The Perfect Balance: Wisdom and Skills That Cannot Be Explained in Words
Kito is full of wisdom for daily life.
Drawn to that wisdom and those skills,
I moved to Kito because I wanted to learn them myself.
There is a phrase in Kito:
"Aijou-you ni."
It means,
"In just the right balance."
I often hear the locals say it when teaching me something.
"Aijou-you ni."
"Sprinkle the salt 'aijou-you ni' on the fish."
Huh? 'Aijou-you ni'?
Sprinkle the salt gently and softly with love!?
That's what I thought when I first heard it (laughs).
Since then, it comes up often.
Aijou-you ni...
In other words, it means 'in just the right balance'.
Whether it's about measurements
or how much force to use,
the object varies.
I've realized that this 'perfect balance'
is something you can't really understand
unless you have experience,
and that there are things that simply cannot be explained in words.
Every year when the autumn leaves season arrives,
I help out with making mochi using a stone mortar and pestle ^ ^
Of course,
when I was a child,
all my relatives would gather
to make mochi,
but the adults did almost all of it,
so I had hardly ever done it myself.
Even after becoming an adult,
I had only done it a little bit.
Since I started living in Kito,
every year when the autumn leaves season arrives,
* What preparations are needed for mochi pounding
* What is needed for mochi pounding
* How to remove the mochi from the mortar
* How to use the pestle
* How to round the mochi
and so on.
While helping out by their side,
I've tried it myself,
and for nine years,
being told 'not like that, do it like this',
I have been learning how to make mochi.
"It's not just about swinging the pestle down. At first, you have to crush and gather the sticky rice with the pestle so it holds together; if you just start pounding it, the rice will fly everywhere."
"Once it holds together to some extent, pound it with the pestle just enough so the grains don't scatter. Once it starts to come together, put some strength into it. Not full force, but 'aijou-you ni' (in just the right balance). Towards the end, pound it gently so the mochi stays together."
It seems that rounding the mochi
is called 'kneading the mochi'.
The way they knead it
is different for everyone,
which is quite interesting ^ ^
Just watching their practiced
hand movements
is fascinating ^ ^
If you just look at the words,
you don't think, 'I see! That's how I should do it!'
There are many things you can't understand
unless you watch them by their side
and try doing it yourself.
It's the same with sports,
* First, watch,
* Try it yourself,
* Fail,
* Watch again,
* Try again,
I think that by repeating these steps,
it becomes second nature to your body.
The wisdom of daily life is the same,
and since there are many things that cannot be explained in words,
I wonder if by repeating the process of
first watching,
and then trying it myself,
I can understand 'aijou-you ni'.
I live my days in Kito
hoping to learn that wisdom that cannot be explained in words
by watching it being done by my side as much as possible ^ ^
There is still so much wisdom of daily life
that hasn't become second nature to me,
but I think the only way is to build on it year after year,
so I continue to learn from the local people every year ^ ^