New Year’s Differences: Japanese vs Japanese-American
Here’s how Japanese in Japan and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii celebrate Japanese New Year’s differently.
I’ve spent many Holiday seasons in Japan while living there for 13 years. There are a lot of differences during that time compared to the US. For one, Christmas is more family focused in the US while it’s more like a Valentine’s Day in Japan. There’s also way more gift giving in the US than there is in Japan.
New Year’s is quiet and family focused in Japan and more of a party and celebration in the US. New Year’s is also more of the focus in Japan as there’s a long holiday during this time.
I’m Japanese-American and grew up celebrating New Year’s with some Japanese traditions which is common amongst Japanese-Americans in Hawaii. There are probably some differences between Japanese-Americans in Hawaii vs the U.S. Mainland and even between families, just as there are differences between regions in Japan, but I’ll share some observations I’ve had from my personal experiences.
1. There’s not much mochi pounding in Japan
One of the big things that I’ve noticed is that there’s more focus on making mochi in Hawaii than in Japan.
Mochi is a food made of rice that’s been pounded and made into a sticky texture. For New Year’s, it’s used in a traditional Japanese soup called ozoni, and when I was growing up, we pounded the rice with a machine and relatives would come over and shape the mochi with our hands.
My uncle and his family host an annual mochitsuki, or mochi pounding, event to bring people together and teach kids Japanese traditions. I’ve also noticed that many other Japanese-American families and groups in Hawaii doing the same.
In my 13 years in Japan, I only saw mochi pounding twice.
Once was part of a City Hall activity and once was for a school activity for students. I’ve lived both in Tokyo and in a smaller locale, and I’ve seen a family do it.
The principal at the school that held the activity said it’s a dying culture which is why he decided to have it for the students. While many in the neighborhood use to gather to take part in the tradition when he was younger, nowadays, most Japanese just buy mochi at the store.
2. There’s no kadomatsu in homes
Kadomatsu is a Japanese New Year decoration mainly made with bamboo, leaves, and rope.
In Hawaii, they’re sold even at places like Costco and Whole Foods. Family friends also made them and gifted them to us during the season. It might be that we were doing it wrong as a family, but we put them on display in our house.
It’s not as common for people in Japan to decorate with kadomatsu, it’s more common for businesses and shrines.
What I learned however, is that it’s supposed to be displayed outside because it’s meant to guide Gods and spirits. I’ve also never seen a kadomatsu at my wife’s home or any other Japanese friend’s home around this time of year.
3. Hawaii Japanese New Year’s food is different from Japanese New Year’s food
In Japan, New Year’s has a lot of cultural traditions and that includes food. There’s traditional dishes like osechi ryori where basically each item has a meaning.
In Hawaii, food is more representative of the mixed backgrounds of families, so you can have Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino - basically all sorts of foods mixed together.
It may be that some dishes are localized from a part of Japan I’m not familiar with, but even New Year’s dishes labeled as “Japanese” in Hawaii are different.
“Namasu” in Hawaii is more commonly called “sunomono” in Japan
In Hawaii, namasu is mainly vinegered cucumber slices and wakame seaweed. In Japan, it’s mostly thinly sliced and vinegered carrots and daikon.
Seeing how culture changes as time passes or situations change due to immigration or relocation is interesting. I’m glad I could experience both Japanese New Year’s culture and Hawaii Japanese-American New Year’s cultures.
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The Japanese Versions of Hawaii Snacks
There are many Japanese-influenced snacks in Hawaii. Here are the Japanese versions of them and their histories.
Hawaii and Japan are tied culturally due to the mass immigration of Japanese pre-World War II. It’s still close today. For Japanese, Hawaii is considered a top travel destination and many locals in Hawaii also enjoy visiting Japan.
It should be of no surprise that some foods and snacks have ties to Japan as well. Here are a few.
Tomoe Ame (Bontan Ame)
Tomoe Ame is a brand of “bontan ame” is a candy found in crack seed and drug stores in Hawaii. They may appear in Japanese shops on the US mainland as well.
It’s soft, chewy, slightly fruity candy wrapped in rice paper. It’s fun for kids because they put a sticker inside the box. It’s made in Nagoya, Japan and is imported but I haven’t seen the brand or box being sold in Japan.
In Japan, it’s more commonly known simply as Bontan Ame, and tastes almost exactly the same as the one in Hawaii.
It originated in Kagoshima and was derived from a mochi-like snack from nearby Kumamoto. The candy was created by adding bontan, or a Pomelo citrus fruit.
Found at: Daiso
Price: ~100 JPY (1 box)
https://www.seikafoods.jp [J]
Butter mochi
Japanese butter mochi
Butter mochi is actually a local, Hawaii snack and was not imported from Japan. However, it does use Japanese ingredients and it’s reasonable to say that there’s at least some influence.
Japanese butter mochi is very different. While the Hawaii version is a dense, caky, dessert treat, butter mochi in Japan resembles typical mochi more.
Butter mochi in Japan originated in Akita, and is a simple, delicious, butter-flavored soft mochi snack.
Found at: Supermarkets
Price: ~180 JPY (1 pc)
Hawaii version recipe: https://kirbiecravings.com
Chi chi dango
Chichi dango is one of the more well known Japanese snacks in Hawaii. It’s a soft, sticky mochi that’s often made with mochiko powder, coconut milk and so on.
The truth is, chichi dango is not well known in Japan.
Chichi dango originated in a small city called Shōbara-shi (庄原市) in Hiroshima prefecture. In 1900, a national dairy farm was established in the area and got big. The founder of Izumi Kouwadou, a nearby shop, wanted to make a nutritious snack with the milk, and that’s how his shop became the origin of chichi dango, selling it in 1934.
The ingredients differ from the common recipes found in Hawaii. They use no water or coconut milk. It’s simply mochiko powder in milk, sugar, glucose syrup and honey.
Food coloring also isn’t used for the pink and green colors. The pink is made from rosé wine from Miyoshi-shi, a city next to the Shōbara-shi area. The green is made from yomogi, a sagebrush.
While it may be known in the eastern parts of Hiroshima prefecture, it’s not known throughout Japan.
Found at: Online, shops in Hiroshima
http://chichidango.co.jp [J]
Price: ~ 810 JPY (15 pc.)
Habutae mochi
Habutae mochi is similar to chichi dango. The reason why I’m adding this in is because it’s more well known in Japan than chichi dango.
It’s made in many places in the country but originated in Fukui prefecture. It’s called “habutae” in reference to Japanese silk. Fukui prefecture is known for making a lot of textiles, including the silk, and the mochi has a texture that is smooth and silk-like.
Habutae mochi is made from steamed mochi powder, sugar and corn syrup. No milk.
It is very soft, and is somewhat similar to gyuhi, or the mochi-like topping that’s found in frozen yogurt parlors.
Found at: Department stores, supermarkets
Price: ~ 800 JPY (8 pcs)
Li hing mui
Li hing mui is not from Japan, but there is something similar. If you don’t know, li hing mui is dried plums that began being imported from China in the early 1900s.
Probably the most common snack condiment in Hawaii, li hing mui can be found everywhere. If not in seed form, it’s used as a powder or syrup on anything from gummies and Sour Patch Kids to apples and pineapples, popcorn and shave ice to margaritas and desserts.
It is an acquired taste, however, as it’s very salty.
In Japan, dried, salty plums are most common in Okinawa. These were from Gifu prefecture though, and they were a lot saltier. They also had a sakura-like flower, which is different from Hawaii’s, which are either red or grey.
Found at: Convenience stores, Japanese ingredient shops
Price: ~200-500 JPY (1 pkg)
http://www.plumnature.com [J]
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Making Sukiyaki with Real Wagyu
Making Kansai-style sukiyaki, different from typical sukiyaki, with delicious Japanese Wagyu beef.
Japanese Wagyu beef needs no introduction to anyone who has been lucky enough to have a taste of the real thing. It is perhaps the best beef around.
So when we were gifted a box of sliced Wagyu from Ningyocho Imahan, a highly rated restaurant/butcher in the Ningyocho area of Tokyo [MAP], we knew we had to put it to good use.
Kansai-style Sukiyaki
We decided to make Kansai-style sukiyaki, slightly different from the more common Kanto-style sukiyaki found in most places in Japan and overseas.
The two styles refer to different areas. The Kanto area consists of Tokyo and surrounding prefectures such as Kanagawa (Yokohama, Kamakura, Hakone), Saitama, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi (Nikko) and Gunma. The Kansai area consists of Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Hyogo (Kobe).
The main difference in styles is the cooking of the meat.
In the Kanto style, the meat is put in the pot together with the vegetables and other ingredients and simmered before eating.
In the Kansai style, the meat is cooked separately and eaten before the vegetables and other ingredients are put into the pot.
Because we had some good beef and wanted to enjoy some of it on its own, we followed the Kansai style.
Watch the video to see how it’s made.
The vendors that we used for our Hawaii wedding party and our experiences with them.