A special mochitsuki New Year event is going to be held in front of Hakatamachiya Furusatokan Museum. Mochitsuki (餅つき) is the annual tradition of the pounding of rice to make mochi. Mochi, also called rice cake, is pounded sweet rice that can be eaten in a sweet or savory dish. In addition to that, you can also enjoy an amazing show about the tradition of firefighters during the Edo period.

Mochitsuki generally takes all day, and usually begins the evening before, when the rice is rinsed and left to soak overnight. Early the next morning, the rice is placed into a square, wooden steaming basket, which are stacked atop one another and set over a kettle of boiling water. After this, it’s time to begin pounding the rice. The steamed rice is placed in a mortar, made of wood. There are multiple people involved in this step of mochitsuki: at least one person swings a wooden mallet to hit the rice and one person turns the rice on each of the mallet’s upswings. This continues until the mochi is smooth and shiny, and it’s impossible to see any individual rice grains. When the rice has reached the right consistency, the mochi can be taken out.Mochi was actually eaten in hopes that it would bring your teeth and bones strength for the New Year because the mochi that was set out as an offering was tough to eat by the New Year. Mochi sounds similar to the Japanese word for “to hold” or “to have”, so mochi is eaten in hopes of gaining good fortune over the coming year.

Event details

※All information above has been drafted in February, 2019.