In the legend of the birth of the nation from the Kojiki, the ancient scriptures of Japan, the god Izanagi carried Hiruko, who was born of sin and impurity, on a reed boat and released her into the sea and rivers.
At the purification ceremony site, a six-foot-long reed boat is prepared according to the tradition of the Kojiki, and a sacred wand with strips of white paper is placed in the center of the boat like a sail.
At Misogi Shrine, Nagoshi-no-Oharai is known as the purification of water.
On the day of the event, a grand purification ceremony is held at the Zuisho-gu (breath-training hall).
Then, people’s impurities are entrusted to dolls.
The dolls are carried on a reed boat to Suisho-den (the Water Hall), with the impurities entrusted to them.
On the way to the shrine, a ritual of going through a thatch ring, which has long been believed to ward off illness, is performed.
The reed boat is place on the well at Suisho-den, where sacred water springs forth, and is released into the rivers and seas according to ancient Shinto tradition, allowing the power of nature to purify it.
Nagoshi-no-Oharai will be held from 4:00 p.m. on June 30, 2020.
In order to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, this year’s summer purification ceremony, 2020, will be performed only by shrine staff.
Please entrust your sins and impurities to a doll and send it to the shrine by mail with an atonement fee.
If you need a doll, we will send you one, so please do not hesitate to contact the shrine.
The following is a summary of how to perform breath purification.
For a few days after the purification event, the doll is placed in a reed boat on the well of the Suisho-den, where it is cleansed by the Ki (energy) of the spring water, and all the sins and impurities entrusted to the doll are erased.
