Himiko
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Himiko (卑弥呼 c.175?–248?), also read as Pimiku, was a female ruler of Yamataikoku, an ancient state-like formation thought to have been located either in the Yamato region or in northern Kyūshū of present-day Japan. Few records are available and little is known about her, and the location of Yamataikoku is the subject of a great, often emotionally charged, debate that has been raging since the late Edo period[citation needed].
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[edit] Historical references
According to an ancient Chinese text, Records of Three Kingdoms, (297 CE) Himiko was a shaman who controlled people through her paranormal abilities. This Chinese chronicle refers to the inhabitants of the Japanese islands simply as the Wa, literally, "The Little People." Furthermore, it describes a fragmented political structure of more than a hundred or more separate tribes, nominally ruled by a female shaman, Queen Himiko.
The Nihonshoki, an old Japanese history book, notes that Himiko was actually Empress Jingū Kogo, the mother of Emperor Ōjin, but historians disagree. Some speculate that she is conflated with Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess, as "hi" means "sun" and miko means priestess.
According to an ancient Korean history book, Samguk Sagi, Himiko, as queen of Japan, sent an emissary to King Adalla of Silla in May 172.
Excerpt from Waijinden, a Chinese historical account of circa 280–297: …the people agreed upon a woman for their ruler. Her name was Pimiko. She occupied herself with magic and sorcery, bewitching the people. Though mature in age, she remained unmarried. She had a younger brother who assisted her in ruling the country. After she became ruler, there were few who saw her. She had one thousand women as attendants, but only one man. He served her food and drink and acted as a medium of communication. She resided in a palace surrounded by towers and stockades, with armed guards in a state of constant vigilance.
Excerpt from Waijinden, a Chinese historical account of circa 280–297: (Response to gift of tribute by Himiko to the Emperor of China): Herin we address Pimiko, Queen of Wa, whom we now officially call a friend of Wei...[Your ambassadors] have arrived here with your tribute, consisting of four male slaves and six female slaves, together with two pieces of cloth with designs, each twenty feet in length. You live very far away across tthe sea; yet you have sent an embassy with tribute. Your loyalty and filial piety we appreciate exceedingly. We confer upon you, therefore, the title "Queen of Wa Friendly to Wei,"...we expect you, O Queen, to rule your people in peace and to endeavor to be devoted and obedient.
[edit] Modern proposals
Some have intuitively proposed that Himiko would have been a ruler during the Jomon period, an archaeological age characterized by a goddess religion, as indicated by figurine evidence, and a population of today's Ainu people. However, that timing is patently incorrect, as the latest discoveries of Jomon remnants date from ca. 300 BCE, five centuries earlier than Himiko's lifetime according to the Chinese records. Moreover, much of the other evidence, including her name, links Himiko to proto-Yamato people who had just migrated to Japan in the late Jomon era and in the early Yayoi period, and into which Himiko and her people are tentatively classified. Traditions of Jomon culture, such as reverence to female godheads and a priestess-led society, as well as very large villages with small, tribal groups functioning as units of political power in a proto-agricultural economic setting, may have influenced the societies of Yayoi settlers and the cultural structure of Himiko's society.
[edit] Life and rule
Himiko never married, and it is recorded that her younger brother assisted her as a political advisor. She is said to have had one thousand female servants and to have never appeared in public.
In ca. 188 CE, Himiko ascended to paramountcy, and in 248 CE she died.
There are indications that a tribal king, posthumously now known as Emperor Shujin, raised a military host against Queen Himiko or her successor (reportedly another shaman, her niece, or another relative), ultimately doing away with her position and establishing male rule with headquarters in central Japan.
[edit] Pronunciation
The precise pronunciation of her name is unknown. The Himiko reading derives from her name as represented in kanji, which was written 卑彌呼 prior to mid-20th century kanji reforms. Himiko may have been a Chinese corruption of himemiko, princess-priestess, or lady shaman. The name is said to mean "Sun Daughter." There are assessments that she is the real person upon whom the myth of the sun goddess Amaterasu is built.
[edit] Trivia
In the video game Ōkami, Queen Himiko appears as a NPC, and is not conflated with Amaterasu, who is the main character.
