page_title: Himiko
section_title: Historical references
hierarchical_section_title: Himiko / Historical references
caption_attribution_description: English: Text of the Wei Zhi (魏志, Records of Wei), which documents the history of the Wei kingdom (220-265).
context_page_description: Himiko or Pimiko, also known as Shingi Waō, was a shamaness-queen of Yamatai-koku in Wakoku. Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom, and record that the Yayoi period 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 was regent in roughly the same era as Himiko. Scholarly debates over the identity of Himiko and the location of her domain, Yamatai, have raged since the late Edo period, with opinions divided between northern Kyūshū or traditional Yamato province in present-day Kinki. The "Yamatai controversy," writes Keiji Imamura, is "the greatest debate over the ancient history of Japan."
context_section_description: The shaman Queen Himiko is recorded in various ancient histories, dating back to 3rd-century China, 8th-century Japan, and 12th-century Korea.
caption: The "Book of Wei" part of the Records of the Three Kingdoms, c. 297
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