Miko

In Shinto, a miko () is a shrine (jinja) maiden or a supplementary priestess. Miko were once likely seen as a shaman but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily shrine life, trained to perform tasks, ranging from sacred cleansing to performing the sacred Kagura dance.

The traditional attire of a miko would be a pair of red hakama (long, divided trousers) or a long, red, slightly pleated skirt tied with a bow, a white haori (kimono jacket), and some white or red hair ribbons. In Shintoism, the color white symbolizes purity.

Traditional Miko tools include azusayumi (梓弓 or “catalpa bow”) the tamagushi (玉串 or “offertory sakaki-tree branches”) and the gehōbako (外法箱 or the “supernatural box that contains dolls, animal and human skulls ... [and] Shinto prayer beads”).

The miko also use bells, drums, candles, and bowls of rice in ceremonies.

The Japanese words miko and fujo ("female shaman" and "shrine maiden" respectively) are usually written 巫女 as a compound of the kanji ("shaman"), and ("woman").Miko was archaically written (literally "kami" or "god" + "child") and ("shaman child").

Miko once performed spirit possession and takusen as vocational functions in their service to shrines. As time passed, they left the shrines and began working independently in secular society. Miko at shrines today do no more than sit at reception counters and perform kagura dance. In addition to a medium or a miko (or a Geki, which is a male shaman), the site of a takusen may occasionally also be attended by a sayaniwa who interprets the words of the possessed person to make them comprehensible to other people present. Kamigakari and takusen may be passive, when a person speaks after suddenly becoming involuntarily possessed or has a dream revelation; they can also be active, when spirit possession is induced in a specific person to ascertain the divine will or gain a divine revelation.

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