What Is Jorei? Spirit Exorcism, How It Differs from Oharai, and the Folklore Behind It

In paranormal shows and ghost stories, you may hear the word "jorei" — a somewhat solemn term for driving off a possessing spirit. This article explains what jorei is, how it differs from oharai and from pacification, who performs it and how, and how people have understood spirits and curses — strictly as a matter of folklore and culture. It is not an endorsement of any particular practitioner or rite.

What jorei is

Jorei is a term for the act of driving off a spirit thought to have possessed a person or place, through prayer or ritual. The practitioners and methods are not uniform: sutra recitation and memorial rites in Buddhism, norito prayers and oharai in Shinto, and the varied practices of diviners or spirit mediums in folk belief. The word "jorei" itself is relatively new, said to have spread from the modern era onward as interest in the paranormal grew; before that, the work was carried within words like "oharai" and "memorial rite." It belongs to the realm of faith and folklore, and no effect has ever been scientifically confirmed.

Jorei, oharai, and pacification

Similar words include oharai and jorei-as-pacification. Oharai is a broad Shinto rite purifying sin, defilement, and misfortune in general — not necessarily spirits. Jorei places its emphasis on driving off a possessing spirit. Pacification, by contrast, does not expel the spirit but soothes it, consoles it, and guides it toward rest — a term often used with a sense close to a memorial rite. Set the driving-off of jorei against the soothing of pacification, and the difference comes into view.

Who performs it, and how

The practitioners of jorei vary by sect and standing. At temples, monks address the matter through sutra recitation, prayer, and rites for the ancestors (such as the segaki offering); at shrines, priests perform norito and oharai. In the folk sphere, diviners and spirit mediums are said to undertake it by their own methods. What is thought to afflict a person, too, has been told apart in many ways within folklore — the "living spirit" (ikiryo) of a living person's resentment, the "dead spirit" of a departed one's lingering attachment, animal spirits, and more. Yet such "spirit affliction" is a matter of belief; when trouble with body or mind persists, consulting a medical professional first is what matters most.

How people have understood spirits and curses

In Japan it has long been thought that the strong feelings of the dead could become "vengeful spirits" (onryo) or "curses" (tatari) and bring misfortune. The legends of Sugawara no Michizane and the Emperor Sutoku are the classic cases. People both feared these spirits and, by enshrining and soothing them carefully as gods, sought to turn misfortune into blessing — a faith known as goryo-shinko, the cult of the honored dead. At the root of jorei and pacification alike may lie this same earnest human wish: to soothe unseen feelings and come to terms with them.

Points to be careful of before asking

Jorei guarantees no certain effect. One should be especially wary of cases that prey on anxiety to demand large fees, or that press one rite after another. When something worries you, even priests and monks themselves advise turning first to a public religious institution such as a shrine or temple, where you can feel more at ease. This article is an introduction to folklore and culture only, and does not endorse any particular practitioner or rite.

Let what you carry go, in words

What the folklore of spirits and curses reflects is an old, lived truth: strong feelings left unresolved linger, and torment. This applies to one's own heart as well. Keep the anger and resentment you have swallowed bottled up, and they settle like sediment and stay.

Noroi Nikki is a private app for writing out those "curses you can tell no one" — seen by no one — and letting them go. As one soothes a lingering feeling, set the resentment in your chest down in words. To write and release may be a small act of coming to terms with your own heart.

Related reading: What is oharai? The Shinto rite of purifying away defilement

Related reading: What is an onryo? The meaning, origins, and the curse-folklore the Japanese once feared