not have enough to eat." Even beyond cuisine, rice occupies a privileged place in Japanese culture. In Japanese, the kanji, Chinese character, for man (男) combines the characters for rice paddy (田) and power (カ) - so maleness literally translates to power for the rice paddy. And in general, the character for rice paddy is used in most words or expressions related to rural life - field (畑), village (里), hometown (田舎). The traditional religion Shinto also uses rice, either the grains itself or the straw, as sacred offerings and as a symbol to mark barriers between the external world and the sacred grounds of shrines.

A tori (the barrier marking the entrance of a Shinto shrine) in Takayama adorned with a rice-straw rope

So even though younger Japanese are eating less and less rice (largely due to the influence of Western culture - including the U.S. government's decision during the post-war occupation to add bread to school lunch menus), rice is still an everyday part of living in Japan. As the farm is now starting to prepare for this year's rice crop, I'd like to share a little of what I've learned about rice during my six months in Japan.

First of all, there are several different varieties of the plant itself. Today, most Japanese farmers grow only japonica, which is the short-grain, slightly sticky variety that most of us associate with sushi. Japonica can be eaten as either brown rice (simply removed of its chaff, or outer husk) or white rice (with the bran, the inner husk and the germ, removed by a polishing process). While most people prefer white japonica, unpolished brown japonica has a higher nutritional value. Japonica also comes in a stickier variety, called mochigome, which is used to make the traditional sweet rice cakes known as mochi. In addition to japonica, Japan also produces several heirloom varieties of rice, including black rice and red rice. Of all the varieties, red rice is by far my favorite - it has a lovely bran-like, almost nutty, taste and a slightly sticker texture than normal japonica. Unfortunately, it's also the rarest variety. Even many Japanese had never had red rice before coming to ARI.

Besides being the staple carbohydrate, rice is also processed to create any number of sweets and snacks. Mochigome is pounded into mochi (see pictures below), which can be eaten in any number of ways - as daifuku (my favorite! Soft mochi dumplings with sweet filling), in savory soups, or even with ice cream. Rice is also processed into rice flour, which is used to make sweet dango dumplings or crunchy senbei rice crackers. And of course, we mustn't forget sake, rice wine, which still seems to be the national favorite when it comes to alcohol.

Benjamin (Germany) merrily pounding the mochi during our community mochi-making in January

Aya (Japan) making dumplings from the pounded mochi in the kitchen

An example of traditional mochi sweets (the pink cakes wrapped in leaves on the right) from our inn in Nagano. Delicious!

Colorful kegs of sake at a Shinto shrine in Tokyo

So back to ARI: The rice won't be transplanted to the paddies until May, but we've already started preparing the paddies and the seedlings for the growing season. The farm section worked throughout the winter digging irrigation ditches in the newest ARI paddy; we collected and sieved paddy soil to use for the rice seedlings; and we've already released aigamo (a flightless breed of duck) into one of the paddies as weed management. This weekend, we also selected the rice seeds for the year from the unhusked grains remaining from last year's harvest. Usually, you can use around 30% of harvested rice as seeds for the next crop. This coming week, the farm section will sow the seedlings in the greenhouse, where they can grow in comfort until transplanting in May.

Gussan (Japan) releasing the aigamo into the paddy

As the rice season approaches, I'm constantly surprised, even amazed, by the importance many of the Japanese at ARI attach to the rice harvest. For them, growing rice is about more than just providing food - it's an activity of emotional importance. As the Japanese crops manager told me last week, "To me, sowing the rice every year is a special chance. Who knows how many times in our lives we will have the chance to sow rice - maybe 50, maybe 60 times?" He said he understands other crops, but "rice is a mystery to me. [Even after several years growing rice,] I still don't understand how it works."

Although I don't quite understand the connection he feels to rice, it makes me think that I should be more aware of and more thankful for the food I eat. As we say before every meal in Japan, itadakimasu! (Thank you for what I am about to receive)