Japan — mochi-tsuki has been practised since at least the Heian period (794–1185 CE). The New Year mochi-making tradition (oshougatsu mochi) is one of Japan's oldest documented food customs, connecting modern practice to 1,200+ years of continuous tradition.
Mochi-tsuki (餅つき) is the traditional Japanese technique of making mochi — glutinous rice cakes — by steaming mochigome (glutinous short-grain rice) until fully cooked, then pounding it in a large wooden mortar (usu, 臼) with a wooden mallet (kine, 杵) until the grain structure has completely broken down into a smooth, elastic, glossy mass. The process transforms individual cooked rice grains into a unified, cohesive, stretchy substance with remarkable elasticity and a pure, subtle sweetness. Mochi-tsuki is traditionally performed as a community event (mochi-tsuki taikai) around the New Year, with two people working the usu together — one pounding rhythmically, one turning and wetting the mochi between strokes.
Freshly pounded mochi has a pure, delicate flavour — a subtle sweetness from the glutinous rice and a faintly yeasty, earthy undertone from the grain. Its primary sensory quality is textural: the distinctive stretch and chew, the way it yields slowly under tooth pressure before releasing. Freshly made mochi eaten with kinako (roasted soybean flour) and sugar and a little salt is one of Japanese cuisine's most primal pleasures — the contrast of soft, yielding mochi against the dry, nutty kinako coating.
The rice: mochigome (glutinous short-grain rice, 100% amylopectin content — no amylose) must be soaked 8–12 hours before steaming. Steam in a wooden seiro steamer until fully translucent and very soft (30–40 minutes). The pounding sequence: initial mashing phase — press and fold the rice into a unified mass before beginning full-force pound strokes. Once unified, pound rhythmically with full force at 1-second intervals while the handler (te-kaeshi) flips and wets the mochi between strokes. The handler's job is the most dangerous — the mallet and the hands must never meet. Continue pounding until the mochi reaches perfect elasticity — a rope of mochi stretched slowly should elongate without tearing.
The ideal mochi-tsuki usu is made from a single hollowed tree trunk (ideally zelkova or cherry); the wood's slight elasticity reduces hand fatigue and produces a more consistent pound. Mochi should be shaped immediately after pounding while still hot — it firms as it cools and becomes unworkable within 10–15 minutes of coming off the usu. Cut with a moistened knife or wet hands; never use a dry knife. Kakimochi (dried mochi) is produced by cutting fresh mochi into slabs, air-drying for 1–2 weeks until dry and cracked, then grilling or frying for an entirely different product.
Insufficient soaking — dry rice grains don't steam evenly and leave lumps in the mochi. Pounding a too-cool mochi — mochi cools and becomes difficult to work; keep it hot. Stopping before full elasticity — incompletely pounded mochi has visible grain texture and lacks the characteristic smooth stretch. Not wetting the surface — dry mochi sticks to the mallet and tears.
Japanese Farm Food — Nancy Singleton Hachisu; Rice Craft — Sonoko Sakai