In Senreisai, 'mitama utsushi no gi' (a rite for transferring spirit) is performed, whereby a Shinto priest transfers the spirit of the deceased from the body to reiji while the room is darkened so that it represents a night.
遷霊祭は「御魂移しの儀」を執り行い、夜を象徴して部屋を暗くし、神職により遺体から霊璽（れいじ）へ魂が移される。