Written by Hanshi Myron Lubitsch
And, the tradition continues. Yesterday, Saturday, January 2, 2016 the Kenryukan has followed and expanded upon a ceremony that a number of the more traditional martial arts school share. Kagami Birake is translated in a number of different ways: the rice cake cutting ceremony, the opening of the mirror, the breaking of the rice cake. Since the Japanese language, as with others, uses words in idiomatic nuances the word kagami means mirror and the word birake is a form of the word hirake or opening so the ceremony for our purposes would be breaking or opening the mirror – a new beginning and dedication.