Whack of the mochi pounder rings in new year in Wailea

Akiko Masuda is of full Japanese ancestry, but it wasn’t until she moved to the tiny rural village of Wailea on Hawaii island in 1991 that she learned about the New Year’s tradition of mochitsuki (mochi pounding).

To get acquainted with her neighbors, who were primarily seniors and of Japanese and Okinawan descent, Masuda volunteered to do yardwork for them three hours per week. One of her regular stops was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Masaichi Chinen, who were in their late 70s.

“They appreciated the help, and Mrs. Chinen would always make lunch, usually using whatever was growing in her garden,” Masuda said. “As we ate, we would talk story about the old days.”

One day while Masuda was working in the Chinens’ garden, she saw a large concrete container lying on its side in the bushes. When she asked Mr. Chinen what it was, he told her it was an “usu” (mortar). “We used to pound steamed rice to make mochi in it,” he said, “but we’re too old now and it’s too much work.”

Curiosity piqued, Masuda asked if he would explain the process to her and a few others; they would do all the work. Mr. Chinen agreed, and when word about the mochi- pounding activity spread in the village, people started pulling out old equipment from their basements, backyards and garages, including stone usu, wooden “kine” (mallets), redwood “seiro” (steaming boxes), “kama” (aluminum pots to hold boiling water) and “hagama” (metal fireplaces atop which the kama rest). Most of it hadn’t been used in decades.

In December 1997, 23 people — primarily Wailea residents and a few of their friends and family — gathered to pound mochi and eat a potluck lunch. The event has continued annually since then, attracting growing throngs; last year about 700 people attended.

As in the past, this year’s 19th annual celebration will feature live entertainment, calligraphy demonstrations, palm and I Ching readings, food vendors (don’t miss the chicken hekka plate from Miyo’s restaurant in Hilo, which has been a top seller from the beginning), and arts and crafts including crocheted hats, bottle cap potholders, patchwork baby blankets and other items hand-made by the ladies of Hakalau Senior Citizens Club.

The big draw is mochi pounding the old way at Masuda’s hostelry, Akiko’s Buddhist B&B. The work begins at 6:30 a.m. with the building of fires to steam 100 pounds of rice that has been washed and soaked for three days.

Anyone can pound the cooked rice, even children. “We have eight mallets of varying weights, and our supervisors make sure the appropriate one is chosen for each person,” Masuda said. “The process is carefully monitored because getting the right consistency depends on many factors, including how hard each person pounds.”

More than 3,000 mochi are made and sold every year: plain mochi (six for $3.50), mochi filled with mashed azuki beans (four for $3.50) and a sampler (one plain and one azuki for $1.50).

The event happens, Masuda says, thanks to the participation of many people — even visitors who might not have heard of mochi before but want to embrace the tradition, experience the camaraderie and enjoy the charm of an old plantation village that has changed little in decades.

Several years ago a van from the Life Care Center of Hilo arrived with five senior passengers. One of them was Mr. Motonaga, who grew up in Wailea village and wanted to pound mochi as he had when he was young. He let go of his walker beside the usu, picked up a mallet and started pounding, at first with effort and then with grace and rhythm, as though he was summoning the strength of his youth.

“There was a big smile on his face for those moments,” Masuda said, “and everyone there felt his vigor, elation and deep satisfaction with his accomplishment; he still had the power within. It reaffirms what this world can be when people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities come together as one body, with one purpose. A simple act becomes profound.”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.