Ōnusa

What it is

An ōnusa is a wooden wand used in Shinto purification rites in Japan, also known simply as nusa or taima. It is counted among the shingu, the ritual implements of Shinto. The head of the wand carries shide, paper streamers that stir when the wand moves. Two forms carry names of their own: with streamers mounted on a staff of six or eight sides it is a haraegushi, and with only two streamers it is a gohei. During purification the wand is passed over a person or thing, an act believed to draw impurities out of them and into the wand. Forms vary from shrine to shrine, from sakaki branches to plain white sticks.

Where it comes from

Older practice differed from what is seen now. In ancient ceremonies such as those at Kasuga Taisha the wand was stroked over what was purified rather than shaken, and the old waving order ran left, right and centre. Two written manuals record the wand's form: the Board of Ceremonies' Jinja Matsuri Shiki of 1875 has a sakaki branch serving as the nusa, and Yatsuka Seinan's Jinja Yushoku Kijitsu of 1951 describes a nusa as a sakaki branch bearing ramie, alone or with shidare added. The peach branch used at Shimogamo Shrine follows a story told in the Kojiki. The Ainu people keep their own version of the wand, the inau.

How it is done

Today the wand is waved left, right and left over the person or object to be purified, a motion believed to move the impurities into the wand itself and so leave the person or thing clean. In the past the wave ran left, right and centre. The wand is also commonly shaken noisily, as though dust were being shaken away, but not everywhere: in the old ceremonies of Kasuga Taisha, and at Ise Shrine, it is stroked instead, and noisy purification is forbidden at Ise.

Tools and materials

The commonest nusa today is a branch of sakaki or a plain white wooden stick, with a shide paper streamer or nusa ramie fixed at the end. Konusa are made from wooden sticks, thin pieces of wood or bamboo. At Ise Jingu the wand may be a mikisakaki, a sakaki branch left whole with leaves and branches still attached, or a sakaki branch with a cord of hemp serving as the yu, the cotton element. Shimogamo Shrine instead takes a branch of a peach tree. Jingū Taima wands are usually kept in envelopes.

What it is for

The wand serves purification in Shinto rites. It is directed at people and at objects that need cleansing, and the streamers' sweep is believed to carry their impurities away into the wand, leaving what it touched clean. One form, the Jingū Taima, is used differently from ordinary wands: it is usually kept in an envelope rather than waved, so it serves as an object kept on hand instead of a tool swung in the rite.

Peoples and places

The wand belongs to Shinto practice across Japan, and each great shrine keeps its own way with it. Ise Jingu uses the mikisakaki, a whole sakaki branch with leaves and branches still on it, and forbids noisy purification, so there the wand is stroked. Kasuga Taisha preserves the older stroking motion in its ancient ceremonies. Shimogamo Shrine stands out for taking a branch of a peach tree, a choice it follows from the Kojiki myth. The Ainu people have their own version of the wand, the inau.

What people believe

The idea behind the wand is that impurity can be moved from one thing to another. Passing the wand left, right and left over a person or an object is believed to transfer whatever is unclean into the nusa, which is why the action is likened to shaking dust away. Some shrines handle the motion more quietly: at Ise, as in the old ceremonies of Kasuga Taisha, the wand is stroked over what is purified, and noisy purification is forbidden at Ise. The peach branch at Shimogamo Shrine is chosen in following a myth told in the Kojiki.

Compare and confuse

The same object carries several names. Haraegushi names the wand when its streamers sit on a six- or eight-sided staff, and gohei names one with only two streamers. The Jingū Taima is a type of ōnusa kept in envelopes. Beyond the main rite, the inau of the Ainu people is described as their version of the ōnusa.

Today

The wand remains in active use. The commonest nusa seen now is a sakaki branch or a plain white stick carrying a shide streamer or nusa ramie. The general motion today is the noisy shake, as if dust were being scattered, followed by the left-right-left wave, while the older stroking custom survives at Ise and Kasuga Taisha. Jingū Taima wands are usually kept in envelopes rather than waved.

Questions people ask about Ōnusa

Good reading and sources

• Ōnusa on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data