Purification & Renewal
Shrines that sweep away misfortune and rebuild body and spirit — places of revival and new starts.
For wishes likeUnlucky years (yakudoshi), feeling boxed in, rebuilding body and mind, starting over
KyotoKamigamo Shrine (Kamo Wake-ikazuchi Jinja)
Ichinomiya of Yamashiro Province, warding off misfortune with the divine power of thunder.
WakayamaKumano Hongu Taisha
Sacred ground of rebirth — the heart of the three grand shrines of Kumano.
WakayamaKumano Hayatama Taisha
The vermilion grand shrine of Shingu, shaded by its sacred nagi tree.
WakayamaKumano Nachi Taisha
The grand shrine of the Musubi-no-Miya, praying beside Nachi Falls.
NaraTanzan Shrine
Site of the secret council that reshaped Japan, with the only wooden thirteen-story pagoda.
NaraKatsuragi Hitokotonushi Shrine
"Ichigon-san," the deity said to grant a wish spoken in a single word.
SaitamaMitsumine Shrine
A sacred precinct some 1,100 meters up, guarded by the wolf messengers called o-inu-sama.
GunmaHaruna Shrine
An ancient shrine of the deities of fire and earth, cradled among the crags of Mount Iwao.
TochigiFurumine Shrine
A shrine of fire protection deep in Kobugahara, where tengu sweep away misfortune.
YamagataDewa Sanzan Shrine
Haguro, Gassan, Yudono — a journey of rebirth across three sacred mountains.
OkayamaSamuhara Shrine (Oku no Miya, the Inner Shrine)
An inner sanctuary of the three gods of creation, guarded by protective sacred characters.
OkayamaKibitsu Shrine
Source of the Momotaro legend, a grand shrine of paired hip-and-gable roofs.
OkayamaSaijo Inari (Saijo Inarisan Myokyo-ji Temple)
A Nichiren temple of the Inari faith, preserving the old union of kami and buddhas.
Mitaki-dera Temple
Three waterfalls flowing through a Kannon sanctuary of Hiroshima.
Ogamiyama Shrine
Shrine of the sacred Mount Daisen, with an inner sanctuary reached by a natural-stone path.
About Purification & Renewal
Shrines of the fortune-opening and yakuyoke (warding-off-misfortune) lineage enshrine deities held to purify misfortune and restore body and spirit, and are known for prayers of renewal and of setting out afresh. Since old times they have been relied upon as places to cleanse oneself at life's junctures and to keep ill things at a distance.
Their enshrined deities include gods held to preside over harae, purification, and gods said to turn calamity away. In the faith of Japan, the purging of sin and defilement has been honored from antiquity; as seen in the rite of the Ōharae, the great purification, prayers that wash away the misfortune gathered upon one have been handed down. Some shrines enshrine gods said to still raging powers and turn calamity into blessing, and the faith of warding off misfortune is said to have interwoven with prayers of rebirth.
This lineage is held to suit the yakudoshi years and the turning points of life, times when one senses stagnation in health or in fortune, and times when one would make a clean start and begin again. Those seeking the warding off of misfortune or protection from inauspicious directions, those praying for the safety of the household, and those who would set in order a gathering of worries often come to worship.
At shrines of yakuyoke, it is said to be good first to cleanse oneself and to bow quietly, in the spirit of receiving purification. The warding off of misfortune is held to be not only the distancing of calamity but also a juncture for composing the heart and starting anew, and one would join one's hands in a renewed spirit. When the years of misfortune have passed or a wish has been granted, returning with thanks for safe passage is said to mark the juncture toward what comes next.
In choosing a shrine of the fortune-opening and yakuyoke lineage, it is considered good to look to one near daily life that can be visited from time to time, or one where one feels a bond at life's junctures. Valuing en and one's ties to the region rather than rank, and visiting not only at the junctures of misfortune but throughout the ordinary days, is said to become a support for keeping body and spirit in order.