巫女

巫女

1. a Japanese female shaman

• 神子, 神巫 (rare), 覡 (rare), 巫 (obsolete)

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 神 (mi, “spirit, god”) +‎ 子 (ko, “child”), as suggested by the alternative spelling 神子.

Formerly spelled as 巫 on its own.[1] The modern kanji spelling 巫女 appears to be jukujikun (熟字訓).

• (Irregular reading)
  • (Tokyo) み​こ [míꜜkò] (Atamadaka – [1])[2][1]
  • (Tokyo) みこ [mìkó] (Heiban – [0])[2][1]
  • IPA^(key): [mʲiko̞]

巫女 (hiragana みこ, rōmaji miko)

1. An unmarried woman who serves at a Shintō shrine, helping to receive visitors and performing 神楽 (kagura) dances at ceremonies, among other responsibilities. A shrine maid.
2. An unmarried woman who serves a deity as a medium to convey oracles.
   • 2017 April 15, “星せい杯はいを戴いただく巫み女こ [Priestess Who Drinks from the Star Chalice]”, in CODE OF THE DUELISTコード・オブ・ザ・デュエリスト, Konami:

     星 (せい)神 (しん)に鎮 (ちん)魂 (こん)の祈 (いの)りを捧 (ささ)げる巫 (み)女 (こ)。

     Seishin ni chinkon no inori o sasageru miko.

     A priestess who offers soul-reposing prayers to the Star God.

Using the alternate spelling 神子, a miko could be of either gender, but unmarried young women are by far the most common.

• (shrine dancer):
  • 舞姫 (まいひめ) (maihime)
  • 御 (み)神 (かん)子 (こ) (mikanko)
  • 巫子 (いちこ) (ichiko), 巫子 (いたこ) (itako)
  • 神楽女 (かぐらめ) (kagurame)
• (oracle):
  • 巫 (かんなぎ) (kannagi), 覡 (かんなぎ) (kannagi)
  • 巫子 (いちこ) (ichiko), 巫子 (いたこ) (itako)
  • 口寄 (くちよ)せ (kuchiyose)

From Middle Chinese compound 巫女 (mju? nrjo^X, literally “shaman + woman”). Compare modern Mandarin reading wūnǚ.

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • (Tokyo) ふ​じょ [fúꜜjò] (Atamadaka – [1])[2][1]
  • IPA^(key): [ɸɯ̟ᵝʑo̞]

巫女 (hiragana ふじょ, rōmaji fujo, historical hiragana ふぢよ)

1. An unmarried woman who serves a deity as a medium to convey oracles.

• 巫 (かんなぎ) (kannagi), 覡 (かんなぎ) (kannagi)
• 巫子 (いちこ) (ichiko), 巫子 (いたこ) (itako)
• 口寄 (くちよ)せ (kuchiyose)