In Ise, there is a custom of visiting the Shrine early on the first morning of each month — giving thanks for the month past and praying for peace in the month ahead. It is called tsuitachi-mairi, and on September 1 too, people begin streaming along the approach before dawn.

September's tsuitachi-mochi: Hagi no Mochi

One of the pleasures of the tsuitachi-mairi morning is the tsuitachi-mochi, sold by Akafuku only on the first of each month. On September 1 it is Hagi no Mochi — a familiar ohagi rice cake celebrating the joy of the harvest.

The name "ohagi" is said to come from likening the shape and color of its carefully simmered whole-bean paste to blooming bush clover (hagi). It has a simple flavor with a light touch of salt. Hagi, one of the seven flowers of autumn, is written with the characters for "grass" and "autumn."

How tsuitachi-mochi began

Akafuku began selling tsuitachi-mochi in February 1978 to welcome the pilgrims of the tsuitachi-mairi. They are sold only on the first of each month except January — eleven varieties in turn from February through December. They keep for that day only, meant to be eaten then and there.

From Hassaku to the harvest

August 1's Hassaku Awa-mochi carried on the Hassaku custom of praying for an abundant harvest. The tsuitachi-mochi turns from praying for the harvest in August to celebrating it in September, and the turning of the Ise year shows through it.

And in Tokyo, on the evening of September 2

The next evening, Wednesday, September 2, we hold our "Tsuitachi-mochi Tasting" gathering in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Volunteers in Ise buy Hagi no Mochi that morning, and we taste it together in Tokyo the same day. For details and registration, please see our recruitment article. At the start of the gathering we will project these slides.

https://www.isetokiwa.jp/slides/tsuitachi-kai-2026-09/

Tokiwakai is a community based in Ise, dedicated to passing on Japanese traditional culture and nurturing the younger generation. Spend the start of autumn with us — the morning of September 1 in Ise, the evening of the 2nd in Tokyo.