Some ploblems of rice

Hello, everyone. This is a last time. Today, I will talk about some problems of rice.

First, modern Japanese don’t eat too much rice because kind of staple food has increased in Japan. It has begun to change Japanese life style since around 1965. Many foods is importing from abroad. They began to eat a lot of meat and fish. Opportunity to eat rice was reduced. So people began a new attempt.  

It is rice flour. It looks similar to wheat flour. It is used instead of wheat flour. Bread using rice flour is soft and delicious. However it culture is not yet well known for the Japanese. It will be also used for other foods.

Second, the number of rice farmers has decreased in Japan. On 2010, the number of rice farmers is about 1159 million in Japan.　

Japanese fermers

Old people will do most of the agriculture. Rice farmers have a hard time every day. They can’t lest because they need to make a delicious rice. In addition, making rice isn’t profitable. So they need to do other works. For example, they do both agricultural and company work. They must have a lot of money to create the environment. Please remember to see week 4. Japanese young people will not want to do the farming.

People start some campaigns in order to increase the farmers. Farmers give rice fields cheaply to young people who are interested in rice farming. And the Japanese government will help people to start rice farming. There are also plans to export rice to other countries but the problem has not been solved yet. This is a very difficult problem.

the article of Fukushima's rice

Third, we were faced with a big problem on March 11. It is the nuclear accident of Fukushima. It gave a heavy blow to farmers. Harmful substance has got off to a rice field. They will not be able to harvest rice. It will take a long time to clean the rice fields. We haven’t found ways how to resolve yet. However the rice farmers want to go back Fukushima someday. I’m praying that their wishes come true.

Japanese are having a lot of problems but we will continue to eat in the future. Japanese can’t live without rice.

Thank you for reading all my articles. It was difficult for me but I could get a lot of knowledge about rice. I hope you eat rice in Japan if you haven’t eaten rice. You will be able to understand a little about the culture of Japan. Food and culture are closely involved.

Goodbye, and please attention to your body.

The festival of rice

Hello, everyone. Today, I will talk about Japanese festivals of rice. Rice is important things for Japanese, so people have held many festivals of rice in Japan.

title of roce festival

It is the harvest festivals. Thanks to the God, people can harvest a lot of rice. They hold it festival because they deeply appreciate the God`s cooperation. The festivals hold in fall.

The young women take a little rice and offer it to the God. Japanese called “saotome” to them. And people march with “mikoshi,” and give a feast. The God get on mikoshi. It is big and so many men carry it together. The lively marching is old habit.

A large festival takes place in Niigata. Niigata is the place to take a lot of rice. It name is “Kome-hyappyou Festival.” Kome-hyappyou means a lot of rice. Pyou is a unit for measuring the weight of the rice. This festival has to do with war that took place 140 years ago. The people wearing kimono do the parade. They can learn about the history and rice.

Kome-hyappyou Festival

Recently, Japanese also held a new kind of festival. There was the rice festival in November 2012. It was held in Yokohama. It seems like a theme park. The guests will choose their favorite rice from a lot of kind rice. They are only the famous rice. And then they buy and eat the favorite side dishes with rice. They are many kinds from meat to vegetables. The people can find out how to eat delicious rice. At the festival has been held the stage event.

I am sure it would be fun. You also try to join these festivals if you have time.

The next article is the last. I will talk about some problems of rice. Please look forward to next time. See you!

Rice using dishes

Hallo. I will talk about rice using dishes. Rice using dishes are eaten a lot outside of Japan too. There are so interesting. These are a lot of it in the world. I will show you it.

sakura-mochi

First, it is “ohagi.” It was a valuable food a long time ago. Ohagi looks like rice balls, but it is refreshments. Japanese often eat it with bean paste. “Sakura-mochi” is similar it. Sakura means cherry blossoms. Sakura-mochi is pink and smells so good. It is wrapped in cherry leaves. It is eaten in the spring.

Second, “okayu” is very famous food in Southeast Asia. It is mushy rice. Japanese eat it when be sick, but Chinese eat it at any time. People used it instead of an oral medicine, because it is easily digestible food. In Japan, people eat special okayu when January 7^th. It is a traditional habit. It habit came from China. People make okayu with 7 kinds of wild herbs. Why Japanese eat it? Their stomachs get tired because they take part in the New Yare parties. They think it is important traditional habits.

oiri

Third, it is “oiri.” Oiri is rice using snack looks like jewel, so it is very beautiful. In my hometown, a newly married couple hand out it to guests when the wedding ceremony. That habit began in four hundred years ago. When the princess is marriage, farmers gave rice using snacks like oiri. Oiri is rounded, so it has meaning that the bride clean hers mind and do housework seriously. Oiri is the symbol of good bride.

Chinese eat rice noodles with meat and some herbs. They eat it as breakfast. There is also similar to it in South Asia.

In Europe, rice is used for puddings. People put milk, nuts and raisins in it, and bake in the oven. There are various kinds, but all sweet.

rice noodle

Next time, I will talk about Japanese festivals of rice. It is fun for me.

See you.

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Became rice in the staple food

Hello, everyone. Today, I will talk about good points of rice. Rice is one of the Japanese staple-food because rice has a lot of good points. Japanese like rice.

First, rice contains a lot of nutrition. Most of the nutrition is carbohydrates and protein. We become stronger when we eat rice. For example, the movement of the body is good and gain strength.

Second, we don`t much fat when eat rice. Rice contains a lot of dietary fiber and moisture. And rice is large grain. Eating slowly is good for our body. Eating rice is great for dieting.

Rice balls

Third, rice grows in warm places. And we need much water when we grow rice. Environment of Japan is adapted to growing rice. There is warm place and have much water. We can harvest a lot of rice because the environment is suitable.
Fourth, rice is light taste. Japanese like it. They eat rice and side dishes at the same time. Rice is good for Japanese eating habits.

Fifth, crops can be saved for a long time. Rice is can save about one year. People can eat the grain when they cannot harvest. 



Rice is the important thing for Japanese. Now, I will talk about Japanese rice using dishes. First, I`m introduce rice balls. It is one of the very popular foods for Japanese. We often eat it at noon. So we can see it at Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores. It also used the student`s lunch.

Rice balls of  convenience store

In Japan, there are the rice balls when Japanese started to grow rice. People were called “Torinoko” to the rice balls because it is similar to eggs. Torinoko means the eggs. During the Heian era, Japanese ate it during the war. It is easy to make rice balls.

There is a lot of flavor to the rice balls. Japanese put the some fish and pickled plums and kelps in the rice ball. They eat the rice cakes with sweet bean paste and soy flour. History of rice cakes is as long as the history of rice balls. We decorate the rice cake on New Year`s Day. It is said that Japanese God came down to the rice cake. It made from glutinous rice, so it is fluffy and stick.

the rice cake

Next time, I will talk about unusual rice using dishes. See you again!

Cock delicious rice.

Good morning. Today, I will talk about how to cook delicious rice. Japanese people of the past had been making rice porridge, but it does not have much delicious. The people did not have much tool and method. However, it has never been easier today. Let`s see that how it had changed in Japan.

We do way to suck all the moisture to the rice. It is one of the way that rice is delicious to eat.The major difference between rice and wheat is whether or not to powder. We eat rice after cooked, but we will not crushed rice rarely.

kamado

You must have a rice cooker to cook the rice. Most Japanese has and uses it. However, people started recently that it using. Once upon a time they were using the cooking oven to cook the rice. We call “kamado” to it. It is made of earth. It was hard work does cook the rice. The people must watch the stove while she cooks the rice through. It was the role of the mothers in old Japan.

Japanese started using the electric rice cooker in thirty Showa Era. The mothers could have leisure to do other things. And then, rice cooker is evolving. Quality of the rice cooker was very good. The new product is equipped with a function to wash the rice.

By the way, When use whatever pan we can cook rice. First, you gently wash the rice as soon as possible. Rice is so delicate. Washing rice is enough about several times.

Second, you prepared a pot filled with water and put in the rice. It is necessary to measure the amount of water. When you make a mistake it will fail. Besides, using deep pot and heavy lid is good. And please wait you. Waiting time is different for each season. It is longer in winter than summer.

Third, please put on a pot and boil water after you put a lid on the pot. After a while, it gives rise to bubbles. You wait and see, and weaken the condition of fire.

Finally, you turn off the fire, and you will wait a long time. It is the work that steaming rice, so then you should not open the lid of the pot. And then, you completed if there are no water in the pot.

I used this way when I was junior high school student. It is very fun. Please try it by all means.

Next time, I will talk about Japanese staple food. Why we eat rice often?

See you.

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Process of rice reached us.

Hello every one. I ate sushi last night.

Today, I will talk about process that rice carried our home.

Japanese eat rice every day. So we buy a lot of rice, but rice that immediately after harvest cannot eat. There is a lot of works before we buy and eat it. One family buys rice about 82 kg in one year in Japan.

the large warehouse

First, the farmers store rice in large warehouses. We call it to country elevator. It is cool in the warehouses. People can store three hundred tons of rice in a warehouse. It also has a drier, because mold occurs when rice is wet. Besides, it is delicious when it drying. The farmers put rice in the dryer and then get rid of the dust. Rice that stores there take when need.

Second, the farmers polish rice. The rice is alive. It still had the germ and husk, but these get in the way when people eat. So they remove these from the grain. They didn’t do it blindly, because it cracked when they do wildly work. The farmers carefully remove the dust once again before they take out rice from the warehouse. There are various kinds of dusts. It is dangerous that stone or metal is entering into rice. Then polish rice softly. They cut the surface of the grain, and cleaning it. Shelled rice is brown because it having bran. The farmers get rid of bran from brown rice and clean the white rice. White rice is easy to eat well and look nice. Polish rice was handed long time ago. The Edo era, people used water wheel to do it.

the Japanese old machine when used old time

Third, they put rice into a bag. The production area, the brand and the day it was harvested are listed in the bag. And people do a check for rice. It is divided into six ranks by the quality of rice. The best rice is bad a high prices and called “brand rice.”

Finally, rice is sold to the rice dealer in the market, and it is placed to the store. Then we buy and eat it. Some rice is bought the government and stored. It is a very long way.

the rice shop

Next week, I will talk about rice using dishes. There is a lot of food with rice around the world. For example, Japanese often eat sushi and rice balls, but Chinese often eat fried rice and rice using noodles. I want to get you more interested in rice using dishes.

Please look forward to next time, see you!

How to grow rice in Japan

Good evening.

Today will talk about how to grow rice. When I was 12, I had grown rice. I didn`t have rice paddy, so I used a bucket instead of it. We can grow rice at our home relatively easy. But we need to know how to grow rice for that.

I will show you how to make rice using rice paddy. There are a lot of works.

the rice planting machine

First, we put the soil to special boxes, and sow grain of rice on spring. Then it put into plastic greenhouses because the rice are eaten by insects and birds when put out it. We wait until shoots. The farmers mix animal dung and fertilizers to the soil.

After a while, the shoots grow about 12cm high. Then, we use the rice planting machine. It is very expensive, so rice farmers use it with everyone. We put the seedlings out of the box, and we planted it in the water-covered rice paddies carefully. It is summer with the wind blows cool. When it isn`t, we did planting use our hands and long times. The seedlings grow steadily because it bathed in sunlight. The farmers frequently adjust the amount of water in the rice field. And they pay the best attention to the typhoon. Typhoon is a storm coming in the summer of Japan.  Also, the farmers check rice frequently about sick or not and breed insects or not.

the harvesting machine

About two thousand flowers bloom in one panicles. It is a flower without petals. It will close in about two hours from blooming. They make a scarecrow for the birds cannot eat rice. The scarecrows covered with straw hats and wear old clothes. And then they put special balloons or tape around the rice paddies.

It will be droop down with the weight when it is become large berry. It is the autumn. Then we harvest the rice using harvesting machine. The rice paddy that glowing is beautiful. Rice is stored after leaving only berry. Then the berry is divided we plant next year or we eat. This is the life of rice. It was much more difficult when didn`t have the machine.

When we plant rice at our house, we use bucket to the role of the rice paddy. It is because we don`t release the water. Water is very important for rice paddy. And we will work well to imitate farmer`s way.  If you grew rice on their own, you would feel more delicious it. My grandpa is the farmer. He is often say that the important thing is the love and effort.

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