_"In reverence and awe: The great gods of the purification place who came into existence when the Great God Izanagi deigned to wash and purify himself on the plain of Ahagi [east] of Tachibana [near] the River Wotō in Himuka in Tsukushi, shall deign to purify and deign to cleanse whatever there may be of sins and pollutions committed inadvertently or deliberately by the officials serving here to-day. Listen ye to these my words. Thus I say reverentially."_
In later times there were many abuses and perversions of the _harahi_, due mainly to Buddhist influence. The formula was much modified, and is found in numerous versions. Some of these are wholly Buddhist, such as the well-known "Rokkon shōjō" (may the six senses be pure), so constantly in the mouths of pilgrims at this day. Others include a prayer for purity of heart, which is an idea quite foreign to the ancient Shinto. _Harahi-bako_ (_harahi_-boxes) were sold at Ise with inscriptions half Buddhist and half Shinto. In imitation of a similar Buddhist practice, these boxes contained a certificate that the _harahi_ had been recited one thousand or ten thousand times for the purchaser's benefit. Pieces of the _gohei_ wand used by the priests at the Oho-harahi of the sixth and twelfth months were enclosed with these certificates. Sometimes a small fragment of the old shrine, which was broken up every twentieth year and a new one erected, was compressed between two thin boards and called an _o-harahi_. Pilgrims received these in return for their offerings. The devout could even purchase them from hawkers, who went about the country (like the sellers of indulgences in Luther's time) disposing of them for the benefit of the shrine. This practice is now prohibited.[273]
The ideas associated with the _harahi_ ceremony also underwent a change. Some writers speak of it as intended "to propitiate evil deities." The _harahi_ sold by the priests of Ise were set up in the _Kami-dana_, or domestic shrine, and worshipped as the _shintai_ of the deity. They were supposed to be indestructible by fire or water, to keep away robbers, to heal diseases, to make the old young, and to protect against calamity of every kind.
In some later forms of the _harahi_ the purifying Gods are besought to cleanse from evil, sin, and pollution. This marks a different attitude from that of the Nakatomi no Oho-harahi, where they are merely a part of the machinery of purification.