Dear friends,
The autumn moonlight is the most beautiful of the year. The brightness of moonlight very often surprises me. There are many Japanese poems called waka that described the beautiful autumn moon. People were probably indulging in many thoughts while looking at the beautiful moon from ancient times.
Japanese people have the custom to enjoy viewing the full moon called otukimi (お月見), literally "moon-viewing," with offerings of rice dumplings to the full moon in appreciation of the harvest of grains. Otukimi includes decorating with silver grass as a charm against evil. On a quiet night, the people just enjoy viewing the full moon. They say that on the moon's surface these shadows look like a rabbit making rice cake.
Tonight, September 21st is the harvest moon this year. I made a rabbit mochi to enjoy “ moon-viewing” this year and will arrange silver grass at night. I hope we can all enjoy the beautiful full moon this evening.
Best,
Kumiko
