In Japanese, there are two words for rice: okome which is uncooked rice and gohan which is cooked rice. In fact, rice is such an important part of the Japanese diet that the word gohan also means a meal. For example, asa-gohan means breakfast or literally, "morning meal", hiru-gohan means lunch or "noon meal" and yoru-gohan means dinner or "evening meal".

Rice was first introduced to Japan from Korea and China sometime during the first century A.D. and was primarily farmed in northern Kyushu. Over the centuries, rice production spread throughout the country and became the basis of Japan’s economic, social and political structure. Feudal Japan functioned much like medieval Europe where farmers paid taxes to feudal lords in the form of crops. In Japan, taxes were levied based on the amount of rice produced or koku (one koku equaling approximately 5 bushels). For this reason, the more land a feudal lord controlled, the richer he became which led to many years of political conflict throughout Japan. In fact, until 1868, rice was Japan’s basic economic unit much like gold had been in Europe. Unlike in Europe, however, the farmer's social station was quite high. The social ladder was structured with the Emperor and ruling class on the top, then the samurai, then the farmer and at the bottom were the merchants and service class. It is interesting to note how the social designation of the merchant class has changed after the second World War with the emergence of such trading company giants as Mitsui, Mitsubishi, etc.

Since food, namely rice, was in such short supply after World War II, the government enacted land reforms which confiscated land from non-farming landowners and turned it over to tenant farmers. Then in the 1960's vast numbers of young farmers migrated to the metropolitan areas in search of manufacturing related jobs. In 1960, 13.4 million people were engaged in farming but by 1995 that number had declined to 3.4 million. Today, only about 5% of the population is engaged in farming. Because rice continues to be the mainstay of the Japanese diet and because it is of such great historical and cultural significance, in order to preserve this industry, the government subsidizes rice farming. Rice is purchased by the government at a fixed price five times that of fair market value and then resold to dealers at a loss. For this reason, almost all of the rice consumed in Japan is grown domestically and surpluses are not typically exported. Japan has reached a self-sufficiency rate of 102% when it comes to this highly valued crop which is higher than for any other agricultural product.

Japanese rice comes in several forms, but the most popular is the short grained "sticky rice" which is used almost exclusively in all Japanese cuisine including sushi. Another form of sticky rice which is even more sticky than the first is called mochi-gohan and it is used in the making of rice cakes and certain traditional New Year's dishes.

How to make Japanese Rice

Japanese rice can be made on top of the stove or in a rice cooker. In either case the rice is first rinsed thoroughly and drained. The proportion of water to rice is a little bit more than1 to 1 meaning that 2 and 1/5 cups of water is added to 2 cups of rice. When cooking rice in a pot on top of the stove, the pot is covered, brought to a boil, then the temperature is lowered so the rice can simmer until all the water is absorbed being careful not to burn the rice. This usually takes about 20 minutes. The rice is then taken off the heat and allowed to steam for about 10 minutes. When using a rice cooker, as long as the water to rice ratio is correct, perfect rice is achieved with the push of a button. Whether steaming rice in a rice cooker or on top of the stove, it is VERY important to exercise caution when opening the lid and allow the steam to escape because you can get burned easily. Whether from a rice cooker or a pot, rice is generally served with a rice paddle (oshamoji) which has been dipped in water to help prevent the rice from sticking to it. Perhaps the most important thing to remember when eating rice is to be sure to eat every last grain because wasting rice is looked upon with particular disfavor.