Turning manure into mochi

[gurdymonkey]

In feudal Japan, the masu was a measure of rice that would feed one person for a day, not something to swill sake out of.

I. Am. Having. An Idea.

Forty masu. Feeding people who REALLY need it.

Watch this space.

Comments

[takadai-no-tora.livejournal.com]

I would guess that the feudal masu was larger than the modern one; even given the expansive power of rice, a modern masu wouldn't be enough.
BTW, there's a very pretty kumihimo pattern called "masu" that looks like a box tipped on an angle.

[didjiman.livejournal.com]

You should able to stuff 2 onigiri in there, barely enough for a small poor peasant folk?!

[takadai-no-tora.livejournal.com]

For a whole day, when mostly what you are eating is rice?
A modern masu holds about 0.18 liters or 6 fluid oz. Rice triples in cooking, but that's still only 2.25 cups of rice for a day's food and that's not a lot for someone doing hard physical work, especially when the rest of the diet is fairly low calorie.

[didjiman.livejournal.com]

Hey, this is the lord's idea of how much peasants should get, not the Surgeon General's recommendation daily allowance :-)

Besides, poor peasants eat millet :-(

[takadai-no-tora.livejournal.com]

That's true--and millet is actually more nutritious than rice anyway, even if the daimyo wouldn't eat it.

[didjiman.livejournal.com]

Wait! If it's uncooked rice, it definitely would be enough for a small person!

[takadai-no-tora.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the whole "snackies for forty" thing sounds like a slo-mo train wreck to me.