One of the major winter traditions in Japan is something called mochi tsuki (pronounced: MOE-CHEE-TSUKEE) and last weekend some friends of ours invited us to their mochi tsuki party. Perhaps a quick word on just what the heck this mochi thing is all about...
Mochi is a type of rice. Tsuki is the verb "to make". However, despite the literal translation, you don't actually "make" the rice, what you make is mochi, a Japanese rice "cake" with the equivalent consistency of taffy. After this rice has been steamed (in large quantities) about 2 pounds of it is dropped into a knee-high wooden "basin". The basin is actually a semi-hollowed tree stump specifically carved for this purpose. The particular stump we were using was carved in 1865. Then, using a god-awful heavy and awkward mallet, one person pounds the rice while a second person stands by to turn the rice so that the mallet-wielding individual has some substance to smash into submission. The resulting product is basically a "dough" of rice that, like I said above, resembles the texture of taffy. The dough is then pulled or cut apart. The pulled pieces usually get eaten on the spot, dipped in ground, roasted soybean powder or slathered with sweet red bean paste or mixed with shredded radish (daikon) that's been marinated in soy sauce. The cut pieces of mochi, dried by now, get bagged for take-out. They are then frozen at home and when the mood strikes (no pun intended) dropped in a frying pan for re-heating. Traditionally this event was a way for farmers and communities to cook their last harvest of the winter and because the mochi tsuki process essentially dries the rice, stock up for the coming cold.
Anyway, back to the story...
I especially was looking forward to this day because I knew it meant a day of hanging around the Japanese countryside at a traditional farmhouse, enjoying an outdoor fire, some great home-cooked food and a fine selection of sake & beer plus a great opportunity for photos. Unfortunately, in the days leading up to the event Miki & I came down with colds. Nonetheless, Ericka & I decided the night before that we would "suck it up" and tough it out in the name of foreign experiences. Ericka & I have participated in one of these events before (many, many moons ago) but because this would be Miki & Sam's first go, we opted to press on.
So off we went on a beautiful blue sky Sunday morning on a train about an hour south west of here. Our train route took us into the flat plains & farmland south of Mt. Fuji and the views were incredible; Mt. Fuji poked out of the landscape like a big, snow-covered thorn.
Once we arrived our hosts met us at the station and drove us another 15 minutes thru the small town to the outlying farms. As expected, the farmhouse was very traditional and the party was well underway. We settled in quickly, introduced ourselves to all in attendance and set about eating, playing, taking photos and making mochi.
All in all, it was great fun. Good food, some lovely hearty soups, tons of mochi and Miki even got to climb a lemon tree and pick some fresh lemons. It was especially nice to be out in the country again enjoying a family event with friends and appreciating the value of the sun once it dips behind the hills...
