Authentic Voices:
Conversations on Food and Agriculture

In the early 1970s, Hiroko Kajimura and Yasuko Munekata relocated with their scientist husbands and families to Tsukuba Science City, located approximately 30 miles northeast of Tokyo. Before moving to Tsukuba, they both experienced living overseas with their families—Mrs. Kajimura in Westchester County, New York, and Mrs. Munekata in Heidelberg, Germany. Mrs. Kajimura is the mother of two grown children and a longtime volunteer teaching Japanese to foreign researchers and their families at Tsukuba University. Mrs. Munekata is the mother of three grown children, a grandmother, and leader of various Catholic church volunteer groups in Tsukuba.

1. Thoughts on Natural Foods, Beef, and Food Safety

4. Generational Differences; Rice and Bread

5. Japanese and Foreign Food

Larzalere: I would like to talk about rice and the significance of rice. How do you buy your rice and where do you buy your rice?

Mrs. M: I buy a bag of rice—five kilograms of rice [approximately 11 lbs.] each time.

L: How much is a five kilogram bag of rice?

Mrs. M: 2,500 yen [$24.46 US].

L: Does the price of rice fluctuate very much?

Mrs. M: Since last year the price has gone up a little bit. Usually, I buy rice at a local butcher shop.

L: And Mrs. Kajimura, where do you buy your rice?

Mrs. K: I buy rice at the local farmer’s market. I also buy a five kilogram bag each time.

L: And how much is a five kilogram bag at this market?

Mrs. K: 2,230 yen [$21.82 US].

L: Is it the same kind of rice as Mrs. Munekata buys?

Mrs. K: It may be a different brand.

Mrs. M: The brand name is Yumegokochi.

L: The brand name, the type, is a little different?

Mrs. M: The Yumegokochi rice is stickier than koshihikari (type of short-grained rice).

L: Can you tell the difference between California rice and Japanese rice? If I blindfolded you and you tried both types--if both samples were fresh--do you think you could tell if it was Japanese rice or American rice?

Mrs. K: I think that I can because I’ve been eating the same type of rice for a long time. But when I was in the United States with my family, I ate California rice. At that time, we found it very delicious. However, when we were in Japan, before we left for the United States--it was a long time ago--I bought a mixed blend, more economical, so it didn’t taste that good. I bought hyôjunmai [standard rice], a kind of mixed blend, and a more economical type. It didn’t taste good so compared to that kind of rice and California rice, the California rice tasted very good. As for the difference between California rice and the Japanese koshihikari type of rice, I can’t really tell the difference.

L: Mrs. Munekata, you were recently in Minnesota, did you eat rice during your stay?

Mrs. M: Yes. But I stayed there a very short time so I didn’t cook much everyday.

L: What about when you were in Germany? Did you eat rice at home?

Mrs. M: Yes. But at that time we bought Italian rice. It wasn’t very good.

L: So they didn’t have Japanese rice there?

Mrs. M: Of course there was--but it was very, very expensive. California rice was also very expensive since it was imported.

Mrs. K: Before we went to the United States, we traveled to Europe, to France, and I remember we were invited to a Japanese family’s home there. They served us California rice that was very good.

L: That’s interesting. As you say, there are some differences, but not that significant. To the average consumer, is buying Japanese rice important? If so, why is it important to the Japanese?

Mrs. M: We eat it everyday. We need it everyday.

L: It’s not considered a meal unless you eat rice? For example, if you go to McDonald’s?

Mrs. M: If it’s only bread or noodles, we don’t consider it a real meal. Once a day we want to eat rice.

L: What might be other reasons why rice is important to the Japanese? To the average person buying rice--do they really care whether they buy imported California rice or Japanese rice? Is the cost more of a consideration or is it more important to buy Japanese rice?

Mrs. K: There are two types of rice--long-and short-grained rice. Long-grained rice is not sticky--so many Japanese don’t like that kind of rice. And, we don’t have much rice like California rice that is imported. So, in Japan when we think of short-grained rice, we think that it is made in Japan.

L: Short-grained rice is not originally Japanese rice, is it?

Mrs. K: No. But for us short-grained, sticky rice is Japanese rice.

L: It’s interesting that rice is so important as a symbol to the Japanese too.

Mrs. K: Yes—it’s--in a way--in our DNA. In our generation—generation after generation--we ate rice all the time, but actually Edo era people [1600-1868], particularly farmers and merchants, ordinary citizens did not eat white rice. At that time, to eat white rice was a very elite thing to do. Very luxurious. Now, everybody can eat white rice. And now --we have imported breads, pastas, and such--there are many varieties available in Japan. For some people, it’s a sort of substitute for rice. In the morning, I never eat rice. I always eat bread. For lunch, if I am at home, I’ll sometimes eat rice and sometimes noodles or bread. I don’t eat rice necessarily for lunch. However, at night I always eat rice. But when the rice is good I think many Japanese feel very contented eating only rice and some pickles and maybe with miso soup. That’s enough. That’s also considered a very good dinner for us because we can really enjoy the taste of white rice--as a kind of standard “classical” Japanese meal.

L: I’ve been watching a lot of home dramas on Japanese television and the rice cooker is always placed next to the kitchen or dining room table with the okusan [woman of the house] serving the rice in bowls to the family members--which is probably an ideal, right?

Mrs. M: I have the rice cooker in the kitchen.

Mrs. K: Ideal presentation and reality in everyday life are quite different!

Mrs. M: Getting back to your question about whether I prefer Japanese or foreign rice--if the price or the taste is the same, I prefer to buy Japanese rice because I believe Japanese rice has fewer chemicals in it. We don’t know how much they use in America. Also, another important reason I buy Japanese rice is to support the Japanese farmers. In this way, we maintain the Japanese rice fields that, in turn, are very good for the environment. So it’s very important to us. If we buy imported or cheap rice then the farmers have to quit cultivating the rice fields—we lose the precious green rice fields and that’s not good for the environment. That’s the reason why I prefer to buy Japanese rice.

Next: Generational Differences; Rice and Bread