Photo/Illutration "Hana-mochi" attached to branches add color to this artisan home in the Hida region of Gifu Prefecture. (Tadashi Mizowaki)

TAKAYAMA, Gifu Prefecture—Despite bear sightings and high rice prices, artisans here continued their annual custom of making New Year’s decorations in this snowbound region.

For generations in the Hida region, tiny red and white rice cakes known as “hana-mochi” have been created as substitutes for fresh flowers that are unavailable at this time of year.

The artisans will work until the end of this month, creating the hana-mochi and attaching them to the branches of willow and other trees.

Normally, the branches and trunks are gathered from deep in the mountains. But this year, due to bear sightings around Japan, the gathering was done closer to home.

“We want to pass on the hana-mochi culture despite the effect of the bears and the rising costs of producing rice,” said Sumie Nakano, 51, a hana-mochi artisan of about 20 years who heads the Takayama studio.

Hana-mochi can be displayed in a variety of ways, from inserting branches into a cut trunk to hanging them down from a willow branch. In some cases, mochi of only one color can decorate a branch.

The completed hana-mochi are delivered to homes in nearby Nagoya as well as the Kansai and Kanto regions to bring an early feeling of spring on New Year’s Day.

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