Dewa Sansan (出羽燦々) is one of the varieties of “sake rice (sakamai, 酒米)”, rice suited to making sake. It is a variety developed by Yamagata Prefecture, and all of the 2024 crop was grown in Yamagata Prefecture. Sake rice as a whole is explained on the Types of sake rice page.
How it came about
Dewa Sansan was developed by crossing Miyama Nishiki and “Aokei Sake No. 97 (青系酒97号)” (later named “Hanafubuki (華吹雪)”) in 1985 at the Shonai Branch (庄内支場) of the Yamagata Prefecture Agricultural Experiment Station, and it was registered as “Dewa Sansan” in 1997.
Features of Dewa Sansan
Compared with Miyama Nishiki, Dewa Sansan has the following features.
- The rice plants are shorter than those of Miyama Nishiki, and the grains are heavier than those of Miyama Nishiki
- Many of its grains have a shinpaku (心白), so it is suited to making sake
- Its steamed rice absorbs water better than that of Miyama Nishiki, and its protein is fairly low
Main producing areas
All of the 2024 crop was grown in Yamagata Prefecture.