Why Japan Purifies Itself and Eats Minazuki at the End of June

Life in Japan – Issue 032

This Saturday article is part of the “Life in Japan” series.
Unlike the in-depth essays published on Tuesdays, this series focuses on everyday life in Japan, sharing seasonal changes and daily scenes from a more personal and familiar perspective.

This week in Japan, news about typhoons, earthquakes, and heavy rain has continued.

Living in Japan, I often feel the force of nature close by. The amount of rain, the strength of the wind, the shaking of the ground, and the humid air. The seasons bring beauty, and at the same time, they also make me feel their threat. I can only pray that earthquakes and typhoons will not cause damage.

Now, June is nearing its end, and the first half of the year is about to come to a close.

At this time of year, the humidity of the rainy season remains, the temperature rises, and the presence of summer grows stronger. During this season, when both the body and the mind can begin to feel a little heavy, Japan has a purification ritual that has long been cherished.

In this week’s Life in Japan, I would like to introduce the sense of misogi-harai, purification and cleansing, that takes place at this time of year, along with a seasonal wagashi eaten at the end of June.

On June 30, shrines across Japan hold a ritual called 夏越の祓（Nagoshi no Harae）.

Nagoshi no Harae is a Shinto ritual in which people purify the 穢れ（kegare）they have accumulated over the past half year and pray to spend the remaining half of the year in good health. In the grounds of shrines, a large ring made from bundled chigaya grass or straw is set up. This is called a 茅の輪（chinowa）.

Worshippers pass through the chinowa and purify their bodies and minds. A well-known way of passing through it is to move in a figure-eight pattern, first to the left, then to the right, and then once more to the left. The detailed practice differs depending on the shrine, but there is great meaning in receiving this turning point of the year through the physical act of passing through the ring.

During Nagoshi no Harae, some shrines use 人形（hitogata）, pieces of paper cut into the shape of a person. People write their names on the hitogata, rub them over their bodies, breathe onto them, and then offer them after transferring their own kegare to them. Some shrines also hold rituals in which the hitogata are floated down a river.

The word kegare is a little different from ordinary dirt or physical uncleanliness. It has been understood to include things such as fatigue, disorder, and the seeds of misfortune that attach themselves to people through everyday life.

Passing through a ring. Entrusting something to paper. Bringing one’s hands together in prayer.

Many Japanese seasonal rituals take prayer and place it into physical movements or small objects. Nagoshi no Harae is one of them.

During Nagoshi no Harae, the following poem is sometimes recited.

“水無月の夏越の祓する人は千歳の命のぶというなり”

It means that those who perform Nagoshi no Harae in Minazuki are said to have their lives extended for a thousand years.

The 水無月（Minazuki）that appears here is the traditional Japanese name for the month of June. And in this season, there is also a wagashi with the same name.

That wagashi is also called 水無月（Minazuki）.

Minazuki is a wagashi made with white uirō topped with azuki beans and cut into a triangular shape. Centered especially in Kyoto, it has been eaten in connection with Nagoshi no Harae on June 30.

The triangular shape of the white uirō is said to represent ice. The azuki beans on top are said to carry the meaning of warding off evil.

For us today, ice is very familiar. We can open the freezer and find it there, and we can put it into drinks. But before refrigerators became common in ordinary homes, eating ice in summer was something special. Storing winter ice in an ice house and preserving it until the hot season required a great deal of effort. It is said that in the imperial court, there was a custom of using ice in summer to ward off the heat.

Minazuki has been spoken of as a sweet that recalls that precious ice.

Inside this small triangle are a longing for coolness and a wish to pass safely through the hot summer.

I bought this Minazuki in Okayama.

As the end of June approached, I had been looking for Minazuki in shops near my home in Fukuoka. But I had a hard time finding it in Kyushu. The timing may have been part of the reason, but since Minazuki is a ritual sweet especially known around Kyoto, I feel that there are limited places in Kyushu where I can find it.

A few days later, I happened to have a work trip to Okayama, Shōdoshima, and Kagawa. I thought I might be able to find Minazuki in Okayama, so during the trip, I went to the wagashi section of a department store.

There, Minazuki was lined up in the display. I wanted to share a photo of this seasonal wagashi with all of you. That is why I bought it.

Minazuki is a wagashi that does not keep for long, and the one I bought also needed to be eaten by the next day. So I took the photo on the ferry to Shōdoshima. It was still in its wrapping, so the photo turned out a little less than well-mannered.

I had actually wanted to eat it with the new tea from Yame that I have at home.

The delicious tea from Yame, which I wrote about in last Tuesday’s article, would surely go very well with Minazuki.

The uirō of the Minazuki was soft and pleasantly chewy. Its sweetness slowly spread through my mouth. The azuki beans on top had a gentle texture, and within the sweetness, the flavor of the beans remained.

The simple act of eating that sweet at the end of June made me feel the season itself.

Finally, I would like to briefly introduce the place where I took the photo of the chinowa.

The photo of the chinowa was taken at 福島八幡宮（Fukushima Hachimangū）in 八女市（Yame City）, Fukuoka Prefecture.

Fukushima Hachimangū is known as a shrine where people can visit together with their dogs, cats, and other pets. The shrine offers prayers for the health of pets, as well as pet amulets and goshuin.

Near the gate, there were dog figures placed almost like komainu guardian dogs.

And in the shrine grounds, I also met Shiro-chan, the shrine’s mameshiba signboard dog.

A shrine is a place with a solemn atmosphere of prayer. At the same time, I felt that it can also be a place that gently welcomes local people and animals.

Passing through the chinowa at the end of June, eating Minazuki, and meeting Shiro-chan at Fukushima Hachimangū made this year’s Nagoshi no Harae a warm memory for me.

Every week, when I share the present moment of Japan through the Life in Japan series, readers sometimes leave comments telling me about the present moment in their own countries. That makes me very happy.

I began this series because I wanted to share the beauty of Japan and the real atmosphere of life here, but thanks to all of you, I am also able to learn about life in many different countries.

Thank you always.

Whether you are in a country where the season is growing hotter, or in a place that is entering a colder season, please take good care of yourself.

The year 2026 has reached its halfway point, and I hope you will continue to follow Spiritual Japan Journal and me, Sumire.

—Written by Sumire

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