Rice and Japanese
Culture
By Yoko Kano
June 29, 2004 at Duke University “What do you know about Asia.”
Rice
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2043.html
http://www.japansake.or.jp/sake/english/ (sake association web site)
http://www.sake-world.com/ (Land+Rice+Water+People+heart
= sake)
http://www.carleton.ca/~bgordon/Rice/papers/heyem98.htm (rice in China and
Japan)
http://www.jinjapan.org/nipponia/nipponia16/bon.html
Onigiri (rice
balls)
More related web sites:
Dango
(rice dumplings)
(Japanese saying: Hana yori
dango = rice dumpling rather than flower = describing
practical people)
http://www.japan-101.com/dining/dining_dango.htm
http://www.jinjapan.org/kidsweb/cool/99-01-03/dango.html A popular song “Dango
San Kyoodai”
Sake (rice wine)
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/japanese_directory_detail.php?category_id=14
http://www.din.or.jp/~stronger/en/jsake2.htm
(various brands)
http://www.sushiandtofu.com/sushi_and_tofu/food_lecturesOnSake_lesson02_0308.htm (sake Q and A)
Rice
products
- Nuka (rice bran with salt) for vegetable
pickles
Nuka-zuke are made by pickling vegetables in a paste of rice bran (kome-nuka) and salt. Japan is the only country that pickles
vegetables in rice bran; even other rice-eating countries like China or Indonesia
have not developed this preservation method. Bran is rich in vitamins B1 and
B2 - and so, therefore, are the vegetables pickled in this healthy mixture.
The best-known rice bran pickles are takuan-zuke
and nuka-zuke (pickles).
http://www.kikkoman.com/contents/forum/008/ff008.html
http://www.angelfire.com/yt/cack/diy/glue.html (how to make it)
A type of glue
(actually a paste) prepared by boiling ground rice in soft water. The resulting
adhesive is white in colour and dries to a film that is almost transparent.
More related web
sites:
http://japanesefood.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bento.com%2Ftaste%2Ftc-pick.html (a story about experiencing of making nuka-zuke pickles)
Rice and Cultural Identity
Rice Cultivation
- Irrigation system
- Planting and Harvesting at the same time
- Shared labor
Cultural Identity
- Shared destiny
- Harmony (wa)
and good long relationship with neighbors = avoid confrontation
- Consensus seeking (Ringi
system)
- Feeling of dependency (Amae)
Asian Hats & rice
production
http://www.asiarice.org/sections/gallery/gallery6-1.html
Rice and language
- Gohan = Cooked rice
- Gohan = Meals
- Asagohan = morning meal = breakfast
- Hirugohan = afternoon meal = lunch
- Bangohan = evening meal = supper
- Mizu ho no kuni =
water stalk (or rice) country
- Beikoku = rice country = USA
Rice in Greetings, Meanings, and Symbolism
In Bangladesh, China and Thailand, instead of "How are you?" a common greeting is,
"Have you eaten your rice today?"
Also in China, at
the beginning of the new year, people do not say,
"Happy New Year!" but "May your rice never burn!"
In Japan,
people did not think in terms of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but rather
morning rice (asa gohan),
afternoon rice (hiru gohan),
and evening rice (ban gohan).
In Taiwan, China, &
Japan death is symbolized by chopsticks stuck into a mound of rice.
In Singapore,
a good job is an iron rice bowl, and being out of a job, a broken rice bowl.
In Japan,
auto titans are even rooted in the rice fields: Toyota means
bountiful rice field and Honda means main rice field.
In Lao PDR and Thailand,
the phrase for eating rice is synonymous with eating food.
Sources: W.W.
Williams, "From Asia’s Good Earth," Hemispheres, December 1996. IRRI,
Sustaining Food Security Beyond the Year 2000,
Medium-Term Plan 1998-2000, 1997
Rice and Emperor
- Shinto rituals and festivals
http://www.asiarice.org/sections/whatsnew/Japan24.html
November 23rd,
Labour Thanksgiving Day
Originally a Shinto celebration, Niinamesai, when the
Emperor gave thanks for the year's rice harvest to a Shinto god. Currently a day of thanking laborers for
their hard work during the year. On this day the Emperor makes an offering
of newly harvested rice to God, and sends messengers that bring this year's
first harvest into Ise Jingu
shrine, the Japan's main shrine. People generally give thanks for the benefits of
labour.
http://www.isejingu.or.jp/english/shinto/shinbody.htm
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2135.html
More related web site:
Shinto (Japanese native religion)
http://www.thelema.net/hml/00Shinto/chap_16.html
Rice as money-substitute
- Rice as tax from farmers
- Measurement of wealth/ asset of Daimyo
(war/feudal lords)
- Salary to samurai from Daimyo
http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english_htmls/feature_gra1-6.htm
(Money during Edo period. They are called Oban, koban, etc.)
Rice and Politics
- Power of votes to choose politicians
- Rice sale controlled by the government
- Beika = price paid for rice
Rice and feeling toward it
- Furusato (hometown)
- Place where rice is (or was) grown
- Rice Paddle = mother
Rice and Folktales
- The Tongue-Cut Sparrow (Shita kiri suzume)
- Rolling Rice Ball (Omusubi
kororin)
- Moon viewing in September
Rabbit pounding rice cake on Moon
Moon viewing rice dumpling (Tsuki mi dango)
http://www.thelema.net/hml/00Shinto/chap9.html
***
More related web
sites:
http://www.samidori.ed.jp/15report/9-11otukimi.htm (photos of students learning about moon viewing in Japan)
Moon Festival in
China http://www.chinavista.com/experience/moon/moon.html
Rice and other associated issues
- How to use chopsticks and manner
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2039.html
http://mothra.rerf.or.jp/ENG/Hiroshima/Things/85.html
***
(making
noise is fine)
Other references
Rice:It’s more than just a
food
http://www.indiana.edu/~japan/digest6.html
A Lesson Plan
http://www.riceromp.com/teachers/lessonContent.cfm?pId=153
Today’s
rice tasting at the seminar
Rice and rice products with the followings;
- Nori (sea weed
sheets)
- Furikake (flavored flakes over rice)
- Mochi (made from
sticky sweet rice) with Kinako (soy bean power) and sugar
- Isobe yaki = Mochi with Nori and Shoyu (soy sauce)
- Dango (dumplings from
rice flour) and azuki (sweet read bean)
Others: Nori (sea vegetables/weeds)
http://www.stashtea.com/sw-faq.htm
http://www.sushiandtofu.com/sushi_and_tofu/food_healthNori6_0308.htm
(nori, rice, breakfast) Nori seaweed is
high in fibre, vitamins, protein and minerals. Nori
seaweed provides calcium and iron and contains other important trace minerals. Nori is traditionally eaten to strengthen the circulatory
system and help lower cholesterol.
http://www.mountfuji.co.uk/seaweed.htm
http://202.186.86.35/kuali/recipes/sweed.html
(Benefit of seaweed)
Japanese National
Holidays and annual events
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2062.html
- January
1-3 New Year (shogatsu):
This is the most important national holiday in Japan. (Rice: Pounded sweet rice cake)
- Second Monday of January Coming of Age (seijin
no hi):
The coming of age of 20 year old men and women is celebrated.
- February 3
Beginning of spring (setsubun) (not a national holiday)
People enjoy throwing beans at evils called “oni”
to invite happiness into home.
- February 11
National Foundation Day (kenkoku kinenbi):
According to the earliest Japanese history books, on this day in the year
660 BC the first Japanese emperor was crowned.
- February 14 Valentine's Day (not a national holiday)
In Japan, women give chocolates to men on
Valentine's Day.
- March
3 Doll's (or girls) Festival (hina matsuri) (not a national holiday) Girls will celebrate their well-being by
decorating dolls. (Rice: Hishi
mochi)
- March 14
White Day (not a
national holiday)
The opposite of Valentine's Day: Men give cakes or chocolates to
women.
- March 21 Spring
Equinox Day (shunbun no hi) (not a national
holiday)
Graves are visited during the week (ohigan) of the Equinox Day. The day itself is a
national holiday. (Rice:
Rice cakes as offerings)
- April 29
Green Day (midori no hi)
Emperor Showa's birthday.
- May 3 Constitution Day (kenpo kinenbi)
National holiday remembering the new constitution that was put into effect
after the war. The week from April 29 through May 5
are called “Golden Week.”
- May 4 "Between Day"
(kokumin no kyujitsu)
Recently created national holiday to make the Golden Week a continuous holiday.
- May 5 Children's
Day (kodomo no hi)
Also called boy's festival. (Rice: Chimaki)
- July 7 Star
Festival (tanabata) (not a national holiday)
People write wishes on a paper and hang from Bamboo and wish for a
legendary couple to have an annual meeting over Milky way in the sky, who
were separated by a god.
- Third Monday of July Ocean Day (umi
no hi)
A recently introduced national holiday to celebrate the ocean. The day
marks the return of Emperor Meiji from a boat trip to Hokkaido in 1876.
- July/August Obon
Obon is a festival to commemorate the deceased
ancestors. Usually around August 13-15.
(Rice: Rice cakes
as offerings)
- Third Monday of September Respect for the Aged Day (keiro no hi)
Respect for the elderly and longevity is celebrated on this national
holiday.
- September Moon viewing
Rabbit
pounding rice cake on Moon (Rice:
rice dumpling, called Tsuki mi dango)
- September
23 Autumn Equinox Day (shubun no
hi)
Graves are visited during the week (ohigan) of the Equinox Day. The day itself is a
national holiday. (Rice: Rice cakes
as offerings)
- Second Monday of October Health and Sports Day (taiiku no hi)
On that day 1964, the Olympic games of Tokyo were opened.
- November 3
Culture Day (bunka no hi)
A day for promotion of culture and the love for freedom and peace. On the
culture day, schools and the government award certain persons for
their special, cultural activities.
- November 15
Seven-Five-Three (shichi go san) (not a national holiday)
A festival for children whose age are 7, 5, or 3.
- November
23 Labour Thanksgiving Day (kinro kansha no hi)
A national holiday for honouring labour. (Emperor’s rice harvest to Ise
Shrine as an offering to God)
- December 23
Emperor's Birthday (tenno no tanjobi)
The birthday of the current emperor is always a national holiday. If
the emperor changes, the national holiday changes to the birthday date of
the new emperor.
- December 24-25
Christmas (not a
national holiday)
Even though they are not Christian, it is celebrated by an increasing
number of Japanese.