Japanese rice master: Beijing demonstration falls short but provides morale boost
February 14, 2016
By JUNJI MURAKAMI/ Staff Writer
SAKAI--Tsutomu Murashima said his rice-cooking demonstration in China was only “60 percent successful,” despite the accolades that poured in from audience members who sampled his concoction.
Murashima, 85, returned to Japan on Jan. 13, a day after the event in Beijing organized by a Chinese government group that is trying to improve the quality of products sold in China.
During the Jan. 12 demonstration, Murashima mixed 10 types of rice from across China using bottled water from a retailer in the country. He cooked 150 servings of rice in three pots on a stage.
About 180 people in various fields, from influential business people and food critics, tried the rice. The reviews were overwhelmingly favorable, including, “The rice made by the master is sweet and tasty.”
However, Murashima had difficulty adjusting the gap between the pot and the heat.
“Although I did my best, the stickiness, luster and flavor of the rice were different from what I usually make,” he said.
“The rice was 60 percent successful,” he said.
But he said he felt motivated by the compliments he received for the rice.
“I felt that food has no borders," he said. "I want to try again.”
His rice was quickly gobbled down, as well as the 3 kilograms of “shiokonbu” (thin strips of kelp cooked in soy sauce), a local specialty Murashima brought from Sakai, served as an accompanying dish.
His “onigiri” rice balls went down particularly well among the audience members, bringing smiles to their faces while they ate.
For more than half a century, Murashima has cooked rice at the Ginshari-ya Gekotei eatery that he opened in 1963 in Sakai. He became widely known in China after a Chinese blogger who visited Gekotei posted an article that described Murashima as “the wizard of rice cooking in Sakai.”
Murashima was also featured on television programs.
The rice-cooking demonstration was arranged by an organization from China’s Ministry of Commerce that has been planning a “highest-quality mark” for products sold in China.
The Chinese organizers invited Murashima as an “ambassador of rice culture” to learn his methods and attitude toward rice cooking as part of the Beijing’s quality-improvement efforts.
The organizers asked for Murashima’s participation through the Sakai city government, saying, “Mr. Murashima’s bowl of rice is the very thing that warms and bridges the hearts of Japan and China.”
On Jan. 7, Murashima flew to Beijing with his favorite pots. Having never before cooked rice in China, he studied the right amount of water and heat level through trial and error before the Jan. 12 event.
On Jan. 16, Murashima reopened Gekotei.
“I really appreciate that Chinese visitors said ‘delicious’ to my rice,” he said. “I will go back to square one and keep trying.”
By JUNJI MURAKAMI/ Staff Writer