GORVI 11 Jan

KAGAMI-BIRAKI

As Hinduism is associated with India, Judaism with Israel, and Islam with Saudi Arabia, one thinks of Shinto with respect to Japan. This is an ancient religion whose etymology has been traced to Chinese words meaning The Way of the Spirits. By the 8th century CE, Shinto and Buddhism became the integrated religion of the Japanese people.

Shinto accepts the existence of many Kamis: invisible spirits (deities) which may manifest themselves in Nature or in the skies, sometimes even as human beings. This is why Shinto encourages the worship of rivers and mountains and all of Nature. There are several Shinto shrines all over Japan which the followers of Shinto are expected to visit a certain number of times during their life. The shrines are often adorned with origami (which means ‘paper of the spirits’).

The chief of the Kamis is Amaterasu Omikami, the Sun Goddess. The imperial family of Japan is said to be descended from her. [In the Hindu epic Ramayana, the emperors of his line are said to be of the solar dynasty also.] According to Shinto sacred history, the first emperor of Japan was Jimu Tenno. Amaterasu gave a round mirror called mochi to Jimu Tenno who was her grandson, to be included in the royal treasures.

In modern Shinto calendar, 11 January is a celebratory day. It is known as Kagami-biraki. A rough translation of this would be the breaking of the New Year rice cake.

In the 1880s jujutsu was revived, modified, and popularized by a certain Jigoro Kano as Judo. Kano had received training from different masters. He was a pacifist. Aside from developing physical fitness and agility, the goal of judo is also to inculcate self-confidence and mental concentration. Like Yoga from India, it has spread to many other countries of the world. In 1964, judo gained recognition as an Olympic game. The word judo is sometimes translated as the gentle way. Like the Christian precept of showing the other cheek, judo teaches one to overwhelm an enemy by simply giving in, rather than by force.

When steamed rice is pounded hard, it becomes what they call mochi in Japanese. If this is made to set, it hardens. When this is warmed, it becomes like a kind of very hard gluten which cannot be easily broken. The word kagami means a mirror, and bikari refers to its breaking or opening. The rice cake is in the form of a small circular mirror.

This is also a festival for celebrating the martial arts, which are part of the Samurai tradition in Japan. Jujutsu is an ancient Japanese martial art. It is said that as early as in the third century BCE, there used to be combative competitions between unarmed participants. These were known as hikara-karube. Over the centuries various schools and systems of the marital art emerged. Coming back to Kagami-biraki, in the Shinto tradition of Japan, every family has a little altar at home. It is called Kami-dana. The altar is usually made up of wood that is not painted. The mochi is put in an unpainted box with symbolic objects in the shape of pine or lobster for strength, prosperity, etc. Then it is placed ritualistically on the Kami-dana over which a white rope called Yokozuna hangs. The mochi is now taken for breaking, not cutting, because cutting is considered inauspicious. Since it is fairly hard, one may use a hammer or other instruments for accomplishing this. This is called breaking open the mirror. It is said that once in a while people get choked by the mochi pieces. On this day, there are community speeches, collective jubilations, and the inevitable gatherings for imbibing stimulating beverages. We are reminded that there is no religious tradition without festivities, jubilation, invocation of invisible spirits and special kinds of goodies to eat together.