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Recently, I visited a local shrine to participate in the Chinowa Kuguri ritual, a part of Japan’s summer purification rites known as “nagoshi no harae.” This tradition involves passing through and around a large grass hoop called a chinowa in a figure-eight pattern to cleanse impurities from the first half of the year and pray for health in the second half.

Legend has it that wearing a small ring of grass wards off disease and evil spirits. At shrines, these beliefs are represented by giant chinowa hoops made of long wild grass, each several meters in diameter.

Performing the Chinowa Kuguri Ritual

1.Passing Through the Hoop: I began by facing the chinowa, bowing respectfully, and stepping through it with my left foot, then circling around the left side of the hoop.
2.Second Passage: After bowing again, I stepped through the hoop with my right foot, circled around its right side, and returned to face the chinowa.
3.Completing the Figure-Eight: Bowing once more, I passed through the hoop a third time with my left foot, circled its left side, and completed the figure-eight pattern.
4.The Hitogata Offering: To conclude, I wrote my name and birthdate on a slip of paper shaped like a person called a hitogata. After blowing on it to transfer my impurities, I offered it at the shrine to be burned, symbolizing the removal of impurities.

Ready for the remainder of the year!