, also known as the , was a

shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

ess-queen of Yamatai-koku in . Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

relations between Queen Himiko and the

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

Kingdom (220–265) and record that the

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

people chose her as ruler following decades of warfare among the kings of Wa. Early Japanese histories do not mention Himiko, but historians associate her with legendary figures such as Empress Consort Jingū, who is said to have served as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

from 201 to 269. Scholarly debates over the identity of Himiko and the location of her domain, Yamatai, have raged since the late

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, with opinions divided between northern

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

or traditional

Yamato Province was a province of Japan, located in Kinai, corresponding to present-day Nara Prefecture in Honshū. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005). "Yamato" in . It was also called . Yamato consists of two characters, 大 "great", and 和 " Wa". At first, th ...

in present-day

Kinki The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropolit ...

. The "Yamatai controversy", writes Keiji Imamura, is "the greatest debate over the ancient history of Japan." A prevailing view among scholars is that she may be buried at Hashihaka Kofun in

Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

Historical references

The shaman Queen Himiko is recorded in various ancient histories, dating back to 3rd-century China, 8th-century Japan, and 12th-century Korea.

Chinese sources

The first historical records of Himiko are found in the ''

Records of the Three Kingdoms 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 regard ...

'' (, ), a

Chinese classic text The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...

dating to . However, rather than ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', Japanese scholars use the term of , a Japanese abbreviation for the account of Wajin in the "

Biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of the

Wuhuan The Wuhuan (, < Eastern Han Chinese: *''ʔɑ-ɣuɑn'', <

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

, and

Dongyi The Dongyi or Eastern Yi () was a collective term for ancient peoples found in Chinese records. The definition of Dongyi varied across the ages, but in most cases referred to inhabitants of eastern China, then later, the Korean peninsula and Jap ...

" (), Volume 30 of the "Book of Wei" () of the ''

'' (). This section is the first description of Himiko (Pimiko) and Yamatai: This early history describes how Himiko came to the throne: The "Records of Wei" also records envoys travelling between the Wa and Wei courts. Himiko's emissaries first visited the court of Wei emperor

Cao Rui Cao Rui () (204 or 205 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarr ...

in 238, and he replied: Finally, the "Records of Wei" records that in 247 when a new governor arrived at Daifang Commandery in Korea, Queen Himiko officially complained of hostilities with , the king of Kuna (ja) (, literally "dog slave"), one of the other Wa states. The governor dispatched "Chang Chêng, acting Secretary of the Border Guard" with a "proclamation advising reconciliation", and subsequently: Commentators take this 'Iyo' (, with , "one", an old variant of ) as a miscopy of Toyo (, with "platform; terrace") paralleling the writing () as (). Two other Chinese dynastic histories mentioned Himiko. While both clearly incorporated the reports, they made some changes, such as specifying the "some seventy or eighty years" of Wa wars occurred between 146 and 189, during the reigns of Han Emperors Huan and Ling. The ''

Book of Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Late ...

'' ( ) says "the King of Great Wa resides in the country of Yamadai", rather than the Queen: The 636 '' Book of Sui'' (, ) changes the number of Himiko's male attendants:

Japanese sources

Neither of the two oldest Japanese histories – the nor – mentions Queen Himiko. The circumstances under which these books were written is a matter of unending debate, and even if Himiko were known to the authors, they may have purposefully decided not to include her. However, they include three imperial-family shamans identified with her: Yamatototohimomosohime-no-Mikoto (ja), the aunt of Emperor Sujin (legendary 10th Japanese emperor, reigned 97–30 BC) and daughter of Emperor Kōrei; Yamatohime-no-mikoto, the daughter of Emperor Suinin (legendary 11th, reigned 29 BC–70 AD); and Empress Jingū (reigned AD), the wife of Emperor Chūai (legendary 14th emperor, reigned 192–200 AD). These dates, however, are not historically verified. One remarkable exception to early Japanese histories overlooking Himiko is the , quoting the three times. In 239, "the queen [] of Wa" sent envoys to Wei; in 240, they returned "charged with an Imperial rescript and a seal and ribbon;" and in 243, "the ruler [ "king"] of Wa again sent high officers as envoys with tribute". , the shaman aunt of Emperor Sujin, supposedly committed suicide after learning her husband was a

trickster In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherw ...

snake-god. The does not mention her, but the describes her as "the Emperor's aunt by the father's side, a shrewd and intelligent person, who could foresee the future". After a series of national calamities, the Emperor "assembled the 80 myriads of Deities" and inquired by

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

. Yamato-totohi-momoso was inspired by Ōmononushi-nushi ("Great Deity of All Deities and Spirits"), to say: "Why is the Emperor grieved at the disordered state of the country? If he duly did us reverent worship it would assuredly become pacified of itself." The Emperor inquired, saying: "What God is it that thus instructs me?" The answer was: "I am the God who dwells within the borders of the land of Yamato, and my name is Oho-mono-nushi no Kami." While imperial worship of this god (from Mount Miwa) was "without effect", Yamato-totohi-momoso later married him. The

Kofun are megalithic tombs or tumulus, tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century AD.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞 ...

Sakurai, Nara file:Sakurai city-office.jpg, 270px, Sakurai City Hall is a city located in Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 54,384 in 25678 households, and a population density of 550 persons per km2. The total area of the city i ...

is associated with this legend. , the daughter of Emperor Suinin, supposedly founded the

Ise Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami and the grain goddess Toyouke-hime (Toyouke Omikami). Also known simply as , Ise Shrine is a shrine complex composed of many Shi ...

to the sun-goddess

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

. The records her as the fourth of Suinin's five children, "Her Augustness Yamato-hime, (was the high-priestess of the temple of the Great Deity of Ise)". The likewise records "Yamato-hime no Mikoto" and provides more details. The Emperor assigned Yamato-hime to find a permanent location for Amaterasu's shrine, and after wandering for years, the sun-goddess instructed her to build it at Ise "where she first descended from Heaven". Empress Consort Jingū (or ) supposedly served as

after the death of her husband Emperor Chūai () until the accession of her son Emperor Ōjin (legendary 15th emperor, ). The and have similar accounts. Emperor Chūai wanted to invade Kumaso, and while he was consulting with his ministers, Jingū conveyed a shamanistic message that he should invade

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

instead. Compare these: The Emperor thought the gods were lying, said he had only seen ocean to the West, and then died, either immediately () or after invading Kumaso (). Jingū allegedly discovered she was pregnant, personally planned and led a successful conquest of Silla, gave birth to the future emperor, and returned to rule Yamato. The adds that since Jingū wanted to learn which gods had cursed Chūai, she constructed a shamanic "palace of worship", "discharged in person the office of priest", and heard the gods reveal themselves as coming from Ise (Amaterasu) and Mukatsu (an unnamed Korean divinity). Although the and myth-histories called Jingū first of the Japanese empresses,

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

historians removed her from the List of Emperors of Japan, leaving Empress Suiko () as the first historically verifiable female Japanese ruler.

Korean sources

The oldest extant Korean history text, the (, "Chronicles of the Three oreanKingdoms", completed in 1145), records that Queen Himiko sent an

emissary Emissary may refer to: __NOTOC__ Arts and entertainment Star Trek * Benjamin Sisko, the Emissary of the Prophets, the Bajorans' gods * "Emissary" (''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''), the pilot episode of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' * "The Em ...

to King

Adalla of Silla Adalla (died 184, r. 154–184) was the eighth ruler of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He is commonly called Adalla Isageum, ''isageum'' being the royal title in early Silla. As a descendant of Silla's founder Hyeokgeose, his surn ...

in May 173.

Interpretations

Researchers have struggled to reconcile Himiko/Pimiko between Chinese and Japanese historical sources. While the described her as an important ruler in 3rd-century Japan, early Japanese historians purposely avoided naming Himiko, even when the quoted the about envoys from Wa.

Name

The three

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

( simplified: ) transcribing the Wa regent's name are read or in Modern Japanese and or in

Modern Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ( zh, s=现代标准汉语, t=現代標準漢語, p=Xiàndài biāozhǔn hànyǔ, l=modern standard Han speech) is a modern Standard language, standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the Republic of ...

. However, these contemporary readings differ considerably from how 'Himiko' was pronounced in the 3rd century, both by speakers of the unknown Wa-language and by Chinese scribes who transcribed it. While transliteration into Chinese characters of foreign words is complex, the choice of these three particular characters is puzzling, with literal meanings "low; inferior; humble", () "fill, cover; full; whole, complete", and "breathe out; exhale; cry out; call". In terms of historical Chinese phonology, the modern () is simpler than its presumed 3rd-century late

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

or early

Middle Chinese Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese language, Chinese recorded in the ''Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expande ...

pronunciation. Compare the following reconstructions of the name in Archaic Chinese or

(

Bernhard Karlgren Klas Bernhard Johannes Karlgren (; 15 October 1889 – 20 October 1978) was a Swedish sinologist and linguist who pioneered the study of Chinese historical phonology using modern comparative methods. In the early 20th century, Karlgren conduct ...

, Li Fanggui, and William H. Baxter), Early Middle Chinese (Edwin G. Pulleyblank), and, historically closest, Late Han Chinese (Axel Schuessler). * (Karlgren) * (Li) * (Baxter) * or (Pulleyblank) * (Schuessler) In terms of

Japanese phonology Japanese phonology is the system of sounds used in the pronunciation of the Japanese language. Unless otherwise noted, this article describes the standard variety of Japanese based on the Tokyo dialect. There is no overall consensus on the nu ...

(which historically did not have the consonant /h/ and whose modern /h/ evolves from historical /p/), the accepted modern reading of 'Himiko' would regularly correspond to

Old Japanese is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language, recorded in documents from the Nara period (8th century). It became Early Middle Japanese in the succeeding Heian period, but the precise delimitation of the stages is controversial. Old Ja ...

. However,

Roy Andrew Miller Roy Andrew Miller (September 5, 1924 – August 22, 2014) was an American linguist best known as the author of several books on Japanese language and linguistics, and for his advocacy of Korean and Japanese as members of the proposed Alta ...

says is a lexicographic error deriving from the transcriptions. (Old Japanese ), (, "young noblewoman; princess"), explains Miller, etymologically derives from () (, "sun") and () (, "woman"). Tsunoda notes that "Pimiko is from an archaic Japanese title, , meaning 'princess'"; that is, with the female name suffix (, "child"), viz. the uncommon

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

Himeko. Other Amaterasu-related etymological proposals for the

Japanese name in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adoptin ...

Himiko involve (, "sun") and ( or , "female shaman, shamaness; shrine maiden; priestess"); or their combination , "princess-priestess". Bentley considers the

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

word , 'west', the

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

prefix and , 'heir', and thus interprets as 'the honorific heir of the west'.

Identity and historicity

Identifying Himiko/Pimiko of Wa is straightforward within the

history of China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the ...

, but problematic within the

history of Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Japanese Paleolithic, Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the fi ...

. The 3rd-century Chinese (" Records of Wei") provides details about shaman Queen Himiko and her communications with Emperors

and Cao Fang. The 8th-century Japanese ("Records of Ancient Matters") and the ("Chronicles of Japan", which quotes the ) disregard Himiko, unless she was the

subtext In any communication, in any medium or format, "subtext" is the underlying or implicit meaning that, while not explicitly stated, is understood by an audience. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "an underlying and often distinct theme ...

behind their accounts of Empress Jingū, Yamatohime-no-mikoto, or Yamato-toto-hi-momo-so-hime-no-Mikoto. None of these three legendary Japanese royal shamans adequately corresponds with the Chinese chronology and description of Himiko. Assuming the account that Himiko died around 248, if one accepts the dubious Japanese traditional dating, then she was closer to the 3rd-century AD Empress Jingū than to the 1st-century BC Yamato-hime-no-mikoto and Yamato-toto-hi-momo-so-hime. On the other hand, if one accepts the postdating adjustments prior to the 4th century, then Himiko was closer to these Yamato-named shamans. Neither the nor the mentions Himiko or any of the salient topics that she was unmarried, was chosen as ruler by the people, had a younger brother who helped rule (unless this refers to Jingū's son), or had numerous (figuratively "1,000") female attendants. William Wayne Farris reviews the history of scholarly debates over Himiko and her domain Yamatai. The Edo-period philosophers Arai Hakuseki and

Motoori Norinaga was a Japanese people, Japanese scholar of active during the Edo period. He is conventionally ranked as one of the Four Great Men of Kokugaku (nativist) studies. Life Norinaga was born in what is now Matsusaka, Mie, Matsusaka in Ise Province ...

began the controversies over whether Yamatai was located in Northern Kyushu or

in the

region of central

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

and whether the or the was historically more trustworthy. The

Confucianist Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

Arai accepted the Chinese history as more reliable, and first equated Himiko with Jingū and Yamatai with Yamato. The scholar Motoori accepted the traditional Japanese myth-history as more reliable, and dismissed its quotations as later accretions. He hypothesized that a king from Kumaso sent emissaries who masqueraded as Jingū's officials to the Wei court, thus leading Wei to mistake them for representatives of Himiko. Farris states that "Motoori's usurpation hypothesis () carried great weight for the next century." Rather than being linked with Yamataikoku (regardless of wherever Yamataikoku was), Himiko may have been instead linked with (which Tsunoda located in near present-day Hakata in northern

), whereto was sent a golden royal seal, by

Emperor Guangwu Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han dynasty. He ...

of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

. Nakoku is said to have existed from the 1st century to the early 3rd century, and seems to have been independent or even a rival of the current

Imperial House of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

, supposedly in Yamato, Honshū. Even so, both the and recorded that the current imperial dynasty, starting with Jimmu, originated from the Kumaso territory of Takachiho,

Hyūga Province was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to modern Miyazaki Prefecture Hyūga bordered on Ōsumi to the south, Higo to the west, and Bungo to the north. Its abbreviated form name was , although it was als ...

in present-day

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

's southeastern section. The Kumaso were also associated with , ruled by Himiko's rival, king Himikuko. After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

in 1868, Japanese historians adopted European historical scholarship, especially the source-based methodology of

Leopold von Ranke Leopold von Ranke (21 December 1795 – 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of ...

. Naka Michiyo believed the chronology was inaccurate prior to the 4th century, and thus "Jingū became a fourth-century queen whose reign could not possibly have coincided with Himiko's." The

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

Shiratori Kurakichi proposed the compilers were tempted to associate Jingū with the religious powers of Himiko. Naitō Torajirō argued that Himiko was the high priestess of the Ise shrine Yamato-hime-no-mikoto and that Wa armies obtained control of southern Korea: Some later Japanese historians reframed Himiko in terms of

Marxist historiography Marxist historiography, or historical materialist historiography, is an influential school of historiography. The chief tenets of Marxist historiography include the centrality of social class, social relations of production in class-divided s ...

. Masaaki Ueda argued that "Himiko's was a despotic state with a generalized slave system" , while Mitsusada Inoue idealized Yamatai as a "balance of small states" with communal property and popular political expression. Following the late 1960s "Yamatai boom", when numerous Japanese historians, linguists, and archeologists published reevaluations of Himiko and Yamatai, the debate was joined by Japanese nationalists, mystery writers, and amateur scholars. Hashihaka kohun aerial

In Japanese historical and archeological

periodization In historiography, periodization is the process or study of categorizing the past into discrete, quantified, and named blocks of time for the purpose of study or analysis.Adam Rabinowitz.It's about time: historical periodization and Linked Ancie ...

, the 2nd- and 3rd-century era of Queen Himiko was between late

and early

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

. refers to characteristic keyhole-shaped burial mounds, and the noting "a great mound was raised, more than a hundred paces in diameter" for Pimiko's tomb, may well be the earliest written record of a . Several archeological excavations of Yayoi and Kofun sites in kinki region, have revealed Chinese-style bronze mirrors, called . Many scholars who support the Kinki theory associate these with the "one hundred bronze mirrors" that the records Emperor Cao Rui presented to Queen Himiko, while other scholars oppose it. The Hashihaka Kofun in

was given a recent boost by radio-carbon dating circa 240–60. The early Chinese records of Himiko/Pimiko and her Yamatai polity remain something of a

Rorschach test The Rorschach test is a projective test, projective psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded and then analyzed using psychology, psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some psychologists u ...

. To different interpreters, this early Japanese shaman queen can appear as evidence of communalism (Marxists), Jōmon priestess rulers ( Feminist history), the Japanese conquest of Korea, the

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

n conquest of Japan (Namio Egami's "horserider theory" (ja)), the imperial system originating with tandem rule by a female shaman and male monarch, the "

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

revolution" replacing female deities and priestesses with male counterparts, or a shamanic advisor to the federation of Wa chieftains who "must have looked like a ruling queen to Chinese envoys".

Modern depictions

Depictions of Himiko in Japanese popular media take one of three archetypes: Himiko as a wise, old ruler; Himiko the cute and energetic shaman; or Himiko as a seductive sorceress. She is associated with several ritual objects including the – two large bronze bells ritually used at the end of the Yayoi period – as well as the branch and Chinese bronze mirrors. The described Himiko's shamanism as , or Japanese , a type of Daoist folk religion. As such, Himiko is sometimes negatively associated with black magic or demons. Ruling in the transitional period between the

Yayoi The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

and

eras, depictions of Himiko often display her wearing clothing originating from a variety of time periods, often embodied masculine elements. A queen during the late Yayoi, Himiko likely wore a one-piece, wide-sleeved under a vest and sash. She is also often depicted wearing beads and a diadem. However, no one can be certain what Himiko wore.

Town mascots

Himiko's legend has been used to market a variety of objects. Various small towns seek to use Himiko as their mascot, claiming their town as her birthplace, although the archaeological evidence supports regions in the Nara basin as her capital. Yoshinogari City and Sakurai City in

Nara prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...

both employ images of Himiko to attract tourists, using images such as chibi Himiko-chan welcoming travelers to the region.

Manga and graphic novels

Himiko has appeared in various

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 ...

issues and

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

. * ''

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...

'' * The first volume of

Osamu Tezuka Osamu Tezuka (, born , ''Tezuka Osamu'', – 9 February 1989) was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques an ...

's '' Phoenix'' * The cover of Fujiwara Kamui's *

Gakken is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales are reported at ¥ 90 billion ($789 million US). Gakken publishes educational books and magazines and produces othe ...

's manga by Ōishi Manabu, Takano Kazuhiro, and Himekawa Akira * '' Afterschool Charisma'' by Kumiko Suekane * '' The War of Greedy Witches'' by Homura Kawamoto, where she is revealed to actually be Yogi who killed and replaced the real Himiko *

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

' 2014 ''Tomb Raider'' comic series set after the events of the game, Himiko returns to the plot for a few issues

Anime and video games

Himiko is a character who appears occasionally in

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

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s. * Himiko appears in the anime '' Steel Jeeg'', a

Go Nagai , better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...

series from the 1970s. * The anime series and

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

game '' Legend of Himiko'' features time travel between ancient Yamatai and modern Japan, with Himiko eventually helping to save Yamatai. * Himiko is one of the supporting characters in the video game , a game which draws on many Japanese folktales and myths to tell the story of the white wolf Amaterasu and her quest to free Japan from darkness. * Himiko is in the 2013 ''Tomb Raider'' reboot as a

plot device A plot device or plot mechanism is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief ...

. * Himiko appears in the mobile game '' Fate/Grand Order'' as a limited 5-Star Ruler-class Servant. She debuted during the Super Ancient Shinsengumi History GUDAGUDA Yamatai-koku 2020 event. * In the Heroes & Legends mode of ''

Sid Meier's Civilization VI ''Sid Meier's Civilization VI'' is a 2016 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. The mobile and Nintendo Switch ports were published by Aspyr Media. It is the sequel to '' Civilization V'' (2010), a ...

'', Himiko is a recruitable Hero. * In '' Warriors Orochi 2'', her character befriends Da Ji. She also appears in '' Musou Orochi Z'', '' Warriors Orochi 3'', and '' Warriors Orochi 4''. * In the music/rhythm game '' Beatmania IIDX 16: Empress'', the "One More Extra Stage" final boss song of the Empress Place event is named after Himiko, in which an interpretation of her likeness is also displayed. * In '' Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4'', she is Rise Kujikawa's persona. * In '' Might & Magic Heroes VI'', Himiko is a corrupt Naga priestess. * In '' Meow Meow Japanese History'', Himiko is featured in the first episode. * In '' Sid Meier's Civilization VII'', Himiko is a playable leader.

Cinema

* In the 2018 ''Tomb Raider'' film directed by

Roar Uthaug Roar Uthaug (born August 25, 1973) is a Norwegian film director. He graduated from the Norwegian Film School in 2002. Career Uthaug's graduation film ''The Martin Administration'' was the second Norwegian student-film in history to be nominated ...

(which was adapted from the 2013 video game of the same name), Himiko is at the heart of the plot. * Japanese film director

Masahiro Shinoda was a Japanese film director, whose career spanned over four decades and covered a wide range of genres and styles. He was one of the central figures of the Japanese New Wave during the 1960s and 1970s. He directed films for Shochiku Studio fro ...

directed a film about Himiko, called '' Himiko''.

Sales

Sanrio is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and manufactures products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and Fashion accessory, a ...

has created a Himiko-inspired

keychain A keychain () (also keyring) is a small ring or chain of metal to which several keys, or fobs can be attached. The terms keyring and keychain are often used interchangeably to mean both the individual ring, or a combined unit of a ring and fob ...

. Researcher Laura Miller recounts eating a dish named for Himiko at Shinobuan Cafe in Moriyama City, where the name apparently gave rise to the popularity of the dish.

Himiko contests

Queen Himiko contests take place in small towns offering cash prizes to women over the age of eighteen on the basis of charm and appearance. One of the earliest of these contests began in Yamatokoriyama in Nara. One such contest, Himikon, takes place in Moriyama City. Asakura in Kyushu also holds a Himiko contest during its annual

Yamataikoku Yamatai or Yamatai-koku is the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Japanese name of an ancient country in Wa (Japan) during the late Yayoi period The Chinese language, Chinese text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'' first recorded the name as ()Sc ...

Festival of Flowers.

Namesake

The

proper name A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity (''Africa''; ''Jupiter''; ''Sarah''; ''Walmart'') as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, pl ...

Himiko has been diversely applied, not only in Japanese society but also in other realms such as

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. is a train on the Amagi Railway Amagi Line and a water bus of Tokyo Cruise Ship designed by Leiji Matsumoto. The name Himiko (Lyman-alpha blob), Himiko was given to a Lyman-alpha blob (a massive concentration of hydrogen gas believed to be a protogalaxy) that was discovered in 2009. Massing close to 40 billion suns and located 12.9 billion light years from Earth in the constellation Cetus (constellation), Cetus, as of 2014 it is the largest and most distant known example of its kind. The one million dollar filly of 2015 Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and Untouched Talent (mother of 2012 Kentucky Derby second Bodemeister) was named Himiko. Image:Train_of_Amagi_Railway_stopping_at_Amagi_Station.JPG, An Amagi Railway train, ''Himiko'', at Kiyama Station (Saga), Kiyama Station Image:隅田川_ヒミコ_Water_Bus_-_panoramio.jpg, A water bus taxi in Tokyo Bay named ''Himiko''

Explanatory notes

References

Citations

* * * * * * * * * . * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Himiko
Britannica Online Encyclopedia * Miller, Laura. 2014
"Rebranding Himiko, the Shaman Queen of Ancient History"
In ''Mechademia, An Annual Forum for ANime, Manga and the Fan Arts'': Issue #9: ''Origins''. Minneapoolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 179-198.
Miller, Laura. 2018. "Searching for Charisma Queen Himiko." In ''Diva Nation: Female Icons from Japanese Cultural History'', edited by Laura Miller and Rebecca Copeland, 51-79. Berkeley: University of California Press.

''The Japan Times'', March 29, 2000

Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership

, Noboru Ogata

Osaka Prefectural Museum of Yayoi Culture * ''Yomiuri Shimbun''
"Himikio -- 90% name recognition amongst primary school students in Japan"
2008. {{Authority control 248 deaths Ancient Japanese priestesses Aristocracy of ancient Japan People of the Yayoi period 3rd-century women monarchs 175 births Shamanism in Japan Japanese women in warfare Women in ancient warfare Yamatai queens Wajinden Asian people whose existence is disputed