Mindbank President Toshio Shimoyama shows five-colored rice displayed in a shape of the Olympic rings.
Rintaro Someya
Mindbank, a venture firm based in Sasebo, Nagasaki prefecture, created rice dyed in five colors of the Olympic rings to support Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.
As a last-minute cheering effort ahead of the selection of the host city, scheduled on Sunday, September 8, 65-year-old Mindbank President Toshio Shimoyama said he wants to appeal to the world Japan’s staple food and the nation’s high-quality processing technology.
The product is made by coating pre-washed grains of Nagasaki-grown Koshihikari brand rice with powders made from vegetables grown in the area, using the firm’s own method. The red powder is made from red peppers, green from spinaches, yellow from pumpkins, black from edible charcoal and blue from purple sweet potatoes.
The five-colored rice is available in a five-pack set, with 280 grams of rice of each color, at a price of 3,900 yen.
(Sept. 1, 2013)