On Dec. 18 at the lobby of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Building, sound of drums attracted numerous on-lookers as the Japanese Department was demonstrating mochi (Japanese rice cake) making in a celebration for Japanese New Year. Two girls from the Department, clad in kimono, were making mochi in a traditional way with a mortar and pestle.

It is a Japanese tradition, according to Prof. Peng Chuen-yang, the Chair of Japanese Department, to make mochi for New Year, and it is usually made with sticky rice in wooden mortars and pestles. On-lookers and guests of the event watched, for instance, these two girls pounded on some boiled sticky rice in a mortar with a pestle while adding some water to it from time to time. They mashed the rice until it became soft and when that happened, they took out the dough like sticky rice and form it into balls to dip in peanut or sesame powder. Bravo! They were ready to eat.

Dr. Feng Chao-kang, the Vice President for the Academic Affairs, and Dr. Chen Hwei-mei, the Director of the IEIE also attended the New Year celebration. Drs. Feng and Peng even rolled up their sleeves to join in the mochi making! Mochi aside, hot red bean soup and miso soup were prepared for tasting so that participants could feel and taste the true spirit of Japanese New Year. ( ~Ying-hsueh Hu )

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