Muneage

   'Raising the ridgepole' (of a roof, which completes the framework of a new house). The term equally refers to the accompanying ritual, performed by the carpenters and the owners of the house. Small monetary gifts may be given to the carpenters on this occasion. A gohei inscribed with the owner's name and the date, with an o-fuda from an appropriate shrine attached to the bottom and an o-tafuku at the top, is placed behind the rafters for protection. Offerings and symbols of purification including items such as fruit, rice and salt are made, and those present clap their hands twice and bow in the manner of devotees at a shrine. Sand from the precincts of a shrine is scattered on the ground and sake poured in the unlucky north-east (kimon; demon-gate) corner of the house. The ceremony is also known as jotosai. It is performed in addition to the jichinsai or ground-purification ceremony carried out at the start of construction which is more likely to involve a Shinto priest.