On June 2, 2026, we held our "June Tsuitachi-mochi Gathering" at Nishi-Kanda Cosmos Hall (small hall) in Chiyoda, Tokyo — Tokiwakai's monthly gathering sharing Ise's Tsuitachi-mairi custom.

June's Mochi: "Mugite-mochi"

June's tsuitachi-mochi is "mugite-mochi." June is called mugi-aki, the barley harvest season, when barley reaping and rice planting keep every hand busy. On the day the rice planting was finished, farmhouses would serve celebratory mochi to those who had helped, paying their wages in barley — and this, it is said, is the origin of mugite-mochi.

It is a humble sweet: a dough kneaded with barley-rice flour wraps a brown-sugar bean paste, dusted on top with fragrant barley flour. In the roast of the barley lives a gratitude for the harvest.

Tsuitachi-mochi is sold only on the first of each month by Akafuku, along the approach to Ise Jingu in Okage Yokocho. Volunteers in Ise buy it at dawn and deliver it to our Tokyo venue.

What We Shared

We shared talks on June's mochi and Ise Jingu, along with the Okihiki toward the 63rd Shikinen Sengu (scheduled for 2033). In the second part, we welcomed a guest who has long and deeply revered Amaterasu-Omikami, and listened to a talk on auspicious directions (kippo-i). Casual conversation and time to mingle are part of what makes this gathering special.

The Rhythm of Ise's Mornings, Month by Month

The monthly Tsuitachi-mairi is Ise's rhythm of giving thanks for the past month and praying for peace in the next. Around a single sweet, we mark that turning point in Tokyo too.

Tokiwakai is a community based in Ise dedicated to passing on Japanese traditional culture and nurturing younger generations. Please feel free to join us at next month's Tsuitachi-kai.