「Plant, woody」with「law, code, ritual, ceremony」refers to shide or hemp paper streamers cut and folded into a zig-zagged pattern and used at shrines. See related glyph (幤) meaning「criminal behavior, breaking the law or legal code」and also meaning shide. However, actually these elements are「wood or woody, morally abhorrent, gushing hot fluids from shaft」so one must ask, what might have been morally abhorrent about shrine visits, constituting criminal behavior, evil, and just plain bad habits?…one historian of Japanese culture describes how formerly one piece at a time was torn off from the bottom, with the shide being replaced as often as necessary when no more remained 　[　https://www.nihonbunka.com/Shinto/shime.htm 2013-08-20　]　
　A description that fits well with these elements describing the law or code for cleaning one's「woody」both before and after use at the shrine. Sumō wrestlers wear shide on their belts for this same purpose, initially of wiping and cleaning up. Not surprisingly, the meaning of shide today is to keep away and ward off evil demons, form a barrier between good and evil spirits, and in particular spirits causing illnesses. Not long ago, many folks may have believed or been informed by people they trusted that becoming ill with the pox or gonorrhea was simply bad luck, or, the result of「evil spirits」cursing someone. …what began thousands of years ago as a mandated common-sense practice for better hygiene to prevent the spread of disease then evolved into creating a physical barrier against corkscrew demons and curses, and today has become a magical totem, a gri-gri of mysterious religious superstition to「keep away the evil spirits…」Shrines in Japan all have a place for washing near the entrances and exits that often use the head of a dragon spouting water from its mouth as a reminder of exactly what body part needs to be worked on, although today these places are used for 'ritual cleansing' when entering and the dragon is a just another guardian to keep away all those evil demons.
　Using one's own loincloth did not reduce the spread of infection. Wiping and washing the genitals before and immediately after sex will not guarantee by 100% the prevention of any sexually transmitted disease…nevertheless, genital washing before and immediately after sex does reduce the risk of passing along an infection to someone else, even if only by removing the big chunks…cleansing as soon as possible before and after is critical. The United Nations reports that:「Genital washing has been suggested as a means to prevent STD transmission to men. Studies of military personnel in World War I and World War II found that washing with soap and water soon after exposure to STDs helped prevent chancroid.」
　　[　https://www.un.org/popin/popis/journals/network/network163/astd163.html 2013-08-21　]　
　Note that the abovementioned scholar does not suggest the torn piece of paper could be used to wipe one's sticky penis before and after use at the shaman's shrine, but rather, suggests folks kept them as a「totem badge.」While in shrines today the shide may be totems, it is also highly likely that their original purpose in China with shamans thousands of years prior to the start of Shintō has been forgotten by most folks, except that it can be known by simply reading the elements used to form this glyph. A similar process has occurred with Christianity: by renaming pagan traditions observed thousands of years before the birth of Jesus as Christmas and Easter, for example, most folks today have no idea of the origins of these festivals. Understandably, most Japanese are in the same state of denial regarding their religion as are most Christians over eggs and bunnies at Easter being fertility symbols and the pagan, phallic origins of the Christmas tree. Neither group wants to hear the about the past. Incidentally, the ceremony of Setsubun, of throwing beans to keep away evil spirits bringing bean-like pox pustules (「the bean disease」) and ill health, also originated in China, not Japan (see 節 for more details).

Modern definitions (that generally disregard history) …excluding politically incorrect concepts and other meanings deemed offensive today; may list only pigeonholed definitions, euphemisms, or meaningless mnemonics)
Japanese: zigzag-shaped paper streamer often used to adorn Shintō-related objects
EDRDG: type of deciduous birch tree; (kokuji)