also: ふじょ
shrine maiden; miko
A young woman, traditionally unmarried, who assists in Shinto shrine rituals and ceremonies. The term is culturally specific and often left as 'miko' in English.
After graduating from university, she became a shrine maiden.
A shrine maiden is performing a purification ritual at the shrine.
She worked part-time as a miko during the New Year.
Only when written 巫女
Historical or folkloric sense: a woman who acts as a spiritual medium or shaman. Restricted to the 巫女 spelling; also written simply as 巫.
Ancient miko served as mediums to convey the words of the gods.
She served as the shrine maiden during the festival.
She wore the white-and-red shrine maiden costume and performed a sacred dance.
巫 is a terse, often historical single-character term for a shaman or medium, whereas 巫女 specifically denotes a female practitioner and is the everyday word.
巫女 specifically denotes a Shinto shrine maiden or female spirit-medium in Japan, while シャーマン is a general anthropological term for spirit-mediums across cultures.
counter for people
Standard kanji spelling for a Shinto shrine maiden. Also read ふじょ in formal or historical contexts.
Formal or historical reading of 巫女, used in older texts or specific contexts.
Alternate kanji spelling, less common than 巫女.
Search-only kanji form; not normally used in modern writing.
The kanji 巫 (shaman) and 女 (woman) combine to mean 'shaman woman.' The reading みこ is a gikun (meaning-based reading) of native origin, while ふじょ is the on'yomi reading used in formal or historical contexts.