Ohitsu, Japanese rice bucket, Azmaya

Japanese life with delicious rice in ohitsu

Wooden rice bucket “Ohitsu” has been used in the life of Japanese people.
Now, most Japanese people cook rice with electrical rice cooker. However, ohitsu has been still popular.
What is the attractive point of it?

The wooden rice bucket from Azmaya is made of Kiso sawara cypress. Kiso sawara cypress is one of the “5 trees of Kiso.” Of the valuable Kiso sawara cypress, craftsmen use only the straight-grained lumber.

The beautiful surface of straight grain.
Hoops tightened by craftsmen.
We can see simple beauty in the ohitsu of azmaya.

In fact, wooden rice bucket is a very useful kitchenware.
Japan Design Store recommends this ohitsu from azmaya with a confidence.

Delicious rice in ohitsu

When you open the lid, you can see tasty-looking white rice in ohitsu.
Beautiful wooden rice bucket on the dinner table. It makes a warm atmosphere in the dining room.
You can feel happy when you scoop rice from ohitsu.

The white rice in wooden rice bucket is delicious. If you are rice lover, please try it.

Kiso sawara cypress is water proof and hygroscopic. Straight-grained Kiso sawara cypress has great hygroscopic effect especially.
When you put just-cooked rice into the ohitsu, the wood absorbs extra water and keep adequate moisture.

In this way, wooden rice bucket extract good taste and sweetness of rice. In addition, it makes rice give off an aroma. Furthermore, ohitsu keeps adequate firmness.

The reason of long popularity of ohitsu is its effect of keeping rice delicious.
Also, Kiso sawara cypress has high acid resistance. So, you can make delicious sushi rice with it.

Unrealizable taste by thermos rice cooker

Electrical rice cooker is useful. However, if we keep the rice for a long time, some of the rice become hard.

Electrical rice cooker can keep the temperature of rice. However, it cannot keep the balance of moisture of rice. If you keep rice in the rice cooker for a long time, the rice become hard, yellow, or some bad smell.

Some people keep rice in the rice cooker without thermos function. However, the rice may rot or cause mold.

“How can I keep delicious rice cooked with rice cooker?”
Please use ohitsu! Just remove rice from cooker, and move it into ohitsu.
Wooden rice bucket can keep adequate moisture of rice. Best condition of rice remains.

The water absorbed by ohitsu will stay in the wood. Wood of the ohitsu breathe in and out moisture.

This is the reason why ohitsu can keep the taste of rice. In addition, you can save the electricity by keeping rice in the wooden rice bucket.

If you cook rice with donabe or pot, please use ohitsu together. Wooden rice bucket can keep the best moisture of rice.

Enjoy delicious rice for a long time

At one time, it took much time to cook rice. Japanese people cook rice once a day or once 2 days. At that time, wooden rice bucket kept the rice.

Now, busy people do not have much time to cook rice. For those people, ohitsu of Azmaya is helpful. People can save time, and keep delicious rice.
Even cool rice is delicious if it is kept in ohitsu.

You can eat delicious rice cooked in the morning at dinner.
Or you can eat delicious rice cooked in the night at the next morning.
If you would like to eat warm rice, please move rice into rice bowl, and warm it.

Please enjoy every bit of tasty rice with the wooden rice bucket.

Used valuable straight-grained lumber of Kiso sawara cypress

Ohitsu of azmaya is made of more than 100-years-old Kiso sawara cypress. Kiso sawara cypress is one of the “5 trees of Kiso.” Kiso is a town in Nagano prefecture.

“5 trees of Kiso” are the following 5 kinds of tree, hinoki (Japanese cypress), sawara cypress, hiba, umbrella pine and Japanese arborvitae.

Once in Edo era (about 400~200 years ago), people cut down too much of the 5 trees. Therefore, han (feudal domain) stopped cutting.
Thanks to that policy, the 5 trees of Kiso grew in the mountains of Kiso. Now, the 5 trees of Kiso become a local specialty of Kiso.

Kiso sawara cypress has beautiful wood grain. The color resembles to that of Japanese cypress. Kiso sawara cypress is water proof and hygroscopic. In addition, it has less smell than Japanese cypress or hiba. Furthermore, it is antibacterial, light and easy to use.

Therefore, Japanese people have used Kiso sawara cypress as ohitsu. It is a preferable lumber for ohitsu.

Ohitsu of azmaya is made of the valuable straight-grained lumber from the Kiso sawara cypress. Straight-grained lumber is logged from a wood to have parallel wood grain. Therefore, we can enjoy beautiful wood grains of Kiso sawara cypress.

However, we can get straight-grained lumber from a tree over 100 years old. If a wood has 45cm to 60cm in diameter, we can take the lumber at most 15cm~20cm in width. It is very rare.

Why the ohitsu is made of such a rare lumber?

The reason is not only its beauty, but also its prosperity. The straight-grained lumber is hard to be expanded, contracted, and warped.

Therefore, you can use the ohitsu of Azmaya for a long time. With the valuable material, craftsmen produce a beautiful wooden rice bucket.
The rim of ohitsu is shaved roundedly.
We would like to recommend this beautiful ohitsu for those who care and use tools for a long time.

Happiness to grow daily tools

Ohitsu of Azmaya has sophisticated and elegant atmosphere. The wooden bucket has minimalist design. Also, it has beauty of handicraft.
You can feel the taste of Japanese beauty from the scenery of rice in ohitsu.

Daily tools made of natural material become fit your hand as you use. The best care of wooden ohitsu is using it every day. Please enjoy the changing texture by your use.

Wooden rice bucket may exude resin. Also, the starch of rice may react with tannin of wood, and becomes black.
These reactions are natural for wooden ohitsu without coating. (Becoming black does not necessarily mean the mold.)

After you use the wooden bucket, please wash it with water or warm water. A scoring brush can remove stains better than a sponge. When the stain is remarkable, you can use powder cleanser. After washing, wipe the water off and dry ohitsu in an airy place.

If you care about black part, please try to polish with scouring brush and juice of lemon. Fresh lemon juice has bleaching effect.

Wooden resin is harmless to human body. If you are displeased with sticky place, please wipe out there with rubbing alcohol or ethanol. You can use whisky instead, too.

You may see dark spot in hoops. However, those spots are unavoidable for handmade crafts. Please enjoy unique feature of handicraft.

By your long use, the hoops may become loose. If the hoops loosen by dry, please soak ohitsu in water with keeping hoops at their ordinary place.

Also, Azmaya can repair ohitsu if you pay the cost of shipping and repair. Please use the wooden rice bucket for a long time.

[About wooden resin of ohitsu]

* Ohitsu of azmaya is made of natural Japanese Kiso sawara cypress.
When you open the box, you may see the following conditions.
The surface of ohitsu is sticky.
There are black spots like mold on the cardboard box.
The descriptions get oily.
These are wooden resin exuded from natural Kiso sawara cypress.
Kiso sawara cypress including resin has great waterproof and antibacterial effect. Resin is natural component of a wood, it is harmless to human body. Please use the ohitsu of azmaya at ease.

High-class wooden bucket as gifts

Ohitsu of Azmaya has 3 sizes, 2 rice-cup, 3 rice-cup, and 5 rice-cup. If you have a lot of family members, or if you would like to cook rice a lot at once, we recommend the 5 rice-cup ohitsu.

How about cooking Chirashi sushi (scattered sushi) with the wooden bucket? It will be very beautiful and Japanese dinner table.

In addition to rice, you can use ohitsu for udon (thick white noodles). For udon, 2 or 3 rice-cup sizes are better.
Furthermore, 2 rice-cup ohitsu can be a donburi bowl for Kaisen-don (seafood don) or any other donburi.

Carefully made Japanese crafts are great gifts for your dearest person. As wedding gifts or housewarming gifts, ohitsu of Azmaya is suitable.
Also, the wooden bucket will tell your appreciation to mother, father, grandma or grandpa who cook every meal for you.

Especially for rice lovers, please send a set with ohitsu and donabe rice cooker “Kamado-san” from Nagatani-en. It is a best set for white rice lovers!

Customer’s voice

• Left-over rice is delicious

  I am surprised at the taste of left over rice in ohitsu. Even cool rice is so delicious! My family also look for eating cool delicious rice.

• Love the warmth of wood

  I like the ohitsu because of its cute form and warmth of wood. I feel the wooden bucket is smaller than I expected. Now, I still feel the scent of wood, but I don’t care of it at all.

• Got 2 rice-cup Ohitsu

  I bought 2 rice-cup ohitsu for me and my husband. The simple wooden rice bucket has great presence on the dinner table. My dinner time becomes happier with it. I would like to grow ohitsu carefully.