If a kadomatsu or a shimekazari are difficult to make at home and you still need to go to a flowershop for pine twigs and bamboo, a kagamimochi can be made by anyone.

All you need is rice flour and daidai, a Japanese type of bitter orange… Then you make two mochi rice cakes, as big as you want them, but one should be smaller. Then, the smaller one is placed over the other and the daidai is placed in top. Since the two mochi are rouded, they look similar to the copper round mirrors (kagami in Japanese) used during the Muromachi period, hence the name: kagami-mochi.

Lately, I saw many kagamimochi made of plastic - they look good, but… they don’t have the same charm… (^_^)

Traditional Japanese New Year Decoration, Kagami mochi

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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: Traditional Japanese New Year decorations, Shimekazari