Within contemporary Shinto practice, the Nakatomi Purification Prayer (Nakatomi no Ōharae / Nakatomi no Harae no Kotoba) remains a living liturgical text, especially in the context of major purification rites. It is maintained at leading shrines such as Ise Jingū, where it is employed in important ceremonies and Great Purification observances, even if often in forms not fully visible to the general public. Other ancient and ritually conservative centers, including Kasuga Taisha and Ōmiwa Jinja, likewise preserve this classical purification language within their formal rites. Shrines such as Kashihara Jingū and Heian Jingū, closely tied to imperial and court traditions, also draw on the Nakatomi lineage of the Ōharae prayer in their ceremonial life. In addition, major urban shrines like Meiji Jingū and Kanda Myōjin are known to incorporate the Nakatomi-derived text in formal or special purification services, sometimes in more complete, classical recitations.

Beyond these prominent sites, the prayer’s influence extends broadly through the network of shrines affiliated with Jinja Honchō, where the standard Ōharae no Kotoba used in Great Purification rites is directly based on the ancient Nakatomi text. During semiannual Ōharae and other significant harae ceremonies, countless local and prefectural shrines recite either the full prayer or adapted portions of it, allowing the Nakatomi formula to echo across a wide spectrum of communal and individual rites. In this way, the text functions less as a relic of the past and more as a shared spiritual grammar of purification, continually revoiced in different settings while retaining its core structure and intent. Buddhist temples, by contrast, generally do not employ this prayer, as it belongs specifically to the Shinto liturgical tradition.