Most foods called chikara made during the New Year are similar to chikara-mochi from other regions. For example, in Hakozaki, Chikuzen Province, a dish called chikara-meshi is made by cooking rice cakes together with rice on January 14. Some people refer to it as chikara-mochi (Tsuchi No.1). In Hakata, the term chikara-ii refers to the practice of cutting the rice cakes offered to Kojin-sama into small pieces, boiling them in red bean congee on the morning of January 15, and eating it as the first congee of the year (Hakata Nenchu Gyoji). The words chikarai or ikarai are found in the lyrics of traditional mogurauchi* songs (mole smash songs) from the Matsuura region in Hizen Province. This term also refers to chikara-meshi, which is said to be a type of rice ball (Riyoshu), and it is suggested that there may have been a custom of distributing such rice balls to children.

congee（名）粥

mole（名）モグラ

smash（動）うち砕く

Chikarai-san around Hamada in Iwami Province is very similar to Chikara-mochi in Izumo. This dish, which consists of rice cooked on New Year's Day and arranged in a mountain shape, is called chikara-meshi-sama. This congee is also added to a bowl of rice congee on January 15, eaten by the whole family. The leftover congee is then given to a fruit tree, which is scratched with a sickle while chanting, 'Bear fruit, bear fruit' (Kyodo Kenkyu No.71)**. Offering rice to the gods on New Year's Day is common in the Ou region, but somewhat rare in western Japan. However, A rice dish called kowakugo (offering of glutinous rice) was originally cooked in the Imperial Court, and zoni*** was not necessarily a food for ceremonies. The relationship between "ii" and "mochiii" was not separated until rice became katakayu (hard congee) as eaten in early-modern times. Therefore, there were chikara-mochi made from half-pounded rice cakes that still retained some grains, or from freshly steamed glutinous rice. It seems that there was already a custom to display a part of chikara-mochi.

leftover（名）残り物、残飯

sickle（名）鎌

bear（動）実がなる

grain（名）粒

glutinous（形）粘着質の

It can be considered that the boundary between rice balls and rice cakes was not so clear. In farming villages in the Chubu region, there is a custom called "Yomego-no-mochi (a rice cake for the wife)" in which a meal is prepared for mice passing through the year. However, in the Tohoku region, some families offer small rice balls to the mice. In Oki-no-erabu Island, on New Year's Eve, before sitting down to eat, people place rice balls on the beams in the four corners of the room and walk counterclockwise around the room chanting, 'chikara-meshi oishabura (I give you chikara-meshi).' It is unclear which divine spirit it was dedicated to, but here it is considered a yugafu (a good omen of a good harvest) if the mice do not eat it (Hayato No.1). This example of the rice ball makes it clearer that rice was the source of power, and rice cakes were a means to concentrate that power for an individual haphazardly. Especially in Monobe Village, Awaji Province, a region known for its many ancient custom, there used to be a custom of sending a bag of polished rice from the son-in-law to his father-in-law's house on New Year's Eve, which was called chikara-mai. In other regions, this custom involved delivering layered kagami-mochi, known as oya-no-mochi or muko-kagami. Moreover, it is said that the father and mother in law cooked and ate the rice the next morning and it is called chikara-mochi (Awaji Fuzoku Tousho). Similar to kowai (steamed glutinous rice), this custom has continued since the time when rice was steamed in a koshiki****, making it more fitting to call it 'mochi'.

beam（名）桁、梁

counterclockwise（副）反時計回りに

omen（名）予兆

haphazardly（副）偶然に

*mogurauchi: A ritual practiced in villages in the Kyushu region to prevent moles from harming fields. Children go from house to house chanting incantations and songs and pounding the ground with bundles of straw.

**: A ritual called Narikizeme, in which on January 15, a fruit tree is wounded and threatened to bear fruit. The congee applied to the wounds is a metaphor for semen, which is thought to have spiritual power.

***zoni: Japanese soup containing rice cakes. The dish is strongly associated with the Japanese New Year and its tradition of osechi ceremonial foods.

****koshiki: Earthenware for steaming rice.