From the fertile Osaki Koudo rice plain, a luminous new variety has emerged to carry on the Sasanishiki legacy.

When the Sasanishiki rice variety was at the peak of its popularity, it was the second most planted cultivar in Japan, a rice dubbed the “Yokozuna of the East” for its exceptional flavor and texture. However, the cold summer of 1993 led to a precipitous decline in its production, and the former glory of Sasanishiki faded away like a distant dream.

Decades passed, but the memory of “Sasa” rice, as it was affectionally known to sushi chefs, remained vividly alive, and the voices calling for its revival reached the ears of rice developers working to produce new and improved varieties.

Autumn 2015.
Half a century after the birth of Sasanishiki, a new rice variety was introduced to the world. Directly descended from Sasanishiki, this new variety was also developed in Osaki city, Miyagi prefecture. While it has inherited the beloved flavor characteristics of its progenitor, this is a rice that is even more delicious, and decidedly more resilient. Its name is Sasamusubi, and even as it perpetuates the Sasanishiki tradition, it also marks the arrival of an exciting new legend.