Raisu

Raisu, written in katakana as ライス, is the Japanese loanword for rice and is commonly used to refer to polished white rice prepared for eating. In Japanese, kome (米) denotes rice grain in general, while gohan (ご飯) refers to cooked rice or a meal. Raizu is used in everyday speech, menus, and packaging to indicate the cooked grain as a staple dish, particularly the white rice that forms the base of many meals.

Rice is grown as Oryza sativa in flooded paddy fields to control weeds and pests. After harvest, the husk is removed in milling to produce white rice; brown rice retains the bran layer. Parboiled rice is milled after a brief soaking in the husk, which can improve texture and nutrition.

There are two major subspecies of cultivated rice: japonica (short- to medium-grain, common in East Asia) and indica (long-grain, common in South Asia and Africa). Regional cultivars include Japan's Koshihikari, Akitakomachi, and Sasanishiki; globally, fragrant varieties such as basmati and jasmine are widely grown in other regions.

Cooked rice is typically prepared by steaming or boiling and served as a staple alongside vegetables, meat, or fish. In Japan, it is central to meals and used to make dishes such as onigiri, sushi rice, and donburi toppings. Nutritionally, white rice is energy-dense, mainly carbohydrate, with limited fiber and micronutrients compared with brown rice, which retains bran and germ and provides more fiber and nutrients but different cooking characteristics.