Mochitsuki

In ancient Japan rice was a valuable food used on holidays and special occasions. Nowadays mochi (rice cakes) can be bought all year round, but many families and communities have special mochitsuki (making sweet rice cakes) events near the end of the year.

Welcoming the Boar - a Japanese New Year

January 7th 2007
In the Japanese zodiac 2007 is the Year of the Boar (Inoshishi). I spent the New Year with a couple of different friends that I had met the first time I was in Japan, and their families. It had been three years since I had seen one friend and his wife, and five years since I had seen the other friend and her family, but in both cases it was as though it had only been about a month. ... read more

Asia » Japan » Kagawa » Takamatsu

In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Fol... ... read more

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