
© Floris Leeuwenberg?php>
Shimenawa
A shimenawa is a thick braided rope that marks the separation between the ordinary world and a sacred place. The rope forms a barrier against evil spirits. Shimenawa may be found in Japan at the entrance to a shrine, at an altar, or in nature, around a tree or a rock. Sometimes strips of white paper, folded in the shape of a lightning bolt (called shide), or tassels of hemp fibre hang from the rope. In this print, the waterfall is marked by a shimenawa.