Making Huge Ancient Mirror-shaped Rice Cakes

On January 7th in the lunar calendar, temporary ministrants to Konomiya Shrine
who live in the specific area (it changes each year)
take charge of making oh-kagamimochi (huge ancient mirror-shaped rice cake)

photo by nega

Fiirst of all, they hold a Shinto ritual in the dim.

meet at 6:00 a.m.
start making rice cake from 7:00 a.m.
Shin-otoko comes and make rice cakes from 11:00 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. (time is not determined)
finish making rice cakes around 2:30 p.m.

Twelve mortars are set. "Twelve" represents the number of months in a year. They prepare new mortars for the naked festival every year.	mallets	There are 885 bags of washed rice. One bag is for one mochitsuki -> rice cake maiking	mochitsuki They start to make rice cake from 7:00 a.m.	They also use three mochitsuki machines. 4t kagami-mochi is too huge to make only by human power.

photo by nega

pounding mochi by shin-otoko 2006

lower part of kagamimochi

upper and lower mochi Now they are too soft to pile up	need good cooperation and ..........	energy