Happy New Year!

New Years is a very important Holiday in Japan.  It begins right after Christmas and goes on for at least a week.  I understand that in Japanese households, they do a large cleaning of their homes around Christmas for several days, then they cook for at least a day, and then they enjoy New Year's shopping.

We began to notice arrangements like this one all over town.  Theyt always included bamboo, evergreens, and circular arrangements of rope. 

In the mall near our house, they had traditional entertainments.  These women are playing the "koto."

  The one in the back is playing a "shamisen."

 

Because workers were on vacation all week, our office was closed.  We had time to go see some things.  We visited the Tokyo National Museum and saw many interesting things including a mummy and some interesting armor.  There was a lot we didn't get to see yet.

Shopping is an important part of their New Year's celebration.  We visited this street with lots of little shops.  It was crowded with lots of people.

 An American woman was baptized in our ward.  There is always a special feeling at a baptism.  (Unfortunately the hot water was not working that day, so she had to brave the cold water.)

Monday, January 14, was "Seijin no Hi" or a special day for people who are turning 20.  That is the official age of becoming an adult.  We were invited to a party called "Mochi Ttsuki" - making mochi.  It was a long train ride from our home and then we walked another distance. 

 It began to snow on our way and snowed all day. Snow is very unusual in Tokyo so the children were having fun playing in it.  There were lots of problems with transportation.  Our train home stopped for about 30 minutes while they cleared snow off the tracks. 

Making mochi is done by cooking rice, then kneading it in a large wooden bowl with medium sized mallets, then pounding it with a large wooden mallet. This is all done to a rhythm. Since one person has to reach in and turn the dough between each blow of the mallet, the rhythm is quiet important. I kept hoping no one got their hand hit. Here is Clair taking a whack at it and another man turning the dough..

 

Meanwhile, the women shape the very sticky, chewy mass into small balls.  Some are wrapped around balls of sweet read bean paste, others are mixed with "natto" or put into soup.  Some are rolled in flavored powder.

Above you will see "natto."  Natto is made by fermenting soy beans for about a month.  It is considered very tasty by most Japanese.  They mixed the natto with "kim chi" (very spicy) or chestnuts and balls of mochi.

Pictures above are bowls of seaweed and pressed fish cakes (Kamaboko).  Over these they pour a broth and make a very good soup.

 Here are the four couples of "seniors", our missionary sister, some members of the ward, and a family from Peru.  We all had a wonderful time and learned a lot of Japanese customs