Kegare (Spiritual Impurity / Pollution)

Kegare is the Shinto concept of spiritual impurity or pollution — a state of defilement that separates a person from the kami and from the community. It is not equivalent to the Western concept of 'sin' (there is no moral judgment involved); rather, it is more like a contamination that can be acquired through contact with death, blood, illness, or other sources of pollution, and that can be removed through purification rituals (harae).

Historically, kegare had significant social consequences. Death was the most potent source of kegare, which is why Shinto shrines traditionally avoid association with death (funerals are typically Buddhist affairs in Japan). Menstruation and childbirth were also considered sources of kegare, leading to practices of female exclusion from certain sacred spaces — some of which persist controversially to this day at places like Mt. Omine.

In modern practice, the concept of kegare has become less socially prescriptive but remains central to Shinto theology. The emphasis on purification before worship (hand-washing at temizuya, seasonal oharae ceremonies) reflects the ongoing importance of maintaining spiritual cleanliness. The concept is best understood not as primitive superstition but as a sophisticated framework for understanding the boundaries between the sacred and the ordinary.