Kagami biraki


Kagami Biraki is a Japanese traditional ceremony which literally translates to "Opening the Mirror" or, also, "Breaking of the Mochi." It traditionally falls on January 11 It refers to the opening of a Kagami mochi, or to the opening of a cask of sake at a party or ceremony.

History

The fourth Tokugawa shōgun was the first to hold this ceremony 300 years ago. On the eve of war, he gathered his daimyō in his castle to break open a sake cask. Upon achieving victory, a new tradition was born.

Ceremony

The ceremony nowadays is also performed at weddings, sporting events, housewarmings, opening days at new companies, and other significant events worthy of being celebrated.
In Japan, mochi was traditionally made at home, but most families today buy it ready-made. Over the holidays, a pair of round mochi the size of small plates – one a little larger than the other – is stacked on a stand and placed in a household Shinto or Buddhist altar or tokonoma as an offering to the deities that visit on New Year's. The ornamental mochi is removed on January 11 and broken into smaller pieces before being eaten.
By this time, the kagami mochi is usually quite brittle, and cracks appear on the surface. The mochi is not cut with a knife, since cutting has negative connotations and is instead broken with one's hands or a hammer.
Many Japanese martial arts dojo use the Kagami Biraki ceremony to signify their first practice of the New Year.
The sake version of the ceremony involves presenting a wooden barrel of iwai-zake to the celebrants at the beginning of the event. The round, wooden lid of this barrel is then broken open with wooden mallets handled by VIPs and the contents then freely distributed among the participants.