The Shinto ritual of great purification performed at shrines is Ōharae.
Ōharae, also written Ōharai, is a major form of harae, the Shinto practice of removing pollution, uncleanness, bad luck, and ritual impurity. The term is commonly translated as “Great Purification,” while the formal ceremony may be called Ōharae-shiki.
Many shrines conduct the rite twice a year, on June 30 and December 30. The June observance is associated with Nagoshi no Ōharae, a midsummer purification, while the year-end ceremony prepares participants for the new year. Shrines may also perform it after particular offenses, disasters, or important ceremonies.
During Ōharae, a priest may recite the Ōharae no Kotoba purification prayer and use a haraigushi, a wand decorated with paper streamers, to symbolically cleanse people or objects. Ōharae is broader than misogi, which specifically emphasizes purification through water, and broader than harai as a general term. Naorai is a concluding communal meal or offering-sharing rite, not the Great Purification itself.