TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
KAGAMI BIRAKI (鏡開き)- Breaking Open the Mirrors – a closer look at how and why the Japanese break open and eat the New Year`s Kagami Mochi rice cakes on January 11th (again)
11 January, 2021
A Kagami Mochi consisting of three rice cakes, an orange, skewered dried persimons, kelp, and various leaves (sakaki, yuzuriha, and urujiro)
And another KAGAMI MOCHI- in its purest form- two plain mochi rice cakes (at a home in Sasagi, Tsukuba- January 9, 2021)
By Avi Landau
Ten days have passed since GANTAN (元旦), New Years Day. The round mochi rice cakes, which have been set in the family’s Shinto altar (kami-dana), in the alcove (toko-no-ma) of the Japanese style tatami room, or these days, on a book shelf, dresser, or counter-top, have become hard and dried out, cracked, and maybe even, if you check underneath, a little moldy. After all this time, (according to traditional beliefs) it has also been
TsukuBlog
A Local Perspective on Life in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
明けましておめでとう- Akemashite Omedeto! – ( the Japanese greeting for the beginning of the New Year )- a revealing look at the origin of the expression
1 January, 2021
O-Zoni, the traditional New Year`s soup which is eaten during the first three days of the year. The ingredients used to make it vary from region to region. Pictured above is a batch cooked up in Nara Prefecture. It has a white miso based broth and is filled with thinly sliced radish, a block of tofu and a round MOCHI rice cake.
By Avi Landau