Shide (Shinto)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the poet, see Shide.
Shide (紙垂, 四手?) is a zigzag-shaped paper streamer, often seen attached to shimenawa or tamagushi, and used in Shinto rituals. A popular ritual is using a harai gushi, or "lightning wand", named for the zig-zag shide paper that adorns the wand. A Shinto priest waves the harai gushi over a person, item, or newly bought properties, buildings, and cars. The wand is waved at a slow rhythmic pace, but with a little force so that the shide strips make a rustling noise on each pass of the wand. For new properties, a similar ritual known as jijin sai is performed with a harai gushi, an enclosed part of the land (enclosed by shimenawa), and sake, or ritually purified sake known as O-miki. The haraigushi has been used for centuries in Shinto ceremonies and has similarities in Ainu culture. The Ainu is a culture north of Japan that are closely related to Japan's first settlers. In their culture, a shaved willow branch called an Inaw or inau closely resembles the Shinto haraigushi, and is used in similar blessing rituals.
