Keep it long, treasure it long.

"One-piece carved kagami mochi, by a wood-carving artisan

Traditional events are gradually disappearing, but New Year still holds a special place. Kagami mochi is essential to creating that atmosphere. It has long been treasured as a symbol welcoming the new year's deity and wishing for family health and happiness. Fewer households now make it with real mochi, but in changing forms, the tradition continues.
This year, we're holding an order event for kagami mochi carved from a single block of wood by a woodcarving artisan in Fukui. The stand and the daidai (bitter orange) have no seams — the whole piece is carved from one block of wood — making it a kagami mochi you can use year after year.

The Warmth of Hand-Carving

The plump, mochi-like kagami mochi is made by Mio Suzuki of Suzuki Sculpture Workshop in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture. She has worked in architectural carving for shrines, temples, and homes for about 30 years. A typical kagami mochi is made of separate pieces — the sanpo (stand), the mochi, and the daidai — but Suzuki's version is carved as a single unit. Since nothing is glued together or made as separate parts, there's no risk of pieces coming loose.
She carves the rough shape from a single block of wood, then refines it using many different types of chisels. The sanpo may look flat and smooth at first glance, but look closely and you'll notice small carving marks remain — remarkably, this section is also shaped entirely with a chisel, not a plane. The soft, almost unbelievably wood-like texture of the mochi contrasts with the precise geometry of the sanpo. Carving these two contrasting forms using only chisels is a testament to Suzuki's skill. For the finishing touch, the piece is gently and carefully colored with gofun, a pigment traditionally used in Japanese painting.
Each piece varies slightly in wood grain and carving marks — please enjoy this as part of what makes each kagami mochi unique. Rather than a consumable, this is a kagami mochi meant to be used again and again, one you'll look forward to displaying each year for years to come.

Bringing Traditional Carving Craft into Everyday Life

Suzuki Sculpture Workshop was founded in 1968 in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, specializing in wood carving. Since its founding, the workshop has handled architectural carving for shrines and temples, Buddhist statue carving, and ranma (transom) carving. Mio Suzuki trained under sculptor Yuji Hori in Inami, Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture — a center for wood carving — and has since spent roughly 30 years working on decorative and architectural carving for shrines, temples, and private homes.