Kegare (kay-gah-ray)

Kegare or buchun are the overall terms for a state of pollution or defilement within the religion of Shinto or Shendao. Death, and everything to do with it, is the primary source of this type of defilement. It is can also be contracted during childbirth, menstruation, or through disease. In the former two, mainly through prolonged contact with blood. Kegare may also be contracted through the other two forms of Tsutsumu, or taboos, those being bad luck or evil deeds such as rape or murder. 
Kegare is cleansed through rituals known as either Misogiharae or Chunhua. Misogi or Xi is a form of ritual purification involving cleansing the body in water. This can be anything from ritual bathing to standing under a waterfall. While harae or fu is any purification ritual performed by a priest.