Snow Rabbits, called Yukiusagi ( 雪うさぎ ) are sometimes made in Japan when it snows! They’ve been made in Japan for over 250 years.

They were made for Snow Viewing Parties as you can see in this old print below by Utagawa Toyoharu from 1772 – 1774. I lightened the image so you can see the Snow Rabbit on the tray near the child.

Ayako sent instructions for how they make Yuki-usagi in Japan:

1. Pick up 2 red berries of the nandin* evergreen and 2 bamboo or camellia leaves.
2. Shape an oblong snowball to make the body of the snow rabbit.
3. Make the eyes with the red berries of the nandin* and make the ears with the bamboo leaves on the snow “body”. 

*Note: Always monitor children with outdoor berries since they can be toxic.

If you prefer, you can use two drops of red food dye for the eyes and 2 small narrow leaves for the ears, if you don’t have a bamboo tree near you. In the print below you from  around 1780 can see the lady painting the eyes on a snow rabbit on a tray (print from the Met).

I read on one site that sometimes they attach a very little pine branch as a beard.

Here you can see two Snow Rabbits in a short YouTube video…

Akayo also told me about how she eats Mochi Snow Ice Cream:

“I got “yuki-mi-daifuku” ice cream today. It is a popular ice cream that is covered with mochi. Yuki means snow and daifuku means Japanese sweet which is bean paste covered with mochi. Here’s a pic below…

Yukimidaifuku looks as if it’s covered with snow!”

Thanks to Ayako Egawa for sharing instructions about how they make a yukiusagi in Japan and for showing us the mochi icecream that’s eaten there.

Here’s a quick Recipe for Snow Ice Cream that I make.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

1st Image of Yuki Usagi from YouTube

Read more about it here: Yuki Usagi: The Japanese Snow Hare

You can also find: Japanese Instructions for Snow Rabbits