Rice has been the staple food for the Japanese historically. Its fundamental importance is evident from the fact that the word for cooked rice, gohan and meshi, also stands for a "meal".[27] While rice has a long history of cultivation in Japan, its use as a staple has not been universal. Notably, in northern areas (northern Honshū and Hokkaidō), other grain such as wheat were more common into the 19th century.