DATE:		June 30, 2007 From 10:00 Nagoshi Shinji (summer purification rituals) From 20:00 Hitogata Nagashi (doll floating ritual)
PLACE:		339 Kamigamo Motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto
DIRECTION:		City bus #4, #46, #67 to Kamigamo-Jinja Mae
TEL:		81-75-781-0011
ADMISSION:		Free (hitogata dolls: 100 yen or more each)
TEXT:		"Oharae" is a Shinto ritual held twice a year in June and December to purify people of sins commited during the previous six months and pray for good health and safety during the next six months. June 30 is the halfway point of the year and similar rituals are performed on this day at many shrines in Kyoto, including Kitano Tenmangu Shrine and Jonan-gu Shrine. It is said that those who have walked through a large “chinowa” (a ring of reeds) will be protected from illness and bad luck. Hitogata nagashi (doll floating ritual) and chinowa kuguri are held at Kamigamo Shrine. Hitogata are paper dolls used to purify people from sin. Priests reciting a Shinto purification prayer known as "nakatomino oharae" go to the Hashidono (a house spanning a river) and place hitogata dolls on the river in the evening. Kurumagata (car-shaped paper) to purify vehicles is also available at Kamigamo Shrine. *Hitogata and kurumagata are sold at the front of the shrine (near the shrine buildings). They are available on the day of the ceremony at juyosho, a front counter.