In Shinto practice, the ritual purification of people and places is called harae.
Harae removes ritual pollution, known as kegare, before ceremonies or after contact with death, illness, blood, or other circumstances considered spiritually defiling. A Shinto priest may perform harae by waving an Ōnusa purification wand, sprinkling salt or water, or reciting a formal norito prayer.
Harae is related to misogi, another purification practice, but the terms are not identical. Misogi specifically emphasizes purification with water, often at a river, waterfall, or the sea. Harae is the broader category of ritual purification and can use several methods. The Ōharae, or Great Purification, is a major form traditionally performed at the end of June and December. During this ceremony, people may pass through a large ring of grass called a chinowa or submit a paper human figure, hitogata, to symbolically carry away pollution.