Emphasis (bold and underlined) in the quotations below is added as selective highlighting for brief verbalization in debae speeches.
Rice is sacred and the backbone of the nation.
Flüchter, W. (2004). Japan: Rice Farming and the Rice Market Between Globalization, Ideology and Sustainability. Institute of East Asian Studies. Institute Report No. 11. https://www.uni-due.de/imperia/md/content/in-east/about/report/institutsbericht_11.pdf#page=31.71 (Prof. Dr. Winfried Flüchter is Deputy Director of the Institute East Asian Studies, The University of Duisburg-Essen.)
"Since the Uruguay Round of the GATT (1986-93) Japan has been under pressure to open its rice market. This is an enormous challenge for Japan’s “rice culture.” Rice has extraordinary symbolic power in Japan. It is considered an almost sacred phenomenon, the “backbone of the nation,” deeply embedded in the cultural landscape, history, society, economy and politics of the island empire. How are the Japanese responding to this challenge? What arguments are they advancing? How should these be assessed from the standpoint of trade liberalization, ideology, structural problems in agriculture and the principles of sustainability? What role do vested interests and cultural factors play?" (p. 19)
Rice and rice paddies in Japan have divine powers. (according to a myth)
Ohnuki-Tierney, E. (2004). Rice as self: Japanese identities through time. Education about Asia, 9(3), 4-9. https://doi.org/10.65959/eaa.593 (Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney is a Professor of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.)
"In other words, the rice grain embodies the Japanese deity. Most deities have dual qualities and powers. The Deity of the Rice Paddy has only the nigimitama or peaceful soul, and, drought or flood, which destroys rice paddies, is considered an act of the Mizu no Kami (Water Deity) rather than an expression of the aramitama (violent spirit) of the Deity of the Rice Paddy. Thus, rice grain represents the peaceful soul of the deity."
"Since human lives wane unless the positive principle replenishes their energies, humans and their communities must rejuvenate themselves by harnessing the positive power of the deities (nigimitama). This can be accomplished by performing rituals during which humans harness divine power. Or, they can do so by eating rice; the Japanese internalize the divine power which then becomes part of the human body and its growth. I therefore see that rice, soul, deity, and the nigimitama (peaceful/positive power of the deity) are all symbolic equivalents."
"Instead of the creation of a universe, as in other peoples’ origin myths, this version is about the transformation of a wilderness into a land of abundant rice at the command of the Sun Goddess whose descendants, the emperors, rule the country by officiating at rice rituals. Appropriating rice, a foreign food, as the Japanese rice, grown by Japanese deities, the myth establishes a symbolic equation between “Japanese” rice and their deities, and rice paddies and Japanese land."
"Given this symbolic equation, rice and rice products are the single most important food to share—an act known as commensality—between humans and deities, on the one hand, and among humans, on the other. ..." (p.5)
Rice grown in Japan is special, MAFF claimed.
MAFF. (2014). Rice. In What is Washoku? https://www.maff.go.jp/j/shokusan/gaisyoku/pamphlet/pdf/2-7_english.pdf#page=3.11 (Retrieved June 24, 2026)
"What makes rice grown in Japan so good?"
"Good water makes good rice—and that’s as true in the paddy as it is in the kitchen. Blessed with plentiful rainfall, Japan is ideal terrain for growing rice. Long decades of select cultivation based on close observation and backed by research have produced high-yielding, better-tasting varieties. Advanced milling technologies play a part as well. Masaaki Funakubo of the Tokyo-based rice shop Funakubo Shoten says, “Fine adjustments can be made to achieve the best mill rate for each strain of rice. When polishing off the bran, we take great care not to remove the umami part of the grain. And we keep our rice in a humidity- and temperature-controlled granary.” Proper storage of the rice prior to milling affects its ultimate taste when served on the table. Lastly, today’s electric cookers with state-of-the-art functions steam this precious grain for us perfectly."