>>49847985
Fairly large, both in the past and in the present.
Miko can only be young women, the oldest they can be is 25-30, traditionally, they are unmarried and celibate, their spouse is sometimes considered the god of the shrine that they maintain. They are the lowest ranked religious personnel at a shrine, and their duties include helping with purification, cleaning the grounds, fortune telling, etc. The colors they traditionally wear are white and red.
In the past, they used to be considered powerful shamans that had the power to commune with the gods directly, commune with the dead, tell the future, etc. Almost any girl that fulfills the basic requirements can become a miko, and today, teenage girls usually work as miko during the summer, as it's a paying job. About the only thing that remains from shaman miko is their dances, which most miko still have to learn, i.e. the kagura dance. You see Reimu use it like once while fighting.
Some miko used to lead their own shrines, Reimu is one of these.
Priests can be male or female, and have multiple ranks, they are usually responsible for leading/owning the shrine, they do accounting, plan the festivals and procedures, do the more important rituals, and commune with the gods as mediums for regular people. There are multiple ranks, from top to bottom:
Jōkai (浄階)
Meikai (明階)
Seikai (正階)
Gonsekai (権正階)
Chokkai (直階)
Sanae is a Gonsekai. This is the rank needed to be the head priest of a regular Shinto shrine, which she is.
Priests need to be educated and approved before they can start being priests. They're assisted by miko, who may often be their own daughters. The colors they traditionally wear range from green, blue, to purple and then for the highest ranked priests, complete, pure white. Blue corresponds to Sanae's rank.
TL;DR: Miko can only be women, there is only one rank of miko and they are the lowest rank in a shrine.
Priests can be be male or female, they lead shrines and do all of the more important stuff, they have multiple ranks.
