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  • Home
    • Upcoming Events
    • About hakalauhome
    • Contact Us!
  • Yesterday
    • Timeline
    • Camps
    • People >
      • The Ross Families of Hakalau
      • Satoru Kurisu
      • Toraichi Morikawa
      • Waichi Ouye
      • Aigoro Uyeno
    • Schools >
      • Hakalau School
      • John M. Ross School
      • Hakalau Japanese Language School
    • Churches & Cemeteries >
      • Churches >
        • Hakalau Jodo Mission
        • Honohina Hongwanji
      • Cemeteries >
        • Honohina Cemetery
    • The Voice of Hakalau
    • Sugar Production >
      • Hakalau Mill & Other Buildings
      • Wailea Milling Company
    • Transportation >
      • Ships
      • 19th Century Hamakua Roads
      • Bridges >
        • Highway Bridges, 1950-1953
      • The Railroad
  • Today
    • Hakalau Farmers Market
    • Hakalau Jodo Mission Today >
      • Community Commitments >
        • Obon Festival
        • Memorial Day
        • Presentations >
          • American Gatha
          • Building World Peace, Local Style
          • Stronger Than a Tsunami
          • The End of Sugar
          • Ready, Set, Obon!
        • Newsletters
    • Honohina Hongwanji Today
    • Wailea/Hakalau Kumiai
    • Hakalau Reunions
    • Wailea Village Historic Preservation Community >
      • Cemetery Stewardship
      • Reviving Hakalau School
      • Senior Luncheons
  • Then and Now
    • UP & DOWN CAMPS: THEN AND NOW
    • Memorial Day: Then and Now
  • Tomorrow
    • Arsenic Remediation
    • Cliff Failures
    • Hāmākua CDP & the CDP Action Committee
Since 1998, mochi pounding in Wailea has played an important part in welcoming the New Year and in sustaining and sharing cultural practices. Here are the steps in the process:
Picture
Picture
The rice is washed and soaked for 3 days.
​
At 6:30 a.m. the fire is built then the rice is transferred into steaming boxes where it is stacked above pots of boiling water.

Picture
Picture
​The cooked rice is transferred to the Usu (stone mortar) and pounded with Kine (mallets) until the proper mochi consistency is achieved.


Picture
Picture
​The hot Mochi is taken to the workers who cut it into uniform pieces then form it into the traditional rounded shape, plain or filled with red bean paste (anko).
And here is the full story:
For the Hakalau Kuleana, our responsibility is to care for the land, the people, and the culture. We are guided by cultural values of YESTERDAY: Engage in collective effort. Look out for each other. Honor hard work. Show respect for those who came before us. Aloha and Mālama `Aina. In 2021, Akiko Masuda added two more values to the list: Consistently show up. Whatever has to be done, jump in and do it!