View source for Gohei

{{Short description|Shinto wand}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}{{More footnotes needed|date=November 2021}}[[Image:Shinto gohei.jpeg|thumb|150px|{{transliteration|ja|Gohei}} in front of Shinto shrine]]
{{nihongo||[[wiktionary:御幣|御幣]]|'''Gohei'''}}, {{nihongo||[[wiktionary:御幣|御幣]]|'''onbe'''}}, or {{nihongo||[[wiktionary:幣束|幣束]]|'''heisoku'''}} are wooden [[wand]]s, decorated with two  {{transliteration|ja|[[Shide (Shinto)|shide]]}} (zigzagging paper streamers) used in [[Shinto]] rituals. It may be considered an [[Ōnusa]] with only two Shide.

The streamers are usually white, although they can also be gold, silver, jade, or a mixture of several colors, and are often attached as decorations to straw ropes ({{transliteration|ja|[[shimenawa]]}}) used to mark sacred precincts.

The [[kannushi|shrine priest]] or attendants ({{transliteration|ja|[[miko]]}}) use the {{transliteration|ja|gohei}} to bless or sanctify a person or object in various Shinto rituals. The {{transliteration|ja|gohei}} is used for some ceremonies, but its usual purpose is to cleanse a sacred place in temples and to cleanse, bless, or exorcise any object that is thought to have negative energy. In addition to its use in [[ritual purification|purification ritual]]s, it may be included in an {{transliteration|ja|[[ōnusa]]}} (wooden wand with many {{transliteration|ja|shide}}), and serve as the object of veneration ({{transliteration|ja|[[shintai]]}}) in a [[Shinto shrine]].
 
A type of food called [[Goheimochi]] is thought to have been named after the staff.<ref>{{cite web |title=Food: The Gohei mochi in the Edo era |url=https://www.discovertajimi.com/goheihistory.html |website=Tajimi Tourism Association |access-date=26 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Flail (disambiguation)|Flail]]
* [[Glossary of Shinto]] for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Shinto, Shinto art, and Shinto shrine architecture.
* {{transliteration|ain|[[Inau]]}}, wooden wands used in [[Ainu people|Ainu]] rituals
* {{transliteration|ja|[[Gunbai]]}}
* [[Ruyi (scepter)]]
* {{transliteration|ja|[[Saihai]]}}
* {{transliteration|ja|[[Shaku (ritual baton)|Shaku]]}}
* {{transliteration|ja|[[Ōnusa]]}}
* {{transliteration|zh|[[Hu (ritual baton)|Hu]]}}
* [[Hossu]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book |title=The Cambridge Illustrated History of Religions |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=[[New York City]] |first=John W |last=Bowker |year=2002 |isbn=0-521-81037-X |oclc=47297614 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeillustr00john }}
* {{cite book |title=Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=[[Oxford, New York|Oxford, NY]] |first=C Scott |last=Littleton |year=2002 |isbn=0-19-521886-8 |oclc=49664424}}
* {{cite book |title=The A to Z of Shinto |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |first=Stuart DB |last=Picken |year=2002 |isbn=0-8108-5586-0 }}

{{Shinto shrine}}
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[[Category:Shinto]]
[[Category:Exorcism in Shinto]]
[[Category:Shinto religious objects]]
[[Category:Wands]]
[[Category:Ritual weapons]]
[[Category:Ceremonial weapons]]


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