Rice grown to be suited to making sake is called “sake rice (sakamai, 酒米)”. Its grains are larger than those of rice for eating, it has a white part called the “shinpaku (心白)” at the center of the grain, and it is low in protein. The varieties that are widely used are listed below, in order of production from the largest.
- Yamada Nishiki (山田錦)
- Born in Hyogo Prefecture. The sake rice with the largest production
- Gohyakumangoku (五百万石)
- Born in Niigata Prefecture. Its production is the second largest, after Yamada Nishiki
- Miyama Nishiki (美山錦)
- Born in Nagano Prefecture. Grown in Nagano, Akita and Yamagata Prefectures
- Omachi (雄町)
- A variety selected from rice plants found in Okayama Prefecture at the end of the Edo period
- Akita Sake Komachi (秋田酒こまち)
- A large-grained variety developed by Akita Prefecture
- Hattan Nishiki Ichigo (八反錦1号)
- Hiroshima Prefecture’s own variety
- Hitogokochi (ひとごこち)
- A variety developed by Nagano Prefecture
- Dewa Sansan (出羽燦々)
- A variety developed by Yamagata Prefecture