river for ritual hand-washing at a shrine
Refers to a river where worshippers perform 手水 (ちょうず) — washing hands and rinsing mouth — before approaching a shrine. Often found in shrine precincts or named as a specific river.
A river for ritual hand-washing flows within the shrine grounds.
Before worship, I purified my hands at the ritual washing river.
手水舎 is the roofed basin for ritual washing, while 御手洗川 is a natural river used for the same purpose.
御手洗 can refer to the act of ritual purification or a specific place for it; 御手洗川 specifies a river.
Compound of 御手洗 (みたらし, 'ritual purification') and 川 (かわ, 'river'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is conventionally associated with shrine purification practices.