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HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Misogi purification ritual
Cleanse your mind and connect with nature at Shirayama-Hime Shrine
Hakusan City Tourism League
Misogi is a Shinto purification ritual conducted in the natural and historic setting of Shirayama-Hime Shrine, near Kanazawa, capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. Long a place of nature worship, the shrine was established at the foot of Mt. Hakusan over 2,100 years ago and today serves as the head shrine for around 3,000 Hakusan and Shirayama shrines across Japan, all dedicated to this sacred mountain.
Experience the misogi purification ceremony, cleansing your mind and body in a pond filled with water that has trickled down through the rocks of sacred Mt. Hakusan over centuries. The priests of Shirayama-Hime Shrine will guide you through the ancient words and actions of this Shinto ceremony. Unlike other purification rituals you may have heard of, this one does not involve waterfall training.
During the misogi ritual at Shirayama-Hime Shrine, you are cleansed and reconnect with the natural world. Just like the water that flows down from the summit of Mt. Hakusan, nourishing the land on its way to the sea and then evaporating to once again fall on the mountain as rain or snow, we too are part of the cycles of nature. The misogi rite allows us to connect with water and nature, and to feel grateful for these blessings.
How to get there
30 minutes on foot / 5 minutes by bus from Tsurugi Station on the Hokutetsu Ishikawa Line. Rental bicycles are available at Hakusan City Tourism League office near Tsurugi Station
