It has been used for a twig of sakaki (a tree used for shrine rituals) which miko (a shrine maiden) in the service of a shrine who performs a dance before the gods has or for igushi (a branch of a sacred tree) using a young bamboo and bamboo grass which are offered to the gods, and for a symbol of the boundary indicating the holy area decorated on shime-nawa (a thick rope used as a ceremonial implement of shrines which indicates the boundary between the holy area and the everyday area) as shide.
神前で舞う巫女の持つ榊の小枝や、神に捧げる若竹や篠などを用いた斎串に付けたり、しめ縄に垂（四手）として飾り、神聖な領域を示す結界の象徴として用いてきた。