Misogi (禊) is one of Shinto's most fundamental ritual practices — a purification by water that has roots going back to the very origins of Japanese religious life. The mythological precedent is Izanagi's purification in the river at Ahaji, after his harrowing journey to the underworld and his escape from the pursuing forces of pollution. From that bathing, three great deities were born: Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo. Water in Shinto theology is not simply a physical cleanser — it is a vehicle of spiritual renewal, capable of washing away kegare (穢れ), the Shinto concept of impurity or ritual pollution. Kegare is not primarily a moral category — it does not mean sin in the Abrahamic sense — but rather a state of spiritual cloudiness or interference that arises from contact with death, illness, blood, or other forces associated with disruption and decay. In the Shinto understanding, the natural state of the human being (and of the kami within them, the divine nature that all people share) is bright, clear, and pure — like a mirror unstained. Kegare is the dust on that mirror. Misogi is the act of wiping it clean.

In its traditional form, misogi involves immersion in natural running water — a waterfall, a river, or the sea — often early in the morning, often in cold seasons, as an intensive purification practice. The practitioner may chant specific norito (sacred words) before and during the immersion, focusing intention on releasing whatever has accumulated and inviting renewal. More accessible forms include the simple ritual hand-washing (temizu) found at the entrance of every Shinto shrine — a miniaturized version of the full practice that maintains the principle of purification as preparation for sacred encounter. Some traditions of misogi emphasize the breath as much as the water: extended vocalization of specific syllables while submerged or exposed to the water, the sound itself acting as a vibratory purification of the body. The martial art of aikido, founded by Morihei Ueshiba, incorporated misogi practice as part of its spiritual training, and Ueshiba described the most advanced stages of the art as a form of continuous purification. For contemporary practitioners, misogi offers a framework for understanding certain universal human experiences — the felt need after difficulty for fresh starts, for clearing, for contact with something clean and elemental — within a sophisticated spiritual context that gives them appropriate weight.