My personal experience with the performance of a jesa, an ancestral rite, evokes a myriad of emotions. The process is an intricate, intimate, and highly laborious one that demands meticulous preparations, starting at least a week before the actual event. On the day of the jesa, an important step is cleansing, and then the table is set with a specific placement of food, either at the eastern or western ends of the table. The ceremonial opening of doors, the lighting of incense, and the pouring of liquor culminate in a reverential and systematic bowing.