We determined the sources of nutrient intake of 59 men and 60 women in two rural towns in the Miyagi Prefecture, a northeastern part of Japan. Four 3-day food records were collected in four seasons within a year. The total dishes and recipes were classified into 197 items. Their percent contributions to the total population consumption of energy and 14 nutrients were calculated as the sum of the nutrient intake contributed by a given dish or recipe divided by the total nutrient intake from all the items. Rice was the largest contributor for energy (29.8%), protein (13.0%) and carbohydrates (45.3%). Miso soup, as a dish, was a leading contributor (7.1%) for fat. The largest contributor for sodium, calcium, carotene, vitamin C were miso soup (17.1%), milk (16.6%), spinach (23.6%), green tea (13.6%), respectively. The result suggests that the examination of nutrient sources based on dishes and recipes, rather than on food materials, may be useful in characterizing the dietary patterns of populations.