Kugatachi

Kugatachi (Japanese: 盟神探湯, also written as 探湯) is an ancient Japanese ritual of divination used to determine guilt or innocence. The practice involved plunging one's hand into boiling water or hot water contained within a pot or cauldron. The accused party, or sometimes a representative acting on their behalf, would retrieve an object (typically a stone or metal trinket) from the scalding liquid. If the person's hand was severely burned, they were deemed guilty; if the hand remained unscathed or only suffered minor burns, they were considered innocent.

This ordeal was believed to be overseen by the gods, who would intervene to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. The success of the ritual was thus seen as direct divine judgment. The specific deity or deities invoked varied depending on the region and the specific circumstances of the kugatachi.

The practice of kugatachi dates back to ancient Japan and is mentioned in historical texts such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. Its use gradually declined over time as formalized legal systems developed and rational methods of investigation became more prevalent. However, versions of ordeal-based judgment similar to kugatachi existed in other cultures around the world.

While no longer practiced as a formal legal process, the term "kugatachi" remains in use in modern Japanese to refer metaphorically to situations involving difficult trials or tests, especially those where the outcome is uncertain and potentially harmful. The expression implies a significant risk or sacrifice being made to prove something or achieve a desired result.

Related terms sometimes used interchangeably, though not perfectly, include "yukake" (湯かけ) which generally refers to splashing hot water, sometimes in a purification context, but can also be related to the ritualistic bathing aspects linked to Kugatachi.