Wash hands

How to wash your hands

As purity is very important in Shinto, most jinja have a font of water that you should use to cleanse yourself before paying your respects. First, hold the ladle in your right hand, and rinse your left hand. Then, hold it in your left hand, and rinse your right hand.
Next, pour a little water into the palm of your left hand, and use that to rinse your mouth. Do not touch the ladle to your mouth, and spit the water out at the base of the font, not into it. Finally, rinse your left hand once more. When you have finished, put the ladle back where you found it.