The government prohibited them from practicing giving oracles. In 1871, the role of them has changed greatly due to the Meiji restoration. It can be classified as there are two forms of Miko, one is to serve the authority and shrines, which are called “Kan-nagi Miko”.Īnother one, Aruki Miko (traveling female shamans), who doesn’t belong to a specific shrine, travels and gives service such as cleansing rituals and kagura dancing where festivals and markets are held, and to individuals. Their dancing for a ritual invoked people of a fairy or a nymph dancing with gods. In the Heian period (794-1333), there are four requirements they had to perform such as Ura (fortune-telling), Kami Asobi (kagura: ritual dancing), Yotsura (playing strings of Azusa yumi), Kuchi-yose (spiritual medium to call up the spirits of the deceased). Besides her ritual performances of ecstatic trance, they performed a variety of religious and political functions. The early Miko was an important social figure who was associated with the ruling class. The earliest record of anything resembling the term “Miko” is the Chinese reference to “Himiko”, Japan’s earliest substantiated historical reference, however, it is unknown whether Himiko was one. Japanese Mythology: Creation of the Universe and Kami It’s considered that they descended from the Female deity Uzume. Its traditions date back to the prehistoric Jomon era (14,000 – 300 B.C.E.) when female shamans who would go into “trances and convey the words of the gods” (the kami). Brief History of Miko Hiroshima, Japan – May 27, 2017: Manto Mitama Matsuri festival at the Hiroshima Gokoku-jinja Shrine, the spectacle of 100 shrine maidens dancing by lantern light Let’s take a look at what they once were and what they are in modern times. The role of them have been changed along with the change of the demands of the society, and also influenced by the authority at the time. Miko are Japanese female shamans who have long been involved in religious duties at shrines traditionally serving as spiritual mediums, ritual dancers and later as shrine maidens. A Miko is a shrine maiden or a supplementary priestess trained to perform sacred tasks in Japan. Young Miko at a Shinto shrine in Tokyo on a clear morning in Spring.
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