Mochitsuki

Jan. 1, 2012 • April Sora

It was the 1960s. All the aunties and uncles gathered together. They drove to the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre to wash and soak about 350 pounds of rice, set up the basement with tables and chairs, and check the equipment. This included one usu (mortar) carved from a tree shipped from B.C., a stained and tattered brown canvas about 8 x 8 feet, a yellow plastic utility bowl, a crooked wooden stand, old rags and rolls of paper towel, four …