Miko: Difference between revisions
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A '''miko''' (巫女) is a shrine maiden in the [[Shinto]] religion. Given the strength of Shinto in Japan and the position shrine maidens hold in it, it is no surprise that they are a common character type in anime. Straight portrayals and dramatizations are used just as frequently as a priest or nun would be in North American or European media. If a main character, she might be [[Magical Girl|endowed with]] [[Onmyodo|mystical powers]] in order to fight demons, hang [[Ofuda]] so that [[Sealed Evil in a Can|she won't have to fight the demons in the first place]], receive visions, etc. Otherwise fictional and non-fictional Miko work in [[Shrines and Temples|shrines]], often as an afterschool job.
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.
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* Riza, of ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'', is a Miko, though you wouldn't be able to tell except in the chapters where they visit her home.
* 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 ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' light novels is forced to dress up as one of these at one point to exorcise some ghosts.
* Furude Rika in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' is a shrine maiden for a slightly peculiar branch of shinto that includes simulated disembowelment and cannibalism in its ceremonies.
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