Japan Photo of the Week: Purify
During a lot of festivals in Japan, small portable shrines are carried in a parade like fashion. These shrines are called, “mikoshi” and are believed to temporarily house a god. Before you enter a temple or shrine in Japan, there is often a small fountain with ladles used to take some water and pour it on your hands. This is not so you can wash your hands but instead to purify or cleanse yourself of evil or “bad things” before entering a sacred place. For those that will carry the shrines, they have to do slightly more than just pouring some water on their hands.
Every festival/shrine may have a different way of doing things, but what I witnessed was in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture for Hina Matsuri. Basically, for 10 days prior to the festival, those who would be carrying the mikoshi performed a ritual which consisted of chanting, praying and dumping water all over themselves outside, while wearing only a headband and a loincloth. It is thought that this is a way to purify themselves so that they can be fit to carry the the portable shrine. In Shiogama, this is done for 3 different festivals in the year. For the festival in July, it is not too bad, but for the one in early March, when the temperature at night is on average about 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 Celsius) it doesn’t seem to be the most pleasant experience.
This photograph was taken by Evan Pike. If you would like to see more or buy this photograph, check out the gallery or the Japan Photo Guide.
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