Get smart curated videos delivered to your inbox.   SUBSCRIBE
The Kid Should See This

Pounding Mochi with the Fastest Mochi Maker in Japan

Watch more with these video collections:

At the award-winning Nakatani-dou rice cake shop in Nara, Japan, the making of traditional Daifuku mochi is an event in itself. Owner Mitsuo Nakatani pounds the rice with his fist at breakneck speeds while a large wooden mallet alternates in rhythm, a thrilling process to watch.

Traditionally, mochi was made from whole rice, in a labor-intensive process. The traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan is Mochitsuki:

1. Polished glutinous rice is soaked overnight and steamed.
The steamed rice is mashed and pounded with wooden mallets (kine) in a traditional mortar (usu).

2. Two people will alternate the work, one pounding and the other turning and wetting the mochi. They must keep a steady rhythm or they may accidentally injure one another with the heavy kine.

3. The sticky mass can be eaten immediately or formed into various shapes (usually a sphere or cube)

In this video from Great Big Story, the mochi master explains his traditional approach to mochi-making.

Next: Watch an up close, longer clip of the dramatic process.

This Webby award-winning video collection exists to help teachers, librarians, and families spark kid wonder and curiosity. TKSST features smarter, more meaningful content than what's usually served up by YouTube's algorithms, and amplifies the creators who make that content.

Curated, kid-friendly, independently-published. Support this mission by becoming a sustaining member today.

🌈 Watch these videos next...

Yuasa Town: The Birthplace of Soy Sauce

Rion Nakaya

What Does the World Eat for Breakfast?

Rion Nakaya

The Perennial Plate: Kunming, China’s organic food movement

Rion Nakaya

The art of shokuhin sampuru: How Japanese fake food models are made

Rion Nakaya

The Art Of Making Noodles By Hand: Peter Song and Shuichi Kotani

Rion Nakaya

The Amazing Art of Bread Baking in Tajikistan

Rion Nakaya

Okinawa’s sea snake catchers & seaweed farmers

Rion Nakaya

Mom’s Original Chinese Dumpling Recipe

Rion Nakaya

Making noodles by hand at Houston’s Uyghur Bistro

Rion Nakaya