Kikoe-ōgimi
Highest ranking noro priestess of the Ryukyuan religion / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kikoe-ōgimi (聞得大君/きこゑ大きみ, Okinawan: チフィジン, romanized: Chifi-ufujin)[1] was the highest ranking noro priestess of the Ryukyuan religion during the period of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
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The position of kikoe-ōgimi was formally established during the reign of King Shō Shin (r. 1477–1526) in order to centralize the religious order. Only a royal woman could be appointed to the position of kikoe-ōgimi.
After Ryukyu's annexation by Japan in 1879, this position was formally abolished, but the last kikoe-ōgimi continued her role until her death in 1944.