A new character, and my second Japanese themed character, to go along with Moriko. While Moriko was inspired by Tanuki and Japanese lore in general, Mochi was based on one myth in particular: The moon rabbit. Similar to how we in the west have the man in the moon, people in Asia saw a rabbit who, in various myths, was pounding a mortar and pestle, or something similar. In China, it was making the elixir of life for the moon goddess. In Japan though, it was pounding rice to make mochi, which is a kind of cake made from rice paste. It's sort of like really dense play dough in consistency, and is often used to make sweets.

Inspired by this, Mochi is a rabbit girl (Also known as usagimimi in Japanese) who owns a tea shop / confectionery in Japan, which specializes in, surprise surprise, selling mochi candy! Shocking, I know. In the front room you can order tasty treats and drinks to enjoy, and enjoy a seat there or get orders to go. Expect lots of pretty colors and bunny themes when you visit, with lots of paintings and wall scrolls and such. In the back room though, is where you'll see her more refined tastes, with a special tea room decorated in traditional old fashioned minimal styles. Reserved only for special occasions that people could rent out, and for when she hosts tea ceremonies, a favorite hobby of hers, and one she's quite well trained in, and takes very seriously along with her cooking.

Her shop is a good reflection of her personality. She's friendly and very welcoming to all visitors, but is also extremely polite and is a very hard worker, so she can come across as somewhat distant, especially to those who don't know her. Her friends, like Moriko, know that she's just a bit old fashioned and serious and know not to worry about it.

And as a final note: A shop needs workers, right? People to help clean, cook, run the counter, all that stuff. Now, I couuuld have been reasonable and say she hired locals or something. Ooooooorrrr. . . She could have a gaggle of little chibi loli bunny girls who help run the shop. Guess which one I picked? :V _{pssst. . . It's the chibi option. . ..}


Mochi ©  ousire

Art by: IRL friend!