Year-End Oharae and Koshinsatsu Shonosai at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (鶴岡八幡宮 年末大祓・古神札焼納祭)

What Are the Year-End Oharae and Koshinsatsu Shonosai at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine?

Every year on December 31, New Year’s Eve, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (鶴岡八幡宮) in Kamakura (鎌倉) holds the year-end Oharae (大祓), the Great Purification, and the Koshinsatsu Shonosai (古神札焼納祭), a ritual burning of old talismans. The Oharae is a Shinto rite that cleanses the sins and impurities (kegare, 穢れ) people take on without realizing it in daily life, so they can return to a pure heart and welcome the New Year. Anyone can take part. In the Koshinsatsu Shonosai, ofuda (お札) talismans and omamori (お守り) amulets returned to the shrine with thanks for a year of protection are burned.

Date and Time

The year-end Oharae is usually held three times, at 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM, followed by the Koshinsatsu Shonosai at 4:00 PM. Both rites are also held on June 30. At 5:00 PM on the same December 31, the Joyasai (除夜祭) takes place.

Highlights

You sign up for the Oharae at the reception on the day. When you fill in a participation form, you receive a sheet with the Oharae no Kotoba (大祓詞), the Great Purification prayer, along with kirinusa (切麻) and a hitogata (人形). Participants gather on the west side of the Maiden (舞殿), the shrine’s dance hall, and recite the prayer together with the priests lined up on the Maiden.

Next, you scatter the kirinusa, small pieces of hemp and paper, over yourself in three motions. Then you stroke your body with the hitogata, a paper cut in the shape of a person, and breathe on it to transfer your sins and impurities to it. The priests collect the hitogata.

Old ofuda and omamori are returned at the collection place on the left as you face the Oishidan (大石段), the Grand Stone Staircase, just before you climb it.

Joining and Watching

• Anyone can join the Oharae. Reception for the 11:00 AM session can get crowded
• If you cannot attend, write your name and age on a hitogata, breathe on it, stroke your body with it, and deliver it to the shrine by the day of the Oharae, and it will be purified together with the others. To receive the application guide, call the shrine office (0467-22-0315) or use the inquiry form on the official website
• There are no seats for the Koshinsatsu Shonosai, but the public can watch it standing
• Crowds of Hatsumode (初詣) visitors grow as New Year’s Eve goes on, and vehicle restrictions usually begin around Kamakura Station at 11:00 PM. Please come by train

For the New Year’s Eve visit and the New Year rituals, see Hatsumode at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. For the work-starting ceremony on January 4, see Chona Hajime Shiki at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine. For the fire ritual on the morning of January 15, when New Year decorations are burned, see Sagicho Shinji at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

Access | Visiting During Your Stay at Toshi’s Place

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine is about a 10-minute walk from the East Exit of JR Kamakura Station (鎌倉駅) or from Enoden (江ノ電) Kamakura Station. If you are staying at Toshi’s Place, take the Enoden from Hase Station (長谷駅) or Wadazuka Station (和田塚駅) to Kamakura Station, then walk along Wakamiya-oji Avenue (若宮大路).

At Toshi’s Place, fully unstaffed smart hotels with fully equipped kitchens and room-only stays, you can join the New Year’s Eve rites and then enjoy the turn of the year in Kamakura at your own pace.

Summary

The year-end Oharae at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine is held at the Maiden at 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM on New Year’s Eve, and anyone can take part. At 4:00 PM, the Koshinsatsu Shonosai burns the old talismans and amulets returned to the shrine. For the shrine’s highlights throughout the year, see Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine.

Basic Information

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