Pop Japan

This episode of Sweets Tales featured one of the traditions that a Japanese person undergoes when he or she turns 1 year old -- that is something they called "Issho Mochi" or an act of having a child carry 4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) of rice cake on the eve of their first birthday.

Watch as parents load their child with Issho Mochi, as their birthday wish for him/her for a lifetime of good health and fortune, and that includes sparing from hunger.

Issho, according to the old Japanese numeric system, is a liquid measurement equal to about 150 grams of rice. To which, in turn, becomes 180 grams when cooked into a mochi rice cake.

Tags: TRADITION, Japan, Issho Mochi, baby, birthdya, rice cake