Taste of Japanese history in Livingston

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteers, Jean Okuya of Livingston, and Julie Minabe of Oakdale, back right, as well as Liana Hachiya of Turlock, far left, brush corn starch off mochi, as volunteers finish the process of making mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteer, Stu Nakashima of San Jose, Ca., pounds rice with a mallet to make mochi, as volunteers make mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteers Aya Newman, 12, of Berkeley, CA., left, and Lilly Lazama, 7 of Winton, Ca., as well as Kailey Akers, 8, of Winton, Ca., back right, brush corn starch off of the finished mochi, as volunteers make mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteer, Grace Kimoto, 81, of Winton, Ca., helps Viviana Flores, 6, of Merced, as Julie Morimoto, 8, of Merced, and Liana Hachiya of Turlock, far right, also helps give instructions to Viviana, about the process of brushing off the corn starch from the final mochi, in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com A volunteer brushes corn starch off mochi, as volunteers finish the process of making mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteer, Stu Nakashima of San Jose, Ca., pounds rice with a mallet to make mochi, as volunteers make mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteer, Doug Wells of Livingston, pours rice into a grinder after it is steamed to make mochi, as volunteers make mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteers, Kyle Hardwick, 16, of Atwater, and Jared Delmas, 14, of Livingston, take turns pounding rice with a mallet called a"kine" to make mochi, as volunteer, Scott Yoshida of Livingston, center, turns the rice mixture over inside a "usu" in between pounding, to make mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteer, Grace Kimoto, 81, of Winton, Ca., watches volunteers work making mochi, in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteer, Cynthia Kishi of Sebastopol, Ca., folds bean paste into a mochi dumpling to from "an mochi," as volunteers make mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteer, Cynthia Kishi of Sebastopol, Ca., spoons a bean paste into a mochi dumpling to from "an mochi" for Jan Kehoe of San Leandro, Ca., left, as volunteers make mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Volunteer, Bob Kishi of Winton, Ca., puts wood into a fire that steams water, cooking rice in a "Seiro" (wooden steam box) to make mochi, as volunteers make mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.

Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com Finished mochi is bagged ready to sell, as volunteers finish the process of making mochi in the tradition of Japanese New Year to be sold for fund raising, at Livingston United Methodist Church, in Livingston, on Monday, December 28, 2009.