Miko

Part of a series on
Shinto
Beliefs Kami List of deities Polytheism Animism/Animatism Mythology Sacred objects Sects and schools
Major kami Amaterasu Sarutahiko Ame-no-Uzume Inari Izanagi Izanami Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Important literature Kojiki (c. 711 CE) Nihon Shoki (720 CE) Fudoki (713–723 CE) Shoku Nihongi (797 CE) Kogo Shūi (807 CE) Kujiki (807–936 CE) Engishiki (927 CE)
Shinto shrines List of Shinto shrines Ichinomiya Twenty-Two Shrines Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines Association of Shinto Shrines Shinto architecture
Practices Festivals Ritual dance Music Ritual purification Ritual incantations Kannushi Miko
See also Religion in Japan Glossary of Shinto Syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism Edo neo-Confucianism Ko-Shintō State Shinto Kokugaku Nippon Kaigi Mythical creatures History Secular Shrine Theory
Religion portal
v t e

A miko (巫女), or shrine maiden,^[1][2] is a young priestess^[3] who works at a Shinto shrine. Miko were once likely seen as shamans,^[4] but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized^[5] role in daily life, trained to perform tasks, ranging from sacred cleansing^[4] to performing the sacred Kagura dance.^[6]