Happy New Year's!
Dec. 31st, 2004 08:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellienihonSo far 2005 seems like a pretty low key year. My brother and I went to the local temple with my parents' hosts, and we rang the bell 10 of the requisite 108 times. Then we headed over to the local shrine, and prayed for the next year.
First off, it snowed this morning, for the first time since I've been here. We spent the evening at the house where my parents are staying. Mr. T wanted to make mochi, so Mrs. T spent much of the evening doing that. This involved me rolling balls of azuki (sweet red bean paste), and her preparing the mochi rice.
Traditionally, mochi is made by cooking mochi rice, then setting it in a moistened wooden pan. You set some water near by, and one person turns the mochi rice with moistened hands while the other hits the mochi with a big wooden hammer. Personally, I'd rather be the hammer person in this arrangement. Fortunately, the T's have a mochi machine, so we just tossed the rice in that, and added a little water with a rice paddle until it was the right consistency-- gooey, with no more rice kernels. Mrs. T took the mochi and put it in a pan with rice flour, and pulled off palm sized thick pieces, and put an azuki ball in the center, then rolled it up so the azuki was in the middle. I helped a little, but separating some of the mochi is a skill that I do not have, so we ended up with Mrs. T giving me pieces of mochi to put azuki into.
We started Blade (DVD), after my family got sick of the Japanese New Year's specials (which seemed to be 80% karaoke/music performances). Partway through, Mrs. T had made toshi-koshi soba, year ending noodles. It's part of the Japanese end of the year tradition to eat noodles before midnight. Noone I've asked knows why. I should probably google that. Okay, so apparently it signifies letting go of the old year, and a long life for the eater.
My parents both bailed, but the T's both went with my brother and I to go to the temple. Bundled up, the four of us headed for the local temple that was following this tradition. We arrived after a little shortcut through the cemetary (just a little spooky). The temple appeared deserted, but was lit on the inside, and the temple man (monk?) stuck his head through the sliding door and invited us in. The inside of the temple was bright, and we took off our shoes before stepping up to pray and enter the temple. The bell was outside a window. We rang the bell by grabbing a rope attached to the ringer that was outside of the bell (think ramming the bell, or one of those perpetual motion desk toys with 5 suspended balls). Buddhist tradition is to ring the bell 108 times to dispell the 108 earthly desires and start the year afresh, with no attachments. The monk (for lack of a better term) sat next to the window and moved a bean from one box into the other each time the bell was rung. There were 54 beans, so when they had all returned to their original box, he would be done. There was also a table set up with some snacks, sake, and hot tea. There were several locals (around my age) who were hanging out there. I kind of wonder whether they had all moved away from home, and this was a way to see all their old friends. Part of the Japanese tradition is to go home for the new year's celebration. Anyway, we joined them for a cup of tea/sake, and then headed out.
I thought we would head back to the house, but after we left, the T's told us that we were going to the local Shinto shrine for the first visit of the year (Hatsumode). This is another tradition, and most Japanese people do go to a shrine during the first few days of the new year. This is the one day of the year that it is normal to see people walking on the streets at midnight. So we went to the shrine.
The shrine we went to is dedicated to the protection of this community. We had to wait in line to pray. money, bell, bow, bow, clap, clap, bow. There's a chain with a bell or jangle that you ring to get the spirits attention after you put your money in. You bow twice, clap twice, pray, and bow again before leaving. The shrine had hot amazake (sweet sake), and regular sake out. They also had a bonfire. Bro and I both picked up a warm can of amazake, and then we headed out. We decided that we would just walk home from there (maybe halfway between T's and my place). Both of us used the can as a hand warmer on the way home. I might drink the amazake tomorrow.
Anyway, that was my New year's. Happy New Year's Everyone! May you all prosper.
First off, it snowed this morning, for the first time since I've been here. We spent the evening at the house where my parents are staying. Mr. T wanted to make mochi, so Mrs. T spent much of the evening doing that. This involved me rolling balls of azuki (sweet red bean paste), and her preparing the mochi rice.
Traditionally, mochi is made by cooking mochi rice, then setting it in a moistened wooden pan. You set some water near by, and one person turns the mochi rice with moistened hands while the other hits the mochi with a big wooden hammer. Personally, I'd rather be the hammer person in this arrangement. Fortunately, the T's have a mochi machine, so we just tossed the rice in that, and added a little water with a rice paddle until it was the right consistency-- gooey, with no more rice kernels. Mrs. T took the mochi and put it in a pan with rice flour, and pulled off palm sized thick pieces, and put an azuki ball in the center, then rolled it up so the azuki was in the middle. I helped a little, but separating some of the mochi is a skill that I do not have, so we ended up with Mrs. T giving me pieces of mochi to put azuki into.
We started Blade (DVD), after my family got sick of the Japanese New Year's specials (which seemed to be 80% karaoke/music performances). Partway through, Mrs. T had made toshi-koshi soba, year ending noodles. It's part of the Japanese end of the year tradition to eat noodles before midnight. Noone I've asked knows why. I should probably google that. Okay, so apparently it signifies letting go of the old year, and a long life for the eater.
My parents both bailed, but the T's both went with my brother and I to go to the temple. Bundled up, the four of us headed for the local temple that was following this tradition. We arrived after a little shortcut through the cemetary (just a little spooky). The temple appeared deserted, but was lit on the inside, and the temple man (monk?) stuck his head through the sliding door and invited us in. The inside of the temple was bright, and we took off our shoes before stepping up to pray and enter the temple. The bell was outside a window. We rang the bell by grabbing a rope attached to the ringer that was outside of the bell (think ramming the bell, or one of those perpetual motion desk toys with 5 suspended balls). Buddhist tradition is to ring the bell 108 times to dispell the 108 earthly desires and start the year afresh, with no attachments. The monk (for lack of a better term) sat next to the window and moved a bean from one box into the other each time the bell was rung. There were 54 beans, so when they had all returned to their original box, he would be done. There was also a table set up with some snacks, sake, and hot tea. There were several locals (around my age) who were hanging out there. I kind of wonder whether they had all moved away from home, and this was a way to see all their old friends. Part of the Japanese tradition is to go home for the new year's celebration. Anyway, we joined them for a cup of tea/sake, and then headed out.
I thought we would head back to the house, but after we left, the T's told us that we were going to the local Shinto shrine for the first visit of the year (Hatsumode). This is another tradition, and most Japanese people do go to a shrine during the first few days of the new year. This is the one day of the year that it is normal to see people walking on the streets at midnight. So we went to the shrine.
The shrine we went to is dedicated to the protection of this community. We had to wait in line to pray. money, bell, bow, bow, clap, clap, bow. There's a chain with a bell or jangle that you ring to get the spirits attention after you put your money in. You bow twice, clap twice, pray, and bow again before leaving. The shrine had hot amazake (sweet sake), and regular sake out. They also had a bonfire. Bro and I both picked up a warm can of amazake, and then we headed out. We decided that we would just walk home from there (maybe halfway between T's and my place). Both of us used the can as a hand warmer on the way home. I might drink the amazake tomorrow.
Anyway, that was my New year's. Happy New Year's Everyone! May you all prosper.
