(Nikkō, Tochigi) Chūbu region Nishina Shinmei Shrine (Ōmachi, Nagano) Kansai region Onjō-ji (Ōtsu, Shiga) Hiyoshi Taisha (Ōtsu, Shiga) Mikami Shrine (Yasu, Shiga) Ōsasahara Shrine (Yasu, Shiga) Tsukubusuma Shrine (Nagahama, Shiga) Namura Shrine (Ryūō, Shiga) Kamo Shrine (Kyoto, Kyoto) Daigo-ji (Kyoto, Kyoto) Toyokuni Shrine (Kyoto, Kyoto) Kitano Tenman-gū (Kyoto, Kyoto) Ujigami Shrine (Uji, Kyoto) Sumiyoshi Taisha (Osaka, Osaka) Sakurai Shrine (Sakai, Osaka) Kasuga Shrine (Nara, Nara) Enjō-ji (Nara, Nara) Isonokami Shrine (Tenri, Nara) Udamikumari Shrine (Uda, Nara) Chūgoku region Sanbutsu-ji (Misasa, Tottori) Izumo Taisha (Taisha, Shimane) Kamosu Shrine (Matsue, Shimane) Kibitsu Shrine (Okayama, Okayama) Itsukushima Shrine (Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima) Sumiyoshi Shrine (Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi) Shikoku region Kandani Shrine (Sakaide, Kagawa) Kyūshū region Usa Shrine (Usa, Ōita) Aoi Aso Shrine (Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto) Officiants Kannushi A or is a priest responsible for the maintenance of a shrine, as well as for leading worship of a given kami. These two terms were not always synonyms. Originally, a kannushi was a holy man who could work miracles and who, thanks to purification rites, could work as an intermediary between kami and man, but later the term evolved to being synonymous with shinshoku, a man who works at a shrine and holds religious ceremonies there. Women can also become kannushi, and it is common for widows to succeed their husbands. Miko A is a shrine maiden who has trained for and taken up several duties at a shrine including assistance of shrine functions such as the sale of sacred goods (including amulets known as omamori, paper talisman known as ofuda, wood tablets known as ema and among other items), daily tidying of the premises, and performing the sacred kagura dances on certain occasions. Gallery See also Dambana Giboshi Glossary of Shinto List of National Treasures of Japan (shrines) List of Shinto shrines Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines Senjafuda Shrine Shinto Twenty-Two Shrines (Nijūnisha) Notes Footnotes Citations References The History of Shrines, Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on June 10, 2008 Shinto Shrines or Temples? retrieved on June 10, 2008 Shrine Architecture Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on June 10, 2008 Overview of a Shinto Shrine, a detailed visual introduction to the structure of a Shinto shrine, Encyclopedia of Shinto retrieved on June 8, 2008 Jinja no Shōgō ni Tsuite Oshiete Kudasai , Shinto Online Network Association, retrieved on July 2, 2008 (in Japanese) Stuart D. B. Picken. Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings. Greenwood, 1994. Further