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.”
| IF YOU GO
Wailea Village Mochi Pounding
>> Place: Akiko’s Buddhist B&B, 29-2091 Old Mamalahoa Highway, Wailea Village, Hamakua Coast, Hawaii island
>> Date: Friday
>> Time: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
>> Admission: Free; crafts, floral arrange- ments, food and non-alcoholic drinks will be available for purchase. Massage, hand- written calligraphy messages and palm and I Ching readings are by donation, which will help fund next year’s mochi-pounding event.
>> Phone: 963-6422
>> Email: msakiko@hawaii.rr.com
>> Website: akikosbnb.com/activities/activities.html#mochi
>> Notes: Turn mauka (toward the moun- tains) at the 15-mile marker on Highway 19 (look for the Mochi signs). Park at Hakalau Veterans Park; from there, it’s a five-minute walk to Wailea Village. Akiko’s Buddhist Bed & Breakfast (akikosbnb.com) offers nine modest, com fortable accommodations, from private rooms with shared baths to a three-bedroom plantation-style home. Nightly rates range from $65 to $150, including yoga classes, meditation sessions and daily breakfast. Ask about discounts for stays of a week or more.
ABOUT MOCHI
Historians aren’t sure when, why or who created the first mochi (rice cakes), although many believe it originated in China. Today, variations of mochi can be found there as well as Taiwan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. It is most prevalent in Japan, where it was initially eaten exclusively by the emperor and nobles for good fortune and placed on Shinto altars as offerings to the gods.
In Shinto belief, mochi’s round shape symbolizes completeness, wholeness and harmony since it has no rough edges or sharp points. Its sticky texture represents family cohesiveness, and some say the longer you can stretch mochi between your teeth and fingers, the longer you will live.
Sometime during the Heian Period (794-1185), mochi become a New Year’s delicacy enjoyed by the masses. Today, fresh plain mochi is often dipped in soy sauce and sugar or soy sauce, lemon and grated daikon (radish). Some people like to coat it with a mixture of sugar and kinako (toasted soybean powder). Others either fill it with azuki (red bean) paste or add it to an azuki soup.
Check out Two Ladies Kitchen’s creative mochi; its best seller contains a fresh whole strawberry 9614766; 274 Kilauea Ave. in Hilo.
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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.
