Another archival image shows how the mochi offering tower is deconstructed on the second day and the 12 smaller flat round mochi are combined with the red hishi* diamond shaped mochi to make little canapés by adding miso and topped them with various items like yam paste, chestnut paste, ayu fish, and burdock. 

These are eaten as-is or folded in half to take and eat later. At some point over the years the folded-over version with sweet miso and bean paste with burdock became the preferred version that were given out to the guests of the imperial palace in the new year. Including the tea master who brought it back to enjoy with his first ceremony of the year, (who later received imperial permission to serve it yearly.) The red diamond mochi showing through the translucent white mochi disc is what makes the signature blush colouring of a hanabiramochi.

As with almost every sweet with a long history, there are numerous and contested origin explanation, but I do like this one the best, mostly because the archival diagram of the giant mochi stack that dwarfs the Ise lobster topper. I wish they drew a person in for scale! Maybe next year I will have to try re-creating it! 

(The large bottom two mochi have their own little story and a ritual called 鏡開き kagamibiraki which happens on Jan.11th...another long whole post!)

Stay Sweet, Sen

*The “hishi” or diamond shape is based off a leaf of the 菱 “hishi” plant (Trapa japonica or water caltrop) - a sacred plant with edible menacing-looking, wing-shaped seeds that scare away bad omens and grants longevity if you eat them

(A lot of sweets are hishi-shaped that were originally traditional offerings to gods)