Calling Muslim ladies in Tokyo and its surrounding areas (including but not limiting to Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa prefectures…)
We are having a Ladies Night in Dar Al Arqam Mosque in Asakusa on the night of Sumidagawa Hanabi Taikai. Yes, I’m referring to the one of the largest firework displays in Tokyo. Yes, the major one which is shown on TV.
It’s happening this Saturday, 29th July. The fireworks start at 7.30 pm, therefore you might want to come before 7.00 p.m. so that we can pray Maghrib together. The ladies will view the hanabi from the rooftop with the kids, while the husbands/male colleagues may view it from the 3rd floor (the mosque floor) or they can go for a walk along Sumida River. Sakurabashi, the bridge where the platform for the fireworks will be erected, is only about 10-15 minutes walk from the mosque.
It’ll be fun, meeting and mixing with Muslims from different backgrounds. It’s a pot-luck thingy, so just bring a plate of food to share. It doesn’t matter if you just bring some 100-yen cookies.
Just come.
How to reach the mosque? Well, take the Ginza line to Asakusa. Then, take the Matsuya/Tobu station exit in Asakusa eki. There’s a bus going to Minami Senju stopping right in front of Matsuya (the depato, not the food stall). Take this bus (fare is 200 yen) and you can either stop at Imado or Higashi Asakusa. If you stop at Imado, turn right as you exit the bus and you’ll see the yellow signboard of Dar Al Arqam Mosque on your left in about 2 minutes time. If you stop at Higashi Asakusa, turn left as you exit the bus and you’ll see the signboard of the mosque after 1.5 minute.
We’ll pray Maghrib at the 2nd Floor and gather at the rooftop after that. Don’t forget to bring your shoes/slippers to the rooftop. I’m thinking of putting on my newly bought yukata that night. Any guests wishing to do the same are most welcomed. Don’t worry too much about what to wear though.
Just come.
Showing posts with label bunka. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bunka. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
Tanabata and Chugen
Huzaifah turned 10 month old on Saturday, so hubby decided to spend the whole day sightseeing and cancelled his Quran class. It so happened that Rika-san, the mother of the three kids was not well, so she received the news rather gladly.
Went to Shimbashi and bought one-day ticket for Yurikamome line, which had always reminded me of Putra LRT, except that they still have lots of seats in Yurikamome trains. First we went to Kokusaitenjijo-seimon. A lot of people were there to attend the Tokyo International Book Fair 2006 – incorporating, among others, Digital Fair, Gifts and Variety Fair and Education Book Fair. Unlike KL International Book Fair with no entrance fee, there’s an entrance fee of 1200 yen each for those who came to Tokyo International Book Fair without any invitation. Everyone is duly registered, by completing a long registration form and attaching 2 business cards. No, one does not have to be an executive to have a business card here since even housewives in Japan carry their meishi (business cards) in their purses. Many students in Waseda have business cards too, often self-made and printed by computer printers, rather than being made by a proper business-card printer.
Anyway, we only discovered that we needed to pay and submit our business card (non-existent at the moment) only after we had walked all the way to the halls where the exhibition was held, and since I was only hoping for a glance at the books with no intention of buying anything, we decided not to go inside after all. Anyway, we saw lots of people carrying goodie bags, but many of them were busy disposing a lot of brochures and pamphlets at the entrance, perhaps unwilling to carry unnecessary ‘garbage’ all the way back home (probably by train or other public transports.)
Prior to that, we went to Panasonic Center, the place where Panasonic showcases their latest products as well as educating the public on their innovations and their contributions towards maintaining a sustainable environment. I liked it. Hubby enjoyed it. Even Huzaifah was not easily bored since they had lots of different areas with different features and displays. We also happened to be there on the first day Panasonic decided to distribute some souvenirs of the Osaka Gamba, a soccer club receiving their sponsorship. So, after completing stamp marking the three forms at 4 different areas of the 2-floor hall, we went to claim our souvenirs. The muffler and the t-shirt looked pretty cool, but we only managed to get two note-books and a lousy eraser.
In conjunction with Tanabata, there were assistants in traditional yukata, distributing papers to be hung as both decorations and wishes on bamboo trees on the far-end corner of the spacious building. Tanabata, a celebration which originated from China, is supposed to be one of the most romantic days celebrated in Japan, and according to my Nihongo sensei, due to its history, in the old days, people used to hope for romantic wishy-washy stuff on Tanabata. Nowadays, the wishes written on paper strips hung on bamboo trees are for various purposes – safety, health, wealth, promotion, being accepted by university – to name a few. Kindergarten kids who were there were encouraged to make various decorations, with all the necessities – papers of various colors and sizes, glue, scissors, wet tissue, tissue – being provided. Mothers assisted and waited patiently by their children as they earnestly worked on their very own Tanabata decoration project.
We were keener on seizing the opportunity to take photos with the colorful oh-so-Japanese-scenic background. We even had two photo postcards printed there courtesy of Panasonic – and I really love the one with two Nihonjin girls in yukata, with me holding Huzaifah on the center making peace sign a’la Nihonjin pose. (Seriously – in Japan, people of all ages - from kindergarten kids to grandpa - just love making peace sign while posing for the camera). Too bad hubby didn’t snap that pose on our own camera.
From Kokusai Tenjijo, we went to Daiba, to Shell Museum. No, it is not a museum featuring sea shells, rather it features Shell-Ferrari F1 collaboration. It was closed on Saturdays (open everyday but Saturdays. Duh!), so we just took some pictures of what was visible – pictures on the wall, Schumacher’s hand prints, bridgestone tyre used at one of the F1 races in 2004, etc. No F1 racing car though on display though – that’s reserved only when the museum-café is open. Hubby was so engrossed in taking photos that he didn’t realize that he already went beyond the allowed area and set off the sensor alarm. An elderly Nihonjin Pak Guard on duty came to check what had set off the alarm and when he saw we were snapping some photos, politely advised us to be careful since the sensors in the area were rather sensitive. I was a bit embarrassed – yelah, baru gambar kadbod Schumacher je, bukannya dengan Schumacher in person pun dah excited tangkap gambar sampai bunyi alarm, heheheh…
Aqua City was our last stop, stopping at Deck’s on our way there. Many shops were having summer sale – Gap, Comme Ca Ism, Next - to name a few. No, I am not a brand conscious person, but if I can get a 600 or 900 yen items for Huzaifah at branded stores while they are on sale, I wouldn’t mind buying them compared to paying the same amount for items with questionable quality elsewhere.
We returned at dusk, bidding farewell to the Odaiba’s Statue of Liberty and the colorful nicely lighted-up boats with lighted-up Rainbow Bridge in the background. Our feet ached from all the walking we did, but all in all, I would say that we had fun. Even Huzaifah seemed to enjoy his day out very much.
Oh, by the by, I managed to snap some photos of summer gifts, also known as chugen, or mid-year gift. Wikipedia said that it's celebrated on July 15th, but I have been told that it started as early as late June and ends as late as early August. There’s a Japanese saying that claims “siblings are the beginning of strangers”, thus an anthropologist professor of mine claimed that, the chugen gift custom is a chance for people to make up for not meeting or calling relatives and friends often, yet still maintaining good relationship with them. A Nihonjin friend offered a simpler reason though – since summer is always blazing hot, everybody just gives everybody else some gifts to cool each other down. Yeah, that’s why a lot of Nihonjin send fruits, soft drinks, tea leaves and instant coffee powder in nicely decorated boxes as chugen gift. Sometimes they even send cooking oil as chugen gift – to fry tempuras or prepare yakisoba to be consumed together with cold drinks.
I was thinking of sending a gift to Kawaguchi sensei who wrote the recommendation letter for my Waseda application. However, since chugen gift receiver usually feels obliged to give something in return to the sender, chugen might not be the best time for me to send a gift to Kawaguchi sensei. Hmm, maybe I should get something from Malaysia as a simple thank-you gift. But what should I get him, huh?
Went to Shimbashi and bought one-day ticket for Yurikamome line, which had always reminded me of Putra LRT, except that they still have lots of seats in Yurikamome trains. First we went to Kokusaitenjijo-seimon. A lot of people were there to attend the Tokyo International Book Fair 2006 – incorporating, among others, Digital Fair, Gifts and Variety Fair and Education Book Fair. Unlike KL International Book Fair with no entrance fee, there’s an entrance fee of 1200 yen each for those who came to Tokyo International Book Fair without any invitation. Everyone is duly registered, by completing a long registration form and attaching 2 business cards. No, one does not have to be an executive to have a business card here since even housewives in Japan carry their meishi (business cards) in their purses. Many students in Waseda have business cards too, often self-made and printed by computer printers, rather than being made by a proper business-card printer.
Anyway, we only discovered that we needed to pay and submit our business card (non-existent at the moment) only after we had walked all the way to the halls where the exhibition was held, and since I was only hoping for a glance at the books with no intention of buying anything, we decided not to go inside after all. Anyway, we saw lots of people carrying goodie bags, but many of them were busy disposing a lot of brochures and pamphlets at the entrance, perhaps unwilling to carry unnecessary ‘garbage’ all the way back home (probably by train or other public transports.)
Prior to that, we went to Panasonic Center, the place where Panasonic showcases their latest products as well as educating the public on their innovations and their contributions towards maintaining a sustainable environment. I liked it. Hubby enjoyed it. Even Huzaifah was not easily bored since they had lots of different areas with different features and displays. We also happened to be there on the first day Panasonic decided to distribute some souvenirs of the Osaka Gamba, a soccer club receiving their sponsorship. So, after completing stamp marking the three forms at 4 different areas of the 2-floor hall, we went to claim our souvenirs. The muffler and the t-shirt looked pretty cool, but we only managed to get two note-books and a lousy eraser.
In conjunction with Tanabata, there were assistants in traditional yukata, distributing papers to be hung as both decorations and wishes on bamboo trees on the far-end corner of the spacious building. Tanabata, a celebration which originated from China, is supposed to be one of the most romantic days celebrated in Japan, and according to my Nihongo sensei, due to its history, in the old days, people used to hope for romantic wishy-washy stuff on Tanabata. Nowadays, the wishes written on paper strips hung on bamboo trees are for various purposes – safety, health, wealth, promotion, being accepted by university – to name a few. Kindergarten kids who were there were encouraged to make various decorations, with all the necessities – papers of various colors and sizes, glue, scissors, wet tissue, tissue – being provided. Mothers assisted and waited patiently by their children as they earnestly worked on their very own Tanabata decoration project.
We were keener on seizing the opportunity to take photos with the colorful oh-so-Japanese-scenic background. We even had two photo postcards printed there courtesy of Panasonic – and I really love the one with two Nihonjin girls in yukata, with me holding Huzaifah on the center making peace sign a’la Nihonjin pose. (Seriously – in Japan, people of all ages - from kindergarten kids to grandpa - just love making peace sign while posing for the camera). Too bad hubby didn’t snap that pose on our own camera.
From Kokusai Tenjijo, we went to Daiba, to Shell Museum. No, it is not a museum featuring sea shells, rather it features Shell-Ferrari F1 collaboration. It was closed on Saturdays (open everyday but Saturdays. Duh!), so we just took some pictures of what was visible – pictures on the wall, Schumacher’s hand prints, bridgestone tyre used at one of the F1 races in 2004, etc. No F1 racing car though on display though – that’s reserved only when the museum-café is open. Hubby was so engrossed in taking photos that he didn’t realize that he already went beyond the allowed area and set off the sensor alarm. An elderly Nihonjin Pak Guard on duty came to check what had set off the alarm and when he saw we were snapping some photos, politely advised us to be careful since the sensors in the area were rather sensitive. I was a bit embarrassed – yelah, baru gambar kadbod Schumacher je, bukannya dengan Schumacher in person pun dah excited tangkap gambar sampai bunyi alarm, heheheh…
Aqua City was our last stop, stopping at Deck’s on our way there. Many shops were having summer sale – Gap, Comme Ca Ism, Next - to name a few. No, I am not a brand conscious person, but if I can get a 600 or 900 yen items for Huzaifah at branded stores while they are on sale, I wouldn’t mind buying them compared to paying the same amount for items with questionable quality elsewhere.
We returned at dusk, bidding farewell to the Odaiba’s Statue of Liberty and the colorful nicely lighted-up boats with lighted-up Rainbow Bridge in the background. Our feet ached from all the walking we did, but all in all, I would say that we had fun. Even Huzaifah seemed to enjoy his day out very much.
Oh, by the by, I managed to snap some photos of summer gifts, also known as chugen, or mid-year gift. Wikipedia said that it's celebrated on July 15th, but I have been told that it started as early as late June and ends as late as early August. There’s a Japanese saying that claims “siblings are the beginning of strangers”, thus an anthropologist professor of mine claimed that, the chugen gift custom is a chance for people to make up for not meeting or calling relatives and friends often, yet still maintaining good relationship with them. A Nihonjin friend offered a simpler reason though – since summer is always blazing hot, everybody just gives everybody else some gifts to cool each other down. Yeah, that’s why a lot of Nihonjin send fruits, soft drinks, tea leaves and instant coffee powder in nicely decorated boxes as chugen gift. Sometimes they even send cooking oil as chugen gift – to fry tempuras or prepare yakisoba to be consumed together with cold drinks.
I was thinking of sending a gift to Kawaguchi sensei who wrote the recommendation letter for my Waseda application. However, since chugen gift receiver usually feels obliged to give something in return to the sender, chugen might not be the best time for me to send a gift to Kawaguchi sensei. Hmm, maybe I should get something from Malaysia as a simple thank-you gift. But what should I get him, huh?
Friday, February 03, 2006
New Year (and Setsubun)
The good thing about coming from multi-ethnical country like Malaysia is that I'm used to lots of expressions in different languages. Many of my Chinese friends in Waseda were surprised albeit very pleased, when I wished them "Xing Nian Yu Kwai, Gong Xi Fa Cai" (or San Nien Fai Lok, Kong Hei Fatt Choy in Cantonese). But since I'm in Tokyo and not working in Putrajaya I didn't get any free mandarin orange this year. A colleague reported that they got so many this year - from the Minister, this officer, that officer, blah blah blah- that she claimed anyone could have easily gotten stomachache from eating those oranges.
But what I do get this year - is lots and lots of roasted soybeans in packets. Well, Japanese are so fond of New Year that they actually celebrate three New Year. There's the Big New Year (Oshogatsu) on January 1st, the Small New Year (Koshogatsu) on January 15th and then the Setsubun, the beginning of Spring, which this year falls on February 3rd.
So, yes, I get free roasted soybeans at the Center of International Education Office in Waseda. I also get free roasted soybeans at my hostel. And yes - the Setsubun kits can be found everwhere - from large supermarkets, convenience stores and even 100 yen shops. The setsubun kits consist of a demon's mask and a bag of roasted soybeans.
As a muslim, I ushered the 1st of Muharram 1427 recently by reciting the doa awal tahun three times on the new year's eve. My baby Huzaifah had another cukur session earlier that day. Of course, that has nothing to do with ushering the new year. It just so happened that some hair has started to grow on the balding spot, commonly known as cukur bantal, on his head. So my Ayah Tam had decided to make Huzaifah's hair grows evenly by shaving his head again. Later on, I took turn chatting many cousins - all who congregated at my Ayah Jang's place in Putrajaya for a BBQ feast. Even my parents and Huzaifah were there too that night. Unfortunately there wasn't any webcam nor microphone there - so while they got to see me in my kaftan and listened to my voice, I only got to read their messages and descriptions of this and that. (To date, I have yet to see my son's new hairdo since the internet connection in Kampung Tunku is pretty bad, so hubby hasn't been able to show it off via the webcam to me.)
Anyway - here's wishing all of you a happy, prosperous and blessed new year.
But what I do get this year - is lots and lots of roasted soybeans in packets. Well, Japanese are so fond of New Year that they actually celebrate three New Year. There's the Big New Year (Oshogatsu) on January 1st, the Small New Year (Koshogatsu) on January 15th and then the Setsubun, the beginning of Spring, which this year falls on February 3rd.
So, yes, I get free roasted soybeans at the Center of International Education Office in Waseda. I also get free roasted soybeans at my hostel. And yes - the Setsubun kits can be found everwhere - from large supermarkets, convenience stores and even 100 yen shops. The setsubun kits consist of a demon's mask and a bag of roasted soybeans.
Setsubun usually involves Mame maki - a rite of throwing beans to dispel evil. It almost corresponds to the Chinese belief of making noises to chase away the demons - so I was not that surprised when I read somewhere that the Mame maki originated from a custom found in China a long long time ago. There are several stories relating to the origin of Mame maki - but I kind of like the version which involved a disguised ogre and a greedy old widow. The plot goes something like this:
One day an ogre disguised himself and went to the house of an old widow. With his magic mallet, he produced a beautiful kimono. The old widow succumbed to the beauty - and plotted to steal both the kimono and the mallet away from the ogre by getting him drunk. Surprised by the old widow's greed, the ogre revealed his true self. Stunned and scared, she got hysterical and starting throwing the first thing handy, a bunch of beans she had on hand. They must have hurt, because the ogre immediately fled away, leaving the widow without her greedy desires but nonetheless wiser and healthier.
So, now, it's common for the head of the family to don a demon's mask, and gets pelted with beans while everyone else chanted "Oni wa soto, Fuku wa uchi" (Demon out, Fortune in). Families with small children especially enjoy Mame maki due to the fun of chasing the demon around, throwing beans and gleefully shouting for the demon to go away. After that, family members will then eat the number of beans that is equivalent to his or her age, to bring good luck in the coming year.
This year, I also received a lucky bag from a Korean friend n conjunction with the New Year. The bag is filled with roasted red beans - which are to be cooked with rice and eaten for health and fortune, or so she advised. While of course the idea of eating roasted soybeans on Setsubun and roasted red beans for good luck is something that I won't buy - I enjoy eating them anyway. Think of roasted soybeans as a nicer version of kuaci minus the hassle to get rid of the skin - that's how delicious they are. As for the red beans - I'm thinking of buying more and make some bubur with them.
As a muslim, I ushered the 1st of Muharram 1427 recently by reciting the doa awal tahun three times on the new year's eve. My baby Huzaifah had another cukur session earlier that day. Of course, that has nothing to do with ushering the new year. It just so happened that some hair has started to grow on the balding spot, commonly known as cukur bantal, on his head. So my Ayah Tam had decided to make Huzaifah's hair grows evenly by shaving his head again. Later on, I took turn chatting many cousins - all who congregated at my Ayah Jang's place in Putrajaya for a BBQ feast. Even my parents and Huzaifah were there too that night. Unfortunately there wasn't any webcam nor microphone there - so while they got to see me in my kaftan and listened to my voice, I only got to read their messages and descriptions of this and that. (To date, I have yet to see my son's new hairdo since the internet connection in Kampung Tunku is pretty bad, so hubby hasn't been able to show it off via the webcam to me.)
Anyway - here's wishing all of you a happy, prosperous and blessed new year.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Nengajoo
It’s interesting how our sensei try to let us experience the Japanese custom while we are learning Nihongo. Since o-shogatsu (New Year) is coming soon and it’s a common practice for Japanese to send out nengajoo to family, friends and acquaintances, the students of Nihongo Ichi are also given a chance to experience this custom ourselves. We are given two nengajoo each, one for our own classmate, and another for a Nihonjin friend.
First, each and every of us were asked to write our own address on the front of the card. Sensei collected all card and these cards will be randomly distributed, so that each of us would be receiving a card from somebody from the class. Since I won’t be attending the class tomorrow, I’d already gotten mine and had already submitted it to Shin sensei today. It just so happened that I got to write to Hien-san, a Vietnamese girl I’ve grown quite close to since the very beginning of the class. Hien is my age and has two sons aged 6 and 5 she left under her parents’ care in Hanoi. She had been really helpful during the first few weeks when I was still in my confinement period. She even helped carrying my bag at times when she noticed I was extra tired. So, it was easy writing to her – expressing my gratitude for her friendship and all her assistance as well as expressing my hope for a long lasting friendship.
Instead of just one more nengajoo for a Nihonjin friend, I got two. I chose to write to Yohei-san and Mori-chan, two volunteers in Nihongo Ichi class on Thursday and Wednesday respectively. Yohei-san was actually a later addition to Kawaguchi sensei’s list of volunteers in Nihongo Ichi class, but he has become a good friend of some sort, taking note when I was absent from class and even remember Huzaifah’s name.
Mori-chan, on the other hand, had been with us since the early days when we were still trying to remember counting one to ten in nihongo. She has a cheerful personality, a charming disposition and a cute face – so much so that I believe she’ll be one of the top recipient of nengajoo from Nihongo Ichi students.
Nengajoo is perhaps the most important and popular greeting cards in Japan. The ones given by sensei to us are the postcards sold at the post office. There are many different types of cards sold everywhere – stationary shops, 100 yen shops, even konbini. Since the coming year is going to be the year of dog according to the Japanese calendar, nengajoo with Snoopy as its main picture is tremendously popular this year.
There are some basic rules about writing nengajoo – which is well explained here. I however do not conform to the normal practice of drawing the animal-of-the-year on my nengajoo. Instead, with the help of a friend, I have roaster on mine – hopefully the recipient of my cards will take that as a sign of saying sayounara to the year of the roaster.
First, each and every of us were asked to write our own address on the front of the card. Sensei collected all card and these cards will be randomly distributed, so that each of us would be receiving a card from somebody from the class. Since I won’t be attending the class tomorrow, I’d already gotten mine and had already submitted it to Shin sensei today. It just so happened that I got to write to Hien-san, a Vietnamese girl I’ve grown quite close to since the very beginning of the class. Hien is my age and has two sons aged 6 and 5 she left under her parents’ care in Hanoi. She had been really helpful during the first few weeks when I was still in my confinement period. She even helped carrying my bag at times when she noticed I was extra tired. So, it was easy writing to her – expressing my gratitude for her friendship and all her assistance as well as expressing my hope for a long lasting friendship.
Instead of just one more nengajoo for a Nihonjin friend, I got two. I chose to write to Yohei-san and Mori-chan, two volunteers in Nihongo Ichi class on Thursday and Wednesday respectively. Yohei-san was actually a later addition to Kawaguchi sensei’s list of volunteers in Nihongo Ichi class, but he has become a good friend of some sort, taking note when I was absent from class and even remember Huzaifah’s name.
Mori-chan, on the other hand, had been with us since the early days when we were still trying to remember counting one to ten in nihongo. She has a cheerful personality, a charming disposition and a cute face – so much so that I believe she’ll be one of the top recipient of nengajoo from Nihongo Ichi students.
Nengajoo is perhaps the most important and popular greeting cards in Japan. The ones given by sensei to us are the postcards sold at the post office. There are many different types of cards sold everywhere – stationary shops, 100 yen shops, even konbini. Since the coming year is going to be the year of dog according to the Japanese calendar, nengajoo with Snoopy as its main picture is tremendously popular this year.
There are some basic rules about writing nengajoo – which is well explained here. I however do not conform to the normal practice of drawing the animal-of-the-year on my nengajoo. Instead, with the help of a friend, I have roaster on mine – hopefully the recipient of my cards will take that as a sign of saying sayounara to the year of the roaster.
Minna san - yoi otoshi o kudasai! (Have a good year everybody)
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Mochitsuki
It was on the day Huzaifah turned 3 months old when I got to try my hand at making mochi. I thought I wouldn’t get a chance at it this year because normally mochitsuki is only held a few days before new year and I won’t be in Japan during those days this year.
Kawaguchi sensei (the only male sensei for Nihongo Ichi class, and my favorite sensei) made an announcement before the class started last Thursday. Class for 2nd period would ended at 11.30a.m. (instead of 12.10 p.m.) and everybody was invited to a mochitsuki session, organized by Waseda University Centre of Japanese Language, at Oyama Garden.
So, at 11.30 a.m., Arai sensei led the (mostly excited, although some had no idea what mochi is) Nihongo Ichi students to Oyama Garden. We were greeted by the sight of some sumo wrestlers pounding on mochi. (Sorry, no pics of Sumo wrestlers pounding on the mochi though) A long line was already formed at a makeshift tent – for guests to try out mochi and ozoni soup. They even served vegetarian ozoni soup. The mochi was served fresh and warm, as opposed to the room-temperatured ones easily found at most su-pa (supermarkets). Hot mochi, hot ozoni, traditional Japanese music blasted from some speakers, cloudless clear blue sky, not-too-cold weather – all in all made it a perfect day to be out socializing with students from the same and different Nihongo classes.
The best part was given an opportunity to try the pounding ourselves. Some students just posed for pictures. Some were given opportunity to mash the rice until the individual rice grains can no longer be seen (similar to nasi himpit texture) before beginning pounding. Some, like me, just went straight to the pounding part. No, we didn’t get to the shaping the mochi and covering it with red bean paste or powdered with sweet flour and peanut mixture, but even then, the pounding itself was interesting.
Using a medium-heavy kine (mallet), I took turn pounding on the rice with another girl standing opposite of me, listening carefully to “Yosho!” signs from the girl kneeling, in charge of turning and wetting the mochi in the usu (mortar). We wouldn’t want to pound on the girl’s hand by mistake, of course. It was fun aiming for the hardest pound in the middle of the mortar too. An exercise which reminded me of my field hockey training years ago, an outlet to let go of bottled up stresses and frustrations.
And so I pounded. Hard. Carefully aimed at the middle of the mortar. Never missed it even once.
Hard work. But the end result was a good, smooth-textured delicious mochi.
Hmmm… Oishii sou!
Kawaguchi sensei (the only male sensei for Nihongo Ichi class, and my favorite sensei) made an announcement before the class started last Thursday. Class for 2nd period would ended at 11.30a.m. (instead of 12.10 p.m.) and everybody was invited to a mochitsuki session, organized by Waseda University Centre of Japanese Language, at Oyama Garden.
So, at 11.30 a.m., Arai sensei led the (mostly excited, although some had no idea what mochi is) Nihongo Ichi students to Oyama Garden. We were greeted by the sight of some sumo wrestlers pounding on mochi. (Sorry, no pics of Sumo wrestlers pounding on the mochi though) A long line was already formed at a makeshift tent – for guests to try out mochi and ozoni soup. They even served vegetarian ozoni soup. The mochi was served fresh and warm, as opposed to the room-temperatured ones easily found at most su-pa (supermarkets). Hot mochi, hot ozoni, traditional Japanese music blasted from some speakers, cloudless clear blue sky, not-too-cold weather – all in all made it a perfect day to be out socializing with students from the same and different Nihongo classes.
The best part was given an opportunity to try the pounding ourselves. Some students just posed for pictures. Some were given opportunity to mash the rice until the individual rice grains can no longer be seen (similar to nasi himpit texture) before beginning pounding. Some, like me, just went straight to the pounding part. No, we didn’t get to the shaping the mochi and covering it with red bean paste or powdered with sweet flour and peanut mixture, but even then, the pounding itself was interesting.
Using a medium-heavy kine (mallet), I took turn pounding on the rice with another girl standing opposite of me, listening carefully to “Yosho!” signs from the girl kneeling, in charge of turning and wetting the mochi in the usu (mortar). We wouldn’t want to pound on the girl’s hand by mistake, of course. It was fun aiming for the hardest pound in the middle of the mortar too. An exercise which reminded me of my field hockey training years ago, an outlet to let go of bottled up stresses and frustrations.
And so I pounded. Hard. Carefully aimed at the middle of the mortar. Never missed it even once.
Hard work. But the end result was a good, smooth-textured delicious mochi.
Hmmm… Oishii sou!
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