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{{trope}}
[[File:
A '''miko''' (巫女) is a shrine maiden in the [[
Miko are more common in [[H-game|H-Games]], because they don't have a ''permanent'' vow of chastity; they can just take over their temple when the head priest(ess) dies or quits, and then they can do whatever they want. Japanese depictions of most priestesses and other low-rung religious functionaries tend to borrow from miko, [[Nuns Are Mikos|including nuns]].
Another reason they are common in [[H-game
Historically, a miko served as an oracle, offering prophecy in the form of a dance. In real life, most modern Miko will help out with shrine functions such as cleaning, perform ceremonial dances based on the historical versions, offer fortunes (omikuji, those little slips of paper that tell you what your luck will be like), and sell souvenirs, sometimes as a part-time job.
(Not to be confused with ''that'' [[Order of the Stick|Miko.]] Or [[Transformers Prime|that one.]] [[Overly Long Gag|And confusing it]] [[Everything's Even Worse
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Mayura of ''[[
* ''[[Nagasarete Airantou]]''
* ''[[Kamichu!]]'' - Matsuri and Miko
* ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]'' - Himeko and Chikane (obviously)
* ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'' - Sakura, who is also the school nurse.
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' - Rei Hino is a ''miko'' at her shrine, which amplifies her spiritual powers. Many of her attacks are Shinto-based, and in civilian form, she can drive off monsters with ''ofuda''. Sailor Moon's creator, [[Naoko Takeuchi]], did ''miko'' work in a shrine as a youngster and used her experience as the basis for Rei's character, making this a case of [[Write What You Know]].
* ''[[Ranma
* ''[[
* ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' - In the manga, Rina sometimes fills in for the ''miko'' at a shrine devoted to a mermaid spirit.
* ''[[Asagiri no Miko]]''
* The Simoun Sibyllae in ''[[Simoun]]'' are treated as ''miko''s (and called that by name), although their religion is quite different from Shinto. Likewise the priestesses of the Plumbum Highlands.
* Kirara in ''[[Samurai
* Arashi Kishuu in ''[[X
* The Hiiragi siblings in ''[[Lucky Star]]'', given that their father is a Shinto priest.
* Miko are all over ''[[Inuyasha]]'' in both major and supporting roles, particularly Kikyou, her sister Kaede (also leader of her village), and Midoriko, the "creator" of the Shikon No Tama; Kagome, although not really identified as a miko prior to people in the Sengoku era simply jumping to conclusions, also has many of the powers of a miko, apparently as a result of being Kikyou's reincarnation. There's also an ''evil'' miko, Tsubaki, who started as a normal one [[Rival Turned Evil|but was driven to evil]] over her jealousy against Kikyou.
** Kagome's family does run what appears to be a traditional Shinto Shrine however.
** In addition, {{spoiler|Kagome was dressed as a miko at the end of the series, implying she has taken up the position now that she lives in the feudal era.}}
* Miyako from ''[[Ghost Hound]]''. At one point she even becomes the [[Oracular Urchin|prophet for a local cult]], although not entirely willingly.
* Shiho Munakata from ''[[
* In the [[Bonus Episode]] of ''[[Amaenaideyo!!]]!!'' the haremettes face off against a group of mikos and a group of Catholic nuns in a game show. While they themselves are often confused for mikos in the West, they are actually Buddhist nuns.
* In ''[[Wagaya no
* Hikaru and Kaoru Midou from ''[[
* Tsumugi in ''[[The Mikos Words and The Witches Incantations]]''.
* Ren-tan from ''[[Binchou
* The epitome of Mikos in the [[Magical Girl]] world: Miaka and Yui from ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]''.
* ''[[Silent Moebius]]'' - Yamigumo Nami, who wears her outfit instead of a uniform. She fights with holy water and ''ofuda'' but later acquires some more powerful weapons.
* Ayako in ''[[
* In ''[[Rental Magica]]'' miko has a very limited set of abilities, but in this setting the main advantage of Shinto are purification rituals. Thus little Mikan almost exclusively provides cover, but she's ''very'' strong in this role and may be the most indispensable member of the team when they face something really nasty.
* Riza, of ''[[
* Sabrina, from Pokemon's [[The Electric Tale of Pikachu]] manga. This is [[Out of Character|quite different]] from her game portrayal as a [[Jerkass]] Psychic-type trainer, and her even nastier [[Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant]] / [[Empty Shell]] [[Split Personality]] in the anime.
* The two [[Magical Girl
* Mikuru Asahina from the ''[[
* Furude Rika in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* Tomoe from ''[[
* The ''[[Harukanaru Toki no Naka
* [[Happy Lesson]] - Yayoi Sanzenin, also the [[School Nurse]].
* Yomogi Inaba from ''[[Otogi Matsuri]]''; she can see spirits and has inherited a group of five small spirit foxes.
* [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|Akina]] from [[UFO Princess Valkyrie]]. She also [[A
* Horribly subverted in [[Mirai Nikki]], as the Miko we meet (Tsubaki Kasugano) is not only one of the Diary Holders, but a member {{spoiler|and prisoner/sex toy}} of a [[Religion of Evil]].
** {{spoiler|In an [[Alternate Universe]], though, Tsubaki ''is'' the real deal as well as [[The Messiah]] and a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]].}}
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* Sakuyamon from ''[[Digimon Tamers]]''. She has an alternate outfit that is the traditional miko uniform.
* While far from being an actual miko, the concept of a 'miko chanelling the gods' is stated to have been an inspiration for [[Rebuild of Evangelion]] 's Mari Makinami by [[Word of God]]
* [[Cute Shotaro Boy|Kantarou]] from [[Tactics]] dresses like one but when someone brings it up he denies it, insisting it just happens to be read and white.
* Akimoto, Misono, Ryouko and Manabe from [[Jinjya No Susume]], a manga that takes a more or less realistic look at running a Shinto shrine and the work Miko do.
* Shirayuki from ''[[Hidan no Aria]]''
* Madoka from ''[[Hoshizora
* Micaiah Chevelle of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
* ''[[Sengoku Youko]]'' has a miko in the form of Rinzu, though how much she adheres to formal duties are up for guessing, as her adopted parent is a mountain goddess.
* Akeno from [[High School
* Mahoro from episode 5 of ''[[Mahoromatic]]'' dresses as a miko while Suguru and his friends are ghosthunting at their school. Her rationale is just having some fun with the situation.
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Nobuta from [[Nobuta wo
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In ''[[Dungeons
** In fact, the Seeker was originally intended to be part of a "ki" power source, but the creators realized the [[Unfortunate Implications]] in producing a set of classes that shared nothing in common but the "inspired by Asia" background, and so it was broken apart. While the Seeker became a Primal Controller, the Monk, the only other apparent survivor, became a Psionic Striker.
* In the setting provided in the ''[[Mecha Vs Kaiju]]'' RPG the intelligence branch of Japan's mecha defense force is made up entirely of Mikos. This makes some sense considering {{spoiler|The original Kaiju was an Oni mutated by the Hiroshima bomb and samples of his DNA were used to create most of the others, and the leaders of the evil organization that control the Kaiju have Oni ancestry themselves}}
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* ''[[
** Not to be confused with the final boss of ''Ten Desires'', whose ''name'' is Miko.
* The ''[[Castlevania Sorrow]]'' games feature love interest Mina Hakuba.
* The title of "[[The Chosen One|Chosen]] of [[Mana]]" in ''[[
** Similarly, the final class of [[Squishy Wizard|Micaiah]] from ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Radiant Dawn'' is called Miko in the Japanese version (But it's read as "Shaman" as a [[Continuity Nod]] to ''Genealogy of Holy War''.), though the only Miko-ish things about it are her usage of Light Magic and the color scheme being mostly white and red. And she loses [[Fetish Fuel|her pantyhose]].
* Nanami from ''[[Valkyrie Profile]]''. Hey, if vampires are running around in Norse mythology, why not mikos? Nanami takes a ''really'' wrong turn in the afterlife and ends up in Valhalla.
* Katsumi from ''[[Gaia Online]]'', who tends the Shrine at the local [[Wutai]]
* Sayo-chan (a.k.a. Pocky) from the ''[[
* The Lady Samurai class in ''[[
* Mikado in ''[[Bushido Blade]]''
* Maori from ''[[
* Though not being called miko per se, the ''[[Fatal Frame]]'' series have Shrine Maidens with similar, albeit [[Darker and Edgier|darker]] roles. From the first game there were the Rope Shrine Maidens {{spoiler|chosen to be [[Human Sacrifice|sacrificed]], in a rather atrocious way, in order to prevent the ''[[Hell Gate]]'' from opening}}, the second had the [[Creepy Twins|Twin]] Shrine Maidens {{spoiler|one of them was supposed to sacrifice the other to, guess what, prevent the hell gate from opening}}, the third had [[Four Is Death|four]] Handmaidens, also known as Pacifiers in Europe and Japan, that wore full miko attires and performed daily shrine and housekeeping activities, as well as helping {{spoiler|and impaling}} the Tattooed Priestess, another Shrine Maiden {{spoiler|chosen because they experienced the pain of losing a loved one and had the pain of others tattooed in their skins and sacrificed to prevent the Rift, an infernal force, from spilling into the dreams of the living}} and finally in the fourth game there were the Kanade and the Utsuwa who performed the Rougetsu Kagura ritual to worship the [[Total Eclipse of the Plot|lunar eclipse]] {{spoiler|and summon the gate to the other world so that the souls of the deceased could pass on, of course, things go terribly wrong and the ritual fails.}}
** The fourth game also includes the Tsukimori Shrine Maidens.
* Torahime from ''[[Muramasa:
* ''[[Ninja Gaiden]]'' has a couple of miko: Kureha, who tends the shrine that houses the [[Sword of Plot Advancement|Ninja Dragon Sword]], and Momiji, her sister. Kureha is little more than a [[Disposable Woman]] who is barely in the game for two minutes, existing solely so that Ryu can start his [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]], but Momiji is a [[Lady of War]] through and through, using inherited ninjutsu skills to fight rival clans.
* Mizuki Rashojin from the second ''[[Samurai Shodown]]'' is a rare [[Sinister Minister|villainous]] Miko, who uses her ''gohei'' as a [[Absurdly Sharp Blade|sharp]] weapon and has a demonic [[Canine Companion]] to assist in the fight. {{spoiler|However if you manage to beat her with Kyoshiro, instead of killing her it turns out that Kyoshiro had in fact exorcised her from her host Bizuki, who fell victim to [[Demonic Possession]] that took place when a purification ritual she performed didn't go as planned.}}
* Not a character, but ''[[Mana Khemia]]'' has a costume clearly based on the miko. Amazingly, the recipe to making this costume is in the hands of the resident [[Cute Ghost Girl]].
* Utsuki and Kureha from ''[[Kuon]]''. They are the daughters of the shrine and know how to use [[Onmyodo]], but they are not referred as Miko.
* Itsuki in [[Suika]], though eventually she realizes that there's no way she could be since she doesn't do the rituals and doesn't remember becoming one.
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni|Cloche and Luca]] from ''[[Ar
* [[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]] has Princess Himi, whose default classes all have "Miko" in their names. Oh, and she has the classic red and white outfit as well.
* ''[[
* [[Yamato Nadeshiko|Yuna]] from ''[[
* ''[[Mousehunt]]'' has the Sacred Shrine Mouse, a mouse with a shrine maiden outfit, talismans and gohei.
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