Japanese rice

Japanese rice refers to a number of short-grain cultivars of Japonica rice including ordinary rice (uruchimai) and glutinous rice (mochigome).

Ordinary Japanese rice, or uruchimai () is the staple of the Japanese diet and consists of short translucent grains. When cooked it has a sticky texture such that it can easily be picked up and eaten with chopsticks. Outside Japan it is sometimes labeled sushi rice, as this is one of its common uses. It is also used to produce sake.

Glutinous rice, known in Japan as mochigome (), is used for making mochi () and special dishes such as sekihan. It is a short-grain rice, and can be distinguished from uruchimai by its particularly short, round and opaque grains, its greater stickiness when cooked, and firmer and chewier texture.

Contemporary cultivation of rice in Japan is characterized by high mechanization, intense cultivation, and a shortage of farmland. Terraced rice fields cover many rural hillsides and are relatively small due to mountainous terrain and government controls on farmland consolidation.

Koshihikari () is a particularly esteemed cultivar and one of the most commonly grown in Japan. Akitakomachi is also quite popular. Sasanishiki is a cultivar known for keeping the same taste when cooled down. Yamada Nishiki is the most famous cultivar grown specifically for sake.

In Hokkaidō, Japan's northernmost prefecture, hardier cultivars such as Oborozuki and Yumepirika have been developed to withstand the colder climate.

Calrose is the name used originally for a medium-grain Japonica cultivar developed in 1948, and now as a generic term for California medium grain Japonicas. While not true Japanese rice, Calrose-type rice has been grown by Japanese American producers in California for many years. It is commonly used to prepare Japanese cuisine in North America, and is reasonably good as a sushi rice. It is also exported to a number of countries including Japan, although it has not gained much popularity with Japanese consumers. In recent years, Koshihikari rice is also being grown in the US and Australia.

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