How to Use the Water Purification Basin 日光二荒山神社作法

Official explanation

First, take the ladle in your right hand and scoop up some water. Pour some of the water into the palm of your left hand and then change hands and pour some of the water into your right hand. Change hands again and pour some of the remaining water from the ladle into your left hand and use it to rinse your mouth. Do not drink the water but spit it out on the ground near the basin. Finally, turn the ladle upright so the remaining water runs down the handle, cleaning it, and then replace the ladle on the washbasin.

Before worshipping at shrines and temples, it is customary to purify oneself at the washbasin. Purity and cleanliness are particularly important in Shinto, and worshippers cleanse their hands and mouths with cool, flowing water before entering a sacred place. This simple act of ritual purification is a shortened version of the full-body purification still practiced in some locations; for example, at Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture, many worshippers cleanse themselves in the nearby Isuzu River before entering the shrine.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.