We sincerely thank you for your continued warm support of Tensha Shrine and the historic Tsuchimikado sites.
In accordance with the ancient Taizan Fukun ritual tradition handed down from Abe no Seimei, the Nagoshi Purification and Hassaku Prayer Festival was conducted at the date and time shown below.
Date and time: August 1, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. (Hassaku; the sixth lunar month in the Onmyodo calendar)
Ritual site: The sacred altar of Tsuchimikado-dono Tensha Shrine
As the head shrine of the Onmyodo tradition, Tensha Shrine bears a shrine title granted as the sole shrine of its kind by Emperor Reigen. It is the only shrine in Japan dedicated to Taiitsu, the highest deity of Heaven, identified with the Big Dipper. Taiitsu has long been deeply revered by the Imperial family; even today a banner bearing the name Taiitsu is raised during the rebuilding rites of Ise Jingu.
The Nagoshi Purification rite of the sixth lunar month and the Great Purification at the close of the year have roots in rites to the heavenly deities transmitted from ancient China and Korea and given their established form in Japan. They continued as important rites of the court’s Onmyoryo, including riverbank ceremonies held along the Kamo River in Heian-kyo with members of the nobility in attendance. The Kamakura shogunate followed this tradition, conducting related rites at places including the shore of Katase, the Uji River and Karasaki on Lake Biwa.
Hassaku means the first day of the eighth month. It falls at an important time before the harvest season and carries the meaning of an agricultural rite praying for crops to grow safely and yield an abundant harvest. Nagoshi Purification and the Hassaku Festival have thus become deeply rooted in Japanese life and have been carefully handed down as rites expressing purification of body and spirit and prayer for abundance.
We invited as many people as possible to participate in this ancient tradition and receive the blessings of the secret teachings handed down from Abe no Seimei.
Registration for the 2025 Nagoshi Purification and Hassaku Prayer Festival is now closed.