Nanbu Bijin 72L Kagami Biraki Sake Barrel KitSpecial order
Nanbu Bijin

Nanbu Bijin 72L Kagami Biraki Sake Barrel Kit

47.043,00 Kč
incl. VAT · Sake not included · Freight shipping quoted per destination
Made to order. Each barrel is prepared for you in Japan and shipped on request. Current lead time: approx. 4 weeks from order to delivery. We confirm the date by email before anything is charged onward.
Barrel
72 L decorative komodaru
Size
approx. 70 x 70 x 70 cm
Includes
Basin, lid, mallet, ladle
Brewery
Nanbu Bijin, Iwate
Lead time
approx. 4 weeks
Sake
Not included
Quantity
1
Ask a question or request a rental quote

Hosting in Prague? You may not need to buy. We rent the barrel with mallets and ladle for one-off events - use the form below or write to office@smartsushichef.com.

Description

The complete Kagami Biraki set: a decorative 72-litre Nanbu Bijin sake barrel with everything needed to open it in front of your guests.

Kagami Biraki ("opening the mirror") is the Japanese ceremony of breaking the round lid of a sake cask to open a wedding, a new year, a new venue or a new chapter. This is the full kit as used at Japanese celebrations: the straw-wrapped komodaru barrel branded by the Nanbu Bijin brewery of Iwate, a stainless basin that sits inside and holds the sake, the scored wooden lid, the wooden mallet, and the ladle for serving.

  • Barrel: Decorative 72 L komodaru, approx. 70 x 70 x 70 cm, Nanbu Bijin branding
  • Inside: Large stainless steel basin - fill with the sake of your choice
  • Lid: Wooden kagami lid, scored to break cleanly on the strike
  • Tools: 1 wooden ceremony mallet (kizuchi), 1 ladle (hishaku)
  • Sake: Not included
  • Availability: Special order, approx. 4-week lead time. In Prague? Ask us about renting the barrel for your event.
Kagami Biraki · 鏡開き

Opening the mirror.

In Japan you do not cut a ribbon to start something. You break open a barrel of sake. The round wooden lid of a cask is called the kagami, the mirror, and cracking it open with wooden mallets is how weddings, New Year gatherings, company foundings, restaurant openings, ship launches and sumo victories have been marked for centuries.

The word matters. Nobody says break (waru), which sounds like bad luck. You open (hiraku) the mirror: opening the barrel opens good fortune, and sharing what is inside with everyone in the room shares that fortune out.

The hosts and guests of honour line up around the barrel, each with a mallet. Someone counts - yoi, yoi, yoisho! - the mallets come down together, the lid gives way, and the sake is ladled into square masu cups and passed to every guest. Then the party starts.

1
Line up
Hosts and guests of honour take a mallet each and gather around the barrel.
2
Count
The room counts together: yoi, yoi, yoisho! Everyone strikes on the last beat.
3
Open
The scored lid splits cleanly. That is the moment for the photo.
4
Share
Sake is ladled into masu cups and handed to every guest. Kanpai.

Everything in the kit.

Decorative 72 L barrel
Straw-wrapped komodaru, approx. 70 x 70 x 70 cm, with the Nanbu Bijin brewery livery. A 4-to barrel, the standard size for a ceremony.
Stainless basin
Sits inside the barrel and holds the sake. Fill it with as much or as little as the room needs - the barrel itself stays dry and reusable.
Scored wooden lid
The kagami. Pre-scored across the boards so it splits on the strike instead of splintering. One lid is used per ceremony.
Spares and extras: 1.985,00 Kč →
Wooden mallet
Solid 40 cm kizuchi, about 500 g. One is included; add one per person who will strike.
Spares and extras: 744,00 Kč →
Ladle
50 cm hishaku with a metal scoop for serving from the basin into masu cups.
Spares and extras: 247,00 Kč →

Sake is not included. Any sake works in the basin; ask us if you would like a recommendation for the occasion.

How a special order works.

STEP 1
Order or enquire
Place the order here, or use the form below if you want to check a date, ask about rental, or need an invoice with company details first.
STEP 2
We confirm
Within one business day we confirm your delivery window and freight cost for your address. Nothing ships until you have said yes.
STEP 3
Prepared in Japan
Your barrel is assembled and packed by the brewery side and freighted to our Prague warehouse. Lead time is currently approx. 4 weeks.
STEP 4
Delivered
We check it in, then ship to you or arrange collection in Prague. Every kit is inspected before it leaves.

Ask about a date, a quote or renting the barrel.

Tell us when and where the ceremony is. We reply within one business day with availability, freight to your address, and - for events in and around Prague - a rental option with mallets and ladle included, so you do not have to store a 70 cm barrel afterwards.

  • Weddings, openings, company milestones, New Year parties
  • Extra mallets for more strikers, spare lids for rehearsals
  • B2B invoicing with VAT ID on request

By submitting you agree to our privacy policy.

Questions, answered.

Approximately 4 weeks from order to delivery. Barrels are prepared in Japan on request and freighted to our Prague warehouse; we confirm your exact window by email within one business day of the order, before anything ships.

No. The kit is the barrel, the stainless basin that holds the sake, the lid, one mallet and one ladle. You fill the basin with the sake of your choice - it takes as much or as little as your guest count needs, and the barrel itself stays dry.

For events in and around Prague, yes. We rent the barrel with mallets and ladle for one-off ceremonies. Use the request form on this page or email office@smartsushichef.com with your date.

One per person striking the lid. One mallet is included; a wedding usually has two or three strikers (the couple and a parent or host), a company opening often more. Extra mallets are sold separately.

Yes. The barrel and basin are reusable indefinitely. Only the wooden lid is consumed - it is scored to break on the strike - so keep a spare lid for each ceremony you plan to hold.

About 70 x 70 x 70 cm. It ships as freight on a pallet, and we quote the shipping per destination before dispatch. In Prague you can also collect it.

Yes. Tell us your company name and VAT ID in the request form and we issue a B2B invoice with reverse charge where applicable.

Complete the ceremony.

View all
Wooden Lid for 72L Sake Barrel (Kagami Biraki) New
Wooden Lid for 72L Sake Barrel (Kagami Biraki)
The replacement kagami - the lid that gets broken.Every K...
1.985,00 Kč
Kagami Biraki Sake Ladle (Hishaku) New
Kagami Biraki Sake Ladle (Hishaku)
The long ladle for serving sake from the opened barrel.On...
247,00 Kč
Kagami Biraki Sake Mallet (Kizuchi) New
Kagami Biraki Sake Mallet (Kizuchi)
The handmade wooden mallet that opens the barrel.At a Kag...
744,00 Kč