Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Garden party
Experience Japanese New Year at Morikami.
It takes hard work and strength to make the delicate Japanese rice cakes known as “mochi.”
A typical dish for Japanese New Year, the small, soft and chewy pastry is traditionally made during mochitsuki ceremonies, in which several people use heavy wooden hammers to pound and smash glutinous, sticky rice for hours until it reaches the right consistency.
The ritual will be among those performed at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens during “Oshogatsu: A New Year’s Celebration,” set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The event will also feature traditional food and drinks, bonsai demonstrations, tea ceremonies, and live Japanese drumming and harp performances.
In Japan, Oshogatsu is celebrated on Jan. 1, but the Morikami typically hosts its festival on the second Sunday of January.
“The actual holiday in Japan is the most important and celebrated holiday that they have, so they have several traditions that align with celebrating the new year,” said Monika Amar, Morikami’s events coordinator.
During Japanese New Year celebrations, mochi becomes more than just a pastry. It’s also used to build “kagami mochi,” a decoration that symbolizes family continuity.
The Davie-based Japanese drumming group Fushu Daiko will do demonstrations and perform taiko drumming throughout the day.
“I can tell you that the mallets provided by the Morikami are very heavy,” says Jen Hoffman, member of Fushu Daiko. “They are soaked in water to keep them from sticking to the rice.”
“It generally takes quite a long time, quite persistent pounding to get the consistency of mochi, so ours is just for demonstration,” added Amar. “We go into the description of what mochi is, and the tradition behind it, and how important it is to have a lucky new year.”
Picking a fortune slip, or omikuji, for the upcoming year is another important tradition. At the festival, attendees can pick fortune slips that were shipped from Japan, and are written English and Japanese.
“Each fortune is different. It tells you different elements of what’s to come in the new year for you, what to watch out for,” Amar said. “If you get a bad fortune, we have a string attached to a tree, and you can tie it to the tree. It’s supposed to relieve you of the misfortunes of the new year.”
People also can set goals and plans for 2017 using a representation of the “daruma” doll. These small talismans with white circles as eyes represent Bodhidharma, a founder of Zen Buddhism. In Japan, people paint one eye black when they set a goal or make a wish, and later paint the other eye when they achieve it.
The Morikami Museum will have three walls with printed images of the daruma doll for people to make their wishes for 2017. Three other walls will display the daruma dolls from last year’s festival, she said, “so people can look for their wishes from last year and color in the eye of the daruma if their wish came true.”
“Oshogatsu: A New Year’s Celebration” will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach. Admission ranges from $6-$35, depending on age and activities. Call 561-495-0233, or go to Morikami.org.