View source for Kagami biraki

{{Short description|Traditional Japanese ceremony}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2008}}
{{Nofootnotes|date=January 2008}}
{{Italic title}}
[[File:Kagami mochi by Chuuken Hachigou in GIF.gif|thumb|{{transliteration|ja|[[Kagami mochi]]}}]]
[[File:Chiyoda no on omote Kagamibiraki.jpg|thumb|{{transliteration|ja|Kagami biraki}} ceremony at [[Edo Castle]]]]
{{nihongo3|{{lit|opening the mirror}}; understood as "breaking of the [[mochi]]"|鏡開き|'''Kagami biraki'''}} is a traditional [[Japan|Japanese]] ceremony where {{transliteration|ja|[[kagami mochi]]}} are broken open. It traditionally falls on January 11 ([[odd numbers]] are associated with being [[luck|good luck]] in [[Japanese culture|Japan]]). The term also refers to the opening of a cask of [[sake]] at a party or ceremony.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gekkeikan.co.jp/english/sake/kagami-biraki.html|title=Sake Barrel Ceremony "Kagami-Biraki" {{!}} GEKKEIKAN KYOTO SINCE 1637|website=www.gekkeikan.co.jp|access-date=2018-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202112114/http://www.gekkeikan.co.jp/english/sake/kagami-biraki.html|archive-date=December 2, 2023}}</ref>
==History==
The fourth [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] {{transliteration|ja|[[shōgun]]}}, [[Tokugawa Ietsuna]], was the first to hold a {{transliteration|ja|kagami mochi}} ceremony 300 years ago. On the eve of war, he gathered his {{transliteration|ja|[[daimyō]]}} in his castle to break open a sake cask. Upon achieving victory, a new tradition was born.
As for the date on which Kagami biraki is held, one theory is that it was held every year on January 20 during the [[Muromachi period]] (1336-1573) and later changed to January 11 in many parts of Japan after the third Tokugawa shogun, [[Tokugawa Iemitsu]], died on January 20 during the [[Edo period]] (1603-1867).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://imidas.jp/rekigyoji/detail/L-55-070-08-01-G222.html |title=鏡開き|last=Taimu |first=Tanimura |date=January 11, 2008 |access-date=November 23, 2024 |language=ja |website=[[:ja:イミダス|imidas.jp]] |trans-title=Kagami biraki}}</ref>
==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 ({{transliteration|ja|kagami 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 {{transliteration|ja|[[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 {{transliteration|ja|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 (cutting off ties) and is instead broken with one's hands or a hammer.
Many Japanese [[martial arts]] [[dojo]] use the {{transliteration|ja|kagami biraki}} [[ceremony]] to signify their first practice of the [[New Year]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aikidotoday.com/kagami-biraki-aikido-dojo-samurai-tradition/|title=Kagami Biraki – Aikido Dojo & Samurai Tradition|date=2015-01-23|website=Aikido Today|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=156|title=FightingArts.com - Kagami Biraki: Renewing the Spirit|website=fightingarts.com|access-date=2018-12-08}}</ref>
[[File:Kagami biraki - new years - club in tokyo - 2020 1 1.webm|thumb|''[[Masu (measurement)|Masu]]'' being used to drink sake at Kagami biraki celebration as part of a modern [[Japanese New Year]] celebration.]]
[[File:Prime Minister Kishida opening a cask of sake (kagami biraki) at the the ceremony to celebrate the relocation of the Agency for Cultural Affairs 20230326 cropped.jpg|thumb|The sake version of kagami biraki by VIPs wearing [[happi]] coats]]
The sake version of the ceremony (based on the original practice) involves presenting a wooden barrel of {{transliteration|ja|[[sake|iwai-zake]]}} ("celebration sake") to the celebrants at the beginning of the event. The round, wooden lid of this barrel (representing harmony) is then broken open with wooden mallets handled by VIPs (thus the event breaking open good fortune) and the contents then freely distributed among the participants.
==See also==
* Breaking bread in Europe, particularly in the Christian [[Eucharist]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Culture of Japan]]
[[Category:Sake]]
[[Category:Ceremonies in Japan]]
[[Category:January observances]]
[[Category:Winter events in Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese words and phrases]]