What's new

Question

Dark Gami

先輩
11 Dec 2006
43
3
18
I have a more unusual question... What if a European woman comes to Japan and wants to become a miko? Can she do that or will she be rejected and not allowed to become a miko just because she's not Japanese?
 
This is probably the first time I've seen anyone asking about becoming a miko. I am not certain, but I would not expect it to be very easy to become one; I think amongst the minimum requirements would probably be a decent command of the language, and more than a passing interest in Shintoism.
 
Do you mean the REAL miko who believes in the Shintoism? If you just want to put on the outfit and see how it feels like, I've done it.ツ I have performed a miko at Shinto style wedding ceremonies as a part time job at some hotels although I had/have no religioin.ツ I guess becoming these fake mikos isn't hard, but the real one .... I can't be sure.



Oh, but you said you are an European girl ... dose it mean you don't look Asian and you don't speak Japanese? Then it might be hard even to become a fake/commercial miko.
If you are really really serious, you can PM me, I know one Shinto priest who exchanges emails with an European boy who is interested in Shintoism and very fluent Japanese speaker.
 
Yes. I am asking if a European girl who does not look Asian can become a real miko in a temple. And this is the first time I hear about miko as part time job in wedding ceremonies. How is that? They pay you to act as a miko for the people's weddings? If they pay for this, then how much aproximately are the real mikos paid? I mean can you have a decent lifestyle from the miko payment or is it better to get a normal job and do that until you get pensioned so that you have the pension money and become a miko after you got pensioned?
 
I think the miko you see in the wedding ceremonies held in Shinto shrines are real ones, but the ones in the ceremonies held at hotels are probably all fake (usually young school/university girls, who are supposed to be virgin, but who the heck knows if she really is.)

I just remembered some things you have to memorize and say during the ceremony, for instance,
ツ「窶堋イツ新ヒ弸窶罵窶堙娯?堋イツ親窶伉ー窶堙娯?「テサ窶堙債、窶堋ア窶堋ソ窶堙ァ窶伉、窶堙鳴・ツ・ツ・ツ」ツ「窶ケテ岩?ケテク窶邸窶弋ツ・ツ・ツ」ツ「ツ青セ窶堋「窶堙娯?ケVツ」ツ「ツ親窶伉ーツ湘絶?ーテョツ」
ツ「窶堋ア窶堙ェ窶堙俄?堙??堋ィナ?J窶堋ォ窶堙??堋「窶堋ス窶堋オ窶堙懌?堋キツ、窶堋ィナスティ窶楼窶堙俄?堋イ窶堋エ窶堋「窶堙懌?堋キ窶堋ィツ催ヲ窶堙ー窶堋ィナスツ昶?堋ソ窶堙俄?堙遺?堙≫?堙?スツョツ湘ェ窶堙固?O窶堙俄?堙??堋ィ窶佚停?堋ソ窶堙可・ツ・ツ・ツ・ツ」
Wow, I'm surprised how quickly I forgot those words, I can't really remember the exact words we said there. Well, what miko says there is very formal and unusual and even kind of hard for us Japanese to remember.

So, even in order to become a fake miko, you need to be able to speak unusual (not daily-used) Japanese words/sentences clearly, and to become a real one, you will need to have enough knowledge of Shintoism and there will be more ceremonies and performances you will have to participate in.ツ Then you will have to learn more lines and Shinto terms to say and even the dance.

So, I think the first thing you should do to become one is to study Japanese language, then you can write an email to the Shinto priest in Japanese and talk about it.

If there is a Shinto shrine in Romania, maybe you want to become a miko there? Or you want to become one in Japan?
 
Unfortunately there are no Shinto temples here. I don't even think that there are people of this religion here. Even the books on this topic that can be found here are very rare. I'm always looking in libraries and book stores for books on the topic, but until now I've only found 3 such books. Well, they're not even on shinto topic, they just have some chapters on the subject and the rest is about Japanese traditional culture and history. Even books on Japan are hard to find here. :( I'd like to find out as much as possible on this topic - about main celebrations, the rituals, the chants, the books...
As for learning Japanese, I'm starting that next year.
 
I had a look for adherents to Shinto outside Japan, and Europe doesn't appear to have any, or there are so few that they don't show up in statistics. This page might give you a bit more information on Shinto.
 
Thanks a lot you guys! Any more informations on this topic are more than welcomed.
By the way, I've always been wondering about this... Since in Shinto there are so many deities, is there a god or godess of darkness? I know about Yomi, but he's not exactly specialised in darkness.
 
Back
Top Bottom