Chinowa grass ring outside a Kyoto restaurant
The midsummer season of purification is upon us, and Kyoto today will see several ceremonies involving the chinowa purification circle made of grass. The photo above features a chinowa erected at the entrance to a Japanese restaurant in the heart of downtown Kyoto. I’m not sure if the restaurant owner had a religious motive, but I rather suspect he thought it a nice seasonal touch in much the same way that many Japanese put up Christmas decorations in December.
For the religious significance of the grass circle, see this definition from the Kokugakuin encylopedia…
Chinowa is “a large ring made of cogon grass (chigaya) and erected on the pathway leading to a shrine on the days of purification (harae) of the last day of the sixth or seventh month. Worshipers at the shrine pass through the ring as an act of purification from misdeeds (tsumi), impurities (kegare), or bad luck. An extant fragment from the ancient gazetteer of the province of Bingo relates the tale of Somin Shōrai, a legendary hero who tied a magical ring braided of cogon grass around his waist and thus escaped an epidemic. In ancient times the ring of woven grass was attached to the waist or hung around the neck.
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KYOTO EVENTS (From Kyoto Visitors Guide © Takayoshi Horiuchi )
Nagoshi no Harae Summer Purification – Get rid of misfortune and pray for your health
Every year, at the end of June, many shrines hold an ancient Japanese purification rite called Nagoshi no Harae. In this ceremony, people atone for their sins in the first half of the year and then pray for their health for the remainder of the year by walking through a tall chinowa wreath (a large sacred ring, made of loosely twisted miscanthus reeds called chigaya). At some shrines, people receive a white piece of paper shaped like a person as a form of purification that they can take with them. Some people pull out pieces of the chinowa and weave them into a small wreath which they take home and put above their door.
Recommended Shrines for Nagoshi no Harae
June 25-30 Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine
A giant chinowa wreath (5 meters tall; the largest chinowa wreath in Kyoto) is set up at the shrine gate. The ceremony is held from 16:00 on the 30th.
June 25-30 Kifune Shrine
The ceremony starts from 15:00 on the 30th.
June 30 Kamigamo Shrine
A chinowa kuguri wreath will be set up and people can go through it praying for good health and fortune. The ceremony starts from 10:00. From 20:00, people throw paper dolls into the sacred pond to get rid of their misfortunes.
June 30 Heian Jingu Shrine
The ceremony starts from 16:00. A chinowa kuguri wreath will be set up and people can go through it praying for good health and fortune.
June 30 Nonomiya Shrine
The ceremony starts from 15:00. A chinowa kuguri wreath will be set up on the shrine’s black wooden torii gate (very rare type).
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Thank you for promoting my video clip. Today I was in Kifune and shot some pics and video of the ceremony. Hugo.