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"Don’t play with your food" is a phrase many of us in the West grew up with. But in Japan the act of arranging edibles by color and shape is met with a more forgiving eye, and many have even taken to developing it into an art form and becoming masters of their craft. One such person is onigiri gekijō (@onigirigekijo) who, over the last few years, has been mastering the art of ‘onigiri sculpture’ and become a recognized artist across numerous SNS channels.
The artist specializes in forging rice balls into three-dimensional designs, often taking the shape of animals or popular anime characters, such as this particular design resembling Inosuke Hashibira from Kimetsu No Yaiba
It all started back in 2019 when onigiri gekijō took part in a rice ball competition, posting their designs to Instagram. Back then, the artist says that the appraisal for their work was weak, and that their son – a high school student – thought little of the rice ball art. But with repeated practice, onigiri gekijō was able to master the art form and overtime won over the appreciation of both fans and their son.
Nowadays, the artist works as a freelancer, and strives to make unique onigiri art pieces every day, with their son acting as a tasting judge and art critic.
Of course, onigiri gekijō’s creations don’t go unnoticed, with the artist’s Instagram page having over 17,000 followers and their YouTube account with over 6,000 subscribers. In fact, the rice ball sculptures have become such a hit on SNS that the artist has recently released a book containing more than 140 of their most popular designs.
Read the rest of the article and learn more about these adorable rice ball creations by visiting our partner’s website, grape Japan at “Food artist specializing in ‘Onigiri Art’ releases book filled with fan favorites”.
Author: grape Japan
