is the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

word for

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

or a lady of higher birth. Daughters of a monarch are actually referred to by other terms, e.g. , literally king's daughter, even though ''Hime'' can be used to address ''Ōjo''. The word ''Hime'' initially referred to any beautiful female person. The

antonym In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

of ''Hime'' is ''Shikome'' (醜女), literally ''ugly female'', though it is

archaic Archaic may refer to: * Archaic Period (several meanings), archaeological term used to refer to a very early period differing by location *Archaic humans, people before ''homo sapiens'' * ''Archaic'' (comics), a comic-book series created by write ...

and rarely used. ''Hime'' may also indicate ''feminine'' or simply ''small'' when used together with other words, such as ''Hime-gaki'' (a low line of

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced (3 feet or closer) shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate ...

). ''Hime'' is commonly seen as part of a Japanese female divinity's name, such as

Toyotama-hime is a goddess in Japanese mythology who appears in ''Kojiki'' and ''Nihon Shoki''. She is the daughter of the sea deity, Watatsumi, and the wife of Hoori. She is known as the paternal grandmother of Emperor Jimmu, the first emperor of Japan. To ...

. The

Kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

applied to transliterate ''Hime'' are 比売 or 毘売 rather than 姫. The masculine counterpart of ''Hime'' is ''Hiko'' (彦, 比古 or 毘古,) which is seen as part of Japanese male gods' names, such as Saruta-hiko. Unlike ''Hime'', ''Hiko'' is neutral, non-archaic and still commonly used as a modern Japanese male given name, for example

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada (, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and the Uni ...

Etymology

Originally a compound of and .1988, (in Japanese),

Tōkyō Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital and most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is one of the most populous urban areas in the world. The Greater Tokyo Area, which ...

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

2006, Third Edition (in Japanese),

Sanseidō is a Japanese publishing company known for publishing dictionaries and textbooks. The headquarters is situated in the area between Suidōbashi Station and Kanda River, at a location previously used as a warehouse for the company's own printing ...

, →ISBN

Proverb

*Ichi hime ni

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

"''First baby, a girl. Second baby, a boy''": It originally meant that having a girl first, and a boy second was easier on the mother as she gained experience before nurturing a boy. However, with each household having fewer children, this is commonly confused as having "one girl and two boys", or three children. This is because "ichi" means "one" in Japanese and "ni" means "two" in Japanese, and therefore could be read as, "One girl, two boys."

Usage

While many use the name ''Hime'' to address those of a higher or more noble birth, there are a few who use it as a girl's name. Thus some names either incorporate the word ''Hime'' or the giver simply will name said girl ''Hime''.

Historical

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 believe that Himiko is a

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

from Japanese to Chinese of ''Himemiko'' or female shaman. * Soga no Kitashihime (consort of

Emperor Kimmei was the 29th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261–2 ...

)

Heian and Kamakura Period

• Yaehime (daughter of Ito Sukechika, first wife of

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako ...

) • Ohime (daughter of

) • Bomon Nobuko/Bomonhime (daughter of Bomon Nobukiyo, wife of

Minamoto no Sanetomo was the third ''shōgun'' of the Kamakura shogunate. He was the second son of the Kamakura shogunate founder, Minamoto no Yoritomo. His mother was Hōjō Masako and his older brother was the second Kamakura shogun Minamoto no Yoriie. His child ...

)

Sengoku Period

Nōhime , also known as was a Japanese woman from the Sengoku period to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. She was the daughter of Saitō Dōsan, a Sengoku Daimyō of the Mino Province, and the lawful wife of Oda Nobunaga, a Sengoku Daimyō of the Owari Prov ...

(daughter of Saito Dosan, wife of

Oda Nobunaga was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods. He was the and regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan. He is sometimes referred as the "Demon Daimyō" and "Demo ...

) * Ichi Hime (市姫)　(younger sister of

, wife of

Azai Nagamasa was a Japanese ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period known as the brother-in-law and enemy of Oda Nobunaga. Nagamasa was head of the Azai clan seated at Odani Castle in northern Ōmi Province and married Nobunaga's sister Oichi in 1564, fathering ...

, wife of

Shibata Katsuie or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period. He was retainer of Oda Nobuhide. He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought ...

) * Koma Hime (駒姫) (daughter of

Mogami Yoshiaki was a ''daimyō'' of the Yamagata Domain in Dewa Province, in the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and early Edo periods. He was known as the "Fox of Dewa". His younger sister, Yoshihime, later became the wife of Date Terumune and gave birth to Ma ...

) * Gotoku Hime (五徳姫) (daughter of

, wife of

Matsudaira Nobuyasu was the eldest son of Matsudaira Ieyasu. His ''tsūshō'' ("common name") was . He was also called , because he had become the lord of in 1570. Because he was a son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he is often referred to, retroactively, as . Biography ...

) * Iroha Hime (五郎八姫) (daughter of

Date Masamune was a Japanese ''daimyō'' during the Azuchi–Momoyama period through the early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful feudal lords in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he w ...

) * Toku Hime （督姫） (second daughter of

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

) *

Hosokawa Gracia , usually referred to as , (1563 – 25 August 1600) was a member of the aristocratic Akechi family from the Sengoku period. Gracia is best known for her role in the Battle of Sekigahara; Ishida Mitsunari attempted to take her hostage to s ...

(daughter of

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period. Mitsuhide was originally a bodyguard of the last Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later, one of ...

, wife of

Hosokawa Tadaoki was a Japanese samurai lord and daimyo of the late Sengoku period and early Edo period. He was the son of Hosokawa Fujitaka and Numata Jakō, and the husband of the famous Christian convert Hosokawa Gracia. For most of his life, he went b ...

) *

Senhime , or Lady Sen, was the eldest daughter of the ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Hidetada and later the wife of Toyotomi Hideyori. She was remarried to Honda Tadatoki after the death of her first husband. Following the death of her second husband, she late ...

(eldest daughter

Shogun , officially , was the title of the military aristocracy, rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor of Japan, Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, exc ...

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was born to Tokugawa Ieyasu and the Lady Saigō on May ...

, wife of

Toyotomi Hideyori was the son and designated successor of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the general who united all of Japan toward the end of the Sengoku period. His mother, Yodo-dono, was the niece of Oda Nobunaga. Early life Born in 1593, he was Hideyoshi's sec ...

) *

Komatsuhime (1573 – March 27, 1620) was a female warrior (''onna-musha'') during the Azuchi-Momoyama period and early Edo period. Born the daughter of Honda Tadakatsu, she was adopted by lord Tokugawa Ieyasu, before marrying Sanada Nobuyuki. She is d ...

(daughter of

Honda Tadakatsu , also called Honda Heihachirō (本多平八郎) was a Japanese samurai, general, and daimyo of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Honda Tadakatsu was one of the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings (Shitennō) a ...

, wife of

Sanada Nobuyuki was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the son of ''daimyō'' Sanada Masayuki and the older brother of Sanada Yukimura. Early life He was the first son of Sanada Masayuki and his wife, Kansho-in. His younger brother was Sanada Yu ...

) *

Yodo-dono or (1569 – June 4, 1615), also known as Lady Chacha (茶々), was a Japanese historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She was the concubine and the second wife of Japanese ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi. As the mother of his son and successor ...

/Chachahime (daughter of Ichi Hime (市姫), concubine of

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

) * Hatsu Hime (初姫)　(daughter of Ichi Hime (市姫)) *

Oeyo , , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a noblewoman in Japan's Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period. She was a daughter of Oichi and the sister of Yodo-dono and Ohatsu. When she rose to higher political status during the Tokugawa s ...

(daughter of Ichi Hime (市姫), wife of

) *

Tachibana Ginchiyo was head of the Japanese Tachibana clan and onna-musha during the Sengoku period. She was a daughter of Tachibana Dōsetsu, a powerful retainer of the Ōtomo clan (which were rivals of the Shimazu clan at the time). Because Dosetsu had no ...

　(daughter of Tachibana Dōsetsu, wife of

Tachibana Muneshige , was a Japanese ''samurai'', known in his youth as Senkumamaru (千熊丸) and alternatively called Tachibana Munetora (立花宗虎 or 立花統虎), during the Azuchi–Momoyama period and an Edo-period ''daimyō''. He was the eldest biol ...

) * Mah Hime (摩阿姫) (daughter of

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又左 ...

, concubine of

) * Go hime (豪姫)/Maria (daughter of

, wife of

Ukita Hideie was the ''daimyō'' of Bizen and Mimasaka Provinces (modern Okayama Prefecture), and one of the council of Five Elders appointed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Son of Ukita Naoie, he married Gōhime, a daughter of Maeda Toshiie. Having fought a ...

) *

Kaihime ("hime" means lady, princess, woman of noble family), speculated to have been born in April 15, 1572, was a Japanese female warrior, onna-musha from the Sengoku Period. She was a daughter of and granddaughter of Akai Teruko, retainers of the La ...

(daughter of

Narita Ujinaga Narita may refer to: Places * Narita, Chiba, a city in Japan ** Narita International Airport, secondary international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area ** Narita-san, temple in the city ** Narita Line *** Narita Station * Narita, Illinois, ...

, concubine of

) * Chikurin'in/Akihime (daughter of Otani Yoshitsugu, wife of

Sanada Yukimura , also known as , was a Japanese samurai warrior of the Sengoku period. He was especially known as the leading general on the defending side of the Siege of Osaka. Yukimura was called "A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years", "Crimson D ...

) * Suwa Goryonin (諏訪御料人) (daughter of

Suwa Yorishige Suwa Yorishige may refer to: * Suwa Yorishige (daimyo), Japanese samurai daimyo of the Shinano province * Suwa Yorishige (Nanboku-chō period), military commander during the Nanboku-chō period {{hndis ...

, concubine of

Takeda Shingen was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a p ...

)

Literature

* Kaguya-hime; or The Moon Princess;

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the form. The story details ...

folk tale Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...

* Tsubaki-hime (椿姫, a common Japanese translation of the French work

The Lady of the Camellias ''The Lady of the Camellias'' (), sometimes called ''Camille'' in English, is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils, Alexandre Dumas ''fils''. First published in 1848 and subsequently Theatrical adaptation, adapted by Dumas for the Drama, stage, the pl ...

)

In popular culture

* ''

Shikabane Hime is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshiichi Akahito. Premiering in ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' on April 12, 2005, the series centers on the "Corpse Princess" Makina Hoshimura, an undead girl who is hunting down 108 undead co ...

'' is a Japanese manga series and a TV anime series * ''

Anmitsu Hime , known outside Japan as ''Sugar Princess'', is a manga series by Shosuke Kurakane. The original manga was serialized between 1949 and 1955. In 1986, Izumi Takemoto retold the original manga series, releasing it under the same tit ...

'' (The Sugar Princess,

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series) * ''

Mononoke Hime is a 1997 Japanese animated historical drama, historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Set in the Muromachi period of Japanese history, the film follows Ashitaka, a young Emishi prince who journeys west to cure his curs ...

'' (Princess Mononoke,

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

) * Hime, the lead character in the anime and manga series ''

Princess Resurrection is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by . It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine '' Monthly Shōnen Sirius'' from June 2005 to February 2013, with its chapters collected in 20 volumes. The manga was licensed in No ...

''. * '' Sakura Hime Kaden'', a manga by

Arina Tanemura is a Japanese mangaka, manga artist, illustrator, and character designer. She made her professional manga debut in 1996 with the One-shot (comics), one-shot ''The Style of the Second Love'' in the shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Ribon ...

* ''

Fushigiboshi no Futagohime is a 2005 Japanese anime television series conceptualized by Birthday and produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo, with animation from Hal Film Maker. A manga adaptation titled ''Twin Princess of Wonder Planet: Lovely Kingdom'' by Mayuki ...

'', a Japanese anime * Tsunade-hime, a character from ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

'', a manga and anime. *

Orihime Inoue is a fictional character in the Japanese manga series '' Bleach'' and its anime adaptation created by Tite Kubo. She is one of Ichigo Kurosaki's friends. Like the many other characters in the series, she quickly develops powers of her own af ...

, a character from ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

'', a manga and anime. * '' Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon'', the sequel to the manga and anime series '' Inuyasha''. * '' Utahime Iori'', a supporting character in the Manga and Anime ''

Jujutsu Kaisen is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from March 2018 to September 2024, with its chapters collected in 30 volumes. The ...

''. * Luna Himemori, a Hololive VTuber * Kuragehime, (''

Princess Jellyfish is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akiko Higashimura. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''josei'' manga magazine ''Kiss'' from October 2008 to August 2017. The manga is licensed in North America by Kodansha USA. An 11-ep ...

''), is a Japanese manga series, TV anime series, and live action series. * Hime Houzuki (Pearl Houzuki), the Japanese name of a character from the video game series

Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Hisashi Nogami and Shintaro Sato and developed and owned by Nintendo. Set in the far future on a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Earth that has been repopulat ...

* Crunchyroll-Hime, the mascot of

Crunchyroll LLC Crunchyroll, LLC is an American entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It currently operates the anime-focused eponymous over-the-top subscription video on-demand streaming service. The company was founded as Funimation in May 1994 ...

Castle

Himeji Castle () is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in Himeji, a city in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with adva ...

References

{{Reflist Japanese nobility Japanese words and phrases

Etymology

Proverb

Usage

Historical

Heian and Kamakura Period

Sengoku Period

Literature

In popular culture

Castle

See also

References