New Year: Crochet Hanabira Mochi Amigurumi・正月の和菓子: かぎ針編み花びら餅

Happy New Year! Or as the Japanese say: 明けましておめでとうございます！今年もよろしくお願いします。Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

I'm starting 2023 with something different from the usual countdown, fireworks and such New Year traditions, and also different from my kueh amigurumi series. For this New Year, I was inspired to create a crochet version of a traditional Japanese food that is only eaten during Shogatsu正月, the Japanese New Year. I'm not referring to the more commonly known kagami mochi鏡餅, which is always displayed during Shogatsu, but to the hanabira mochi花びら 餅. Its name literally means "flower petal mochi", and like the kagami mochi, it also traces its origins back to the Heian era. The hanabira mochi is a wagashi和菓子 that is only made during the New Year period as it is traditionally eaten during this time, up to Koshogatsu小正月 (the 15th day of the New Year), and served at hatsugama初釜, the first tea ceremony of the year.

Crochet hanabira mochi to start off 2023.

The hanabira mochi consists of a white rounded gyuhi求肥 mochi folded in half over a pink or red diamond-shaped gyuhi mochi (called hishi mochi菱餅), white miso-an味噌餡, and a slim stick of candied gobō牛蒡, with the ends of the gobō sticking out from both sides of the white mochi. The white mochi is unsealed and has the pink showing through the centre before fading to white at the edges. Its appearance evokes the image of the ume梅 blossom (as represented by the pink and white mochi) wrapped around an ayu年魚 sweetfish, as represented by the gobō. The ume blossom is often associated with the New Year as it symbolises perseverance and new beginnings; while the ayu symbolises the wish for longevity.

It is also sometimes referred to as the hishi hanabira mochi菱 葩 餅, which was its original name during the Edo period. It was eaten by the Imperial family during the New Year, and derived from a Heian era Imperial court ritual called the Hagatame no gishiki歯固め の 儀式, literally "tooth hardening ritual". This ritual that took place during the first days of the New Year and involved eating so-called hard, firm or chewy foods such as mochi, venison, boar meat, pheasant, salted ayu, daikon, chestnuts and various gourds. These were arranged with stacks of round mochi and diamond-shaped hishi mochi. The contrast of the diamond and round shapes were significant as the shapes represented the earth and the heavens in Onmyoudou陰陽道. The stacks of round mochi are the predecessor of the kagami mochi, the most common Shogatsu item that we know of today.

Crochet hanabira mochi, inspired by the New Year wagashi of the same name with a long history dating back to the Heian era.

The ritual's purpose was to promote and pray for good health and long life. Its rationale was based on the ancient Chinese belief (adopted by Heian era Japanese) that eating hard or firm foods helped to harden or strengthen one's teeth which, in turn, strengthened one's body and overall constitution. The ancient Chinese and Japanese drew connections between teeth, aging and life, as seen from the character for "teeth" 歯, which is a component (radical) of the character for "age" 齢. The dried ayu was also symbolically significant as its name ayu年魚 literally means "year fish", connecting it to the new year. As time passed, the ritual became simplified, the food offerings became part of the osechiお節 dishes for the Imperial court, eaten with zouniぞうに made with white miso, and the various foods were stuffed into mochi instead of being placed on top. Along the way, the meats were omitted or substituted possibly due to the influence of Buddhism — for instance, the ayu was substituted with gobō.

Then, during the Edo period, the round and diamond-shaped mochi layers and the ingredients were simplified into the hishi hanabira mochi, with the 2 mochi layers stuffed with miso-an (the zouni) and the gobō (the ayu). It came to be called hishi hanabira mochi in reference to the diamond shaped mochi and the round petal-like mochi. The pink of the hishi mochi showed through the white mochi, resembling the ume blossom, which is seen as the first blossom of the new year and as an auspicious symbol representing perseverance and new beginnings or renewals in Japan. The Imperial court then commissioned wagashi-ya Kawabata-doki川端 道喜 and Tora-ya虎屋 to make the hishi hanabira, which the Imperial family distributed as New Year gifts to the aristocracy. During this time, the wagashi was available only to the upper classes. (Some trivia: Both Kawabata-doki and Tora-ya are still operating. Both are highly venerated. Kawabata-doki is well-known among Japanese and wagashi aficionados for its chimakiちまき and Tora-ya is world famous.)

It was only during the Meiji period that hanabira mochi become available to the general public. During this era, it again evolved, becoming slightly sweetened, with its name simplified to hanabira mochi. The Imperial court also granted special permission to the 11th head of the Urasenke裏千家, Gengensai Seichuu Soushitsu玄々斎 精中 宗室, to use the wagashi for hatsugama.

A variety of wagashi, including the hanabira mochi, are featured in Nisekoi OVA: Shigoto/Henbo at 00:17:20.

For my crochet version, I decided to replicate the real life original and leave the sides unsealed too. As such, I also replicated the interior components, instead of just stuffing the work with fibrefill. So the work is stuffed with crocheted versions of the pink hishi mochi, gobō and miso-an. After all, the actual wagashi is left unsealed, with the filling visible from the sides. I even looked up hanabira mochi images and recipes to see how the wagashi is made.

Crochet hanabira mochi, on the inside. Since the real thing is unsealed at the sides, I made crocheted versions of the wagashi fillings.

When the festivities settle down a little, I will clean up my draft and post the crochet pattern. So please bear with me until then. I confess progress has been slow on various projects (both crochet and sewing), including some new kueh amigurumi that I've been developing, as well as a pale green All About Ami Rosewood Cardigan and a blue crochet man-bag/man-purse (for Hubby) that I've been working on.

In the meantime, Happy New New Year and here's hoping that 2023 will be a good year.