meguri

Meguri is a Japanese term relating to the act of going around, circling, or touring. It is derived from the verb meguru, meaning to move about in a circle or to circulate. As a noun, meguri often denotes a circuit or route, especially a tour through a sequence of places or sites. In cultural contexts, meguri commonly refers to a pilgrimage or ceremonial circuit visiting multiple places of significance.

In religious and spiritual contexts, meguri describes temple and shrine circuits. People undertake a meguri to visit a series of sacred sites, sometimes for rites, blessings, or personal renewal. Such pilgrimages can be organized as local or regional routes, and participants may engage in customary practices at each site, such as offerings or inscriptions.

In contemporary usage, meguri appears in travel writing, tourism programs, and various forms of media and business naming. It is used to evoke ideas of journey, cyclical return, and exploration of places, landscapes, or cultural heritage. The term can be employed metaphorically to describe cycles in nature, life, or community activities, beyond its traditional religious connotations.

Orthography and interpretation vary. The noun meguri is typically written 巡り, derived from the verb 巡る (meguru), though it can appear in kana as well. As a cultural concept, meguri is flexible enough to describe both literal travel routes and broader themes of movement and renewal.

See also: pilgrimage, circuit, shrine and temple circuits, goshuin, Shinto and Buddhist practices.