Open the Mirror!

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Open the Mirror!

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Jan 11th 2010 16:39 disembowelment

Today I opened the mirror, but "opening the mirror" doesn't mean literally unfolding a mirror. ^^; "The mirror" means a pair of round race cake for New Year (Kagami mochi).

Opening the mirror from an abstinence usually takes place on the January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan). It is a kind of ritual ceremony. The mochi has been displayed during New Year's days and has gotten very hard. We hammer down the mochi into small pieces. We don't use a knife or use the word "cutting the mirror" because the knife or cutting has negative connotations like "Hara-kiri" (Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment).

I hit mochi many times by hammer because it has not been brittle yet so it bounded like a ball. I've gotten handache. ^^

Ciao.

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English

Jan 11th 2010 16:56 sleepy boy

English
Japanese

^^; "The mirror" means a pair of round race cake for New Year (Kagami mochi).
^^; "The mirror" means a pair of round race rice cakes for New Year (Kagami mochi).

Comment

Opening the mirror from an abstinence usually takes place on the January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan).
Opening the mirror from an after a period of abstinence (?) usually takes place on the January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan).

Comment

The mochi has been displayed during New Year's days and has gotten very hard.
The mochi has been displayed during over New Year's days and has gotten very hard.

Comment

We don't use a knife or use the word "cutting the mirror" because the knife or cutting has negative connotations like "Hara-kiri" (Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment).
We don't use a knife or use the word "cutting the mirror" because both the knife or and cutting has have negative connotations. For example, like "Hara-kiri" (Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment).

Comment

I hit mochi many times by hammer because it has not been brittle yet so it bounded like a ball.
I hit mochi many times by with a hammer, but because it has is not been brittle yet so it bounded like a ball.

Comment

"opening the mirror from an abstinence" - not really sure what you mean here?

Or, "because it has not become brittle yet it bounded like a ball."

"I've got a sore hand now." would sound more natural. .

Jan 11th 2010 18:02 Yumenotenshi07

English
Japanese, Spanish

^^; "The mirror" means a pair of round race cake for New Year (Kagami mochi).
^^; "The mirror" is a pair of round rice cakes for New Year's (Kagami mochi).

Comment

Opening the mirror from an abstinence usually takes place on the January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan).
Opening the mirror from an abstinence usually takes place on the January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan).

Comment

The mochi has been displayed during New Year's days and has gotten very hard.
The mochi has been displayed during the New Year's celebration and has gotten very hard.

Comment

We don't use a knife or use the word "cutting the mirror" because the knife or cutting has negative connotations like "Hara-kiri" (Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment).
We don't use a knife or use the words "cutting the mirror," because both the knife and the idea of cutting have negative connotations, like "Hara-kiri" (Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment).

Comment

I hit mochi many times by hammer because it has not been brittle yet so it bounded like a ball.
I hit the mochi many times with the hammer because it wasn't brittle yet, so it bounced like a ball.

Comment

I've gotten handache.
I've gotten a hand-ache. (I don't think many people would say this in English. Instead, they would probably say something like, "Now my hand hurts," or "Now I've got an ache in my hand.")

Comment

I've heard of "kagami mochi," but I didn't know you break it with a hammer! What an interesting tradition. I was really confused by the term "open the mirror!" Haha. I just had to read and see what it was about.

I'm also a bit confused by what you mean by "after an abstinence," but I thought the sentence was fine without it. Did you want to convey that you had to wait because you aren't allowed to "open the mirror" until a certain time?

Jan 12th 2010 03:28 ~Jala~ // ~ジャラ~

English
Japanese, Spanish

I've gotten handache.
I've gotten hand-ache. [[I think this is a good correction. Because I incessantly make puns, I can easily tell you that this translates. *laugh* And someone who makes puns - i.e., yours truly - would also say it this way.]]

Comment

A hammer, huh? I didn't know that. Mochi~ (^_^)

Kyoko