For centuries, Japanese people have gotten ready for the New Year by preparing mochi at mochitsukis. Families and friends gather together to pound steamed rice into mochi for both decorations and ozoni, a soup eaten on New Year’s Day.
Today in the Bay Area, Japanese people are still participating in the annual tradition of mochitsuki both in the larger community and at household family functions.
Rice steams in a seiro, a Japanese wooden steaming basket at the Kotake Family Mochitsuki in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. After rice is steamed, it is grinded into a paste and pounded to make mochi.
Kerry Ko (left), Paul Hayashi (center), and Sharon Umene (right) grind steamed rice into a paste at the Kotake Family Mochitsuki in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023.
Susan Hayase (right) pounds mochi with a kine, or wooden mallet, at the Kotake Family Mochitsuki in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023.
Freshly pound mochi is placed on to a board at the Kotake Family Mochitsuki in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. After pounding, mochi is shaped and cooled.
Mochi is shaped at the Kotake Family Mochitsuki in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. The Kotake family has hosted mochitsukis at their home for over 25 years.
People shape mochi at the Kotake Family Mochitsuki in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. The Kotake family has hosted mochitsukis at their home for over 25 years.
Family and friends pose for a photo at the Kotake Family Mochitsuki in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. The Kotake family has hosted mochitsukis at their home for over 25 years.
People pound mochi with kines at the Kotake Family Mochitsuki in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023.
Jennifer Hamamoto (left) and Matt Okada (right) use a pre-WWII mochi machine during the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California’s annual Mochitsuki Workshop in San Francisco on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. The machine was donated to The Center in 1999 by former manju shop owner George Yamada.
Workshop participants shape and eat mochi at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California’s annual Mochitsuki Workshop in San Francisco on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. Mochitsuki is a centuries-old Japanese annual tradition, where families and friends prepare mochi for New Year’s Day.
Reiko Mita, 3, eats a piece of mochi at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California’s annual Mochitsuki Workshop in San Francisco on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023.