The Dangerous Art of Making Mochi

Mochi master Mitsuo Nakatani has been making and selling mochiin the Nara prefecture for over 23 years. Mochi, for those who don't know, is a Japanese cake made of a glutinous rice (mochigome) that is beaten to a pulp for two minutes by a process called mochi-tsuki. Watch as Nakatani shows how he and a trusted partner beat mochigome at an astounding rate of three poundings per second. Nakatani attributes his tremendous skill and speed to extensive practice and, perhaps more importantly, trust in...