fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Submit Your Event
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Send Letter to the Editor
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Our Newsletters
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s UP
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Subscribe to the What’s UP newsletter
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Log Out
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s UP
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Subscribe to the What’s UP newsletter
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Log Out
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Gomen-Kudasai brings Japanese celebration to life

by Mike Townshend
April 14, 2016
in Art & Music, Entertainment
0
Pounding mochi at Gomen-Kudasai. (photo by Al Alexsa)
Pounding mochi at Gomen-Kudasai. (photo by Al Alexsa)

As the cold rain came down, Kazuma Oshita called out commands in Japanese as he held a large wooden mallet over a giant mortar steaming with a payload of sticky rice, ready to strike home.

Two pots of sweet rice — one white, the other brown — set up at his side had steamed for more than a day. With his partner, Oshita brought down their twin hammers in a rhythm, pounding the rice into a sticky, paste-like dough called “mochi.”

Inside Gomen-Kudasai, the New Paltz-based Japanese restaurant that Oshita co-owns with his wife and business partner Youko Yamamoto, Yamamoto explained the process and its significance.

“Mochitsuki” is the ancient Japanese New Year’s ritual dedicated to celebrating the harvest and wishing for a prosperous year. The process of pounding out mochi — by hammer — the hard way hails back to the distant past.

“This has been going on since the sixth century, when we adopted rice-making from China,” Yamamoto said. Prior to that rapid agricultural revolution, the ancient Japanese had been nomadic.

“That was the beginning of Japanese civilization,” she said. “Mochi is really the symbol of our life and the gift from God.”

Gomen-Kudasai has held a special Mochitsuki celebration for six years now, including this New Year’s season. Diners at the restaurant and the crowd of nearly 30 that gathered, all got to try sweet mochi for free. The couple sees the tradition as special thank-you to their customers and the community.

Yamamoto — who has made it her mission to be Japan’s unofficial cultural ambassador to New Paltz — is also behind the yearly Bon-Odori Festival of dance.

Mochi itself, fresh and warm from the mortar, has a sweet, almost ice cream-like flavor. It sticks to the bowl as one tries to eat it, and it can be topped with a number of condiments.

Outside with the crowd, taiko drummer Stuart Paton wowed his audience with his display of the traditional Japanese percussion style. His ritualized drum beat was an invocation of the dragon spirit.

Paton, an American who grew up in Tokyo until age 18, first began studying taiko under a grandmaster in 1984. He went on to found the Burlington Taiko Group in Vermont. The group has ties to New Paltz, however, because Burlington Taiko plays at the local Bon-Odori Festival each year. They’ve also done performances at SUNY New Paltz.

Yamamoto noted that Mochitsuki hammers and mortar were special creations — made by Oshita, who is a sculptor. “These are all handmade tools. We didn’t bring them with us from Japan,” she said.

To learn more about what’s going on at Gomen-Kudasai, head to https://gomenkudasainy.com/. For more about Burlington Taiko, check out https://www.burlingtontaiko.org.

Tags: Gomen KudasaiJapanese cultureYouko Yamamoto
Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher

Mike Townshend

Related Posts

Party with Congolese dance music in Kingston this Saturday
Community

Party with Congolese dance music in Kingston this Saturday

July 4, 2025
Rupco marks 35 years of providing shelter
Art & Music

Summertide celebrates Lace Mill’s 10-year anniversary with art and music

July 4, 2025
Todd Rundgren returns to Bearsville celebrating enduring music career
Art & Music

Todd Rundgren returns to Bearsville celebrating enduring music career

July 3, 2025
Dual exhibits open at Wired Gallery this Saturday
Art & Music

Dual exhibits open at Wired Gallery this Saturday

July 3, 2025
’Tis the season for outdoor art
Art & Music

’Tis the season for outdoor art

June 28, 2025
Baroque minimalism on display at Kinderhook reception this Saturday
Art & Music

Baroque minimalism on display at Kinderhook reception this Saturday

June 27, 2025
Next Post

Citing safety, village approves 30-second crossing at Main/Partition

Weather

Kingston, NY
55°
Clear
5:25 am8:35 pm EDT
Feels like: 55°F
Wind: 0mph S
Humidity: 95%
Pressure: 30.17"Hg
UV index: 0
SunMonTue
93°F / 68°F
84°F / 70°F
88°F / 68°F
powered by Weather Atlas

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Our Newsletters
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Art
    • Books
    • Kids
    • Lifestyle & Wellness
    • Food & Drink
    • Music
    • Nature
    • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Subscribe to Our Newsletters
    • Hey Kingston
    • New Paltz Times
    • Woodstock Times
    • Week in Review

© 2022 Ulster Publishing