page_title: Women in Shinto
section_title: The Heian era
hierarchical_section_title: Women in Shinto / History of women in Shinto / The Heian era
caption_attribution_description: English: Kamigamo-Jinjya National Treasure World heritage Kyoto 国宝・世界遺産 上賀茂神社 京都
context_page_description: Women occupy a unique role in the indigenous Japanese traditions of Shinto, including a unique form of participation as temple stewards and shamans, or miko. Though a ban on female Shinto priests was lifted after World War II, the number of women priests in Shinto is a small fraction of contemporary clergy.
context_section_description: The Heian era saw an early synthesis of Buddhist and Shinto beliefs in Japan, and the integration of a Confucian legal system from China. The introduction of a more patriarchal confucianist social structure, resulted in a decline in power for female shamans and female shrine priests. For example, women no longer had any claim to official positions at shrines, and miko were limited to maintenance and upkeep.
  Some scholars suggest that, while spiritual power was considered equal among male and female priests in this time period, male priests nonetheless wielded larger influence and political power. Others suggest that the role of ancient women as priests in Shinto is a contemporary myth without connection to ancient Shinto practice.
  Female priests at Ise shrine maintained their role during this period, and were complemented by a similar position at the Kamo shrine in Kyoto. Like those at Ise, those at Kamo served one year at the Imperial Palace before overseeing the shrine's activities. These priests would also perform rituals and purifications, including fasting and overseeing ceremonies.
caption: Kamo shrine, Kyoto
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "4000", "Image ImageLength": "3000", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image YCbCrSubSampling": "2", "Image DateTime": "2012:10:11 17:06:49", "Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot D20", "Image InterColorProfile": "[]", "Image IPTC/NAA": "[28, 2, 120, 0, 31, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32]", "Image ExifOffset": "194", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[35, 3, 8337/250]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "E", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[135, 45, 1179/125]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "729/10", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[8, 6, 48]", "GPS GPSStatus": "A", "GPS GPSMapDatum": "WGS-84", "GPS GPSDate": "2012:10:11", "Image GPSInfo": "572", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4568", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6834", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3000", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:10:11 17:06:49", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:10:11 17:06:49", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/50", "EXIF FNumber": "39/10", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "181/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "63/16", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "63/16", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "5", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1000000/61", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1000000/61", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Standard Output Sensitivity and Recommended Exposure Index"}