Senjo rice - Senjo rice

A Chinese variety of rice. In 1012, during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, the third emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, 30,000 koku of seeds were ordered from Champa (Zhancheng) in Indochina, and experimental cultivation was carried out in the imperial courts of Central China and Kaifeng. It soon spread rapidly to Jiangnan, Fujian, and Guangdong. It is an early-ripening variety of Indica rice, which ripens in 50 to 100 days compared to the 120 days required for the native late-ripening rice, and is therefore immune to drought and flood damage. It can also grow in poor soil or on salty rice fields, and so it spread in reclaimed land and poorly watered mountain areas. At first, it was not recognized for tax or land tax purposes, but was consumed in large quantities by the urban masses and in non-self-sufficient areas. The introduction of Zhancheng rice stabilized rice cultivation at once, feeding the huge population and promoting industrial differentiation. As breeding progressed, the distinction between this variety and the native indica rice became unclear during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In Japan, it was not very popular, probably because of its poor taste.

[Yoshinobu Shiba]

“Research on Chinese Agricultural History” by Motonosuke Amano (1962, Ochanomizu Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国の米の品種。北宋(ほくそう)第3代皇帝真宗(しんそう)の1012年、インドシナ半島のチャンパ（占城）から3万石の種子を取り寄せ、華中や開封(かいほう)の宮中で試作し、やがて急激に江南、福建、広東(カントン)に広がった。インディカ系の早稲(わせ)で、在来の晩稲(おくて)が成熟に120日もかかるのに比べ50日から100日で熟するため、干害、水害を免れ、やせ地や塩分を含む田でも育つので、干拓田や水がかりの悪い山間で普及した。始めは租税や地租には認められなかったが、都市大衆や非自給地で多量に消費された。占城稲の導入で稲作は一挙に安定し、巨大人口を養い、産業の分化を促した。品種改良も進んで明(みん)・清(しん)では在来の秈稲(せんとう)（インディカ）との区別がぼやけた。日本では味が悪いためかあまり普及しなかった。

［斯波義信］

『天野元之助著『中国農業史研究』（1962・御茶の水書房）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例