#Japan #Home Gardening #Shibuya #Bucket Rice #Food Education

Grow Rice in Your Home: A Complete Guide to Bucket Rice

As rice prices continue to rise in Japan, especially in the wake of the 2024 rice crisis, more families are considering innovative solutions to cultivate their own rice. One such solution is the concept of "Bucket Rice." This guide draws from the new book titled "From a Single Grain to Onigiri and Shimenawa Making! Bucket Rice Cultivation" by Junko Nakamura, set to be released on April 9, 2025. With detailed illustrations and insights, this book promises to make home rice cultivation accessible to everyone.

Understanding the Rice Shortage

The year 2024 marked the beginning of what many are calling the "Reiwa Rice Crisis." Despite the government releasing stockpiled rice for the third time, retail prices have soared, averaging 4,217 yen for five kilograms for 15 consecutive weeks. This rice scarcity reminds us of the intense labor that goes into rice cultivation, as encapsulated in the saying that rice takes "eighty-eight steps" to produce. In this context, engaging in domestic rice farming through bucket cultivation offers a chance to rethink our staple food and appreciate its value.

Growing Rice in Your Own Space

What many might not realize is that anyone, even those residing in a small apartment, can grow rice right on their balcony with just a few essentials: buckets, soil, and water. The book outlines how to create a mini rice field at home, illustrating everything from selecting seed rice to planting, harvesting, and processing by rice milling. The easy-to-follow guide also covers how to make onigiri (rice balls) and shimenawa (traditional rice straws used for New Year decorations) using homegrown rice.

The Joy of Cultivating Your Own Rice

Each step of the rice cultivation process—from planting the seeds to harvesting—allows individuals to gain insight into the labor that goes into producing rice. For instance, gathering enough rice to make a single onigiri requires the harvest from two buckets of rice plants, yielding roughly 70 grams of rice from 30 seeds. This hands-on experience teaches the values of gratitude and respect for food.

Illustrative Learning Made Easy

One of the standout features of this book is its clear and concise illustrations, designed by beginner-friendly cooking instructor and illustrator, Junko Nakamura. Readers are guided visually, ensuring that anyone can successfully cultivate rice without the fear of failure. Her wealth of knowledge as a culinary arts researcher and educator brings a unique perspective, especially as she has been designing illustrated recipes for years.

Home-Based Education through Bucket Rice Cultivation

Interlacing agricultural education with family activities, bucket rice cultivation presents an excellent opportunity for food education that is often lacking in formal schooling. While schools face challenges such as water quality maintenance, families can undertake this task over the summer months. This simplicity of at-home education can nurture a child's understanding of agriculture and nutrition.

Upcoming Events and Community Engagement

Exciting events surrounding bucket rice cultivation are underway, including a scheduled gathering on May 17, 2025, at the Village Station in Izu, Shizuoka.

Positive Feedback from Educators

The book has already gained traction among educators eager to integrate rice cultivation into their curriculum. A fifth-grade elementary school teacher, who has worked with Nakamura in the past, expressed her interest in employing the lessons of bucket rice in various subjects, such as social studies, integrated learning, and crafts.

Meet the Author: Junko Nakamura

A culinary arts expert, nutritionist, cooking instructor, and illustrator, Junko resides in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture. With over 30 years in the culinary field, she works at ABC Cooking Studio and extends her expertise into visual recipe creations, aiming to encourage a zero-waste living philosophy while engaging in gardening and craft activities, including fabric remaking and natural vegetable farming.

Book Details:

• - Title: From a Single Grain to Onigiri and Shimenawa Making! Bucket Rice Cultivation
• - Author: Junko Nakamura
• - Supervised by: Sayuri Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi Matsubee Farm)
• - Release Date: April 9, 2025
• - Publisher: Booko Publishing
• - Format: A5
• - Price: ¥1,300 + tax

How to Get Started

For those eager to embark on this rewarding journey, the guide is packed with practical steps, photography of the growth process, and downloadable resources to assist in your bucket rice project.

In conclusion, the initiative not only encourages self-sufficiency but allows families to revisit the roots of their food culture, inviting them to bring traditional practices back into their homes in a modern context.