Toyo (臺與/台与), also known as Iyo (壹與/壱与), (235–?) was a queen regnant of Yamatai-koku in Japan. She was, according to the "

Records of Wei The ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE, covering the end of the Han dynasty (220 CE) and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regarded ...

" and other traditional sources, the successor of Queen

Himiko , also known as the , was a shamaness-queen of Yamatai-koku in . Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom (220–265) and record that the Yayoi period people chose her as ruler ...

. Some historians believe she is the mother of

Emperor Sujin , also known as in the , and or in the was the tenth Emperor of Japan. While Sujin is the first emperor whose existence historians widely accept, he is still referred to as a "legendary emperor" due to a lack of information available and beca ...

Reign

Iyo is not cited in many historical records, and her origin is unknown. Records claim that Iyo was a close relative of Himiko, and she acquired great political power at a very young age. Information obtained from Chinese sources and from archeological and ethnological discoveries has led Japanese scholars to conclude that Iyo was Himiko's niece. Himiko and Iyo were female shamans and that sovereignty had both a political and a religious character. After Himiko's death, a man took power in Yamatai as ruler. However, warfare soon engulfed the polity. The ruling council met and decided to put another woman on the throne. The one chosen was Iyo, a girl only 13 years old, who succeeded in reinstating peace in her government by following the same political line adopted by Queen Himiko. The ''

'' describes Himiko's death and Iyo's rise in the following terms:

When Himiko passed away, a great mound was raised, more than a hundred paces in diameter. Over a hundred male and female attendants followed her to the grave. Then a king was placed on the throne, but the people would not obey him. Assassination and murder followed; more than one thousand were thus slain. A relative of Himiko named Iyo ��與 a girl of thirteen, was
hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen, HEN or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in R ...
made queen and order was restored. (Zhang) Zheng (張政) (an ambassador from Wei), issued a proclamation to the effect that Iyo was the ruler. (tr. Tsunoda 1951:16)

Iyo continued, or restored, tributary relations between Wa and Wei; Wei officials were included among her advisors, and she sent an embassy of twenty individuals, led by her grand steward Isako, to accompany some of these Chinese officials back to China.

In popular culture

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(1999) *Appears in the manga series ''Ao no Jidai'' (青青の時代) by

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(1998-2000) *Appears in the mobile game ''

Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play Japanese gacha game, gacha mobile game, developed by Lasengle (formerly Delightworks) using Unity (game engine), Unity, and published by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The game is based on Type-Moon' ...

'' as a Ruler-class Servant voiced by

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, developed by Lasengle and published by Aniplex (2022) *Appears in the mobile game ''

Magia Record was a Japanese role-playing video game developed by f4samurai for Android and iOS, which was released by Aniplex in Japan on August 22, 2017. A North American version was available from June 2019 to October 2020. The game is a spin-off o ...

'' as a playable character voiced by Misaki Yamada, developed by f4samurai and published by Aniplex (2023)

References

* Aston, William G, tr. 1924.
Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to CE 697
'. 2 vols. Charles E Tuttle reprint 1972. * Chamberlain, Basil Hall, tr. 1919
The Kojiki, Records of Ancient Matters
Charles E Tuttle reprint 2005. * . * . * . * . * Hideyuki, Shindoa.「卑弥呼の殺人」角川春樹事務所, 2005. * Hori, Ichiro. 1968. ''Folk Religion in Japan: Continuity and Change''. University of Chicago Press. * Imamura. Keiji. 1996. ''Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia''. University of Hawai’i Press. * Kidder, Jonathan Edward. 2007. ''Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai''. University of Hawai’i Press. * . * . * * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Toyo Japanese women in warfare 3rd-century deaths 3rd-century women monarchs 235 births Aristocracy of ancient Japan Queens regnant in Asia People of the Yayoi period Yamatai queens Ancient Japanese priestesses Wajinden Year of death unknown