Miko

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Shinto
Beliefs Animism/Animatism Kami List of deities Mythology Polytheism Sacred objects Sects and schools
Major kami Amaterasu 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 Association of Shinto Shrines Ichinomiya List of Shinto shrines Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines Shinto architecture Twenty-Two Shrines
Practices Festivals Kannushi Miko Music Ritual dance Ritual incantations Ritual purification
See also Edo neo-Confucianism Glossary of Shinto History Kokugaku Ko-Shintō Mythical creatures Nippon Kaigi Religion in Japan Secular Shrine Theory State Shinto Syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism
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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]