Kagami Biraki January 11

The fourth Tokugawa shogun was the first to hold this ceremony 300 years ago. On the eve of war, he gathered his daimyo in his castle to open a barrel of sake. After winning the victory, a new tradition was born.

Nowadays, the ceremony is also performed at weddings, sporting events, housewarming parties, opening days at new businesses and other important events worthy of celebration.

In Japan, mochi was traditionally made at home, but most families now buy it ready-made. During the holidays, a pair of round mochi (kagami mochi) about the size of small plates—one slightly larger than the other—are stacked on a stand and placed in a Shinto or Buddhist altar or tokonoma as an offering to the deities who visit on New Year's Day. The ornamental mochi is removed on January 11 and broken into smaller pieces before being eaten.

At this stage, kagami mochi is usually quite brittle and cracks appear on the surface. Mochi is not cut with a knife, as cutting has negative connotations (cutting ties) and is instead broken with the hands or a hammer. Many martial arts dojos Japanese use the Kagami Biraki ceremony to signify their first practice of the new year.

The sake version of the ceremony (based on the original practice) involves presenting a wooden barrel of 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 with wooden mallets wielded by VIPs (hence the event opening up good fortune) and the contents are then freely distributed among the participants.