"Your Highness, you're back!" A shrine maiden with a distinctly classical beauty, dressed in the standard attire—a white robe, an under-robe, and crimson hakama—wore white tabi socks and red-strapped straw sandals, her hair bound with white mulberry paper or a long strip of cloth.
The moment she saw Chen Mo enter, she immediately stopped and bowed, respectfully asking her question.
In Japan, shrine maidens, also known as miko, served Amaterasu, Japan's central deity and the ancestor worshipped by the Japanese imperial family. They were akin to "spokespersons of the gods."
Legend had it that shrine maidens could be possessed by gods and convey divine will. At the same time, they performed prayers, exorcisms, sacrifices, and other duties, wielding profound political influence and once standing at the pinnacle of national power.
In truth, the origin of the title shrine maiden was largely Xu Shi's idea!
After Xu Shi came to Japan, a hundred years passed, and the boys and girls who had arrived with him gradually died off.
But after gaining such a long life, this fellow had nothing much to do! So he came up with this sort of thing.
Besides, he was His Majesty Emperor Jinmu. If he wanted to find some beauties and have a good romp, he could not use methods that were too lowly. That simply would not do!
No matter what, Xu Shi was a cultured man, wasn't he? He was also His Majesty the Emperor, wasn't he? If he wanted beauties, he needed some more refined methods!
Thus, the title of shrine maiden was born!
First, after establishing Shintoism, Amaterasu was, no matter how one put it, the ancestor of the gods. Such a noble god needed people to serve her, didn't she? Besides, the original Amaterasu had been Xu Shi's own mom, so