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''Yuta'' are female spirit mediums or shamans active in a [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryukyuan]] spiritual/religious tradition. In contrast to ''[[noro]]'', village priestesses who historically belonged to a hierarchy stretching out over the whole [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] with the ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikôe-ôgimi]]'' (chief priestess) as their head, ''yuta'' have always operated independently.<ref>Plaque on-site at former site of ''Kikoe-ôgimi udun'', just outside Shuri Middle School, at 2-55 Tera-chô, Shuri, Naha.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9444382739]; Plaques at reproduction of a noro's house, Okinawa Furusato Mura, Ocean Expo Park, Nakijin.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15456827940/sizes/h/].</ref> Today, they typically charge individually for spiritual services, often identifying themselves as "spiritual counselors" (J: ''supirichuaru kaunseraa'').

''Yuta'' are female spirit mediums or shamans active in a [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryukyuan]] spiritual/religious tradition. In contrast to ''[[noro]]'', village priestesses who historically belonged to a hierarchy stretching out over the whole [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] with the ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikôe-ôgimi]]'' (chief priestess) as their head, ''yuta'' have always operated independently.<ref>Plaque on-site at former site of ''Kikoe-ôgimi udun'', just outside Shuri Middle School, at 2-55 Tera-chô, Shuri, Naha.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9444382739]; Plaques at reproduction of a noro's house, Okinawa Furusato Mura, Ocean Expo Park, Nakijin.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15456827940/sizes/h/].</ref> Today, they typically charge individually for spiritual services, often identifying themselves as "spiritual counselors" (J: ''supirichuaru kaunseraa'').

Though efforts were made by the [[Meiji government]] to suppress ''yuta'' activities in the early decades of the 20th century, along with most other aspects of traditional Okinawan culture, ''yuta'' have survived, or revived, in whatever modern form. Though typically operating out of their homes, offices, or traveling to clients' homes, many ''yuta'' also make use of ''[[utaki]]'' and other local sacred sites for performing certain rituals or otherwise communing with the spirits.

Though efforts were made by the [[Meiji government]] to suppress ''yuta'' activities in the early decades of the 20th century, along with most other aspects of traditional Okinawan culture, ''yuta'' have survived, or revived, in whatever modern form. Having been excluded historically from most sites that were exclusive to ''noro'' in the official hierarchies, and then strongly suppressed in the early 20th century, much of ''yuta'' activities as they exist today can be traced to developments of the postwar period.<ref>Rots, "This is Not a Powerspot: Heritage Tourism, Sacred Space, and Conflicts of Authority at Sêfa Utaki," ''Asian Ethnology'' 78:1 (2019), 166-167.</ref> Though typically operating out of their homes, offices, or traveling to clients' homes, many ''yuta'' also make use of ''[[utaki]]'' and other local sacred sites for performing certain rituals or otherwise communing with the spirits.

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