Shinto

===Purity and impurity===
A key theme in Shinto is the avoidance of {{lang|ja-Latn|[[kegare]]}} ("pollution" or "impurity"),{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=93|2a1=Cali|2a2=Dougill|2y=2013|2p=20}} while ensuring {{lang|ja-Latn|[[harae]]}} ("purity").{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=101|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=45|3a1=Cali|3a2=Dougill|3y=2013|3p=21}} In Japanese thought, humans are seen as fundamentally pure.{{sfn|Picken|2011|pp=45, 82}} {{lang|ja-Latn|Kegare}} is therefore seen as being a temporary condition that can be corrected through achieving {{lang|ja-Latn|harae}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=93}} Rites of purification are conducted so as to restore an individual to "spiritual" health and render them useful to society.{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=102}}

[[File:Karasuzumo purification ritual.jpg|thumb|left|Shinto purification rite after a ceremonial children's [[sumo]] tournament at the [[Kamigamo Jinja]] in [[Kyoto]]]]
This notion of purity is present in many facets of Japanese culture, such as the focus it places on bathing.{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=38}} Purification is for instance regarded as important in preparation for the planting season,{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=63}} while performers of {{lang|ja-Latn|[[noh]]}} theatre undergo a purification rite before they carry out their performances.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=7}} Among the things regarded as particular pollutants in Shinto are death, disease, witchcraft, the flaying alive of an animal, incest, bestiality, excrement, and blood associated with either menstruation or childbirth.{{sfnm|1a1=Offner|1y=1979|1p=206|2a1=Nelson|2y=1996|2p=104}} To avoid {{lang|ja-Latn|kegare}}, priests and other practitioners may engage in abstinence and avoid various activities prior to a festival or ritual.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=93|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=86}}
Various words, termed {{lang|ja-Latn|imi-kotoba}}, are also regarded as taboo, and people avoid speaking them when at a shrine; these include {{lang|ja-Latn|shi}} (death), {{lang|ja-Latn|byō}} (illness), and {{lang|ja-Latn|shishi}} (meat).{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=58}}

A purification ceremony known as {{lang|ja-Latn|misogi}} involves the use of fresh water, salt water, or salt to remove {{lang|ja-Latn|kegare}}.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=124}} Full immersion in the sea is often regarded as the most ancient and efficacious form of purification.{{sfn|Nelson|1996|p=140}} This act links with the mythological tale in which Izanagi immersed himself in the sea to purify himself after discovering his deceased wife; it was from this act that other {{lang|ja-Latn|kami}} sprang from his body.{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=141|2a1=Bocking|2y=1997|2p=124}} An alternative is immersion beneath a waterfall.{{sfnm|1a1=Bocking|1y=1997|1p=124|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=45}} Salt is often regarded as a purifying substance;{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1p=141|2a1=Earhart|2y=2004|2p=11}} some Shinto practitioners will for instance sprinkle salt on themselves after a funeral,{{sfnm|1a1=Nelson|1y=1996|1pp=141–142|2a1=Picken|2y=2011|2p=70}} while those running restaurants may put a small pile of salt outside before business commences each day.{{sfn|Picken|2011|p=6}} Fire, also, is perceived as a source of purification.{{sfn|Earhart|2004|p=11}} The {{lang|ja-Latn|yaku-barai}} is a form of harae designed to prevent misfortune,{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=219}} while the {{lang|ja-Latn|oharae}}, or "ceremony of great purification", is often used for end-of-year purification rites, and is conducted twice a year at many shrines.{{sfn|Bocking|1997|p=136}} Before the Meiji period, rites of purification were generally performed by {{lang|ja-Latn|[[onmyōji]]}}, a type of diviner whose practices derived from the Chinese [[yin and yang]] philosophy.{{sfn|Breen|Teeuwen|2010|p=12}}