Sunday’s Kaji Kito service concluded three days of work for the final fund-raiser of the year, the Mochi Sale. This is the second year I’ve helped out in the preparation of the pounded rice concoction that is molded into patties and sold by the pound. On Friday I helped set up all of the equipment and tables needed and on Saturday morning I was back at the church.

For the second year I helped with steaming the rice.

This is a fascinating system for cooking the rice. At the bottom are gas-fired cauldrons of boiling water. (The cauldron on the right heats replacement water that is transferred to the working cauldrons as needed.) Atop the cauldron is a wood plank with a single half-inch diameter hole in the center. All of the heat from the boiling cauldron is jetted through this hole into the trays of rice above.

Inside each tray a bamboo mat rests on crossbeams with a cotton cloth on top of the mat. Several cups of rice are heaped on the cloth and spread out to fill the bottom of the tray.

Trays are stacked eight high with a final board on top holding the steam in. (Years ago, this system used just four trays each but that took all day to cook the 200-pounds of rice needed. A craftsman church member doubled the number of trays and made it possible to cook all of the rice in less than four hours.)

The trays of rice are removed from the bottom first – one worker lifts the stack of seven trays while another worker (me) removes the bottom tray. The tray of cooked rice is then dumped into a grinder that extrudes a smooth rice paste that is formed into the mochi. Empty trays are then filled with new rice and placed on the top of the stack under the top board.

The trays themselves are marvels of Japanese construction. There are no nails. The side slats have wooden pins that hold the pieces together.

Below is a slideshow of photos I took of the process.