Offerings to the kami are rooted in a deep concern for purity, sincerity, and proper form. Before anything is presented, worshippers typically undergo purification, washing hands and rinsing the mouth at a basin, while priests may perform more formal rites of purification for themselves and the ritual space. This cleansing prepares both body and mind, signaling that the encounter with the kami is not casual but a carefully ordered approach to the sacred. The act of offering thus begins long before an object is set before the altar, unfolding as a movement from everyday life into a more refined, consecrated awareness.

The offerings themselves are usually simple, life-sustaining foods and symbolic items, placed respectfully before the kami rather than handed directly. Common food offerings include rice, sake, salt, water, fruits, vegetables, and fish, sometimes accompanied by rice cakes and sweets, all arranged on special stands or trays before the inner sanctuary or a temporary altar. Evergreen branches, especially sakaki, may also be offered, sometimes adorned with paper streamers, expressing reverence and an enduring connection with the divine. In everyday visits, coins are placed into an offertory box, a modest but tangible sign of gratitude and support for the shrine.

Ritual gestures and words surround these offerings, giving them a distinct spiritual texture. At public shrines, worshippers typically approach the offering place, bow, make a monetary offering, and then follow the pattern of bowing twice, clapping twice, and bowing once more, sometimes ringing a bell to announce their presence. Priests may recite formal prayers while offerings are presented, giving voice to communal intentions of gratitude, petition, or remembrance. Through these coordinated actions—purification, placement of offerings, and ritualized bodily movements—the relationship between humans and kami is enacted as one of respect, reciprocity, and quiet attentiveness.

After the offerings have been presented and the prayers completed, the food is later removed and may be consumed by priests or participants, emphasizing that the offering is not simply discarded but shared. This shared consumption suggests that the blessings of the kami circulate back into the human community, transforming what was given into a sign of ongoing relationship rather than a one-sided sacrifice. The entire process, from purification to shared use of the offerings, reflects a vision of the world in which humans and kami coexist in a delicate, mutually sustaining harmony grounded in gratitude and careful ritual observance.