On 10/12/2004, Mark Thorson wrote:

<snip>

> I'm thinking maybe the device used in Japan to prepare a sort
>of paste from cooked rice. It is like a wooden sledgehammer,
>which is used to beat rice in something like a wooden mortar.
>>Does anyone know what that's called, or where I can buy one?

The mortar is a usu. The rice is beaten with a thekine. I saw an
episode about this on one of the cooking shows a long time
ago and found more information at:

http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/fo...Wong/home.html