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Savory Kyoto
Essay by Risa Sekiguchi
Rice: Japan's Heart & Soul
Celebrating Inekari, the Rice Harvest
Outside of central Kyoto, the neighborhoods spill out in low-slung traditional buildings topped with slate-colored tile rooftops, and the city's grid-straight streets soften into narrow winding lanes that follow the contours of the surrounding mountains. Here, pagodas and temple roofs punctuate the skyline, and you can still see vegetable farms, patches of forest and the occasional rice paddy. The rice fields' presence on costly land within city limits speaks to their symbolic importance.
Their appearance changes with the seasons; in early spring, flooded with water that mirrors the sky; then dotted with lines of delicate green seedlings in May and graced with leafy, robust upright plants in late summer.
In September, the stalks grow heavy with ripening rice and bend in graceful golden arcs that undulate in cooling autumn breezes. And when the kernels are fully are ripened, it is time for inekari, the rice harvest.
In the not-too-distant past, villagers banded together to harvest these fields by hand. Now, machines accomplish this task in a fraction of the time, but the age-old celebration of the harvest, with its accompanying festivals, continue to this day.
Historians and sociologists say that rice is so important to Japan's culture that its very psyche was molded from the cooperation needed to tend rice fields to maturity. Rice needs a lot of tender care --- from molding the terraced fields to hold water and hoeing the fields, to the planting, which was also once done by hand. Rice was once used as currency and stills figures prominently as a religious symbol of purity and plenty.
The Japanese word for rice, gohan, also means ''meal.'' A meal is just not complete without rice, which at its most basic consists simply of rice, miso soup and pickles. And while rice imported from California may be cheaper, Japanese rice is particularly delicious in a way that is hard to describe. Also, though most chefs and home cooks use electric rice cookers, rice made in a ceramic nabe (pot) is the most delicious of all, and can still be found at select ryotei (traditional restaurants) in Kyoto.
There are many different kinds of rice, but the most popular is pure white and glistening uruchi mai. This is used for sushi, topped with fixings for domburi and served alongside okazu (''things to go with rice'') for breakfast, lunch or dinner every day across Japan. Even the young, who love toast for breakfast and might prefer pasta at times, crave rice when it's missing.
For the health-conscious, hearty, nutty and brown genmai, or half-polished haigamai is popular, while artisanal kurogome (black rice) and red rice are enjoyed by gourmets. Mochi is made with mochigome (sweet rice) which is pounded vigorously to a paste. This is then either dried (to be roasted later) or filled with sweet bean for snacks. Rice is also made into sake and a multitude of other delicious products that make Japanese food so fulfilling.
To celebrate the rice harvest, try some simple onigiri (rice balls) to savor the flavor of each type of rice. The selection pictured here sit atop an antique raku boat-shaped plate that echoes the old rice barges used to that once delivered the precious grain, so vital to the economy and health of the city, on Kyoto's canals.
Types of Japanese Rice
Uruchi mai (white rice)
Genmai (brown rice)
Haigamai (half polished rice)
Kurogome (black or glutinous rice)
Mochigome (sweet rice)
*Visit savoryjapan.com/ingredients/rice.html for more information about Japanese rice. Visit savoryjapan.com/recipes/rice/rice.html for instructions on cooking rice, as well as recipes.
Risa Sekiguchi is the founder of Savory Japan, a website dedicated to Japanese cuisine and culture. Visit savoryjapan.com for recipes, restaurant reviews, chef profiles, travel articles and more.
Photos by Hotaru Images