歩き巫女

Japanese

Kanji in this term
歩	巫	女

Compound of 歩き (aruki, “walking"), the stem noun form of verb 歩く (aruku, "to walk”) +‎ 巫女 (miko, “shrine maiden”).

歩き巫女 (hiragana あるきみこ, romaji arukimiko)

A wandering miko: a type of miko that used to be quite common in Japan. Instead of belonging to any particular shrine, these miko would travel around the country, performing various duties like prayers, exorcisms, oracle work, and sometimes even entertainment and prostitution. It is said that the practice of arukimiko comes from a miko called Nonō (ノノウ) — a name said to have come from the word nōnō (のうのう, carefree, careless) — who travelled around the county preaching the Shintō faith.