The invention of the automatic electric rice cooker

In 1955, entrepreneur and engineer Yoshitada Minami came up with a way to liberate women from two to three hours of housework a day.

When his water-heating business started losing sales, he was tasked with inventing an automatic rice cooker – something which the men in the home appliances industry didn’t take seriously.

With little knowledge of how to make the perfect rice, he turned to the unsung heroine of this tale – his wife, Fumiko Minami.

After years of testing the cookers in the harshest of conditions, Yoshitada and his family stumbled upon an invention that would revolutionise rice-cooking forever.

Natasha Fernandes speaks to Aiji Minami, the youngest son of Yoshitada and Fumiko.

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(Photo: Automatic electric rice cooker manual. Credit: Toshiba)