Two Thousand Lbs. of Mochi
Two Thousand Lbs. of Mochi! Wow!!!
By Barbara Hiura
By Barbara Hiura
Oh gosh…it’s that time of year again, already! Just after Christmas, and as we’re recovering from that holiday, it’s Mochitsuki time and the approach of the New Year. Wesley Church is now in high gear, all abuzz with activity as a familiar crew works days in advance washing a ton of rice and soaking it in preparation for making mochi. But, oh, this activity is both important and necessary as we are indeed selling a fine Japanese traditional product much wanted this time of year. The day comes, and the village gathers to take the soaked, steamed, and pounded rice to make mochi. Round dumpling sized, and soft, it is put into New Year soup, ozoni, or into a pot of red beans called zen-zai or just toasted and eaten with sugar shoyu or kinako. This endeavor once a year requires our members plus Yu-Ai Kai, our partner in this endeavor. Everyone comes ready to work, along with a number of high school students. It is our mochitsuki that accommodates the Japantown neighborhood and beyond for this Japanese traditional food.
Skilled hands steam and pound the rice. Akio Sekino, master mochi-maker, takes the pounded rice and brings it to the two tables set up to cut and shape into mochi cakes. His second in command, Mark Iwagaki, knows the drill well and takes over. The cooking crew got to work with new steamer boxes purchased in Japan. They are works of art…no nails in these beautifully crafted boxes.
The village rises early to work the already steaming rice. Some surround tables to do cutting. A master-cutter appears at the head of the table to do the large cuts of the steaming hot mochi and pass to the cuttters. Some workers gather to turn the mochi as it cools. A small group at the back of the Fellowship Hall weighs and packages them for sale. A runner takes the 2 lbs packages to the sale room where another crew of workers makes them ready to divvy them out to the public. This goes on all morning and through the afternoon requiring two shifts of eager workers.
There are a number of folks in the kitchen preparing lunch for the all the workers. This year the workers were treated to chicken curry and hotdogs, rice and salad. Yes, indeed, it takes a village and Wesley solicits from Yu-Ai Kai who shares the product with its constituency. One ton of rice yields around 2,000 lbs.
Going on at the same time is Camp Mochi where the youngsters learn all about mochi-making from steaming to the old-fashioned method of pounding with a wooden mallet in a stone yuzu or bowl, to cutting and shaping. We hope when they are old enough, they’ll pass this Japanese holiday tradition to their children. This is a mutigenerational family-oriented project.
Throughout the fellowship hall, one can see the camaraderie among friends, the joy among families as they work together. What a wholesome activity under God’s watchful eye.
Some of the technique and skill for mochi-making may be becoming a lost art and technique with the passing of most of our second and some of our older third generation of mochi practitioners. It was most noticeable this year as many cutters trained by the shin-Issei, and Nisei are no longer present. Yes, it all tastes the same but the method, the shape, the size was pretty much all over the place. There were very large mochi cakes to very small. Some cut cakes were placed on its side after cutting rather on the cut side. Perhaps we need to try and return to the “way of mochi” for consistency with trained leadership. After all the Japanese are used to such uniformity… but…maybe not. This may be the start of a new modern transformation of an old tradition… free from restrictions and conformity. So maybe it’s just… “Get used to it!”
We are fortunate to have the leadership of Ron Ogi, Keith Nakashima and Dale Sasaki who take on this tedious task annually. Thanks to the village of some 200 volunteers from Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center, CYS and our church. Nothing would happen without them.
We wish to acknowledge those who helped lead this effort as well. The following did a variety of different jobs and took leadership roles: Shelley Nakashima, Jennifer Masuda, Jane Kawasaki, Randy Shingai, Akio Sekino, Warren Shimonishi, Jim Tengan, Marian Suhama, Lynn Tabuchi, Kenzo Kimura, Mary Sasaki, Kris Kimura, Wayne Kuwada, Elise Haneta, Scott Haneta, Hikaru Bakoshi, Tom Oda, Lori Low, Bob Yasukawa, John Ogawa, and Kelli Martines.
Not only do we thank all these individuals, but a shout-out goes also to these various local high schools and Scout troops who participated: Piedmont Hills, Cupertino, Bellarmine, Leland, Independence, Homestead, Westmont) - Student volunteers represented Key Club, Interact, Japanese National Honor Society, and Scout Troops 201 and 611.
Skilled hands steam and pound the rice. Akio Sekino, master mochi-maker, takes the pounded rice and brings it to the two tables set up to cut and shape into mochi cakes. His second in command, Mark Iwagaki, knows the drill well and takes over. The cooking crew got to work with new steamer boxes purchased in Japan. They are works of art…no nails in these beautifully crafted boxes.
The village rises early to work the already steaming rice. Some surround tables to do cutting. A master-cutter appears at the head of the table to do the large cuts of the steaming hot mochi and pass to the cuttters. Some workers gather to turn the mochi as it cools. A small group at the back of the Fellowship Hall weighs and packages them for sale. A runner takes the 2 lbs packages to the sale room where another crew of workers makes them ready to divvy them out to the public. This goes on all morning and through the afternoon requiring two shifts of eager workers.
There are a number of folks in the kitchen preparing lunch for the all the workers. This year the workers were treated to chicken curry and hotdogs, rice and salad. Yes, indeed, it takes a village and Wesley solicits from Yu-Ai Kai who shares the product with its constituency. One ton of rice yields around 2,000 lbs.
Going on at the same time is Camp Mochi where the youngsters learn all about mochi-making from steaming to the old-fashioned method of pounding with a wooden mallet in a stone yuzu or bowl, to cutting and shaping. We hope when they are old enough, they’ll pass this Japanese holiday tradition to their children. This is a mutigenerational family-oriented project.
Throughout the fellowship hall, one can see the camaraderie among friends, the joy among families as they work together. What a wholesome activity under God’s watchful eye.
Some of the technique and skill for mochi-making may be becoming a lost art and technique with the passing of most of our second and some of our older third generation of mochi practitioners. It was most noticeable this year as many cutters trained by the shin-Issei, and Nisei are no longer present. Yes, it all tastes the same but the method, the shape, the size was pretty much all over the place. There were very large mochi cakes to very small. Some cut cakes were placed on its side after cutting rather on the cut side. Perhaps we need to try and return to the “way of mochi” for consistency with trained leadership. After all the Japanese are used to such uniformity… but…maybe not. This may be the start of a new modern transformation of an old tradition… free from restrictions and conformity. So maybe it’s just… “Get used to it!”
We are fortunate to have the leadership of Ron Ogi, Keith Nakashima and Dale Sasaki who take on this tedious task annually. Thanks to the village of some 200 volunteers from Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center, CYS and our church. Nothing would happen without them.
We wish to acknowledge those who helped lead this effort as well. The following did a variety of different jobs and took leadership roles: Shelley Nakashima, Jennifer Masuda, Jane Kawasaki, Randy Shingai, Akio Sekino, Warren Shimonishi, Jim Tengan, Marian Suhama, Lynn Tabuchi, Kenzo Kimura, Mary Sasaki, Kris Kimura, Wayne Kuwada, Elise Haneta, Scott Haneta, Hikaru Bakoshi, Tom Oda, Lori Low, Bob Yasukawa, John Ogawa, and Kelli Martines.
Not only do we thank all these individuals, but a shout-out goes also to these various local high schools and Scout troops who participated: Piedmont Hills, Cupertino, Bellarmine, Leland, Independence, Homestead, Westmont) - Student volunteers represented Key Club, Interact, Japanese National Honor Society, and Scout Troops 201 and 611.
Akio Sekino and Randy Shingai oversee the mochi rice steaming.
Akio brings the large batches of mochi to the tables to be cut.
Scott Haneta, one of the master cutters, passes the smaller rolls to cutters surrounding the table, with Michael Sera on one side and Terri Koike on the other side waiting for a roll.
Elise Haneta is one of the very few gals who is a master cutter. Hear! Hear!
Wayne Kuwada is the master cutter and has been doing this task for years.
Prep work for lunch.
A scrumptious lunch was prepared for all who worked, both shifts.
Amy Shiozaki loaded mochi on the palettes, while our seasoned Florence Oishi trained Sarah on the how to's of cutting mochi with Alice Hikido and Kyle looking on.
Workers like Kazuko Hughes on the left turn the mochi as it cools.
Irene Nakamitsu and Jeanne Haruta package the cooled mochi to be sold.
Two lbs exactly...Warren Shimonishi and Hector Acuna finish the packaging and the food containers are taken to the sale room.
Yes, it takes a village, but this is a multi-generational family work outing and one many look forward to doing annually.
Helping customers with their mochi orders were, from left: Mika Visitacion, Courtney Nakashima, Kiyomi Yanai and sale chair, Shelley Nakashima.
Going over the day's business are Shelley Nakashima and Mary Sasaki.
Wes Mukayama is a satisfied customer, with Kenzie and Christine Ozawa helping out.
Dale Sasaki oversites the whole mochi-making process.
The tireless task of draining the rice and preparing it for steaming.
Mark Iwagaki checks the consistency of the pounded mochi.
Check out our new steamer boxes, but into use for the first time. Here Akio Sekino makes sure it's all done perfectly.
Posted in Newsletter 2025-01-23