The National Department Store has launched "Oharae", a web service that allows you to easily apply for the Shinto ritual of Oharae online. The usage fee is free. The Oharae Shinto ritual is carried out by the Bizen Kokuso Shrine (Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture).


Oharae is a Shinto ritual based on the traditional Japanese way of thinking. thing. Usually, they go to a shrine, stroke their bodies with a doll, etc., and have them burn the sins and impurities for half a year with a clean fire.

The service offers two types: "Smartphone Oharae," which uses dolls on smartphone screens, and "Web Oharae," which allows you to purchase dolls and have them cleansed. All of them are said to be enshrined by official shrine Shinto priests. There is no charge for the first ear and tamagushi when purifying.


To participate in the smartphone Oharae, enter the necessary information (name, age, gender) from the smartphone site, rub your body with the doll displayed on the screen, and send it. The information sent from the Internet is output on paper at the Bizen Kokuso Shrine (printing for multiple people on one sheet), and at the time of the Shinto ritual, a large ritual is played and it is fired by purification.

On the other hand, Web Oharae purchases wooden and paper dolls from the site, rubs the body with the dolls after arrival, blows on them, and returns them to the Bizen Kokuso Shrine in a reply envelope (no stamps required). In addition to dolls, you can also choose from car-shaped, dog-shaped, cat-shaped, and motorcycle-shaped. The price starts from 1,000 yen. It is said that the returned dolls will be fired in the same way while praying carefully one by one.