Terashima K, Akita S, Sakai N (1992) Eco-physiological characteristics related with lodging tolerance of rice in direct sowing cultivation. Jpn J Crop Sci 61:380–387 (in Japanese with English summary) It is noteworthy that the advantages of Koshihikari have gradually become clear during its dissemination throughout Japan. Its strong cold tolerance during the booting stage was identified in paddy fields irrigated with cold water in northern regions (Ozeki et al. 1995), and Hosoi ( 1989) found that this was relatively strong on the basis of the critical low temperature at which a cultivar is able to produce at least 80% of perfectly mature grains, although Koshihikari was selected without a prior evaluation for cold tolerance. This strong cold tolerance during the booting stage was inherited by Hitomebore and Akitakomachi (Fig. ​ (Fig.1, 1, Fig. ​ Fig.3); 3); these cultivars have frequently resisted damage from cold weather in northern regions of Japan.

Japanese rice is just rice, but if you add a vinegar/sugar/salted mixture, it is now ‘sushi rice’ ( shari su/sumeshi) which translates to ‘su’ (vinegared) and ‘meshi’ (rice). Sakai N, Saito M, Taniguchi T, Tuchiya M, Nakazawa K, Yanagisawa K, Fujisawa K, Sodeyama E (2000) Growth and yield of Koshihikari on direct hill-seeding combined pudding with seeding operation. Hokuriku Crop Sci 35:41–43 (in Japanese) In the Edo period, the farmers had to pay their tax to their feudal lords by way of supplying rice. So the prosperity of the feudal lords was expressed by the amount of rice, using the largest unit ‘ koku‘ (石) .Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes, including vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions. More Rice Recipes You Might Like The name comes from “koshi” which comes from the character “越” and is the first character of “Echizen (越前)”, the old name for Fukui prefecture and also the first character for “Echigo (越後)”, which is the old name for Niigata Prefecture. “Hikari” means “light” and apparently comes from the hope that the future of Niigata’s agriculture will “shine like a brilliant light”. In 1956, the average paddy yield of Koshihikari ranged from 4940 to 5440 kg/ha according to an unpublished breeding report by the Fukui Agricultural Experiment Station. During the cultivar’s dissemination throughout Japan, many cultivation techniques have been developed to prevent lodging, increase yield, and retain the high eating quality. These include transplanting of younger seedlings to increase the duration of the growing season (Horiguchi et al. 1991); improving water management by allowing soil drying during growth to suppress excessive culm elongation; diagnosing growth problems using the culm length, leaf color, and culm number (Sasaki 1985, Ichimaru and Kanayama 1989); splitting the application of fertilizer during the reproductive stage (Matsuzaki et al. 1982, Ikeda and Kasai 1986, Sasaki 1985); and using growth regulators (Hashizume and Yamagishi 1969). As a result, the paddy yield of Koshihikari increased to 6630 kg/ha by 1985 in the Hokuriku region. Recently, delayed transplanting time (Yamaguchi et al. 2004, Morita et al. 2011) and the use of deep irrigation (Chiba et al. 2011) have been adopted to avoid heat-induced declines in the quality of rice kernels during the ripening period. Direct seeding of Koshihikari has been tried, but it has large disadvantages because it produces long culms and a higher lodging rate (Sakai et al. 2000, Sato and Sakai 2004). Agronomic characteristics of Koshihikari

Japanese people love anything fluffy, like fluffy pancake and fluffy bread. But never ever fluffy rice. Perfectly cooked rice is shiny and firm but perfectly cooked through. It is like how the Italians fuss about cooking pasta al dente professionally. Tanaka K, Honda T, Ishikawa R (2010) Rice archaeological remains and the possibility of DNA archaeology: examples from Yayoi and Heian periods of northern Japan. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 2:69–78

If you want more color or nutrition in your rice, you can mix these grains. You can add a couple of tablespoons when soaking the rice. Currently, there are about 600 varieties of rice registered domestically in Japan, and about 260 varieties are produced as a staple food. If you consider just crops, the top 10 varieties occupy almost 80% of the total crop area. Of those, Koshihikari (コシヒカリ) takes up an impressive 30%. The next is Hitomebore (ひとめぼれ) at 9.4%. After that is Hinohikari (ひのひかり) with 8.9%. Akitakomachi (あきたこまち) is 7.0%. Nanatsuboshi (ななつぼし) is at 3.5% and the top 5 have not changed for the past few years. These varieties are the types of rice that consumers to eat at home. This rice is also a great choice for those who are looking for a rice that is both traditional and modern. Japanese immigrants brought this coveted variety of rice with them during the Gold Rush in the mid 1800’s. With similar clay soils and growing climates, Japanese farmers learned to grow their Koshihikari variety of rice in the Central Valley of Northern California. The tradition continues through generations of rice farmers so you can enjoy Hinode Koshihikari premium short grain rice across the Pacific. Soaking time should be more than 30 minutes. You can easily see the difference between before and after soaking in the picture above (The one after soaking will turn a pure white color).

Chiba M, Matsumura O, Terao T, Takahashi Y, Watanabe H (2011) Effect of deep planting and deep-flood irrigation on the yield and quality of rice. Jpn J Crop Sci 80:312–325 (in Japanese with English summary) Koshihikari was first created in 1956 by combining 2 different strains of Nourin No.1 and Nourin No.22 at the Fukui Prefectural Agricultural Research Facility. It is one of the most highly grown varieties of rice in Japan [1] and is exported to other countries as a premium product. [2] Sukekiyo Y, Hayashi Y, Yahiro Y (1995) Production of a unique rice variety ‘Yumegokochi’ by protoplast breeding method and its application for commercial use. Research J Food and Agric 26:44–47 (in Japanese) Iwata T (1992) A report on a japonica rice variety ‘Koshihikari’ cultivated in foreign countries. Hokuriku Crop Sci 27:90–93 (in Japanese)

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Mochimugi: It's chewy barley. The dietary fiber is 20 times more than white rice. It's getting popular as diet food. Ise K, Akama Y, Horisue N, Nakane A, Yokoo M, Ando I, Hata T, Sito M, Numaguchi K, Nemoto H et al (2001) ‘Milky queen’, a new high-quality rice cultivar with low amylose content in endosperm. Bull Natl Inst Crop Sci 2:39–61 (in Japanese with English summary)

With the increasing cultivation of Koshihikari in Japan, several good agronomic characteristics beyond its high eating quality became apparent, such as its good adaptation to different environments, tolerance to pre-harvest sprouting, and cold tolerance during the booting stage. Shokumi Ranking Evaluation Koshihikari ( Japanese: コシヒカリ, 越光, Hepburn: Koshihikari ) is a popular cultivar of Japonica rice cultivated in Japan as well as Australia and the United States.The rice genome sequence was decoded in 2005 (IRGSP 2005). After this breakthrough, many of the agriculturally important genes were identified by advanced research institutes around the world. In parallel, researchers have aimed to understand the breeding history and characteristics of Koshihikari by using DNA markers. The capacity of the cup is 180ml / 6.1 fl oz, which is much smaller than the standard measuring cup. It is an odd volume as a metric unit, but it is not so odd if you think about the history of Japan. The next section explains the reason for it.