Beautiful site! Well done collecting all this wonderful content and organizing it in such an accessible fashion. The Shoichi video almost brought me to tears when I thought about how how he and all the other volunteers have pulled together over the years to make this event possible. Even a pandemic couldn’t stop the spirit behind this event. Here’s to the end of 2020 and ringing in the New Year 2021 with a mochi offering to health, prosperity and good luck for all in 2021!!!!
Loved the site! Very professional. The photos in the history section were a great addition as the photos of many of the volunteers over time made the event just that more special.
The instructions for creating an origami tsuru were very easy to follow. The video of Shoichi brought me back to my youth as my parents made mochi and we used to have ozoni after awakening every New Year’s Day. And seeing Quentin present his involvement in the event is important as the next generation of volunteers begin to step up to oversee the event.
While I hope that this website will be repeated next year so that those in other locales can attend, I look forward to seeing everyone in person at the 2022 Mochi Tsuki event at Woodward Middle School, or wherever the event is held.
There is a silver lining to this year’s virtual mochitsuki: no long lines for freshly pounded tasty mochi! I miss the warm mochi and fun when people can gather for this annual community event. Thank you for keeping the tradition going and adding another year of history and memories to Bainbridge Island mochitsuki. 🙏🏼
What a fantastic virtual event. I loved the videos and had to smile at the photo of my Grandma Nobi making mochi decades ago. Thank you for sharing the memories and tradition! Akemashite Omedetou – Happy New Year 2021! Time to order a mochi T-shirt and to start soaking some sweet rice for the mochi machine…definitely not as fun as the real deal. See you at the prize wheel next year.
Thank you for making mochi tsuki a virtual event this year. We are sorry we can’t be there in person and eat fresh mochi together, but we enjoyed the site and many memories you shared. Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! See you next time!
Beautiful site and what a wonderful / creative way to keep this tradition alive! What an inspiring way to bring in the New Year during these “unique” times.
新年あけましておめでとうございます！ Thank you for putting the website together, it lessens the sense of loss of not getting to attend this year, fingers crossed for next year. One of the best traditions on the island, hope everyone is staying well.
What a wonderful website!! I learned a lot and enjoyed each different element. My favorites were watching the toiku drumming and The Mochi pounding – very cool traditions!!! Thank you for sharing this cultural experience with the world 🙏
I enjoyed watching all the videos and learning the process and community pleasure of making Mochi in the Seattle area. Wonderful and informative work making the event virtual so that I may enjoy Mochi Tsuki from Southern California. Thank you.
What a wonderful way to carry on the annual mochi tradition in this time of distancing. I especially enjoyed the videos about the taiko mysteries and the lesson teaching a taiko song. Very informative and not something that would be as effective in a “real” setting. Thank you for providing this brightness on a wet, dark day.
I had forgotten a lot of it (mochi tsuki). Before the war when we lived in Auburn Washington, I remember the wooden stump that was used to pound the mochi and the wooden mallets they used. It was just two of our families that got together to do this. I had not thought of the wooden boxes the rice was cooked in but we did it that way, too. My mother did the turning of the rice as my father pounded. Then it was brought into the kitchen and we all had to make the balls. We did not put an in all of them. We liked to roast them and dip the balls in a sugar/shoyu sauce. What good memories I have of those times. I will keep your pictures so I can show them to the kids. They have never seen it done, I don’t think. Now, of course, if you want mochi you either used a machine or go to Uwajimaya and buy them. Thank you for the good memories.
Remarkable Pivot BIJAC. The site and was awesome to navigate. Thank you for curating the amazing aspects of Mochi Tsuki and making them available.
Warmly Chasity Malatesta
Enzo age 9 Thank you the Mochi pounding is super cool!
Marco age 6 I like the orgami. Thank you
Teo age 6 I love the Mochi Cartoon guy and orgami. I want a Mochi stuffed animal.
Beautiful presentation! Each segment was special, and I learned a lot from each of them. It was so pleasurable to watch the families and friends gathering together, pounding, kneading and eating mochi. We don’t have a mochi making machine, but I’m going to try folding an origami peace crane tonight!
So fun to participate this year from a distance.
We got sushi, seaweed salad, edamame, and mochi to feast on while we went through the videos… We just could NOT miss out on our annual tradition!
Thank you for this beautiful community!
Thanks for putting the site together! We were sad to miss out on the festival at Islandwood this year, but we enjoyed watching the historical videos and reading through all of the resources here. We’re looking forward to Mochi Tsuki 2022!
Who could have imagined we would be sitting here one year later without another in-person event! Thank you to all who contributed content last year, as well as this year. I’d especially like to call out Seattle Kokon Taiko for their commitment and contribution to our longstanding partnership. Happy New Year!
Thank you so much, Seattle Kokon Taiko, for weathering the icy streets and covid to record this special presentation just for us! We really appreciate the commitment to your art and hope to see you in person, next year! Happy New Year! (I did watch the bonus material – made me laugh!)
Comments(32)
Dennis Faust says:
December 31, 2020 at 8:19 pmBeautiful site! Well done collecting all this wonderful content and organizing it in such an accessible fashion. The Shoichi video almost brought me to tears when I thought about how how he and all the other volunteers have pulled together over the years to make this event possible. Even a pandemic couldn’t stop the spirit behind this event. Here’s to the end of 2020 and ringing in the New Year 2021 with a mochi offering to health, prosperity and good luck for all in 2021!!!!
Jon Puro says:
January 2, 2021 at 2:41 pmGreat site!! I love the mochitsuki festival, and your site helps to keep it going in this difficult year.
admin says:
January 2, 2021 at 10:46 amSo glad you could stop by. We loved your festival last year and look forward to visiting your 2021 Portland Virtual Mochitsuki as well!
Stan Miyao says:
January 2, 2021 at 2:50 pmLoved the site! Very professional. The photos in the history section were a great addition as the photos of many of the volunteers over time made the event just that more special.
The instructions for creating an origami tsuru were very easy to follow. The video of Shoichi brought me back to my youth as my parents made mochi and we used to have ozoni after awakening every New Year’s Day. And seeing Quentin present his involvement in the event is important as the next generation of volunteers begin to step up to oversee the event.
While I hope that this website will be repeated next year so that those in other locales can attend, I look forward to seeing everyone in person at the 2022 Mochi Tsuki event at Woodward Middle School, or wherever the event is held.
DarleneK says:
January 2, 2021 at 3:01 pmThere is a silver lining to this year’s virtual mochitsuki: no long lines for freshly pounded tasty mochi! I miss the warm mochi and fun when people can gather for this annual community event. Thank you for keeping the tradition going and adding another year of history and memories to Bainbridge Island mochitsuki. 🙏🏼
Sherri M Egashira says:
January 2, 2021 at 4:30 pmWhat a fantastic virtual event. I loved the videos and had to smile at the photo of my Grandma Nobi making mochi decades ago. Thank you for sharing the memories and tradition! Akemashite Omedetou – Happy New Year 2021! Time to order a mochi T-shirt and to start soaking some sweet rice for the mochi machine…definitely not as fun as the real deal. See you at the prize wheel next year.
Kathy says:
January 2, 2021 at 10:57 pmThank you for carrying on the virtual tradition. I’m happy to think of all the great activities on a truly wintery wet PNW night
Joanne C says:
January 3, 2021 at 12:53 amThank you for making mochi tsuki a virtual event this year. We are sorry we can’t be there in person and eat fresh mochi together, but we enjoyed the site and many memories you shared. Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! See you next time!
Felicia H says:
January 3, 2021 at 8:41 amBeautiful site and what a wonderful / creative way to keep this tradition alive! What an inspiring way to bring in the New Year during these “unique” times.
Emily Sato says:
January 3, 2021 at 9:14 am新年あけましておめでとうございます！ Thank you for putting the website together, it lessens the sense of loss of not getting to attend this year, fingers crossed for next year. One of the best traditions on the island, hope everyone is staying well.
Tim Rogers says:
January 3, 2021 at 1:16 pmReally enjoyed that – thank you! Best wishes from the Highlands of Scotland.
Deb says:
January 3, 2021 at 2:58 pmWhat a wonderful website!! I learned a lot and enjoyed each different element. My favorites were watching the toiku drumming and The Mochi pounding – very cool traditions!!! Thank you for sharing this cultural experience with the world 🙏
Lynn Buchanan says:
January 3, 2021 at 3:15 pmI enjoyed watching all the videos and learning the process and community pleasure of making Mochi in the Seattle area. Wonderful and informative work making the event virtual so that I may enjoy Mochi Tsuki from Southern California. Thank you.
Maradel says:
January 4, 2021 at 12:15 amWhat a wonderful way to carry on the annual mochi tradition in this time of distancing. I especially enjoyed the videos about the taiko mysteries and the lesson teaching a taiko song. Very informative and not something that would be as effective in a “real” setting. Thank you for providing this brightness on a wet, dark day.
Dorothy Harada (Yuki) says:
January 4, 2021 at 9:35 amI had forgotten a lot of it (mochi tsuki). Before the war when we lived in Auburn Washington, I remember the wooden stump that was used to pound the mochi and the wooden mallets they used. It was just two of our families that got together to do this. I had not thought of the wooden boxes the rice was cooked in but we did it that way, too. My mother did the turning of the rice as my father pounded. Then it was brought into the kitchen and we all had to make the balls. We did not put an in all of them. We liked to roast them and dip the balls in a sugar/shoyu sauce. What good memories I have of those times. I will keep your pictures so I can show them to the kids. They have never seen it done, I don’t think. Now, of course, if you want mochi you either used a machine or go to Uwajimaya and buy them. Thank you for the good memories.
Tom Lindsley says:
January 4, 2021 at 10:23 amGreat site!
Chasity Malatesta says:
January 5, 2021 at 9:30 amRemarkable Pivot BIJAC. The site and was awesome to navigate. Thank you for curating the amazing aspects of Mochi Tsuki and making them available.
Warmly Chasity Malatesta
Enzo age 9 Thank you the Mochi pounding is super cool!
Marco age 6 I like the orgami. Thank you
Teo age 6 I love the Mochi Cartoon guy and orgami. I want a Mochi stuffed animal.
admin says:
January 5, 2021 at 10:18 amOh, Teo, I want a Mochi stuffed animal too! Let’s see what we can do for next year!
Carol says:
January 5, 2021 at 10:39 amEnzo-tell your dad you want to borrow a $5 bill for an origami project.
ENZO says:
January 7, 2021 at 12:48 pmok I will.
Carol says:
January 11, 2021 at 8:33 pmMarco. What is your favorite origami shape?
Mickey Molnaire says:
January 8, 2021 at 3:32 pmThank you for keeping the tradition going through these dark days. The website is fantastic and the “mochi message” can reach around the world!
Mark Lancaster says:
January 11, 2021 at 8:05 amThank you so much for sharing this important heritage with the wider Bainbridge Island community.
Lisa Down says:
January 14, 2021 at 7:22 pmBeautiful presentation! Each segment was special, and I learned a lot from each of them. It was so pleasurable to watch the families and friends gathering together, pounding, kneading and eating mochi. We don’t have a mochi making machine, but I’m going to try folding an origami peace crane tonight!
Vining Family says:
January 22, 2021 at 8:18 pmSo fun to participate this year from a distance.
We got sushi, seaweed salad, edamame, and mochi to feast on while we went through the videos… We just could NOT miss out on our annual tradition!
Thank you for this beautiful community!
Cole says:
January 24, 2021 at 12:32 pmThanks for putting the site together! We were sad to miss out on the festival at Islandwood this year, but we enjoyed watching the historical videos and reading through all of the resources here. We’re looking forward to Mochi Tsuki 2022!
Teresa Yette says:
January 25, 2021 at 4:37 pmGreat job for a virtual Mochi Tsuki 2021! Thank you for all the hard work putting this together! We can’t wait for Mochi Tsuki 2022!!!
Kekoa
admin says:
January 9, 2022 at 6:10 pmWho could have imagined we would be sitting here one year later without another in-person event! Thank you to all who contributed content last year, as well as this year. I’d especially like to call out Seattle Kokon Taiko for their commitment and contribution to our longstanding partnership. Happy New Year!
Katy says:
January 9, 2022 at 6:17 pmSO Fun! Thanks so much to the wonderful creative dedicated BIJAC folks who’ve not let the pandemic stop this heartwarming tradition!
Carol Midori Reitz says:
January 9, 2022 at 11:33 pmThank you so much, Seattle Kokon Taiko, for weathering the icy streets and covid to record this special presentation just for us! We really appreciate the commitment to your art and hope to see you in person, next year! Happy New Year! (I did watch the bonus material – made me laugh!)
Bianca Frogner says:
January 10, 2022 at 5:08 pmWhat a wonderful way to celebrate Mochitsuki! Thank you to BIJAC for taking the time to make such a lovely website to share this tradition widely!
Caroline Y says:
January 16, 2022 at 6:40 amおめでとう！ Congratulations on the launch of your website! Great way to keep up with activities and events.