"Wakuguri" experience in Okazaki

On June 30th, many of the shrines in Japan have a spiritual ritual called 輪くぐり “Wakuguri”. On that day, people visit shrines in the evening and walk through a big ring made by cogon grass.

It is said that this ritual will purify the defilements from January to June. There is a similar ritual on the last day of December to purify for the remaining months from July to December.

We went to 菅生神社”Sugo Shrine” last month on the 30th to experience the ritual. There were a lot of people already lining up to walk through the ring.

There is a rule on how to walk through- 1. Bow in front of the ring and go around from the left side. 2. Come back through to the front of the ring and go around from the right side. 3. Come back through to the front of the ring and go around from the left side (The movement will be similar to the infinity sign). 4. Bow in front of the ring and walk straight to the Shrine and pray.

When we walked through, we were able to smell the fresh grass and it felt so refreshing. At the same time, traditional music was played by the people of the shrine and we were all happy to purify ourselves in a very good mood.

“Wakuguri” experience in Okazaki