Japan Shrine Sees 1st Female Priests in its 800-Year History; Shrine Plans to Hire More on Regular Basis from This Year

By Hiroyuki Kikuchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

15:04 JST, February 6, 2025

Two female priests have been appointed at a shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, for the first time in its history.

The Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine, built by Minamoto no Yoritomo, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate government, dates back more than 800 years. The two priests, who had previously worked as miko shrine maidens, worked on rituals over the New Year period, assisting senior priests including the guji top priest.

Rituals

On Dec. 27, Hiroyo Sakuragi in her 30s and Sonoko Koyama, 41, were busy preparing for rituals that would take place at the shrine almost every day after New Year’s Day.

After graduating from the Faculty of Shinto Studies at Kokugakuin University, the two women worked at the shrine as miko and clerical workers and were only appointed as priests in June. They currently hold the rank of “Shusshi,” which mainly assists senior priests.

As the shrine is large, many rituals are held there. Each one requires different items and offerings, so the priests have to remember how the articles should be positioned, among other things. “Rituals and festivals look beautiful and elegant but they require a lot of careful work. However, when we complete them properly, I feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction,” Sakuragi said.

Few female priests

There are situations, however, where equipment is only available for men to use, causing confusion. The shrine only has lacquered clogs in sizes for men, so the women have to change to leather shoes when they go up and down steep stairs, and they use a folded sheet of hanshi paper inside an eboshi hat to adjust its size.

“These things may seem trivial, but if we notice them, it will help further generations of female priests,” said Sakuragi.

According to the Association of Shinto Shrines, it is said that the role of Shinto priests were limited to men after the Meiji era (1868-1912). However, female priests began to emerge as men were called up for military service during World War II and male priests entrusted their shrines to their wives. Across Japan, there are now a total of 3,770 female priests at about 78,000 shrines belonging to the association, making up about 20% of all priests.

It is not clear why there were no female priests at the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine during and before the Edo period (1603-1867). It is said that one current obstacle is the lack of women-only facilities for practices such as purifying the body and offering prayers indoors day and night.

Valuable human resources

After feeling dissatisfied with the association, the shrine decided to leave and finalized their departure in June. After a new management structure was implemented, chief priest Shigeho Yoshida decided to appoint women as priests and asked Sakuragi and Koyama, who had worked for the shrine for many years, to become priests, saying, “I would like you to continue your service for the shrine as valuable human resources.”

Sakuragi often visits the Dewa Sanzan Shrine in Yamagata Prefecture with her family as they have family roots there, and felt attracted to the priest’s job. She accepted the offer willingly, saying, “As I have a priest’s qualification, I would like to contribute to the shrine community,” she said.

Koyama also welcomed the job offer, saying, “I appreciate that I am allowed to work in a place closer to deities.”

It has been half a year since they became priests. “I want to become a priest with a gentle nature so I can be approachable,” said Sakuragi. Koyama added, “I want to value the earnest wishes and feelings of visitors.” With these feelings in mind, they work hard as priests every day.

The shrine plans to hire female priests on a regular basis from this year.