茅の輪
この茅の輪という編まれた草の茎でできた輪は縁起が良いとされています。学者の中には茅の輪が産道を示しており、そこを通ったものは清められ、象徴的に生まれ変わると信じている者もいます。訪問者は幸運を祈って茅の輪を通るが、これは毎年6月30日と12月30日に行われる精神的に清める儀式で主に使用されます。茅の輪は通常神社において一年に二回だけ設置され、一般的にシロガネヨシでできています。しかし、白山神社では多くの訪問客がいる関係で、年中一般公開されており、シロガネヨシよりも長く持つ竹の茎で出来ています。
Chinowa
Large rings of interwoven grasses (chinowa) are regarded as auspicious and are thought to cleanse evil and impurities from those who pass through them. Some scholars believe chinowa rings represent the birth canal, and that the people who go through them are symbolically reborn. Visitors may pass through this ring at any time, but it is mainly used for spiritual purification ceremonies held every year on June 30th and December 30th.
Chinowa are typically installed at Shinto shrines only twice a year, and they are usually made of a type of cogon grass called chigaya. At Hakusan Jinja Shrine, however, the ring is on permanent display and is made of bamboo branches, which last much longer than chigaya.
