Kagami biraki

January 11, Thursday

Kagami biraki (lit. 'opening the mirror'; understood as "breaking of the mochi") is a traditional Japanese ceremony where kagami mochi are broken open. It traditionally falls on January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan). The term also refers to the opening of a cask of sake at a party or ceremony.

The fourth Tokugawa shōgun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, was the first to hold a kagami mochi 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.

Kagami biraki