Onigiri Japan’s Comfort Food日本のソウルフード

Onigiri is the omnipresent fast food of Japan, but it is also a slow food that reflects the country’s regional cultures. As the ultimate make-it-at-home meal, onigiri has both the potential of sushi and the variety of ramen. Its popularity has crossed oceans as well, arriving in places like New York, Paris, London and Singapore. Even back in its home country, convenience store shelves are constantly lined with new onigiri offerings, and onigiri specialty shops and cafés have sprung up. The appeals of onigiri are many—it is the crystallization of the always-evolving wisdom and culinary culture of Japan.

The history of onigiri goes back to the Yayoi period (300 BCE–300 CE) when rice was given as an offering to the gods. In the Heian period (794-1185), boiled sticky rice was formed into tonjiki and served to the servants at banquets held by the nobility. In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), it was a ration for the warrior class, and in the Edo period (1603-1868), it became a portable food for travelers and a lunch for farmers. In the contemporary period, convenience stores started selling onigiri in 1978, transforming it from a food people make to one they buy as well.

Onigiri has four basic components: rice, salt, filling and seaweed. But differing combinations of ingredients, flavorings and shapes make for endless variation. Rice, the staple food of Japan, plays the lead role, so onigiri is like the starting point for Japan’s culinary culture and an entryway to its traditional washoku cuisine, famously on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

“Rice from the land, salt and seaweed from the sea—the food culture of this island nation of Japan couldn’t be better represented,” says Yusuke Nakamura of the Onigiri Society. “Onigiri are fillings wrapped in rice, so if it’s good, anything goes; there are no rules. There are different local onigiri in all 47 prefectures; it’s like the pioneer of the local food movement—eat onigiri to know the culture of the place.”

One of the earliest memories Japanese children have of food is eating homemade onigiri. Mothers lovingly form rice into onigiri for sports days and school trips, and to give their children a boost of energy for tests and matches. Though some foods like Vichyssoise soup are served cold, foods prepared knowing they will cool and be eaten cold are rather rare anywhere in the world.

“Onigiri are healthy, but take some time to digest, so you don’t get hungry right away,” Nakamura says. “You can eat onigiri easily; they are cheap and casual. I think this is why they have become so popular overseas as well.” This little onigiri has diversified and its potential is taking the world by storm.

According to Nakamura, “Onigiri had been such a commonplace food to Japanese people since ancient times, there weren’t any famous specialty shops like there were for sushi or soba.” Within the category of washoku, onigiri’s history is not long, but Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku, founded in 1954, stands as Tokyo’s oldest onigiri specialist.

“My grandmother started this shop to feed hungry, late-night revelers,” third-generation proprietor Yosuke Miura relates. “I was raised on the taste and texture of my grandmother’s onigiri.”

The showcase at the counter is lined with fillings and handwritten menu items hang on the wall—it reminds one of a sushi shop. Every year in autumn, Miura tastes and compares new crops of Koshihikari rice, carefully selecting a rice variety for that year. The rice is cooked in a large, traditional hagama, or winged pot, quickly and over high heat—this is the Yadoroku way. The seaweed is aromatic edo-mae and the other ingredients are rigorously chosen from around Japan. There are 17 varieties in all, from salmon, the most popular, to standards like salted plum, seasoned dried bonito and kombu, to the rare red pickled ginger and pickled radish. The rice is formed on a well-used wooden mold and made somewhat firm to provide nicely balanced flavor. The onigiri are fairly large in size with noticeably flavorful seaweed and just the right amount of salt. The rice is not packed too densely—some space is left between the grains—so the feeling is extra special when it comes apart in your mouth.

Miura has made onigiri in places as far away as Milan and Dubai, and the customers there, too, appreciate his handiwork. The Tokyo edition of the Michelin guide in 2018 awarded Bib Gourmand status to the restaurant, and it has been packed with customers from everywhere ever since. “The appeal of onigiri is its sense of comfort”—a truth to which the long line out in front is testament.

Creating a stir in the world’s cities, onigiri shops are integral to their communities.

Bongo was founded in 1960 in Otsuka, Tokyo, and the line is long from before it opens. The variety is extensive—the shop now has 55 standard and rotating fillings, and two or three can be ordered for each onigiri. Westerners particularly like the tuna and bacon; Asians, the salmon and mayonnaise. The rice comes from Iwafune, Niigata Prefecture, and the seaweed and salt are chosen for affinity. The shop sells over 1,000 onigiri every day, bustling from 11:30 a.m. to midnight.

“Warm rice, lots of filling, big sized—if you leave one out, it’s not a Bongo onigiri,” owner Yumiko Ukon says with a laugh.

Onigily Cafe in Nakameguro, Tokyo is a café that started as a catering service. “We could go all in on style if we wanted, but what’s more important is the taste of home,” says owner Miki Takeuchi. “We provide onigiri in a contemporary café atmosphere with modest arrangements and decorations but without altering the original form. We offer the stability of the same taste every time you come.” The rice is Koshihikari from Saku, Nagano Prefecture, which is known for its robust stickiness and sweetness and is also delicious served cold. The seaweed is from Ariake, with a thickness that remains crisp for a good amount of time. Along with standards plum, salmon and kombu, the café also offers popular originals like mentai cream and okaka cheese. The café’s customers include many young people and tourists from overseas who first saw the café on Instagram.

Onigiri satisfies the hunger of both body and soul. With universal deliciousness, the day onigiri becomes a global standard is no doubt near.