Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 29 minutes ago
Queen Himiko, Japan's legendary sorceress queen, is one of the most mysterious figures from Japanese History. We don't know very much about her--largely our evidence is drawn from Chinese sources like the Book of Wei, and from a lot of Japanese archaeology. Himiko is described as being a female ruler of the state of Yamatai, or Yamatai-koku, one of the earliest recorded Japanese polities. She's also described as being skilled in "Oni-do", the "Way of Ghosts", which would appear to confirm her description as a sorceress. Queen Himiko also is recorded as having 999 female servants and 1 male servant, as well as having a brother who ruled alongside her. This has led scholars to suggest that perhaps Himiko was the female part of a co-gendered rulership, or that she has, in some way, been connected to the sun, as Hi-miko means something like "sun priestess".
SOURCES:
The Archaeology of East Asia, Barnes
State Formation in Japan, Barnes
Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey, Hane & Perez
The Oxford handbook to Premodern Japan, Friday
Japan Emerging, Friday
#queenhimiko
#himiko
#japanesehistory
Queen Himiko, Japan's legendary sorceress queen, is one of the most mysterious figures from Japanese History. We don't know very much about her--largely our evidence is drawn from Chinese sources like the Book of Wei, and from a lot of Japanese archaeology. Himiko is described as being a female ruler of the state of Yamatai, or Yamatai-koku, one of the earliest recorded Japanese polities. She's also described as being skilled in "Oni-do", the "Way of Ghosts", which would appear to confirm her description as a sorceress. Queen Himiko also is recorded as having 999 female servants and 1 male servant, as well as having a brother who ruled alongside her. This has led scholars to suggest that perhaps Himiko was the female part of a co-gendered rulership, or that she has, in some way, been connected to the sun, as Hi-miko means something like "sun priestess".
SOURCES:
The Archaeology of East Asia, Barnes
State Formation in Japan, Barnes
Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey, Hane & Perez
The Oxford handbook to Premodern Japan, Friday
Japan Emerging, Friday
#queenhimiko
#himiko
#japanesehistory
