Traditional Mochi Tsuki in Bainbridge brings communities together

The connections I made with the Japanese American community in Bainbridge Island last time led me back at the beginning of this year. Hence, I was able to witness the 35th annual Mochi Tsuki Festival, which was organized by the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community (BIJAC) on Jan. 11 at Woodward Middle School.  

After working hard on their rice harvests, people in Japan prepared some rice to celebrate the New Year season, hoping to use it for sweet and savory dishes. Later, they pounded the harvested rice and transformed it into a soft dough. This tradition is called mochi tsuki, which means mochi pounding. Mochi is a traditional and very popular Japanese rice cake.   

The Japanese community on Bainbridge Island does tremendous work to ensure these traditions are still seen and experienced by younger generations and all the other communities today, even though these traditional practices are fading through the generations.

“This is an annual event where we have mochi pounding,” Joyce Nishimura, secretary of BIJAC, said to The Seattle Collegian. “And we let all the public come in free of charge.” She explained that pounding rice dough to make mochi in a traditional stone bowl called a usu is a unique highlight of the festival. 

People from a wide range of communities and ages gathered around the usu outside the building. They were excited for their turn to pound mochi with locally crafted cherry wood mallets. “We allow the guests to pound as well, so they get the experience,” Nishimura added.

Mike Okano, whose family began Bainbridge’s Mochi Tsuki, was busy managing and assisting everyone in steaming and pounding rice dough to make mochi. “We were two families on Bainbridge Island doing this traditional mochi tsuki until the late 70s and then quit,” he stated. “Then 35 years ago, we started to do this publicly,” Okano recalled his childhood memories connected with the traditional rice steaming practices. Even given the circumstances that affected their lifestyle in Bainbridge, it is incredible to see their effort to keep their traditional practices alive as a community.  

There was another long line inside the premises to experience mochi-making. There were many tables and community members to teach everyone to make their own mochi. Families, including kids and elders, enjoyed mochi making and also had their mochi with sauce and Japanese tea, which was served to all attendees. 

The festival was colorful with group Taiko drum performances by Seattle Kokon Taiko and Obon Dance workshops as well. The festival provided an opportunity to learn about Japanese American history on Bainbridge Island. 

“Also, people find out a little bit of the history of the Japanese Americans on the island, and what happened to them during the war, eyes and ears are just glued on to take in all that information, which is cool,” Okano said.