Chinowa-kuguri (Grass Ring Purification)

Chinowa-kuguri is a Shinto purification ritual in which participants walk through a large ring (chinowa) made of woven kaya grass (miscanthus). The ring is typically set up at the shrine entrance during the Nagoshi no Harae (summer purification) in late June and sometimes during the Ōharae (year-end purification) in December.

The ritual involves walking through the ring in a specific figure-eight pattern — typically three times, alternating the direction of approach. This crossing and re-crossing is believed to strip away the accumulated spiritual impurities (kegare) of the preceding six months, allowing the worshipper to enter the next half of the year in a state of renewed purity.

The practice is traced to a mythological episode involving the deity Susanoo, who was given lodging by a poor man named Somin Shorai during his travels. In gratitude, Susanoo instructed him to wear a ring of kaya grass as protection against plague. Today, chinowa-kuguri remains a popular and participatory ritual — shrines that offer it often see long lines of people waiting their turn to pass through the ring, making it one of the most visually distinctive Shinto practices.