About Tsuya-hime Rice

Our partners in Yamagata Prefecture spent ten years developing a new type of rice, tsuya-hime, which is known for its superior quality and taste. It is only cultivated and certified in Yamagata Prefecture, thus ensuring the highest quality standards. In Japan, rice usually scores 65 to 75 points on a taste scale of 100, while tsuya-hime scores 80 points or higher.

After realizing how much tsuya-hime complemented the Japanese food at Shunbou, Executive Sous Chef Takuya Nezasa decided to use it as a base for cultivating Shunbou-mai. Chef Nezasa says “we are very excited to be able to share this rice with our customers and continue this great relationship with local farmers.”

About Kurosawa Farm

Kurosawa Farm is a family farm that has been growing rice for 500 years. It offers top-quality rice, including tsuya-hime, which won an award at a contest in Shizuoka Prefecture for offering some of the best rice in Japan. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries rigorously examines the rice at Kurosawa Farm for quality and safety. The farm minimizes its use of herbicides and pesticides and does not use any chemicals. Instead, the farm promotes good, healthy soil by using clean water that flows from the nearby mountains, as well as 100% organic fertilizer and tadpole shrimp to remove weeds.