Written by Ivo Dominguez Jr • Narration by James C. Welch Chant: “Holy Earth Mother” from A Dream Whose Time Is Coming by Ivo. Performed by the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel.
Oosouji, the traditional New Year’s cleaning, begins in mid-December in Japan. (Image: jet dela cruz on Unsplash)
“The idea, very generally, is that daily life pollutes the environment and pollutes you—not just physically, but also metaphysically and spiritually,” says Penn’s Ayako Kano, professor of Japanese studies. “Every once in a while, you need to clean it out and purify in order to welcome the deities of the new year.”