The last weeks of the year tend to come with a blend of chaos and ritual in the form of holiday parties, travel, Christmas shopping, last-minute tasks and setting intentions for the new year.
Those looking to enter January with a clean slate might be interested in organizing, decluttering or otherwise giving the home a much-needed reset. In Japan, there’s a centuries-old tradition built entirely around that impulse: ōsōji.
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Below, experts break down the meaning, history and significance of this year-end ritual that combines practicality and reflection.
What is ōsōji?
“Ōsōji (大掃除) literally means ‘Great Cleaning,’” said Yumi Nagasawa, director of education and family programs at Japan Society. “It is an important annual year-end event before the New Year.”
Think of it as Japan’s version of a deep seasonal clean ― a kind of refresh that happens not in spring, but in December, just before the arrival of the new year.
“For many, ōsōji is a secular tradition, simply a tidying up to make the home ready for the holidays and family gatherings,” said Kaitlyn Ugoretz, a lecturer and associate editor at the Nanzan Institute for Religion & Culture. “But for some, it is a yearly ritual with spiritual undertones.”
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Famed tidying expert Marie Kondo devoted a chapter to ōsōji in her new book “Letter From Japan,” which dives into the cultural and spiritual significance of many Japanese rituals.
“Ōsōji, or the year-end deep cleaning, is similar in spirit to spring cleaning in that it’s an important opportunity to clear away a year’s worth of dirt and dust,” Kondo told HuffPost. “What makes it different, however, is its timing and meaning. Since it’s done at the end of the year, it’s not only a chance to reflect on the past twelve months, but also a way to prepare for the arrival of Toshigami-sama ― the deity who visits at New Year’s to bring happiness for the year ahead.”
In this sense, she added, ōsōji is a way of welcoming good fortune into your home for the coming year.
What’s the origin of this tradition?
“The origin of ōsōji dates back more than a thousand years,” said Miyuki Seguchi, a Japan travel adviser and licensed guide and host of the “Japan Experts” podcast. “In its earliest form, it was a ritual purification practiced at the Imperial Court, intended to ward off evil and invite good fortune.”
Most experts trace the practice to the Heian period (794–1185), though some believe it may reach as far back as the Asuka period (592–710).
“The origin of ōsōji goes back to a ritual called susuharai, literally ‘sweeping away the soot,’ from Japan’s medieval period,” Ugoretz said. “We can imagine how in medieval Japan ― when people used lamps, braziers, hearths and stoves ― a great deal of soot and dust would accumulate and cling to the walls, ceilings and floors of the home over the course of the year.”
Because the emperor was considered both the political and spiritual center of Japan, purifying the Imperial Palace was believed to protect the entire realm. The cleaning ritual was a way to drive away evil forces and preserve the physical and spiritual atmosphere.
“In practice, this looked like servants using bamboo brooms and rags to clean the entire palace over multiple weeks,” Ugoretz said, adding that workers then enjoyed celebratory foods and drinks like mochi and sake.
The ōsōji tradition dates back centuries. JGalione via Getty Images
“Over time, nobles, the shogun and Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines also adopted the tradition of susuharai to sweep away the troubles of the old year and welcome the new,” Ugoretz said, pointing to the symbolic meaning of purification in Japan’s main religions.
By the Edo Period (1603–1868), the tradition spread to ordinary households as well.
“The government set an official cleaning day for the Edo castle on Dec. 13 in the lunar calendar ― which was the lucky day for everything except weddings,” Nagasawa said.
The idea was to purify the home to welcome Toshigami-sama, the New Year’s deity who bestows prosperity and good fortune.
What’s the significance of ōsōji today?
“Today, this custom remains an essential part of year-end preparations,” Seguchi said. “Temples and shrines carry out their major annual cleaning around December 13, while families do a thorough, top-to-bottom clean at homes.”
Ōsōji and other seasonal rituals and events make December one of the busiest months of the year for many Japanese people, she added. It’s a big lead-up to the country’s most significant holiday ― Oshōgatsu, or Japanese New Year.
The cleaning ritual extends beyond the family home as well.
“In schools, time is set aside for pupils to clean their own classrooms,” said Simon Wright, the director of programming at Japan House London. “This [happens] towards the end of each day. Everybody chips in with shared responsibility and [a] sense of community to keep the common space clean.”
Although the tradition remains widely recognized, its practice is shifting.
“Ōsōji is still commonly known, but it seems that people are not aware of its origin and symbolic meaning,” Nagasawa said.
She pointed to recent research from the Japanese cleaning company Duskin, which found that 51.1% of households conducted ōsōji at the end of 2024 ― a steady decline from 71.7% in 2008. Households with children had the highest participation (59.9%), followed by dual-working households (58.1%) and senior households (43.2%). The most common reasons people, especially parents, gave for skipping ōsōji were that they didn’t have enough time or they “always clean” anyway.
The tradition is also subject to change and innovation today.
“For example, the Duskin survey noted that more Japanese households are hiring professional cleaners to do ōsōji for them,” Ugoretz said. “In addition, one of my favorite recent examples of innovation is that in 2023, the popular Kanda Shrine ― which has connections to the media and technology center of Akihabara in Tokyo ― blessed a fleet of eleven Roombas and gave them traffic safety charm stickers to assist with the annual shrine cleaning. The priests and volunteers cleaned the walls and ceiling, and the Roombas swept up the dirt that fell to the floor and mopped the hardwood flooring of the sacred dance hall.”
On a personal level, many still find great meaning in the ritual.
“Ritual can help us slow down or pause, to appreciate something we often take for granted, to make connections with others, and to change or develop something in a positive way,” Ugoretz said. “I think ōsōji creates a time, space, and framework for appreciating the passage of time, clearing the way physically, mentally, and spiritually for new and good things, spending time as a family to create a positive environment together.”
“It’s a chance to reset, refresh neglected spaces, and mentally prepare for a good start to the year,” Seguchi said. “After finishing ōsōji, the atmosphere feels lighter ― both physically and mentally.”
Ugoretz cautions against framing ōsōji as an exotic or uniquely “clean” Japanese trait.
“It’s often described as if all Japanese people and Japanese culture in general have some special, innate disposition toward cleanliness and minimalism ― this is an outgrowth of what we call Orientalism,” she said.
This framing obscures how similar ōsōji is to other cultures’ year-end deep cleaning traditions, and incorrectly suggests that all Japanese people share the same habits.
“As a professional who lives in Japan, I can say definitively that there are lots of messy Japanese people and untidy places in Japan ― see the infamous ‘garbage houses,’ gomi yashiki,” she said. “Japanese people are as diverse as people living anywhere else. Some are very tidy, and some aren’t bothered by mess.”
The desire to start fresh by cleaning, she emphasized, is something shared across cultures. Nagasawa agreed, pointing to parallels with Western spring cleaning and even Catholic preparations for Good Friday.
“We may not share the same history and meaning, but sometimes we find more similarities,” she said.
If hearing about ōsōji inspires people in the U.S., Kondo encourages them to try it out.
“Try incorporating it in whatever way feels comfortable for you,” Kondo said. “Even if you choose just one small area that’s been bothering you, cleaning it with a sense of gratitude for the past year can become both an expression of appreciation toward your home and a gentle opportunity for self-reflection. It may also help you begin the new year with a fresh and renewed feeling.”
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