Nagoshi no Harae, literally “summer passing purification ceremony” is one of Japan’s most celebrated great rituals and is steeped in tradition. The purification ritual has been performed at shrines since ancient times, in the hope of atoning for misdeeds that have been committed in the first half of the year and to pray for the latter half yet to come. It is a chance for redemption and a new start for the remainder of the year.

Traditionally performed on the last day of the sixth month, the custom is still enjoyed today in modern Japan, every June 30, at many shrines across the country. Because the Nagoshi-no-Oharai falls between rice sowing and harvest, this ritual is a time of relaxation and community celebration.

In order to participate you can join in on June 30th when the priests of Shinto shrines all across Japan lead large crowds in the practice, or you can try it by yourself.

Create a ring of Miscanthus reeds, (also called Chinese Reed, Ramie, or Elephant Grass). Simply bow, pass through the wreath and circle back to the front from the left, pass through again to the right, then pass through one last time. Just remember left, right, left like the sign for infinity ∞. As you pass through the ring, reflect on your year.

The key to all rituals performed in Shinto is the harmony between heaven and earth. The rituals create the space and process whereby you can return to the fullness of the inborn Kami — the divine in each person.

In Shinto, the Kami is the object of reverence. A word that cannot be translated
adequately into English, its most common translation is “God.” However, Stuart D. B. Picken writes in his “Historical Dictionary of Shinto” that “Divinity, the divine, or the mysterious are better candidates because they are less specific in the imagery they generate.”

Where to participate in Kyoto

Several of Kyoto’s most famous and popular shrines host the event including:

• Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, home to the largest chinowa in Kyoto (approximately five meters in height), which is set up at the shrine gate.
• Kamigamo Shrine also performs the ritual as well as handing out paper dolls to the participants, which are floated down the river to rid you of misfortune.
• Yoshida Shrine is another popular host of the event, where participants who offer a doll amulet to the deity are gifted a wreath in return.

The Ritual at the Tsubaki Grand Shrine

Tsubaki Grand Shrine was established over 2,000 years ago and has been the site of the same daily Shinto purification rituals ever since, including the Nagoshi-no-Oharai.

During the Nagoshi-no-Oharai, the Torii pathway leading to the Tsubaki Grand Shrine is transformed with hundreds of people attending this ritual. The Torii gateways are a distinctive symbol of Shinto and represent a gateway between heaven and earth. Although stylized over the centuries, the original gateway was most likely a simple rope hung between the trees or posts to mark an area considered sacred.

At the Tsubaki Grand Shrine, there are a succession of Torii leading up to the Honden, (the main worship hall), where the rituals are conducted. This Honden holds about 75 people and is built in the classical style of plain, unpainted Japanese cypress, with a stylized roof distinguished by ridge posts.

Along the sides of the gravel Torii pathway hang ropes tied with white paper streamers, called gohei, signifying the boundary of sacred space. The gohei are made in different sizes by the Shinto priests and are also considered sacred.

A large sacred ring, called chi-no-wa, made of loosely twisted Miscanthus reeds, is constructed in front of the Honden. There are numerous purification rituals as people wait for the start of the Nagoshi-no-Oharai.

The Nagoshi-no-Oharai ritual begins in the main worship hall with the traditional Oharai prayers and purification.

During the purification ritual, the Shinto priests cascade kirinusa (small cut pieces of sacred rope and cloth) onto all the worshippers in the Honden. Some priests then run out of the Honden and through the crowd lining the pathway, tossing kirinusa on them.

When they complete their daily Oharahi-no-Kotba, the worshippers line the Torii pathway in anticipation of the afternoon ritual service. Following the Ohara-no-Kotobai, the chief priest (Guji) leads all the other priests, who carry crates of paper dolls, three times through the chi-no-wa in a figure eight pattern.

Worshippers follow behind a reed boat (kaya-fune) carried by a senior priest. They know their routine in the ritual, a yearly tradition that passes from generation to generation, and wait patiently in silence for their opportunity to walk through the circle of reeds. This gentle, respectful procession reflects the learned knowledge of all participants.

Passing though the chi-no-wa, although complex, is executed smoothly and is amazing to watch. The paper dolls in the crates come from all those who have visited the Tsubaki Grand Shrine in the previous six months with special prayers, impurities, pollution, uncleanness, concerns or indulgences called tsumi. Each paper doll includes the name of the person, his or her birthday and a personal stamp.

(The Japanese use stamps in their daily lives to identify paperwork and bills. When you receive or pay for something, you get the stamp of the person who processed it, confirming that you have seen the document.)

These paper dolls are symbolic of a person’s tsumi and have been purified at the Tusbaki Grand Shrine before they’re carried by the Shinto priest through the circle of reeds and then to the riverbank.

After completing the walk through the circle of reeds, the priests go to a location on the river close to the shrine. Over the days leading up to the ritual, the priests have created a sacred space along the riverbank by hanging rope with gohei across the river. Along the far shoreline, a priest also places a large pole with hanging gohei.

In all Shinto purification rituals, sake and salt are used. The Guji (chief priest) sprays these into the sacred river water while reciting prayers. The Guji also make an offering to the Kami by presenting a Japanese evergreen – sakaki –the same offering presented at all Shinto shrines.

After the river purification is completed, the priests fling the paper dolls into the air like hundreds of white petals and let them float to the sea, signifying the release of impurities.

A Shinto Prayer for Purification

The kami shall lend ear to the sacred words.
No offences shall remain unpurged.
They shall be scattered and blown afar
by Heaven’s winds
descending through the eight-fold clouds.

Morning mists shall be cleared
by the morning winds,
Just as the mists of evening shall be swept away
by evening winds.

As a large ship anchored in a harbor
casts off the morrings from its bow
and is released into the great expanse of ocean,
So shall we be released of our impurities

As the trees of the thick grove rooted yonder
are cleared away with a sharp sickle~
So shall our offences be purged and swept away.

We pray that these impurities be swept away and that
The kami grant us purification to restore
the natural order.

Let the impurities be swept away by the kami Seoritsu Hime
Who dwells in the swift rivers that cascade
from the top of the high mountains
and from the top of the low mountains,
Carrying the impurities out to the great expanse of ocean;

There, where the river meets the great sea,
Hayakitsu Hime, who dwells
within the whirling myriad tides,
Shall open wide and swallow the impurities;

Let the door open, then, from the bottom country,
And the kami called Ibukido Nushi shall cause
great winds to expel the impurities
to the root country.

There, the kami called Haya Sasura Hime,
the quiet wanderer of the root country,
will sieze and dissolve the impurities,
Ridding us of imperfection and
returning us to our pristine natural state.

Grant us purification, grant us clarity.
We pray to the Heavenly Kami
and to the Earthly Kami ~
To all the myriad of kami
we recite this norito with awe and reverence.
Please hear these humble words.

Minazuki

The seasonal sweet minazuki, a type of steamed cake topped with azuki beans, is often sold during the ritual period. It is traditionally eaten on June 30th to ward of evil, ill health and bad luck for the second part of the year. The colour of minazuki is said to resemble ice to cool you from the summer heat. Here’s a recipe from Tokyo Pony.

You will need:

• A square container around 4×4 inches
• Something to steam the wagashi in (I used a bamboo steamer)
• 15g of kuzu root ( if it is not in a powder and more in chunks crush into a powder)
• 15g of glutinous rice flour ( the kind for making dango )
• 30g of sifted plain white flour
• 30g of unrefined caster sugar
• 100ml of water
• x1 can of sweet red beans

Combine the kuzu powder and dango flour then add a little of the water to make a paste, then add the rest and mix together. Then add in your flour and sugar and mix to combine.

Fill your container with water and tip it out ( this will just stop your wagashi from sticking ) then fill your container with your mixture, keeping a few tablespoons for later.

Place your container in a steamer and steamer over simmering water for about 20 minutes.

After this time take out your container from the steamer and add around 3/4 of the can of your sweet red beans to the top, spreading them out. Add the few spoonfuls of the remaining mixture you saved over the beans and pop back in the steamer for a further 10 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool in the fridge. Cut the wagashi while it in still in the container. If you cut it in an X from corner to corner, you will have 4 triangles. Carefully ease out the first piece, once you have one out the others are easily removed. I wouldn’t recommend tipping it upside down as you may spoil the look of your minazuki.

There you have it. They are nice enjoyed with a matcha tea you could even dust the top with matcha or kinako if you like.

The History of Nagoshi no Harae

Nagoshi no Harae was first established during the Nara Period (710-794) and was traditionally performed on the last day of the sixth and twelfth months of the lunar calendar at the Imperial court and Shinto shrines. The great purification at the Imperial court briefly came to an end due to the Onin War (1467-77), but continued to flourish at shrines. At some point, the twelfth month purification (harae) was abandoned and the sixth month purification (nagoshi no harae) became grander in scale.

The origin of the ritual comes from an ancient Japanese legend about the wandering god Susano’o no Mikoto. A poor man, Somin Shorai, showed the disguised god every luxury he could afford when asked for a place to stay the night. In return for housing the god for the night, he was given a chinowa wreath woven from reeds and instructed to wear it for protection.

In a turn of good luck, Somin and his descendants managed to escape plague and illness that befell the land. This story led to the practice of passing through the large Nagoshi no Harae chinowa wreath to ward off disaster and misfortune.

Sources:

• Culture Trip
• Tsubaki Shrine
• Starr King School
• Discover Kyoto
• Shinto Norito