Empress Jingū , occasionally known as , was a Japanese Empress who ruled from the year , 201 . The consort to Emperor Chūai , she also served as Regent from the time of her husband ' s death in 201 until her son Emperor Ōjin acceded to the throne in 269 . Up until the Meiji period , Jingū was considered to have been the 15th Japan ese imperial ruler , according to the traditional order of succession ( hence her alternate title " Jingū tennō " 神功天皇 ) ; but a re - evaluation of the extant historical records caused her name to be removed from that list ; and her son , Emperor Ōjin , is today considered to have been the 15th sovereign . Legendary narrative . No firm dates can be assigned to this historical figure ' s life or reign . Jingū is regarded by historians as a " legendary " figure because there is insufficient material available for further verification and study . Jingū ' s name before her accession to the Chrysanthemum throne is said to have been Okinagatarashi - hime ( 息長帯比売 ) . Although the final resting place of this legendary regent / sovereign remains unknown , Jingū ' s officially designated " misasagi " or tomb can be visited today at Misasagi - chō in Nara . This " kofun " - type Imperial tomb is characterized by a keyhole - shaped island located within a wide , water - filled moat . Kitabatake Chikafusa ( 1293 – 1354 ) and Arai Hakuseki ( 1657 – 1725 ) claimed that she was actually Himiko , the third century shaman - queen of Yamataikoku , and , because Himiko was a historical figure , had to be included as a member of the imperial family by the authors of the " Nihon Shoki " . Among modern scholars , Naitō Torajirō estimates that she is Yamatohime - no - mikoto , while suggests that she is . In 1881 , Empress Jingū became the first woman to be featured on a Japanese banknote ; however , since no actual images of this legendary figure are known to exist , the representation of Jingū which was artistically contrived by Edoardo Chiossone is entirely conjectural . The Imperial Household has designated an official mausoleum at Saki no Tatanami no ike no e no " Misasagi " , Nara , in what was formerly Yamato province . Excluding the legendary Jingū , there were eight reigning empresses and their successors were most often selected from amongst the males of the paternal Imperial bloodline , which is why some conservative scholars argue that the women ' s reigns were temporary and that male - only succession tradition must be maintained in the 21st century . Empress Gemmei , who was followed on the throne by her daughter , Empress Genshō , remains the sole exception to this conventional argument . Controversy . Legend has it that she led an army in an invasion of Korea and returned to Japan victorious after three years . However , there is no evidence of Japanese rule in any part of Korea . Her son Ōjin was born following her return . The legend alleges that her son was conceived but unborn when Chūai died . After those three years , the boy was born . Either a period of less than nine months contained three " years " ( some seasons ) , e . g . three harvests , or the paternity of her late husband was just mythical and symbolic , rather than real . Some believe that Empress Jingū ' s conquest is only based on the Gwanggaeto Stele . But the legend of Jingū ' s invasion of the Korean peninsula also appears in the ancient Japanese chronicles Kojiki written in 680 and Nihon Shoki written in 720 . In addition , the Nihon Shoki states that Father of Empress Jingū is Emperor Kaika ' s grandchild and her mother is of the . Some claim that characters were modified and the Japanese presence added on the Gwanggaeto Stele . Today , Japanese and some Chinese scholars discredit the intentionally damaged stele theory based on the study of the stele itself and the pre – Sakō and pre - lime - marred rubbings . Japanese military activities , defeated by Gwanggaeto , occupy half of the stele . The interpretation of the stele is still debated because , whether intentionally or not , the stele was damaged and the missing pieces make it impossible to translate . According to the book " " From Paekchae Korea to the Origin of Yamato Japan " " the Japanese misinterpreted the Gwanggaeto Stele . The Stele was a tribute to a Korean King , but because of a lack of punctuation the writing can be translated 4 different ways ; this same Stele can be intrepreted as saying Korea crossed the sea and subjugated Japan , depending on where you punctuate the sentence . The Chinese Book of Song of the Liu Song Dynasty , written by the Chinese historian Shen Yue ( 441 – 513 ) , notes the Japanese presence in the Korean peninsula . However , the Liu Song dynasty , as a southern Chinese dynasty of ancient times , had little contact with northeast Asia and most historians in Japan , Korea , and elsewhere believe that this dynasty most likely treated Baekje , Silla , and Yamato Japan as one and the same . It is unlikely that this error was committed with regards to the Sui Dynasty and Goguryeo because they were major powers at the time . The Chinese Book of Sui says that Japan provided military support to Baekje and Silla . According to the Samguk Sagi ( Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms ) , written in 1145 , King Asin sent his son Jeonji as a hostage in 397 . And King Silseong of Silla sent his son in 402 ; both were attempts to secure military aid from Yamato Japan so that the two nations could continue campaigns they had begun prior to the requests . Further complicating the relationship between the Japanese ruler and Korea is that , according to the Nihon shoki , Korean prince Amenohiboko came to Japan , and became the grandfather of Tajima Mori . Whether the Koreans sent hostages or relatives with familial ties to Korean is debated .