In earlier times, when the head of a household died his house was burned; before the founding of Kyoto, whenever an Emperor died his entire capital city was burned as a rite of purification.
Pada masa-masa awal, saat kepala seorang rumah tangga meninggal, rumahnya dibakar; sebelum pendirian Kyoto, saat seorang Kaisar wafat, seluruh ibukotanya dibakar sebagai upacara pemurnian.