noun
warding off calamities; getting rid of bad luck
Refers to averting or removing disasters and misfortune, often in a religious, ritual, or superstitious context. Not an everyday conversational word; more common in written or formal contexts.
神社で除災の祈願をした。
I prayed for the warding off of calamities at the shrine.
このお守りは除災のご利益があると言われている。
This amulet is said to have the benefit of getting rid of bad luck.
Compound of 除 (じょ, 'remove') and 災 (さい, 'disaster'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word follows a standard Sino-Japanese pattern for abstract nouns related to averting harm.