2025

Grain to Great

Koshihikari: FUME’s Exclusive Rice

For me, a bowl of rice is a place to begin understanding craftsmanship. FUME’s Gin Shari rice set brings together Koshihikari from Minami Uonuma, custom-made donabe from Koishiwara, and handmade bowls from Phù Lãng. Each part reflects the care of the people who grow, shape, and prepare it.

The rice: Minami Uonuma, Niigata

Our Koshihikari comes from Okubo Farm in Minami Uonuma, Niigata. Farmers Okubo-san and Matsuda-san describe their wish simply: “a rice for family.” They select their most fertile plots for this specially cultivated rice.

Warm days, cool nights, and snowmelt water from Mount Hakkaisan shape its growing environment. We bring the rice to Saigon, where it becomes the foundation of our Gin Shari set.

The donabe: Koishiwara, Fukuoka

We cook the rice in clay pots handcrafted by Tatsumigama in Toho, Fukuoka. The village of Koishiwara has carried on its ceramic tradition for more than 350 years.

After a year of collaboration on the design, the pots were developed to balance heat control and steam release for the way we cook our rice at FUME.

The bowl: Phù Lãng, Bắc Ninh

The rice is served in bowls handcrafted by artist Lê Quang Khải in Phù Lãng, Bắc Ninh. His work brings together local red clay and Japanese techniques passed down from masters in Toho.

From the field to the pot and finally to the bowl, this project connects Japanese and Vietnamese craftsmanship through something familiar: freshly cooked rice.