The miko of the ancient Island Nation were also called children of the gods, beings akin to "spokespeople for the divine."
(In fact, they were simply women born with spiritual power.)
Their daily duties consisted of serving Japan's foremost deity in shrines: the so-called sun goddess, Amaterasu Great God.
This was the faith held by the vast majority of ancient miko.
In everyone's understanding, a miko's destiny was to "protect" and "fight."
Their primary mission was to protect their local region, using their innate miko spiritual power to battle demons that attacked human villages and towns, eliminating the invading evil creatures. Through battle, they fulfilled their purpose of protection.
Their next duty was to resolve the villagers' troubles and treat difficult illnesses.
Beyond that, they were the villagers' spiritual pillars, providing spiritual support for the humans living on this land, encouraging those ordinary people to carry on from generation to generation and actively struggle for survival in an environment overrun by demons.
Each miko had to fight until her final moment to fulfill her duties.
Throughout this process, miko were forbidden from pursuing romance or marriage. They had to maintain pure, unblemished hearts at all times, and preserve their formidable spiritual power and strength.
Kikyo, Tōko, and even Midoriko were no exceptions. They were all among those pitiable people who had "never known true freedom."
Kikyo, for instance, had become the guardian deity of Kaede's Village at a very young age. From that moment on, people placed her on such a high pedestal that she lost the right to support a husband and raise children like an ordinary woman. This was why she had once envied ordinary girls, and it was also what sparked her growing feelings when she later met Inuyasha.
In other words...
The broader circumstances had played