Miko is the term for the young women wearing red and white that serve the Shinto deities by working at shrines across Japan. Learn the origins of the miko role, their appearance and apparel, and how one becomes a miko.
What is a Miko?
Miko typically refers to as young female priests at a Shinto shrine.
For centuries, Miko have performed Kagura (sacred dances for entertaining and satisfying the Shinto deities), exorcisms, practiced divination, acted oracles. Believed to posses magical powers, they also worked as spirit mediums, channeling spirits, and various other functions as required.
Today, however, Miko are tasked with performing kagura and other ritual dances during special occasions and aid the priests of the shrine in their functions. You will often see miko selling omamori, or good luck charms, or omikuji paper fortunes, at the shrine office windows.
In Japanese, miko is usually written with the characters for "medium" and "woman" as 巫女. However, miko may also be referred as 神子, written with the characters for "god" and "child." 舞姫, or "maihime" is also another word to describe miko (it refers to the miko's role of performing sacred dances). 大御巫, "o-mikanko" is another word for miko, essentially meaning "sacred child."
The Miko’s Appearance
Miko wear a white robe known as a hakui with a pair of red hakama known as hibakama. When performing dances or kagura, miko wear a white chihaya, a loose jacket with long kimono-like sleeves, over their regular uniform.
Their long, black hair must be tied back in a simple low ponytail, held with either a takenaga, a ribbon made from Japanese washi paper, or a mizuhiki, a cord made from twisted washi under which a sheet of white washi paper is wrapped around the hair.
During rites and certain events, miko may also wear special floral hairpieces known as hanakanzashi or a special diadem (crown) called kanmuri. The flowers, tree branches, and floral motifs used in these pieces are representative of the many different types of plants in Japan, which are said to increase the spiritual power of the wearer.
The items used during rituals or dances performed by miko are called toributsu, and include nine distinct elements: sakaki (sacred evergreen boughs), nusa (staff with plaited paper streamers), tsue (a wand or staff), sasa (a type of bamboo), yumi (bow - with or without arrows), ken (a sword or saber), hisago (a bottle gourd), and kazura (a type of creeping plant). Depending on the shrine and rite, some also use suzu (bells), ougi (folding fans) and bon (lanterns) as well.
