Miko Girls Shrine!!!

<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i130/dhidin64/Stuff/banner-2.png" border="0" /><!--center--></div> <span style="font-size: 145%;"><strong>Miko</strong><!--size--></span> Miko (巫女, literally "shaman woman") is a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami ("spirits; gods"), and presently means a "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines. The Japanese word miko or fujo "female shaman; shrine maiden" is usually written 巫女, compounding the kanji fu, miko, or kannagi 巫 "shaman" and jo, onna, or me 女 "woman; female". In Chinese, wunu 巫女 (or the reverse nuwu 女巫) means "female shaman; witch; sorceress". Miko was archaically written 神子 (lit. "kami/god child") and 巫子 ("shaman child"). English has diverse translation equivalents for Japanese miko. While "shrine maiden" is frequently used, other equivalents are "female shaman" (aka "shamaness" or "shamanka"), "(spirit) medium", "prophet", "priestess", "witch", or "sorceress". Some scholars prefer the transliteration miko over translations, and contrast Japanese "mikoism" with East Asian "shamanism". Modern miko are often seen at Shinto shrines, where they assist with shrine functions, perform ceremonial dances, offer omikuji fortune telling, and sell souvenirs. The traditional attire of a miko consists of a red hakama (long, divided trousers), a white haori (kimono jacket), and white or red hair ribbons. In Shintoism, the color white symbolizes purity. The ethnologist Kunio Yanagita (1875-1962), who first studied Japanese female shamans, differentiated them into jinja miko 神社巫女 "shrine shamans" who dance with bells and participate in yudate 湯立て "boiling water" rituals, "kuchiyose shamans" 口寄せ巫女 "spirit medium shamans" who speak on behalf of the deceased, and kami uba 神姥 "god women" who engage in cult worship and invocations. Researchers have further categorized contemporary miko in terms of their diverse traditions and practices. Fairchild (1962:62-85) grouped them into: blind itako (concentrated in north and east Japan), mostly blind okamin (north and east Japan), blind waka or owaka (northeastern Japan), moriko (north and east of Tokyo), nono (central Japan), blind zatokaka (northwest Japan), sasa hataki who tap sasa "bamboo grass" on their faces (northeast of Tokyo), plus various family and village organizations. Kawamura (2003:263-264) divided miko or fujo by blindness between blind ogamiya 尾上屋 "invocation specialist" or ogamisama who perform kuchiyose and spirit mediumship and sighted miko or kamisama who perform divination and invocations. In the eclectic Shugendō religion, male priests who practiced ecstasy often married mikos. Many scholars identify shamanic miko characteristics in Shinshūkyō "Japanese New Religions" such as Sukyo Mahikari, Oomoto, and Shinmeiaishinkai. (Source : <!--link--><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miko">Miko - Wikipedia</a>)