Hey everyone, just a quick post here!
On December 6th there was a special event taking place at the Waseda campus during the lunch period!
It was a Sumo Omochitsuki! I'm sure you all know what sumo are but perhaps I should explain a little about お餅つきOmochitsuki. Omochitsuki is a mochi rice cake making ceremony.
Omochitsuki is carried out by adding mochi rice that has been soaked in water and then cooked into a traditional wooden mortar usu. Then the mochi pounding begins! It takes two people to carry out with one using the massive wooden mallet kine while another person kneads and wets the mochi. It's a little scary because if they are not synced well it can end in injury! When it is done the mochi is taken away to be made into various foods that can either be savory or sweet. Of course people take it in turns to make the mochi as it is really tiring!
The sumo at the festival were rather small when compared to some of the professional sumo you may go to see at a match but they were still certainly a sight to see! It was my first time seeing sumo so it was pretty cool!
At the event you could try making some mochi yourself by trying your hand at the heavy mallet. You could also line up to try some mochi for free. They had a few flavours and if my memory serves me right I believe they may have also had some gyoza. Unfortunately I had classes and I couldn't stay around for long so I wasn't able to try either but it was nice to have the opportunity to witness the festival. It was really lively with lots of students sitting on the grass to eat and talk.
I only wish I had been able to do so too! |
| Who better than a sumo to wield the heavy kine! |
Even though it was coming into winter there were still lots of momiji autumn leaves to see, so on the way to my next class I took the opportunity to take some photos of the colourful leaves that had taken their rest on the ground.
Even though I could only stay for a few minutes is was nice to take in the atmosphere and witness my first omochitsuki and take in the festival atmosphere!
Mochi is a traditional treat during the new year so I knew I would have a chance to try them again, which I did so hold tight for a post on that in the future!
Well, till next time!
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