Mochi cuisine and bucolic scenery Some four centuries ago during the Edo period, a unique tradition involving mochi (rice cakes) was born. It began with offerings of mochi that the Date Clan made to the gods and Buddha for peace and good health each month, but soon pounding sweet glutinous rice into mochi and eating it became a custom at weddings, funerals, and other important life events, as well as on New Year’s Day and other seasonal occasions. This tradition of hare-no-shoku (ceremonial foods) is maintained in Ichinoseki-Hiraizumi to this day and provides a rare opportunity to experience the extensive variety of mochi cuisine in Japan.