The
Mitarashi is no more than an exposed stretch of the riverbank, to which
you descend to look into the crystal-clear waters of the Isuzu River. Whether
you actually pause to rinse your hands in the water is less important than
simply appreciating the tremendous symbolic importance of the act of purification
in Shinto. Perhaps no virtue is more highly prized among Japanese than
purity, reflected both in their well-known preoccupation with cleanliness
and in their emphasis on sincerity, or purity of heart.