10 Jan Strangers In Tokyo
Two men entered the room from a door on the far right. Janet, who had been gazing around at the stone basins scattered about the room, looked up and saw to her surprise that one of them appeared to be European. The other, a Japanese man in his early forties, greeted the group in Japanese and then in English. Janet breathed a sigh of relief. She would be able to understand the teachers during this class at least. The man who greeted them introduced himself as Kenji and then introduced his assistant, an American named Dennis. Janet eyed him with interest. He was very attractive, and why he was working in Tokyo under a master mochi maker, she could not guess.
The group was split up into pairs and each pair was assigned to a stone basin and given a large wooden mallet. Kenji and Dennis then went around lighting fires under the basins and filling each with a glutinous rice. Dennis paused as he came to Janet’s basin. She had no partner. He smiled warmly and told her he’d return to help her once the demonstration was over. Kenji and Dennis then showed the class how to mix and crush the rice with the mallets and then to fold the increasingly thick substance over while the mallet wielder delivered a series of blows to it. Dennis returned immediately to Janet and placed the mallet in her hands, guiding them so that she was properly working the rice. Janet felt her apprehension melt away as Dennis showed her to mix and crush the rice into a paste, his hands were strong but surprisingly gentle, and he playfully chided her when she made mistakes, making her laugh and blush. Then, when it came time to pound the rice paste, Dennis gave Janet the mallet and told her with a smile and a wink that he was entrusting his hands to her. Janet nervously gripped the wooden shaft and swung it over her head, bringing it down as hard as she could, too hard, and too soon. Dennis still had his hands in the basin and the right hand was struck directly by the mallet. He reeled backwards, swearing and crying out in pain.
The following three hours passed in a blur for Janet. Dennis had been escorted to the hospital by Kenji, who had allowed Janet to come along, at her insistence. She had been made to wait in the visitor’s sitting room for two hours while Dennis had his hand inspected and wrapped in a cast. When he finally emerged he was wincing, but a smile lit up his face when he saw Janet. She cautiously approached and then let out a torrent of apologies as Dennis laughingly told her she needn’t have waited for him all this time. Janet insisted on repaying Dennis for his kindness and for her error with a good meal. The pair left the hospital to find food and some drink to dull Dennis’ pain. It was fortunate, Dennis remarked, that he was left-handed.
