Himiko

Japanese: 卑弥呼 - ひみこ

Year of birth: Unknown
Queen of Yamataikoku, which existed in northern Kyushu or Kinki (Yamato) in the first half of the 3rd century. The name Himiko is a Chinese phonetic transcription of the Japanese language of the time, and is not a personal name, but a chieftain's rank or title, such as Himeko (the sun's daughter), Hinomiko (the sun's child), or Himemiko (the sun's princess), meaning a woman endowed with the spiritual power of the sun. There is a theory that she corresponds to fictitious figures from myths and legends such as Amaterasu Omikami, Empress Jingu, Yamatohime-no-mikoto, and Yamatotototohimomosohime, who appear in the Nihon Shoki and other texts, but there is no basis for this. According to the Wajinden in the Weizhi and the Waden in the Gokanshu, after a series of conflicts in Wakoku that began around 180, the chieftains of various provinces jointly appointed Himiko as queen. She lived in a palace, a tower, and a walled residence, guarded by soldiers, and governed the country without appearing to the people, using her magical and religious function of directly communicating with spirits, called "Kido," and was assisted by her younger brother. There are theories that "Kido" is the same as the shamanistic shrine maidens of North Asia, and that it is the same as the Five Pours of Rice Tao or the Taiping Tao, which are a type of Chinese folk Taoism. However, based on examples of Goguryeo and Korea in the "Weizhi" Goguryeo-Kanden, it is possible that she was a priestess-like chief who worked on the agricultural god (grain spirit). On the other hand, after the establishment of the Wei dynasty, Himiko was involved in diplomacy, and in Jingchu 3 (239), she paid tribute to Luoyang via Daifang Commandery, offering live slaves, and in return was given the title of King of Wa Pro-Wei and the symbols of the throne, such as a gold seal with a purple ribbon, a bronze mirror, and a large sword, by the young emperor. In the fourth year of the same year, they sent an envoy, and in the sixth year, Wei supported Yamataikoku, which was at war with Kunakoku, by presenting a Yellow Flag. In the eighth year, they also requested support from Wei, which resulted in an imperial edict, a Yellow Flag and a summons. However, it seems that Himiko died around the time of this war, and the imperial edict and other documents were presented to her senior official Nanshomai. Upon her death, a mound over 100 steps in diameter was built and many slaves were buried with the dead. After her death, a male king was appointed, but conflict arose, and it is said that the matter was resolved by appointing a member of her family, Taeyo, as queen. In the third century, there were no examples of queens in China or Korea, and it was also rare for chiefs to jointly appoint a king. The reason why Himiko, a woman in Wakoku, became the king of Yamataikoku and was granted the title of Wa-King through diplomacy with Wei was probably because she possessed mediumistic abilities, and because Yamataikoku was a society with a higher political status than the states of Wakoku such as Mutsu, Ito, and Na, with a larger number of chiefs. Also, as seen in the fact that Taiyo became queen after Himiko, Wakoku had a family and social structure that recognized the existence of female chiefs. There is a theory that the kingship of Yamataikoku was shared between two chiefs, Himiko and her brother, a man and a woman, and another that the brother was the highest chief and Himiko was a female relative who guaranteed his position. There is an issue as to whether Himiko's tomb belongs to the archaeological Yayoi period or the Kofun period, but those who believe that the 3rd century is the beginning of the Kofun period place importance on the Miwako ruins (Sakurai City) and Hashihaka Kofun (same city) in the southeastern part of Yamato. The theory of the location of Yamataikoku is closely related to the tomb of Himiko, but it is believed that at the time, political societies and early states similar to Yamataikoku, in which various chiefs formed a multi-layered ruling order, existed in various places at that time, such as northern Kyushu, the Seto Inland Sea coast, and Kinki. <References> Ishihara Michihiro (ed.) and Ishihara Michihiro (translator), "Newly Revised Wei Zhi Wajinden, Waden in the Book of the Later Han, Wakokuden in the Book of Song, and Wakokuden in the Book of Sui," Saeki Ariyoshi, "Research History of Yamataikoku," and "Research History of Postwar Yamataikoku," Suzuki Yasutami, "A few Perspectives for Examining Wei Zhi Wajinden" (Kokugakuin Magazine, Vol. 83, No. 11), Wang Jinlin, "Yamataikoku and Ancient China"

(Yasutami Suzuki)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
3世紀前半ごろ,北部九州または近畿(大和)にあった邪馬台国の女王。名の卑弥呼は当時の日本語を中国語音で表記したもので,個人名でなく,ヒメコ(日女子),ヒノミコ(日の御子),ヒメミコ(日女御子)など太陽の霊威を身に付けた女性を意味する首長の地位または称号。『日本書紀』などにみえる天照大神,神功皇后,倭姫命,倭迹迹日百襲姫といった神話・伝説上の実在しない人物に当てる説があるが根拠はない。『魏志』倭人伝,『後漢書』倭伝などによると,180年前後から倭国に争乱が続いた末,諸国の首長たちが共に立てて女王としたのが卑弥呼である。宮殿,楼観,城柵を設けた居所に兵士に守られて住み,人々の前に姿を現すことなく,「鬼道」と呼ばれる霊魂と直接交感できる呪術宗教的職能をもって国を統治する独身の老女であったが,弟がそれを補佐したという。「鬼道」は北アジアなどのシャーマニズムを行う巫女と同じとみる説をはじめ,中国の民俗的な道教の一種である五斗米道や太平道のこととする説などがあるが,『魏志』高句麗・韓伝にみえる高句麗や諸韓国の類例から推して農耕神(穀霊)に働きかける司祭的首長であった可能性もある。他方,卑弥呼は魏が成立すると外交に携わり,景初3(239)年帯方郡を経て洛陽に朝貢し,生口(奴婢)などを献上し,代わりに少帝から親魏倭王の称号と金印紫綬,銅鏡,大刀などの王位の象微物を授かった。同4年にも使を遣わし,6年,魏は狗奴国との戦争状態にあった邪馬台国に黄幢を与えて支持した。8年にも魏に支援を求めた結果,詔書,黄幢と檄がもたらされた。しかしこの戦乱のころ,卑弥呼は死んだらしく,大夫の難升米に詔書などが与えられている。死ぬと径百歩余の冢(墓)が造られ,多数の奴婢の殉葬が行われたという。死後,男王が立ったが争乱が起こり,一族の台与を女王に就けて収拾したと伝える。 3世紀当時,中国,朝鮮では女王の例はなく,しかも首長たちが共同で王を立てるのも稀であった。倭国で女性の卑弥呼が邪馬台国の王となり,魏との外交により倭王の号を認められたのは,その霊媒的能力を備えたことのほか,邪馬台国が倭国の国々の中で末盧,伊都,奴などよりも首長層を多数擁するような政治的身分的に先行した社会であったことが要因であろう。また卑弥呼に続き,台与が女王となったように,倭国では女性首長の存在が認められるような家族,社会の構造が基礎にあった。邪馬台国の王権は卑弥呼と弟の男女ふたりの首長が権力を分掌したとみなす考えや,弟が最高首長で卑弥呼はその地位を保証する近親女性であるとする説がある。なお卑弥呼の墓が考古学上の弥生時代か古墳時代かのどちらに属すかが問題であるが,3世紀を古墳時代に入るとする見解では大和東南部の纏向遺跡(桜井市)や箸墓古墳(同)などを重視する。邪馬台国の所在地論は卑弥呼の墓と密接に関係するが,各種の首長が重層的に支配秩序を形成する形の邪馬台国的な政治社会や初期的国家は,当時,北部九州,瀬戸内海沿岸部,近畿など各地にあったと考えられる。<参考文献>石原道博編訳『新訂魏志倭人伝・後漢書倭伝・宋書倭国伝・隋書倭国伝』,佐伯有清『研究史邪馬台国』,同『研究史戦後の邪馬台国』,鈴木靖民「魏志倭人伝検討のための二,三の視角」(『国学院雑誌』83巻11号),王金林『邪馬台国と古代中国』

(鈴木靖民)

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