THE HARE, THE RABBIT In Japan, the white rabbit is associated with the moon, held divine, and regarded as an auspicious omen portending the reign of a just ruler. In the West, when people look at the moon, they see a man in it. The Chinese see a rabbit, pounding magical herbs to make the elixir of eternal life. The Japanese, with their love of obscure wordplay, envision the same rabbit pounding rice to make mochi (a popular Japanese food made from glutinous rice). The Japanese word for full moon is mochizuki, while mochitsuki means “making mochi.”
