More than four centuries of agricultural tradition are at risk of coming to an end in Niigata prefecture in Japan. The region is the famed origin of koshihikari rice — one of the most prized ...

Niigata’s Koshihikari rice is the most widely cultivated variety across Japan, prized for its sweet flavour that’s balanced in just the right proportions. “It’s very delicious rice ...

Niigata is the hardest-hit prefecture ... on track to fall below the record of 20.3 percent set in 2010. For Koshihikari, a popular rice variety grown on more than 60 percent of the prefecture ...

It was the largest hike over the past 10 years. In top-ranked Niigata Prefecture, the price for Koshihikari rice increased 22 percent to 17,000 yen. The “Nanatsuboshi” variety in Hokkaido ...

“I couldn't understand why the rice in Japan, from Niigata or Kyoto ... She ended up selecting a koshihikari cultivar, a short-grain, natural hybrid variety of rice that’s widely prized ...

(Headquarters: Tsunan Town, Nakauonuma District, Niigata Prefecture ... locally grown “Gohyaku Mangoku” and “Uonuma Koshihikari” rice, with a focus on sustainable brewing that coexists ...