We had our annual Mochitsuki New Years’ Party this past Saturday, January 8th. If you are unfamiliar with Mochitsuki, it’s a great tradition where we make mochi (Japanese rice cake) by pounding rice with a huge mallet, sing songs, and get to know past and present Soh Daiko and church members.
Soh Daiko Trainee Tim pounds away!
From Wikipedia:
- Polished glutinous rice is soaked overnight and cooked.
- The cooked rice is pounded with wooden mallets (kine) in a traditional mortar (usu). Two people will alternate the work, one pounding and the other turning and wetting the mochi. They must keep a steady rhythm or they may accidentally injure one another with the heavy kine
- The sticky mass is then formed into various shapes (usually a sphere or cube).
Junko and Shogo working together
This was the first full Saturday for the trainees. What better way to start their trainee period than with a party!
Here’s to a great 2011 with Soh Daiko!
