january 5 , kan no iri (the beginning of the coldest period ) 1月5日 - 寒の入り(かんのいり)
january 20 , dai kan (lit . big coldness , the coldest period in the year ) 1月20日 - 大寒(だいかん)
mochi dried during the coldest period in winter like koya-dofu (bean curd dried in a cold atmosphere ). 高野豆腐のように寒中に干した餅。
under the current social/daily life situation , it refers to the trainings conducted around the time of daikan (one of the twenty-four divisions of four seasons , and the coldest period in winter ). 昨今は社会・生活背景などもあって、暦の上での大寒の前後に行われる稽古を指す。
mochi pounded with sugar added does not get completely hard even during the coldest period in winter and , therefore , such mochi was conveniently used as food for hunters and mountain-climbers in the old days . 砂糖を加えて搗いた餅は寒中でもすっかり硬くはならないので、昔は猟師や登山者の食料として重宝された。