Yamada Nishiki (山田錦) is one of the varieties of “sake rice (sakamai, 酒米)”, rice suited to making sake. It has the largest production of all sake rice, and according to the estimate for the 2025 crop, it makes up about 37% of all sake rice. Sake rice as a whole is explained on the Types of sake rice page.
How it came about
Yamada Nishiki was created in 1923 at the Hyogo Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station by crossing “Yamadaho (山田穂)” and “Tankan Wataribune (短稈渡船)”. In 1936 it was named “Yamada Nishiki” and became a recommended variety of Hyogo Prefecture.
Features of Yamada Nishiki
Yamada Nishiki has the following features.
- The grains are large. 1,000 grains weigh about 27 grams, about 1.3 times as much as Koshihikari (コシヒカリ)
- About 70% of the grains have a “shinpaku (心白)” at the center. In many grains, the shinpaku is thin, like a line, when the grain is cut across
- The protein in the brown rice is fairly low, at about 6%
- The grains do not break easily when polished, so the rice can be used for the polishing needed for daiginjo-shu, in which at least half of the outer rice is polished away
- The rice plants are tall, reaching about 130 centimeters including the ears. It is a variety that forms ears late, and it is harvested from early to mid-October
Main producing areas
The prefectures with the largest production in the 2024 crop are Hyogo, Okayama, Yamaguchi, Tochigi and Fukuoka. According to the estimate for the 2025 crop, more than half of all Yamada Nishiki is grown in Hyogo Prefecture.
“Toku-A districts”
In the areas that grow Yamada Nishiki, the term “Toku-A district (特A地区)” is used. The Yamada Nishiki producing areas in Hyogo Prefecture are divided into three ranks: “Toku-A-a”, “Toku-A-b” and “Toku-A-c”. Toku-A-a includes Yokawa-cho (吉川町) and Kuchiyokawa-cho (口吉川町) in Miki City (三木市), and the former Tojo-cho (東条町) in Kato City (加東市), among others. Toku-A-b includes Ozo-cho (大沢町) and Ogo-cho (淡河町) in Kita Ward, Kobe (神戸市北区), and Hosokawa-cho (細川町) in Miki City, among others. This grading is based on the “Muramai Kakuzuke-hyo (村米格付表)”, a grading table from fiscal 1938.
The “Toku-A district” is a grading of producing areas, and it is separate from the grades of the agricultural product inspection (tokujo (特上), tokuto (特等), first class (1等) and so on).
“Harima”, a geographical indication that uses only Yamada Nishiki
The geographical indication (GI) for sake “Harima (はりま)” requires that only Yamada Nishiki harvested in Hyogo Prefecture be used for the rice and the rice koji. Sake labeled “Harima” is made from Yamada Nishiki grown in Hyogo Prefecture.
Sake breweries introduced on Sake JP
- Shiraito Shuzo (白糸酒造) in Fukuoka Prefecture is in Itoshima (糸島), an area that produces Yamada Nishiki. Its main brand, “Tanaka Rokujugo (田中六五)”, is made with Yamada Nishiki grown in Itoshima. → Article on Tanaka Rokujugo
- The main brands of Isojiman Shuzo (磯自慢酒造) in Shizuoka Prefecture are made with “Toku-A Yamada Nishiki (特A山田錦)”. → Article on Isojiman