As I mentioned yesterday, there was an event at Anthony's preschool yesterday: a “mochi-tsuki” event, where the kids make mochi, the gooey rice product that I described a week ago.

Mochi is made by cooking a special kind of sweet rice, and pounding it over and over in a big stone bowl with a huge wooden mallet, both of which can be seen in the photo below:

The operation was overseen by a kindly man who enjoyed being with the kids.

While each kid got a chance to pound the mochi a few times, a bunch of the Moms were preparing to distribute the results...

The kid (with help from a parent) take a whack at the mochi, then the cook quickly makes an adjustment to the lump with a wetted hand, then another wack. This mimics the well-timed pattern of movements associated with traditional mochi making, reminiscent of two lumberjacks timing their ax swings at the same cut in a tree. In reality, the mochi used here was pre-made, but the kids didn't know that.

All the kids and parents had on aprons (and let me tell you, a five-year-old looks cute in an apron). I was wearing Fumie's, and Anthony was wearing the matched apron he got for his fourth birthday.

As batches of mochi were completed, the Mommy Assembly Line went into action...

Anthony and Monet at times got a little out of line, eventually getting busted by a teacher.

Of course, this reminds me of him doing the same thing with Kana-chan a couple of years ago. I hope they're mostly-isolated events

(Kinako – powdered soy beans – was also described on my earlier mochi post.)

Once everyone got a chance at making mochi and the assembly line had done its work, the kids brought their bento boxes back to another room to eat.

This is the first time Anthony's had an all-mochi bento. Normally, he has a somewhat more balanced meal, as the gallery of bentos shows.