On January 5th, Soh Daiko held it’s annual Mochitsuki! This year’s mochi was the most delicious in years and we sincerely thank all of our friends and family who took time to come join us sing, drum, and pound mochi!
The festivities kicked off with the difficult task of moving the “usu” which is Japanese for mortar. Turning and sliding the usu into place, then turning it once again took 3 of our strong members’ efforts to accomplish. Once in place, our expert mochi rice maker Miyuki brought the mochigome (sweet glutinous rice) which she soaked overnight. She showed us how to push together the rice with the kine (wooden mallet) and finally, once the rice starts getting stuck together, we were able to commense the pounding!
Along with the pounding, Soh Daiko sang our Mochitsuki Uta with drum and fue accomanying our harmonious voices!
Junko and Anton readying the mochigome
Our guests prove quite skilled at the Mochi Pounding!
Making the mochi into an edible size
Soh Daiko and Guests play music for the mochi pounder
Singing the Mochitsuki Uta
