, , or are wooden wands, decorated with two (zigzagging paper streamers) used in Shinto rituals. 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 () used to mark sacred precincts. The shrine priest or attendants () use the to bless or sanctify a person or object in various Shinto rituals. The 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 purification rituals, it may be included in an (wooden wand with many ), and serve as the object of veneration () in a Shinto shrine. See also Flail Glossary of Shinto for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Shinto, Shinto art, and Shinto shrine architecture. , wooden wands used in Ainu rituals Ruyi (scepter) References Shinto in Japan Exorcism in Shinto Shinto religious objects Wands Ritual weapons Honorary weapons Ceremonial weapons