Nagoshi no Harae
30 June 2026 — Walk through the ring: a light summer and a clear heart.
Nagoshi no Harae, the summer purification, is a ritual held at Shinto shrines across Japan. It takes place on 30 June and marks the midpoint of the year. It is the summer half of Ōharae, the Great Purification, a rite of cleansing from impurity and misfortune performed twice a year, at the end of June and at the end of December. The best-known custom is chinowa kuguri: a large ring of reed or grass (chinowa) is set up before the shrine, and worshippers pass through it, usually along a figure-eight path, praying for health and protection through the hot months. Many shrines also offer paper figures called hitogata, onto which people symbolically transfer their troubles; these are later released into water or burned. Originally the rite was held on the last day of the sixth month of the old lunisolar calendar, which marked the end of summer, hence the name nagoshi, “passing the summer”. Since Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar, most shrines hold it on 30 June, shortly after the summer solstice, while some hold it on 31 July. The custom is still kept today with respect for nature and the idea of renewal.
Flying across the sky: An ethereal, bluish-silver constellation-like figure made of luminous dots and fine lines: a large round hoop of woven grass (chinowa) drifting across the night sky, with a soft glowing path of stars passing through its centre
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