miko

The National Shinto Young Priests’ Association has created a video of advice for young women serving as miko at jinja over the new year. (And also for young men serving as assistants, but that wouldn’t get as many clicks — and the emphasis is on miko.) The video is all in Japanese, and probably not that interesting to watch if you can’t understand it, but I will embed it here in any case, and then write about it. This video lays out the general expectations for how temporary miko should… Read More »Advice for Miko

Miko vestments are possibly the best known of the standard vestments for staff at jinja, because they feature in a lot of manga and anime. Miko wear bright red hakama (called “hibakama”) over a simple white kimono (called a “byakuë”). Because the hakama completely cover the kimono below the waist, it looks like they are wearing a white top and red bottoms, but the white kimono is also ankle length. (You can find pictures of “miniskirt miko” online without even trying; this is obviously ridiculous, as the kimono would show.)… Read More »Miko Vestments