Sacred water Kyoto
"Sacred water"
The Water Fountain Contraption (a.k.a. Temizuya)
At the entrance of Japanese Shinto shrines, you'll find a water fountain like thing that has ladles made out of bamboo or wood laid out on it (see above). It's called a temizuya, and the whole point of it is to clean and purify your body by washing your hands and your mouth. Here's the process:
Step 1: Pick up the ladle with your right hand and scoop up some water from the top portion.
Step 2: Pour a third of the water into your left hand and wash it first. Swap the ladle into your left hand, and then pour another third of the water into your right hand and proceed to wash it. All of this should be occurring in the bottom part of the temizuya, not where you initially scooped the water.
Step 3: Now that your hands are clean, you'll need to wash your mouth. Pass the ladle back into your right hand, and then (hopefully you have some water left) pour some water into your left hand. With the water in your left hand, bring your hand to your mouth and rinse with the water, finally spitting into the little area on the ground. Whatever you do, just don't put your mouth directly to the ladle, or spit back into the top area where you drew the water.
Step 4: Finally, you need to wash the ladle for the next person. To do this, draw some more water into the ladle, and now holding it with both hands, tilt the ladle scoop side up so that water falls down the handle and onto your hands. This essentially cleans the ladle, your hands, and the handle. You're now all set to make your way to the shrine itself.
TDT(Copyright 2022) All my images are protected under international authors' copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted, or manipulated without my written explicit permission.
Thierry Djallo.
Sacred water Kyoto
"Sacred water"
The Water Fountain Contraption (a.k.a. Temizuya)
At the entrance of Japanese Shinto shrines, you'll find a water fountain like thing that has ladles made out of bamboo or wood laid out on it (see above). It's called a temizuya, and the whole point of it is to clean and purify your body by washing your hands and your mouth. Here's the process:
Step 1: Pick up the ladle with your right hand and scoop up some water from the top portion.
Step 2: Pour a third of the water into your left hand and wash it first. Swap the ladle into your left hand, and then pour another third of the water into your right hand and proceed to wash it. All of this should be occurring in the bottom part of the temizuya, not where you initially scooped the water.
Step 3: Now that your hands are clean, you'll need to wash your mouth. Pass the ladle back into your right hand, and then (hopefully you have some water left) pour some water into your left hand. With the water in your left hand, bring your hand to your mouth and rinse with the water, finally spitting into the little area on the ground. Whatever you do, just don't put your mouth directly to the ladle, or spit back into the top area where you drew the water.
Step 4: Finally, you need to wash the ladle for the next person. To do this, draw some more water into the ladle, and now holding it with both hands, tilt the ladle scoop side up so that water falls down the handle and onto your hands. This essentially cleans the ladle, your hands, and the handle. You're now all set to make your way to the shrine itself.
TDT(Copyright 2022) All my images are protected under international authors' copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted, or manipulated without my written explicit permission.
Thierry Djallo.