Mysterious Queen Highlighted Ancient History

Himiko

The Emperors of Japan have all been men. After some expectant years of waiting, Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako had their first child in 2001, but it was a girl. Now, a bill to permit a woman to become Empress is under consideration.

In ancient times Japan did have Queens (Empresses). Among them Himiko (175?~248) has excited many Japanese minds due to her romantic history as a mysterious Queen who highlighted the ancient history of Japan. Himiko appeared in a Chinese history book, the so called "Gishi-Wajin-den" which is described below.

In Wakoku (as Japan was once known as) there were more than 100 countries. They fell into disorder and wars continued for many years. Countries then jointly selected Himiko, a woman, as their Queen. She exercised divination and people believed in her. She was old and single and her brother helped her govern the country. - An explanation how to get Yamataikoku, the Metropolis where Himiko resided, is mentioned. - When Himiko died, a large grave was built and a man was selected to become the King. However, the countries did not obey him and about 1,000 people were killed in the ensuing dispute. Due to anger, the people selected Iyo, a 13-year-old girl from Himiko's family to be their Queen and peace finally returned to the land.

Where is the Yamataikoku? Who is Himiko?
From old times the dispute over where the Yamtaikoku of Himiko was and the riddle of who Himiko was have attracted Japanese history fans. The excitement of finding the Yamataikoku is similar to that of finding the lost continent of Atlantis, and discovering Himiko is like discovering who Mona Lisa really was.

In the book "Gishi-wajin-den," a route from Korea to Yamataikoku is described and if you follow the instructions you will find yourself in the ocean. So many interpretations of these instructions have been created. If the south is written incorrectly and refers to the east instead, one would reach the Yamato region (present day Nara) which later became the capital of Japan. This is called the Kinki theory. On the contrary, if the directions given are correct but the distances are wrong, it will be the Kyuushuu theory as searchers would reach some spots including Huga, which is known as a mythical stage. Besides these two most probable theories, there are various other theories in existence.

A weighty clue supporting the Kinki theory depends on the 100 mirrors called "Sankaku-Shinjuu-kyou" which were presented from Gi, the ancient name for China. Many of them were found in the Kinki region, but it is rare to finding such mirrors of that age in Kyushu. Meanwhile, according to the Kyushu theory, Himiko is viewed as Amateras-Ogami (a Japanese god) described as the ancestor of the Emperor in "Kojiki," the oldest book in Japan.

Kojiki is a Japanese history book edited in the eighth century and together with Nihonshoki, edited soon afterwards, are valuable books used to trace the history of ancient Japan. Together, these two books are generally called "Kiki" and their contents mainly describe the history of the Japanese Emperors. In the books there are mythological parts which seem to have been edited to teach that the ancestor of the Emperor was a god in order to justify the Emperor as the authentic ruler.

However, this mythology has recently been reviewed. Looking back over world history, there is much mythology that tells the true stories of actual events, such as the Troy of Homer poems. In the part of Kiki that covers mythology, names of places that actually exist in the Kyushu and Izumo regions are mentioned. Many people think there is a high possibility that Kiki also conveys actual events that took place in ancient times.

In the mythology appearing in Kojiki, there are descriptions hinting of the Himiko described in Gishi-Wajin-den, and there are many other stories which hint at actual events and people such as the story of the Emperor Jinmu (he was the first Emperor of Japan, but has been regarded as a fictitious Emperor), who explored the east of Japan. After appearing in Gishi-Wajin-den, the name of Yamataikoku suddenly disappeared and instead, the Yamato regime appeared in the records of history. The Kyushu theory stating that Yamataikoku in Kyushu became the Yamato regime also has credibility.

Over the centuries, Japanese scholars and novelists including ARAI Hakuseki, MOTOORI Norinaga and MATSUMOTO Seicho, have been attracted by Himiko and Yamataikoku and have challenged these riddles. However, they have not yet been resolved.

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