The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-01
NEW TEARS Nv JAPAN.
japanese on tic Ceremonial and Gus
toms OF Its ObseTN ance.


on the first day Of year according to tn,
old calendar. which happens a month latel
than the first of January according TO tn,
new calendar
few days previous to the first of Janu
airy are the busiest days for the shops il
cities and towns. for tho people do con
siderable shopping during these days for
New Year gifts. Tho shopkeepers are
busy. not only on account of the multitude
Of shoppers, but also on account of the
large amount OF bills they have TO collect.
In Japan the shopkeepers sell their goods
extensively on trust. considerable num-
Der of customers Of shop do not remit
the bills promptly as promised, The bills
remain in the hands OF the customers unit
the keeper of the shops is obliged 70 hire a
number of collectors, who carry the bills
in their pockets and call upon the delip-
quent customers for payment at the end
Of the year.
According TO the custom Of Japan, the
! bills and the money loaned personally may
be- collected until the midnight Of the slst
Of December. With the dawn Of the first
day Of the new year they are liable to
remain unpaid until the end of the new
year. So the collectors strenuously hunt
up the payers Of the bills throughout the
night with chochin. the japanese lantern,
in their hand
A delinquent debtor who docs not wish
TO pay the bills which he expects 20 be
sent to him will close his door early in
the evening and go to bed. BY and by a
collector comes around and knocks at the
door violently to wake up the debtor from
his sound sleep.
Some shopkeepers would even exact
"a pound Of flesh from their debtors.
SO very often their collectors are to be
seen lowering about on the streets until
the dawn, still carrying their chochin
in their hands. When they enter the deb
tors house they will say: Good evening"
instead Of Good morning.
The Japanese. in order TO celebrate the
first day OF new year. prepare day or two
ahead a peculiar food called mochi which
is sort of unleavened bread made OF
a kind of rice which has greater tenacious
quality than the other kinds. Bushels OF
this kind Of rice are steamed in a large
barrel shaped utensil. which is placed
on the top of a fat topped boiler
After the rice IA sufficiently steamed
10 make ii soft enough to be kneaded into
a dough, it il taken out, portion at time
into u stone mortar, in which it is kneaded
A half dozen men and maid servants stand
around the mortar.
The former hold in their hands kline.
pickaxelike tools Of wood. whose points
are made blunt while the latter hold wooden
poles point blunt In time w&h the
musical signals from their own mouths,
the men swing the wooden picksxes in the
air and plant them violently into the steamed
rice. while the maid servants mix and
turn and return the dough with the poles,
and one of them once in a while pours water
into the mortar 10 prevent the dough from
sticking 10 the side
This process continues until the dough
is very we'll mixed, 30 that one cannot
distinguish the separate grains OF rice.
Usually in fifteen minutes the dough is
sufficiently kneaded. Then it is taken out
of the mortar by maid servant with her
hands and placed on large four-spread
board.
The lady Of the family sprnkles -four
on the dough TO prevent it from being
sticky to the hands of half dozen ladies' (
who are ready TO do their work with thti
kimono sleeves tucked up with tcsVki. a
cord Of cloth The lady 81 the family [
cuts the dough into many parts Of different I
sizes, according ae she wishes them TO be
made. These are distributed among the
ladies who are ready to tako into their
hands the task Of forming the little coughs
into mGChi Of different slZes and shapes
Tie Woch are usually made round the
word mochi meant originally moon, and
the round 70ch We're modelled in the
shape Of the full moon: thus, H. Japanese
literature, the phrase moch moon. means
full moon, They measu a. IN diameter from
one inch 10 two feet. w.th the THO kacs- of
from one TO two inches. and with their
tons IN the shape Of a graduate hin
Inis process, l. repeated many lines
until the bushels of rice are completely
The work begins early IN tho
morning. nearly just after midnight srd
ends at 10 OF J O'Clock The hustle and
hustle Of the mochi making is very inter-
cstinc 10 watch
Tho number Of inochi made by a family
depends largely upon the wealth ard the
SIZE of the flmily An average famiy
makes more Or less than hundred mOchf
Df these. the large sized ones are used for
offerings to family god
4 half dozen different sized nochi are
piled on a little table the smaller ones on
OPP OF the larger ones. On the top Of all
.he'e 1lochi Is placed an orange. with the
caves OF q particular tree for the occasion
llantcd On II
This Offering j. made in the iokonomc,
he tabernacle for gods. just ate. mid
liRnt OF the ais; of December or carly
n the morning OF Jan T. The similar Z
ferings are made 10 various gods the god !
4 tho hearth at the fireplace the god Of )
wells n the well, &c
On the first day Of tho new year no labori-
Ms work should be performed not even
broom should he carried by a maid So
very conceivable work is done on the 3lst !
+ December.
Vegetables and other food are cooked
eraTately in the evening and kept IN re-
eptacles TO ba taken out and eaten in tte
lorning without troubling the maids be-
ond arranging the food on the table. Tho
hertory food il cooked separately with
he first bucketful of water drawn from
ne 81 cred well in temple Of Shnto just
fter the bell stTikes at midnight o
Everybody observes the passover on v
lat evening As soon as the food is cooked
is offered TO the gods in the iokonomd, !
,gether with the mochi il
The first thing ono should do after the 5
idnighi is passed is TO greet the fellow a
LENDERS Of the family with - NCdct3'"
Happy New Year Then he eats the
mi a. a matter Of ceremony "
4 ne zoni IL sort Of soup OF shoyu tho
ipanese sauce, with mochi boiled in il and
'asoned with potatoes peculiar 10 the
rental soil. the roots Of the vegetable y
al spreads its broad leaves like umbrellas a
ladies hats and with moydshi-the j.
hite threadike stems grown out Of beans n
'pt under a straw bed in a garden
q spuf Sweet yCni' Who docs not