KAPA‘A — Mochi, or rice cakes, wrapped in kashiwa leaves and filled with red bean paste, are traditionally served on Boys’ Day, according to online sources. “I don’t know when it started, or what it means, but mochi on Boys’
KAPA‘A — Mochi, or rice cakes, wrapped in kashiwa leaves and filled with red bean paste, are traditionally served on Boys’ Day, according to online sources.
“I don’t know when it started, or what it means, but mochi on Boys’ Day is a Hawai‘i tradition,” Nobuko Takai, a member of the Kapa‘a Jodo Mission, said Sunday.
Boys’ Day was traditionally celebrated by the Asians on the fifth day of the fifth month and is still celebrated in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea and Vietnam.
In 1948, governments decreed this day to be a holiday celebrating the happiness of all children and to express gratitude toward mothers, renaming the day Kodomo no Hi, or Children’s Day.
Sunday, members of the Kapa‘a Jodo Mission turned out as early as 4 a.m. to prepare the fires to cook 375 pounds of mochi rice which had been soaking for several days in preparation for the big event.
“We don’t advertise anymore since we are getting less and less members and it takes a lot of work to make mochi,” Takai said. “Basically, it’s by word of mouth, now. We don’t have any extra to sell because we don’t have enough people to make mochi.”
Rev. Shoryu Akiya, the resident minister at the church, said he has noticed the amount of mochi being made diminish since his arrival six years ago.
“I don’t know how the tradition started, but when I got here, the church members were making mochi so I just help,” Akiya said. “It must be a Hawai‘i tradition where people just like to eat mochi.”
One passing motorist, despite the lack of signs announcing the event, stopped and asked if any were available for sale because of the number of cars parked in the church’s parking lot.
“During New Year’s, the church used to make 1,000 pounds of rice or more,” he said. “And Boys’ Day mochi used to be between 500 to 600. Today, since we don’t have help, we make about 800 to 900 pounds for New Year’s and about 400 pounds for Boys’ Day.”
In addition to age reducing the number of volunteers, during the New Year’s event, one member noted the aging mochi machine that was made in Japan, age also taking its toll on the machine as replacement parts were not available and several pieces have been re-manufactured and reworked to keep the machine operating.
With the reduced amount of rice being processed, the work wound down sooner and Takai was quick to note that the koinobori, or carp kites, another symbol of Boys’ Day, needed to be raised.
The carp is based on a Chinese legend that it swims upstream and becomes a dragon, the wind blowing the koinobori resembling fish swimming.
This year, Kapa‘a Jodo Mission got some help from younger people for the Boys’ Day mochi as some of its younger members were in attendance along with a member of the Kapa‘a Hongwanji Mission located near the Waikahe‘a Canal.
“It’s Kapa‘a, so need to help,” said Brian Yamamoto, the hongwanji member.
Takashi and Nobuko Tanaka, visiting from Japan, also worked alongside the church members, stopping only briefly to bid farewell to more friends from Tokyo, Yuri and Satoshi Koizumi because Yuri was on her way to the airport to return home.
People seeking mochi for Children’s Day celebrations can visit local bakeries, one touting blue mochi in reference to boys.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
