Gohei

Gohei is a special kind of decoration used in Japan during Shinto religious ceremonies. It is made of paper or cloth strips tied tightly to a wooden stick, and the strips are usually white or sometimes red.

The gohei is used to represent the presence of a Shinto god or spirit, which is believed to be contained within the strips of paper or cloth. During a ceremony, the gohei is waved back and forth by a Shinto priest to purify the space and invite the god or spirit to attend.

Think of it like a magical wand that helps bring the spirit world into the physical world. Kind of like when we wave a magic wand to make something happen in our favorite fairytale stories.

So, the gohei is like a really special object in Shintoism that helps create a sacred space and invites the spiritual realm into the ceremony.