HOUSE PURIFICATION

HOUSE PURIFICATION House purification (kanai anzen or ke harae shiki) may be performed on request to purify your house and to protect your family. It is recommended to have this ceremony before you move into an existing house, specially when it is old and has accumulated a lot of kegare (pollution). A temporary shrine will be erected in one of the rooms in order to accommodate the kami who are specialized in protecting the location. After purification of the area the kami will be invited in the himorogi. Food dedications are offered to the kami. After reciting the Oharai no Kotoba (prayer of the great purification) the shinto master will purify every room. He recites the special norito for house purification, praying for health an happiness for everybody who lives in the house. All inhabitants will dedicate the green branch to express harmony between nature, man and kami. The kami energy will also be transferred to the ofuda, which should be kept in the house for protection. In traditional Japanese houses the ofuda will be kept in the tokonoma. In cases of strong and persistent pollution, dolls will be made of cedar bark, bearing the names of the inhabitants. They absorb the negative energy, which will be purified later in a fire ceremony. This type of house purification is a special tradition within Yamakage Shinto and is not well-known in for example shrine-shinto.

Shihou harai: purification of the four corners in every room

Fire ceremony of Yamakage Shinto