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Rice is an essential part of the Japanese diet and an integral part of traditional Japanese lifestyle and culture.
Rice was first introduced to Japan from the Chinese mainland around 3,000 years ago, and over the centuries rice cultivation has been the focal point of Japanese agriculture as practiced by the traditional Japanese village unit. This is clearly evident in the numerous tools the Japanese have invented for rice cultivation and preparation. Since ages past, rice has been the favored offering to the gods of nature, important deities for an agricultural society vulnerable to climatic changes, and rice harvests have been celebrated with song and dance. Traditional Japanese culture has evolved and developed around rice and its cultivation.
More than 80 percent of the rice eaten in countries around the world is a fluffy, dry, long-grained variety called Indica rice. In contrast, the rice cultivated and eaten in Japan is a unique, short-grained, glutinous type called Japonica rice. Cooked Japonica rice is sticky and chewy, and among the various Japonica strains, mochi rice is especially glutinous. Mochi rice originates in the mountainous regions of Laos and Thailand and is an unusual strain that is only cultivated in the broad-leaf forest regions of east and southeast Asia. Even in Japan, mochi rice accounts for only three percent of the total volume of rice cultivated in this country.
Despite its rarity, however, mochi rice holds a special place in the Japanese psyche, even more special than that reserved for ordinary cooking rice, because mochi rice is the primary ingredient for an extremely popular traditional food that bears the same name.
Mochi is a soft, gooey rice cake made by pounding steamed mochi rice with a mortar (usu) and mallet (kine) usually made of wood. Cooled mochi is pure white and has a smooth, hard surface. A historical document written in 934 mentions mochi, which is an indication that this unique food was already common in Japan as early as the Heian period (794-1185).
The Japanese people believed that the bright, white mochi was divine and it was customary to prepare and partake of mochi at times of celebration and festivity. It was thought that by eating mochi, one could capture its divinity, and partaking of mochi together was believed to strengthen the bonds of the family and community. Mochi was thus an essential element in sacred and celebratory rites. |
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| Hiroaki Onodera is a representative director for the Itsukushi-no-sato facility, which was built specifically for the enjoyment of mochi. There is a gift shop selling locally produced mochi products, a restaurant where mochi is served throughout the year, and even a mochi museum. Itsukushi-no-sato is an ideal place to savor mochi in all its forms, both traditional and new. |
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