Suganuki Purification Rite
Date: July 31st
A portable shrine arriving at the Tongu
On the first day of the Goshinkosai summer festival, the three main deities of Usa Jingu Shrine are transferred from their sanctuaries at the Jogu (Upper Shrine) to portable shrines and carried to a temporary enshrinement site called the Tongu, where they stay for three days and two nights. Before the ceremonies can commence at the Tongu, priests carry out the Suganuki purification rite to cleanse themselves. Similar summer purification rites have been held since the Heian period (794–1185), but this variation is unique to Usa Jingu and uses distinctive purification tools.
Three sacred gohei wands set in a holly bush
Three sacred gohei wands with zigzag paper streamers are set up in a holly bush next to the Tongu in a formation said to imitate a river, with a small stand for offerings and a straw mat placed on the ground in front. After three recitations of a purification prayer, each priest cleanses himself using a tokinawagushi, a special wooden wand with a purple paper streamer and a flat piece of straw wedged into a slit on top. Two strands of rope, one twisted clockwise and the other counterclockwise, are tied to the shaft of the wand, and during purification each priest unwinds the ropes and ceremonially scatters the fibers.
The next step in the rite makes use of another unique purification tool: two large rings of woven grass joined together. One ring is laid around the straw mat in front of the offerings, and the other is held vertically by an assistant. Each priest in turn ceremonially kneels within the first ring and bows deeply as the assistant lowers the second ring down to the ground over the kneeling priest. This action is called suganuki (“passing of the grass ring”), which is where the name of the rite comes from. After the priest rises, he throws the tokinawagushi toward the three gohei wands, symbolizing purification by water.
Suganuki purification rite
In the case of the head priest, the rite is more complex. A different set of woven grass rings is used, and the passing of the ring is performed three times: for the country, the people, and the head priest himself. After each pass, the head priest rises and circles back to the starting position, alternating directions in a figure-eight pattern. Once the head priest has been purified, he throws the tokinawagushi toward the gohei wands. The entire ritual is completed with three more recitations of the purification prayer, and the Goshinkosai summer festival can proceed.
Rituals continue at the Tongu
This English-language text was created by Japan Tourism Agency.
更新日：2024年03月18日