Today is June 30, and if you’re like me, you think of your little sister as it’s her birthday (Happy birthday, Margaret!), but chances are you’re not like me. You will notice, though, if you pass by any shrine, a circle constructed out of some kind of plant. That is because June 30 is also the day on which the Shinto festival of “Natsugoe no Harai” (「夏越の祓」) is held. Let us discuss this.
“Natsugoe” literally means “passing into summer,” while “harai” is that Shinto purification rite where the priest waves a stick with pieces of paper over your bowed head - that’s called an “oonusa” (「大麻」, sometimes「太麻」 ), which means “hemp” as they used to be made of hemp and is not to be confused with marijuana, which shares the same kanji but is pronounced “taima.”
The event used to be held according to the lunar calendar but is now fixed on June 30 and is said to date back to Izanagi (「伊弉諾尊」), the male deity who, according to Shinto tradition fathered Japan, the sun, and the moon along with his female counterpart Izanami (「伊弉冉」). The purpose is to purify and protect oneself for the second half of the year and involves conducting a chinowa-kuguri (passing through a hoop made of kaya grass, though other material, particularly bamboo, is often used) (「茅の輪くぐり」).
If you have a chance this late afternoon, visit your local shrine to hop through the hoop once, turn to the left, hop through again, turn to the right, and hop through a final time before receiving your harai. I’m not guaranteeing that participation will be effective in protecting yourself for the last half of 2018, but then again, maybe it will. Below: a photograph of 夏越の祓 and its accompanying 茅の輪くぐり held at the main Shinto shrine, Ito. - William