Monday, February 11, 2013

Mochitsuki

Mochi is eaten year round, but it's also a traditional food for the Japanese New Year, so it's especially prevalent around that time.  The traditional mochi making ceremony is called mochitsuki.  The process consists of washing, soaking, and cooking mochi rice (a.k.a. sweet rice) and then pounding it in a giant mortar (usu) with a long wooden hammer (kine). A-like so:


The rice is pounded as soon as it's done cooking, so it's still steaming hot.  The person who folds and turns the mochi between the falls of the kine dunks his or her hands in water to keep the mochi from sticking to them and to keep the mochi moist.  Those who make mochi for a living add some showmanship to the mix:  



1 comment:

  1. I'm not sure if this is culturally inappropriate or not--but this clip reminds me of the The Three Stooges for their fast, clever, physical humor.

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