棟上げ (muneage)

Yesterday I had the rare pleasure of being invited to Muneage. It is a Japanese tradition that when someone builds a house to have a ceremony to ensure the longevity and sturdiness of it. Japanese people love their ceremonies.

Last year I met a woman who lives in Daito and I often run into her at the wonderful establishment of Green City, so we have hung out a few times. Miwa Tadai is married to the owner of a pachinko parlor right here in Daito and has three small kids. Recently her father started building a house in Daito. So she called me the day before the ceremony and asked if I wanted to come. Many Japanese people never get to participate in Muneage because it is going out of fashion and less Japanese people are building houses. So I was very grateful that she invited me so that I could see it.

The ceremony was not complicated or long. First, the men go in the house and say some stuff, drink some sake, and then pray with the man in charge of building the house. The interesting part comes when they start throwing mochi (rice cakes). From the top of the house they throw mochi from the four corners and the women and children stand below trying to catch it. Some of the mochi had money hidden inside so the kids thought it was fantastic. Mochi on its own is not very tasty. It is just this white block of hard rice. So it was funny to see children scrambling to get it. Also, it is really hard. So when they were throwing it you would try to catch it in a bag but if you looked down to pick some up that you missed you could possibly be hit in the head with a hard block of mochi. It was hilarious. I saw so many people get beaned with mochi! It was a good time. Also, I was informed that I should not bake the mochi to eat it because that represents setting the house on fire. I should therefore, only boil it to ensure the safety of the house. Todd pointed out that boiling might represent flooding but the Japanese did not seem worried about that!

Also, a note on Japanese houses. They are basically just wood and paper. The houses are built relatively quickly, in just a few months. They are not prone to insulate or other common necessities when building houses in the States. This makes Japanese house kinda like the kei-cars we drive, disposable. They build the houses quickly, easily, (never cheaply, nothing is cheap in Japan), and then instead of repairing the house when it is old, they tear it down and put up a new one. It is an interesting way to do things, I just wish I didn't have to be here in the winter! I think I am losing brain cells from using my kerosene heater all the time (as it is the primary way they heat homes/offices/schools!)