Pathway to Japanese Literature

Although references to the Wa people appeared sporadically in ancient texts such as the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, *Book of Han*, and *Discourses Weighed in the Balance*, their accounts remained too fragmentary to permit any substantial understanding of ancient Wa society.

The *Records of Wei*'s Account of the Wa People alone presented matters concerning the Wa Kingdom with exceptional detail. Moreover, Queen Himiko—the narrative's central figure—shone so brilliantly through its pages that readers might have felt they discerned light piercing through profound darkness.

While Chen Shou of Jin compiled the *Records of Wei*, its "Eastern Barbarians" section primarily derived from Yu Huan of Wei's *Wei Lue*. As most facts recorded in its Account of the Wa People described phenomena personally witnessed or heard by contemporaries, this text demanded recognition as a historical source of paramount significance.

Though our nation possesses two texts—the *Kojiki* and *Nihon Shoki*—that transmit accounts of antiquity, their ability to faintly suggest conditions during the Han-Wei period relied entirely on oral traditions. By contrast, records like the *Records of Wei*'s Account—which conveyed phenomena directly observed by Chinese visitors to our land—truly illuminated our nation's ancient history.

Given this immense historiographical value, scholars throughout our history who devoted themselves to interpreting this Account had never been few in number.

Yet ambiguities in its recorded distance measurements and travel durations spawned countless conflicting theories regarding Himiko—the narrative's focal figure—and her capital Yamatai, leaving these matters renowned as historical enigmas to this day.

Consequently, later scholars found themselves adrift when approaching Himiko's deeds, while chroniclers of our national history increasingly left this invaluable material shelved and unconsulted.

Could there exist a greater scholarly tragedy?

We long regarded this neglect with profound regret and had pursued certain investigations into the matter when—at this year's commencement—having finally developed a new interpretation, we presented our core arguments before the Japan Academy on February 21st and solicited members' critiques.

This treatise constitutes an expanded revision of that lecture.

Should this paper succeed in focusing historical attention upon Himiko and inspire successive scholarly studies addressing this conundrum, it would surpass our fondest hopes.

The crux of the Himiko problem lay entirely in interpreting the route from Wei’s Daifang Commandery to the Queen’s capital Yamatai; therefore，we transcribed in full herein the itinerary recorded in the *Records of Wei* and subsequently undertook its interpretation step by step.

From the commandery to Wa: following the coastline by water through Korea—now south, now east—one reached its northern shore at Kuyahan Korea after over 7,000 *li*. First crossing a sea of over 1,000 *li*, one arrived at Tsushima Province. Its chief official was titled *Hiko*, and his deputy *Hinomori*. Their isolated island domain measured approximately 400 *li* square—a land of perilous mountains and dense forests where paths resembled game trails. With over 1,000 households but no fertile fields, they sustained themselves on marine fare and traded grain by boat north and south. Crossing another sea southward—over 1,000 *li* across the Vast Sea—one reached Iki Province. Here too the chief official was *Hiko* and deputy *Hinomori*. The land spanned roughly 300 *li*, thick with bamboo groves and woodlands. Some 3,000 families dwelled there; though they tilled fields, harvests remained insufficient, necessitating north-south grain trade. Another sea crossing of over 1,000 *li* brought one to Matsura Province: over 4,000 households clinging to coastal mountains where vegetation grew so lush that travelers lost sight of those ahead. They excelled at diving for abalone regardless of water depth. Traveling southeast by land for 500 *li* led to Ito Province. Its chief official was *Neki*, deputy *Emonokohokure*. With over 1,000 households and hereditary kingship under the Queen’s sovereignty, this served as the commandery envoys’ regular stopover. Southeastward lay Na Province—100 *li* distant—with chief official *Shimaki* and deputy *Hinomori* [and over 20,000 households]. Eastward another 100 *li* brought one to Fumi Province: chief official *Tamo*, deputy *Hinomori*, housing over 1,000 families. Southward by water for twenty days lay Toma Province—chief official *Mimi*, deputy *Miminari*—with approximately 50,000 households. Further south by ten days’ water travel and one month’s land journey lay Yamatai Kingdom, the Queen’s capital. Its officials included *Ishima*, followed by *Mimashō*, *Mimakushitsu*, and *Nukatei*, governing some 70,000 households. North of the Queen’s realm, population figures and distances could be roughly recorded; distant peripheral states remained beyond detailed account. Sequentially listed were Shima Province; Ihyakushi Province; [Iya Province; Toshi Province; Minu Province; Kōkoto Province]; Fuko Province; Jōnu Province; Taiso Province; Sonu Province; Koyū Province; Kanusonu Province; Oni Province; Igo Province; Kinuko Province; Yama Province; Kūshin Province; Hari Province; Shiwi Province; Unu Province; and Nu Province—marking the Queen’s territorial limit. To her south lay Kunu Kingdom under a male king, its official titled *Kukochihiko*, unsubjugated to the Queen. Total distance from commandery to Queen’s realm: over 12,000 *li*.

The term “commandery” appearing in the text refers to Wei’s Daifang Commandery.

According to Dr. Naka’s theory, the location of this commandery was at the estuary of the Imjin River in Keiki Province (present-day Gyeonggi Province) (*Diplomatic History of Japan*, Chapter 28: Account of the Wa People in the *Records of Wei*). To sail from this point to Kyushu, one would first navigate southward along the western coasts of the three provinces—Keiki, Chusei, and Zenra—which explains why the text’s reference to “now south” indicates this maritime route. The ships would then change course from the southwestern cape of Jeolla Province to head eastward, proceeding along the southern coasts of Jeolla and Gyeongsang Provinces until reaching Kuyahan Korea.

Regarding this kingdom, Mr. Kan Masatomo identified it as present-day Keuje County (*Studies on Chinese Records Concerning Wa People*, Vol. 1), while Dr. Naka determined it to be present-day Gimhae—the Gaya Kingdom in Korean historiography and the Gara Kingdom in our national history. Since Gara Kingdom served as the strategic gateway from the Korean Peninsula to the Imperial Land at that time, Dr. Naka’s theory identifying Kuyahan Korea with Gimhae—that is, Gara Kingdom—cannot be considered misguided.

The phrase “now east” in the *Records of Wei* refers to the eastward bearing of the sea route from Jeolla Province’s southwestern cape to Gimhae. The maritime distance from Daifang Commandery to Kuyahan Korea was thus recorded as over seven thousand *li*. While the term “north shore” in the phrase “reached its northern shore at Kuyahan Korea” appears geographically unstable, interpreting it as denoting the northern coast of the maritime expanse between Wa and Korea renders the passage logically consistent.

To reach Kyushu’s northern coast from Kuyahan Korea required traversing three seas. First, ships departing from this kingdom would cross a sea spanning over 1,000 *li* to reach Tsushima Province—though no direction was explicitly recorded here, the southward course was self-evident. From Tsushima Province, they would sail further south across the Vast Sea for another 1,000 *li* to reach Iki Province. The reference here to *Idaikoku* being an error for *Ichikoku* had already been addressed by earlier scholars.

Proceeding southward again from Iki Province for over 1,000 *li* brought travelers to Matsura Province. Matsura Province corresponds to present-day Matsuura District in Hizen Province—the same location referenced as “Tsukushi Matsura District” in Emperor Chūai’s section of the *Kojiki* and “Hizen Province Matsuura District” in Empress Jingū’s chronicle. As for where ships traveling between Korea and Japan anchored in that area of Matsuura District, Dr. Naka’s *Diplomatic History of Japan* states—

As recorded in *Man'yōshū* Book 16: “In the Jinki era [724–729], the Dazaifu appointed Munakata no Tsumaro—a commoner of Munakata District, Chikuzen Province—as helmsman for the Tsushima-bound grain transport ship. Departing from Mimirakuzaki in Matsuura District, Hizen Province, they sailed directly toward Tsushima.” In accordance with this, Mr. Kan’s theory states: “Whether crossing to China or heading to Tsushima, ships invariably departed from this Mimirakuzaki.” “If [Mimirakuzaki] is considered a place convenient for heading northwest, then the sea route can also be reasonably inferred.” This theory was proposed. When the Wei envoys crossed over to Wa, they too must have passed by this Mimirakuzaki. This cape was located on Chika Island in Matsuura District. Now, from Matsura Province, heading southeast by land for 500 *li*, one arrived at Ito Province. Since Ito Province corresponds to present-day Ito District in Chikuzen Province—when proceeding from Chika Island in Matsuura District—it actually lay to the northeast; however, the Wei envoys had slightly misrecorded this direction as southeast. Again proceeding southeast from Ito Province by land for 100 *li*, one reached Na Province. Na Province corresponded to Naken County in Emperor Chūai’s chronicle and Natsu Port in Emperor Senka’s chronicle, being located near present-day Hakata in Naka District, Chikuzen Province—a fact earlier scholars had already elucidated. Therefore, while the actual direction had corresponded to northeast, the Wei envoys mistakenly recorded it as southeast. Furthermore, traveling eastward 100 *li* from Na Province brought one to Fumi Province. The exact location of this province remained unclear; however, by considering its distance from Na Province (present-day Hakata) and inferring from subsequent southward journeys from this point, we may posit its location near Dazaifu without significant error. Dazaifu lay southeast of Hakata, yet the Wei envoys reported its location as east—another instance of their customary error. Although the directions in the *Records of Wei* from Matsura Province to Fumi Province contained such errors—such as mistaking northeast for southeast and southeast for east—these were not uncommon among ancient travelers. If anyone should consider that the directions recorded in the *Records of Wei* were utterly unworthy of reliance based on this, that would constitute a grave fallacy. This text records the direction from Daifang Commandery to Kuyahan Korea as “now south, now east,” and writes as if the sea route from Kuyahan Korea to Matsura Province always headed south—how could this not constitute proof that their directions lacked accuracy? Even if there had been a slight misunderstanding regarding the direction from Matsura Province to Fumi Province, the general orientation toward the east was not in error. The directions recorded in the *Records of Wei* bore the greatest relevance to resolving the Himiko problem; therefore, I shall append a particular remark here.

When we calculated the li distances of the routes recorded above—from Daifang Commandery to Kuyahan Korea spanning over 7,000 li; from Kuyahan Korea through Tsushima and Iki to Matsura Province spanning over 3,000 li; from Matsura Province to Ito Province spanning 500 li; from Ito Province to Na Province spanning 100 li; and from Na Province to Fumi Province spanning another 100 li—the total distance from Daifang Commandery to Fumi Province amounted to 10,700-odd li.
Since it was recorded that the distance from Daifang Commandery to the Queen’s capital Yamatai Kingdom was over twelve thousand li, the remaining distance from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom amounted to merely a little over thirteen hundred li.
When examining the textual descriptions in the Records of Wei regarding routes up to Fumi Province—which scholars had analyzed with near-unanimous agreement due to their clarity—their interpretations diverged considerably when addressing journeys beyond this province toward Yamatai.
As this route’s interpretation constituted our treatise’s central focus, I shall now present my humble views by first enumerating previous theories.

When examining the *Nihon Shoki*, in the entry for the 39th year of Empress Jingū’s regency,

The *Records of Wei* states: "In the sixth month of the third year of Jingchu under Emperor Ming [239 CE], the Queen of Wa dispatched her envoy Nashidomi and others to the commandery to request an audience with the Son of Heaven for tribute presentation. Governor Deng Xia sent officials to escort them to the Wei capital."

annotated, and similarly in the entry for the 40th year,

The *Records of Wei* states: “In the first year of Zhengshi [240 CE], [they] dispatched Jianzhong Commandant Ti Xie and others, who presented the imperial edict and seals, and proceeded to the Wa Kingdom.”

and annotated, and similarly in the entry for the 43rd year,

The *Records of Wei* states: “In the fourth year of Zhengshi [243 CE], the Wa King again dispatched envoys—Grandee Ishiyasha Yaku and seven others—to present tribute.”

Since [they] annotated thus, the compilers of the *Nihon Shoki* had implicitly equated Empress Jingū with Queen Himiko. If this text already regarded Empress Jingū and Himiko as the same person, then it would be consistent to identify the Yamato capital as the Yamatai Kingdom of the *Records of Wei*; consequently, the Wei envoys were thought to have traveled east from Fumi Province and entered that realm. For nearly over a thousand years since the completion of the *Nihon Shoki*, no scholars of our nation had discussed the matter of Himiko—until Genroku 1 [1688], when Matsushita Kenrin authored *Ishō Nihon Den* and addressed interpretations of the “Account of the Wa People” in the *Book of Later Han*.

Now, upon examination:

Yamatai Kingdom is Yamato Province.
What was anciently called Daiyōtoku Province is the so-called Wa-Na Province.
Yamatai is the Japanese reading of Yamato.

It has been stated.
Indeed, scholars like Mr. Matsushita may be said to have openly expressed the opinions held by the compilers of the Nihon Shoki.
Once Mr. Matsushita’s theory emerged, the shogunate’s scholars almost unanimously concurred with it, and not a single person raised any doubts during this period.
However, Mr. Motoori Norinaga authored *Goyū Gaigen* (Treatise on Managing Barbarians), vehemently criticizing the identification of Himiko with Empress Jingū as erroneous and arguing that she must have been among the Kumaso people based in Kyushu.
As Mr. Motoori’s analysis of the route descriptions in the *Records of Wei* aligns with my own views in many respects, I shall quote a relevant passage below.

At this time, those recorded as having dispatched envoys to that country were none of them true imperial envoys of the royal court. They were groups akin to the Kumaso who held influence in southern Tsukushi; capitalizing on how the queen’s illustrious name had become renowned as far as various Chinese states, they falsely claimed to be imperial envoys and dispatched their own emissaries privately. The reason was this: while the text describes the countries from Daifang Commandery of that land to the Queen's capital as if recounting the route taken by those envoys proceeding to the Yamato capital, upon closer examination, it becomes clear this was not truly the Yamato capital. To explain—while the names up to Tsushima, Iki, Matsura, and Ito are recorded accurately without discrepancy, subsequent designations like Na Province, Fumi Province, and Toma Province correspond to no known locations along the route to Yamato, whether interpreted through Han-Wu era pronunciations or even contemporary Tang pronunciations. Moreover, the assertion that one proceeds southward from Fumi Province to reach the Queen’s capital is untenable. Yamato lies entirely east of Tsukushi. Furthermore, the claim that [these lands lay] north of the Queen’s country is also mistaken—it should indeed have been stated as west. How could those who came themselves have so utterly failed to distinguish between north and south, west and east? Regarding the statement that from Toma Province to the Queen’s capital required ten days by water and one month by land—the ten days by water seems plausible enough. But land travel taking one month is utterly inconceivable. The character for ‘month’ must be an error for ‘day’. Now, arriving at the Yamato capital in a single day would be impossible from any coastal region; conversely, if it took a month, would they have journeyed overland via the central stretch of the San'yōdō road? Such a thing cannot possibly exist. When ascending from Kosei Province to Yamato in ancient times, it was established practice to conduct all transportation up to Naniwa Port by ship. The existence of these numerous discrepancies proves [the capital] was not the Yamato court; in truth, those of Tsukushi—falsely proclaiming themselves Her Majesty the Queen—deceived even the Wei king’s envoys when receiving them. Thus all provinces those envoys purportedly reached, which they believed to be the Queen’s capital, lay entirely within Tsukushi. Therefore, even names like Fumi Province and Toma Province refer to areas along Tsukushi Island’s eastern edge where they proceeded southward via sea routes—precisely why their passage was recorded as lying north [of the Queen’s domain]. The statement that "[the land] forms a circuit of over five thousand li" also accords perfectly with Tsukushi Province encompassing its peripheral islands to such an extent. As for the text’s assertion that east of the Queen’s country—after crossing over a thousand li by sea—there exist more countries all belonging to the Wa ethnic groups: this holds no truth for Yamato. This instead refers to Shikoku lying east across the sea from Tsukushi.

That Mr. Motoori equated Himiko with the Kumaso goes without saying; even regarding his partial interpretations of the routes, while we cannot fully concur with all of them, when it comes to his overarching theory situating the Queen’s residence in Kyushu, we can only express profound admiration—indeed, it must be hailed as an insightful view for its time.
Through this paper by Mr. Motoori, scholars of that era came to uniformly regard Queen Himiko as akin to the Kumaso; however, regarding the route from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom as recorded in the *Records of Wei*, interpretations appear to have largely divided into two theories.
The first theory, as Mr. Motoori himself proposed, posits that one exits from Fumi Province to the eastern coast of Kyushu and sails southward from there to reach the land of the Kumaso; the other theory holds that from Fumi Province—that is, the vicinity of Dazaifu—one descends to Chikugo and sails south through the Ariake Inland Sea to reach Kumaso.
In his work *A Study of Usurpation in the Conquest States*, Tsurumine Kanoto Saru misunderstood the “one hundred *li*” mentioned earlier in the *Records of Wei* as indicating the distance from Fumi Province to Toma Province and stated:

Toma corresponded to the "tsuma" [place name component] found in the *Wamyōshō* entries for Kamitsuma District (加牟豆萬) in Chikugo Province and Shimotsuma District (准上) in Chikugo Province.
In the *Hyōbu-shiki*’s registry of provincial post horses, Chikugo Province’s post stations at Mii, Kamitsuma, and Karimichi each had five horses.
From here, traveling by water for twenty days, they arrived at Ōsumi Province’s Soo District.
Between Kamitsuma and Shimotsuma lay the Yabe River.
That is, it formed the upper reaches of the Yanagawa River.
Descending this river and again setting sail upon the inland sea, they reached the south.

Indeed, Mr. Tsurumine advocated the west coast navigation theory of Kyushu.
Furthermore, Mr. Kondo Yoshiki argued that the capital Yamatai of the Wa Queen was likely located in Yamato Village, Kikuchi District, Higo Province; thus, like Mr. Tsurumine, he was one of the theorists who adhered to the west coast navigation theory.
Mr. Kan Masatomo, in his *A Study of the Wa People in Chinese Texts*,
In the entry for Toma Province:

Since [the route] required proceeding south from Fumi Province for twenty days to reach Toma Province, it could not have been through an inland sea; passing through the eastern waters of Buzen and Bungo, he concluded that the so-called Toma Province was likely located in the Hyūga region, meaning Mr. Motoori’s theory does not greatly differ [from this assessment].

He stated, and in the entry on the Yamatai Kingdom:

Considering the assertion of "ten days by water and one month by land," the journey from Koyu District to Sōo District would not necessitate such prolonged duration regardless of maritime or terrestrial travel. Following Mr. Motoori’s hypothesis that "month" constituted an error for "day," it becomes reasonable to surmise that this route entailed vessels rounding Cape Sata in Ōsumi Province to enter Kagoshima Bay directly—when interpreted as ten days by water and one day by land, their postulations inevitably gain plausibility.

As he argued, this scholar stood among the eastern sea navigation theorists who systematized Mr. Motoori’s propositions.
While *Kokushigan*—compiled under the Historiographical Bureau’s auspices—lacks explicit documentation of the *Records of Wei*’s route, through positing "Toma" as a scribal error for "Setsuma" and correlating it with Satsuma, researchers thereby deduced that the path from Fumi Province onward to Yamatai had traversed Kyushu’s western coastline.
Furthermore, *Nikkan Koshi Dan* (Treatise on Ancient Japanese-Korean History) embodies those who inherited and advanced the Historiographical Bureau’s theories.
In the Tsukushi chapter of this same work, it declares:

There had long been a generally established theory regarding the area up to Fumi Province.
Setsuma was now identified by the Historiographical Bureau as Satsuma.
As for Yamatai, there remained numerous conflicting theories; indeed, it was only the Kumaso capital of Soo Castle that held plausibility.
In the route to Setsuma as recorded in the *Records of Wei*, they had omitted certain land travels; the twenty-day water route comprised boat and raft navigation along the Chikugo River and the Shiranui inland sea passage. Setsuma, with over fifty thousand households, corresponded to the entirety of present-day Satsuma—specifically referring to areas south of Akune.
Therefore, the ten months by water and one month by land were considered to correspond to those who had already crossed the Hayato Strait and Kurose Gate, traversed Satsuma Lagoon, and arrived at Soo.
However, if one were to travel by water for ten days—even detouring around Kaimon Cape—they could approximately reach Sakurajima’s inner bay, rendering a separate long land journey of one month unnecessary.
Hence, we questioned whether all instances of "month" were mistaken for "day."
It should properly have been considered ten days by water and one day by land.
Upon further consideration: they arrived by boat at Kaseda Port, disembarked and reached Keizan, then within a day again took to boats and arrived at Ōtsu of Soo—or so it was conjectured.

.

As for Dr. Naka's stance toward Mr. Kan's theory: "To travel from Hakata in Chikuzen to Sōo District by following eastward along Buzen, Bungo, and Hyūga—rounding Sata Cape—no matter how geographically ignorant ancient people were said to be, such an excessively circuitous detour cannot be believed," he rejected it as such. Regarding the theory presented in *Koshi Dan*, he merely stated that it appeared superior to Mr. Kan’s hypothesis without clearly articulating his own position. As became understood from the foregoing discussion, after Mr. Motoori's theory emerged, nearly all scholars in our country came to uniformly regard Himiko as belonging to the Kumaso category; however, Dr. Miyake and Dr. Hoshino alone held views diverging from the prevailing trend. Dr. Miyake, in his "A Study of the Han Dynasty's Seal of the King of Na" (*Shigaku Zasshi*, Part 3, Issue 37),

Fumi (details unknown) with over a thousand households; Toma (likely within Bingo and Bitchū Provinces) with approximately over forty thousand households; Yamatai (Yamato) with approximately over seventy thousand households.

Since this was stated, Dr. Miyake regarded Yamatai in the *Records of Wei* as Yamato in the Five Provinces of Kinai and equated Himiko with Empress Jingū.
If this were indeed valid, we must conclude that Dr. Miyake had reduced the Himiko issue to the established theories from the Nihon Shoki's compilation era.
Furthermore, in the *Journal of Historical Studies*, Dr. Hoshino determined that Yamato County—mentioned in the *Chronicles of Empress Jingū* as “proceeded to Yamato County and executed Tsuchigumo Tayu-tsu-hime”—corresponded to Yamato District in Chikugo Province, which he identified as the Yamatai Kingdom.
As for Dr. Naka’s evaluation of Dr. Hoshino’s theory,

This Yamato District, being adjacent to the provinces of Chikuzen, diverged even more severely from the route described in the Records of Wei than Mr. Kondo’s Yamato Village had done.
When Dr. Hoshino cited the text of the Records of Wei, he omitted the route from Ito Province to Yamatai; however, since these routes were necessary for determining the positions of the provinces—though they might contain some errors—they could not be entirely discarded.
Now, when calculating this omitted route—southeast for 100 li, east for 100 li, twenty days by water, ten days by water, and one day by land, amounting to at least over thirty days of combined water and land travel—equating this with Yamato District, which would not have exceeded four or five days of land travel no matter how circuitous the path from Ito District might have been, proved geographically quite inconsistent.

The criticisms leveled here accorded entirely with our own position.

Having now exhaustively enumerated all major theories previously proposed on this matter, it fell to us to present our humble views. According to our considerations, one reason that had rendered the Himiko problem so difficult to resolve lay in how the standard for li measurements recorded in the Records of Wei: Account of the Wa People was generally shorter and did not align with the measurement scales used in China across different periods. For example, the maritime distance from Daifang Commandery—that is, the Rimjin River estuary—to Guyeo Han Kingdom—that is, Gimhae—was approximately over two hundred li, yet the Records of Wei rendered it as seven thousand li. Therefore, thirty-five ri in this interval corresponded to one of our ri. Furthermore, while the maritime distance from Guyeo Han Kingdom to Matsura Province in Kyushu—that is, Matsuura District—was no more than approximately over sixty ri, the Records of Wei recorded this as three thousand li. Therefore, the fifty ri in this interval corresponded to one of our ri. Moreover, while the actual land distance from Matsura Province to Fumi Province—that is, the vicinity of Dazaifu—did not exceed approximately thirty ri, the Records of Wei rendered this as seven hundred li. Therefore, the twenty-three or four ri in this interval corresponded to one of our ri. As demonstrated above, the standards for distance measurements seen in the Records of Wei: Account of the Wa People were not only inconsistent and variable but also significantly shorter compared to ordinary Chinese li. According to the research of Bachelor Ōtani (Tōyō Jihō No. 122), one li of the Han era corresponded to 3 chō 55 ken by official shaku measurement, or 3 chō 51 ken by the Later Han Jianwu bronze shaku measurement, while one li of the Tang era corresponded to 4 chō 42 ken by small shaku measurement, or 4 chō 51 ken by large shaku measurement in our system. And one Qing li at present corresponded to our 5 chō and 17 ken. However, according to what was recorded in the Records of Wei, even when taking the long ri, one ri therein did not exceed our 1 chō and 34 ken; thus, the Han-Wei period standard corresponded to approximately two and a half times that of the Wei Zhi’s ri. Therefore, while the stated distance from Daifang Commandery to Fumi Province being over ten thousand seven hundred li might at first glance have appeared to be an exceedingly large figure, it in reality indicated our short distance of merely over two hundred ninety ri; when converted to the Han-Wei period standard li measurement, this amounted to no more than approximately two thousand seven hundred li. Therefore, it occurred to me that the compilers of the Nihon Shoki and scholars such as Matsushita—who had determined Yamatai Kingdom to be Yamato without finding it strange—must have been ultimately dazzled by the large figure of “over twelve thousand li” in the Records of Wei and failed to consider the actual distance it represented. When we inferred based on what the Records of Wei indicated—since Yamatai Kingdom lay over 1,300 li from Fumi Province—that the queen’s realm should be located in the Kyushu region rather than Yamato required no further argument. However, the standard for the distance measurements recorded in the Records of Wei was not fixed. If we calculated the aforementioned over 1,300 li using the long ri as indicated in this text, it became approximately 57 of our ri; if calculated using the short ri, it also became approximately 26 of our ri. Given that the distance measurements in the Records of Wei exhibited such significant discrepancies depending on location, attempting to accurately deduce the location of Yamatai Kingdom based on its stated position of over 1,300 li south of Fumi Province belonged to the realm of near impossibility. However, since the journey from Fumi Province to Yamatai provided the number of days required, should we not use these days to determine the location of the queen’s realm? That is to say, the journey from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom required thirty days by water and one day by land, totaling thirty-one days.

Now, if we were to assume that the Wei envoys advanced at a rate of seven li per day, they would have traveled 217 li over thirty-one days.
If one seeks a location south of Fumi Province—that is, near Hakata—matching this distance, it would place them around Nakano-shima in the Ryukyu Islands.
However, since this does not align with reality, attempting to precisely deduce the queen’s realm’s location through reliance on travel duration would likewise prove impossible.

If we had already measured this through distance in li and scrutinized it using days traveled yet remained unable to determine the queen’s realm’s exact location, what factual basis could we possibly seize to resolve this problem? After repeatedly perusing and analyzing the text of the *Records of Wei*, we ultimately discerned here three immutable benchmarks. What then are these so-called three benchmarks? First: that Yamatai Kingdom lay south of Fumi Province; second: that reaching the queen’s realm from Fumi Province necessitated sailing through the Ariake Inland Sea; third: that a major kingdom called Kunu existed south of the queen’s realm—these constituted the very foundations. Now regarding the first two points—not only were they readily understood through meticulous reading of the *Records of Wei*, but since our predecessors had already elucidated them—we resolved to temporarily set them aside. However, concerning this third point—despite its unambiguous documentation in the *Records of Wei*—no scholar had ever contemplated it until we presented it to Japan’s academic circles; and since this point formed the core premise of our treatise, we determined to establish the Kunu Kingdom’s location as our starting point for unraveling this issue.

Regarding the Kunu Kingdom, *Gaikō Ekishi* states:
“Mr. Kan stated: ‘South of Ōsumi lie islands such as Tanegashima and Yakushima—numerous yet insignificant enough to warrant attack. This Kunu Kingdom must therefore belong to the regions described below: “East of the Queen’s Kingdom, crossing over a thousand li by sea, there are again countries, all of Wa ethnic groups.”’”
Chen Shou had mistakenly recorded “east” as “south” in this passage.
Consequently, the *Book of the Later Han* amended this to read: “From the Queen’s Kingdom, crossing eastward over a thousand li by sea brings one to Kunu Kingdom; though [its people] are all of Wa ethnic groups, they do not submit to the Queen.”
*Gyojū Gaigen* posited: “As Kōno Village exists in Kazahaya District of Iyo Province, might this name refer to that area? The ‘male king of Kunu Kingdom’ mentioned in the *Records of Wei* likely denotes one who governed this Kōno region.”
*Nikkan Koshidan* further asserted that Kunu corresponded to Kōno and that their official Kukochihiko referred to Shichihiko, an ancestral figure of the Kōno clan.
The *Kuni no Miyatsuko Honki* records: “The provincial governor of Oichi (Iyo Province, Ochi District) was established during Emperor Ōjin’s reign under the Takajima Toyoakira Court, with descendants of Ōshinkawa no Mikoto—kinsmen of the Mononobe clan—being appointed as provincial governors.”
The *Genealogical Records: Divine Categories* entry on the Ochi clan notes: “Ōshinkawa’s descendants became provincial governors during Emperor Ōjin’s era, as documented in the *Kuji Hongi*. During Emperor Monmu’s reign, Ochi Tamooki served as chief administrator of Iyo Province—likely Ochi District—while his brother Tamochi settled in Kōno, founding the Kōno clan lineage.”
Scholars had forcibly equated Shichihiko with Kukochihiko based on these accounts.
The *Kuni no Miyatsuko Honki* further states: “The provincial governor of Kunu (Kunu Village, Yamana District, Enshū Province) was established during the Chikushi Kashii Court era under Inaba no Sukune—a descendant of Mononobe ancestor Ikagashikoo no Mikoto.”
This indicates that “the Kōno [clan] originated in Kunu,” with its governors sharing lineage with the Ochi clan from Iyo.
Members of the Ochi clan who migrated eastward—thriving in Mikawa, Tōtōmi, Izu, and Suruga—demonstrated their connection to Iyo’s Ōmishima deity by venerating Mishima as their tutelary shrine.
Although the *Kuni no Miyatsuko Honki* dates the establishment of Ochi and Kazahaya governorships to Emperor Ōjin’s reign, we must not presume this marked their initial arrival.
They had likely been settled there long before.
As the Ochi shared ancestry with the Mononobe clan, they naturally formed a distinct lineage.

The ancestor of Ochi, Ikagashikoo, was likely a figure from the time of Emperor Kōgen. His son was Ōshinkawa, whose son in turn was Tochikane. Tochikane had been granted the position of Mononobe no Muraji during Emperor Suinin’s reign, thereby becoming the progenitor of the Mononobe clan. "Thus," it was stated, "between the reigns of Emperor Kōgen and Emperor Suinin, the Ochi clan's domain in Iyo Province had already been established." Furthermore, regarding the phrase "a man serves as king"—based on the subsequent mention of "Male King Himikoko"—*Nikkan Koshidan* read "Himiko" as "Hiko" and asserted: "This appears to refer to those of imperial lineage from the Iyo provincial governor who came to pacify the region at that time. The Ochi clan, as military officials, are thought to have served successive princes and royal descendants while governing the provinces." The Iyo Provincial Governor was described in the *Kojiki* as "Kamuyaimimi no Mikoto being the ancestor of the Iyo Provincial Governors and others," while the *Kuni no Miyatsuko Honki* recorded: "During Emperor Keikō’s reign, Hayasokonoue no Mikoto—son of Shikikatsu Hiko no Mikoto, ancestor of the Inaba Provincial Governors—was appointed as Iyo Provincial Governor." *Koshidan*, citing Mr. Kurita Hiroshi’s analysis, stated: "This provincial governor was not established during Emperor Seimu’s reign but had likely been conferred earlier, in Emperor Sujin’s era." These theories, though argued with considerable skill, contained numerous conjectural elements and lacked solid evidence, rendering definitive conclusions unattainable.

While this theory faced criticism, Dr. Naka himself never put forward any distinct views concerning the Kunu Kingdom.

The fact that past scholars placed the Kunu Kingdom outside Kyushu without finding it the least bit questionable arose from their reliance solely on the text of the Book of the Later Han without closely reading the main text of the Records of Wei.
If scholars doubt our words, let them closely read the text of the Records of Wei quoted below.

From the Queen’s Kingdom northward, the household numbers and distances [of the provinces] can be roughly recorded; however, regarding the remaining peripheral states—being remote and isolated—details cannot be obtained. Next comes Shima Province, [...] followed by Na Province, where the Queen’s boundary reaches its limit. To its south lies the Kunu Kingdom, where a man serves as king; their official is Kukochihiko, and they do not submit to the Queen. [...] East of the Queen’s Kingdom, crossing over a thousand li by sea, there are again countries—all of Wa ethnic groups. There is also the Dwarf Kingdom located to its south, where people are three to four shaku tall and lie over four thousand li from the Queen. There are also the Naked Kingdom and Black Teeth Kingdom, again located to its southeast; a year’s voyage by ship would reach them.

When examining the meaning of the text above "East of the Queen’s Kingdom, crossing over a thousand li by sea, and so forth," while the household numbers and travel distances for provinces such as Matsura, Ito, Na, Fumi, and Toma could be roughly recorded as in the preceding text, details regarding the other peripheral states remained beyond ascertainment. However, seventeen countries existed from Shima Province down to Na Province, with Na Province being situated where the Queen’s boundary reached its limit. Furthermore, south of the Queen’s realm lay the Kunu Kingdom—understood to have been ruled by a male king who did not submit to the Queen—as this passage was interpreted. Thus, the entire land of Wa—that is, all of Kyushu—had not been under the Queen’s domain; its southern region belonged to the territory of the Kunu Kingdom. Yet Fan Ye, compiler of the *Book of the Later Han*, while basing his work on the aforementioned text, significantly abbreviated it to produce the following passage.

From the Queen’s Kingdom eastward across over a thousand *li* by sea lies Kunu Kingdom; though all are of Wa ethnic groups, they do not submit to the Queen. From the Queen’s Kingdom southward over four thousand *li* lies Dwarf Kingdom, where people are three to four *shaku* tall. From Dwarf Kingdom southeastward by ship for one year brings one to Naked Kingdom and Black Teeth Kingdom—the farthest reaches attested by envoys and relay stations.

When one compared this passage from the *Book of the Later Han* with the main text of the *Records of Wei*, the traces of the former having plagiarized and followed the latter appeared glaringly evident and undeniable. What proved singularly perplexing was how the *Book of the Later Han* had arbitrarily relocated the Kunu Kingdom—which the original text of the *Records of Wei* situated south of the Queen’s realm—to the dwelling places of Wa ethnic groups recorded as lying over a thousand *li* east of the Queen’s realm. This clearly ran counter to the original text’s intent and had to be deemed an error transmitted to later generations; historians in our nation had failed to arrive at a proper interpretation of the Queen’s Realm’s geographical position precisely because of this distortion. However, upon further examination, this carelessly composed text in the *Book of the Later Han* did not stem from mere accidental oversight but rather from Fan Ye’s fundamental misunderstanding of the *Records of Wei*’s main text. How then had the compiler misunderstood this passage? Misled by the *Records of Wei*’s statement that “the household numbers and distances for countries north of the Queen’s Kingdom can be roughly recorded,” he had doggedly assumed that the subsequent passage—which stated “details regarding the remaining peripheral states, being remote and isolated, cannot be ascertained”—referred to countries south of the Queen’s Kingdom. Though the *Records of Wei*’s phrase “Next comes Na Province, where the Queen’s boundary reaches its limit” should not necessarily be interpreted as indicating Na Province lay at the southernmost extremity of her realm, not only did the *Book of the Later Han* adopt precisely this interpretation but it further misunderstood this Na Province as marking Wa’s—that is, all Kyushu Island’s—southernmost boundary. The evidence for this lay in the same text’s Account of Wa.

In the second year of the Jianwu Zhongyuan era [57 CE], the Na Province of Wa presented tribute and attended court celebrations; their envoy styled himself as a Grandee. This marks the southernmost boundary of Wa.

This is the passage in question.
This Wa no Na Province, as Dr. Miyake had previously elucidated, refers to the Na Province east of Ito Province—that is, Naken County in the national histories—which Fan Ye mistakenly conflated with the Na Province appearing at the end of the seventeen peripheral countries listed in the *Records of Wei*.
Therefore, Fan Ye erroneously treated the two instances of Na Province recorded in the *Records of Wei* as a single entity and furthermore positioned it at the southernmost boundary of both the Queen’s Kingdom and Wa as a whole.
Having already conceptualized Na Province as Wa’s southern extremity, when Fan Ye encountered the *Records of Wei*’s statement that “to its south lies Kunu Kingdom,” the geographical orientation of Kunu Kingdom became fundamentally unresolvable.
Consequently, Fan Ye attributed this perceived inconsistency to Chen Shou’s error and—upon noticing the subsequent passage in the *Records of Wei* stating “east of the Queen’s Kingdom, crossing over a thousand *li* by sea, there are again countries, all of Wa ethnic groups”—artificially connected Kunu Kingdom to this description, fabricating the passage: “From the Queen’s Kingdom eastward across over a thousand *li* by sea lies Kunu Kingdom; though all are of Wa ethnic groups, they do not submit to the Queen.”
A close reading of the *Records of Wei* reveals that during the Han-Wei period, “Wa” principally denoted the Kyushu region; territories east of this island such as Shikoku do not appear to have been incorporated into Wa’s domain at that time.
This explains why the text states merely “there are again countries, all of Wa ethnic groups” without enumerating specific names.
Thus, the passage describing matters from the Wa ethnic groups’ countries east of the Queen’s Kingdom onward—including the Naked Kingdom and Black Teeth Kingdom—was appended after completing the account of the Queen’s Kingdom and Kunu Kingdom based in Wa (i.e., Kyushu), thereafter detailing regions lying far beyond.
Within Wa—that is, Kyushu—the countries along the Wei envoys’ route were thoroughly documented; even for extremely distant lands, at least their names had been transmitted. Yet concerning the isolated island situated over a thousand *li* east of the Queen’s Kingdom, they could only vaguely ascertain that its inhabitants belonged to Wa ethnic groups—the very name of this country remained unknown.
By contrast, precisely because Kunu Kingdom occupied southern Wa and bordered the Queen’s realm, particulars such as its king being Himikoko, its official being Kukochihiko, and its military conflicts with the Queen’s Kingdom became thoroughly familiar to Wei.
Given that Kunu Kingdom was so intimately known to Wei authorities—down to its leadership titles—the *Book of the Later Han*’s author, who misattributed it to an obscure eastern Wa ethnic territory whose name remained unrecorded, must be judged to have fundamentally misapprehended the *Records of Wei*’s text.

If the above reasoning contains no errors, then from the late Eastern Han through the Three Kingdoms period, Wa—that is, the entire island of Kyushu—was divided into two major kingdoms in the north and south: the northern region constituted the domain of the Queen’s Kingdom, while the southern region formed the territory of the Kunu Kingdom, creating a prolonged state of mutual confrontation with neither side yielding.
When we reach the eighth year of Wei’s Zhengshi era [247 CE], a conflict arose between the Queen’s Kingdom and the Kunu Kingdom. Given that Queen Himiko perished amid this turmoil, we may reasonably conclude that this war ended in the defeat of the Queen’s Kingdom.
When we observe that the Kunu Kingdom was situated in the southern part of Wa and demonstrated such martial prowess, this country must indeed correspond to what our national histories refer to as the Kumaso Kingdom.
Given that the Kumaso Kingdom’s territory was centered on Ōsumi and encompassed the greater parts of Satsuma and Hyūga, it follows that the domain of the Kunu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period was nearly identical to this.
Therefore, it becomes evident that the territory of the Queen’s Kingdom—which opposed this country [Kunu]—spanned six provinces including Buzen, Hizen, and Chikuzen.
Considering this geopolitical context and cross-referencing the distance measurements, travel durations, and route conditions recorded in the *Records of Wei*, we can confidently assert that Yamatai Kingdom—the Queen’s capital—lay in the southwestern part of its entire domain.

As previously discussed, while the directions indicated in the *Records of Wei, Account of the Wa People* were not entirely free from minor errors depending on location, they did not lose their overall accuracy. Therefore, given that the Yamatai Kingdom was explicitly recorded as lying south of provinces such as Na and Fumi, its position south of Chikuzen became evident.

Regarding the passage stating that traveling from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom required thirty days by water and one day by land—totaling thirty-one days—while this gives an appearance of excess, if the Wei envoys had actually traveled overland without navigating waterways, we find no reason why they would need to fabricate such a false report. Therefore, based on this account, we believe it reasonable to conclude that the envoys sailed through the inland waters of Ariake.
Furthermore, the fact that a large country called Kunu Kingdom existed south of Yamatai Kingdom and rivaled the Queen’s Realm is something we believe we have already exhaustively discussed in the preceding text.
Based on the three aforementioned reasons, we are inclined to believe that the Queen’s territory spanned the northern half of Kyushu, and that her capital, Yamatai Kingdom, was situated within the southwestern part of this entire domain—specifically in Higo Province.
If we conclusively determine that the Queen’s capital lies within Higo Province, two questions will inevitably arise here.
First: The actual distance from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai Kingdom was three hundred and thirty to forty *li*; when calculated using the Later Han Jianwu bronze ruler, this amounts to approximately three thousand one hundred *li* at most. Why then does the *Records of Wei* record this as over twelve thousand *li*?
Second: The actual route from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom was a short distance of between thirty to forty *ri*. Why does the *Records of Wei* explicitly record it as a thirty-one-day journey?
To render our arguments conclusive, it remains necessary to provide rational explanations for these questions.

In addressing these questions, the first matter requiring investigation was whether the over twelve thousand li that the Records of Wei provided as the distance between Daifang Commandery and Yamatai Kingdom had indeed been based on the standard li measurement of that era.
When examining the measurement systems implemented in China, although there were some variations in length across eras, one li ranged between approximately 3 chō 51 ken and 4–5 chō in Japanese measurements; we had never heard of such a short li measurement system as seen in the Records of Wei's Account of the Wa People.
However, though the li figures presented here in the Records of Wei showed variations depending on location, since all distances throughout the entire route were uniformly shorter than conventional standard li, it was difficult to guarantee that none had considered this as representing a measurement system implemented during the Wei period.
Therefore, we would investigate the distance measurements recorded in other sections of the Records of Wei to determine whether they corresponded with those provided in the Account of the Wa People.
Upon examining the Records of Wei, Volume 30: Account of Goguryeo,

Goguryeo lies a thousand *li* east of Liaodong; to the south, it borders the Korean Ye and Maek; to the east, it borders Okjeo; to the north, it adjoins Buyeo; its capital is situated beneath Wandu.

it states.
The seat of Liaodong Commandery was situated near present-day Liaoyang, and the capital of Goguryeo, Wandu City, lay at the foot of Shibanling in Ji’an County; thus, the distance between them fell between our ninety *ri* and one hundred *ri*.
Therefore, the thousand *li* recorded in the *Records of Wei*’s Account of Goguryeo should be understood as having employed conventional standard *li*, which did not align with the distance measurements presented in the Account of the Wa People.
Furthermore, according to the Account of Buyeo in the same text, Buyeo was recorded as being located a thousand *li* north of Xuántú Commandery.
The seat of Xuántú Commandery lay near present-day Fengtian, and Buyeo’s capital was thought to have been located around present-day Nong’an and Changchun; thus, the distance between them amounted to approximately one hundred of our *ri*.
Therefore, it became evident that the *li* measurements presented here in the *Records of Wei* had also been calculated using ordinary standard *li*.
Furthermore, in the "Account of the King of Wu" from the second year of Jiahe in Volume 47 of the *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, the cited *Wu Shu* states: "Xuántú Commandery lies northeast of Liaodong, separated by two hundred *li*."
Liaodong Commandery was situated near present-day Liaoyang, and Xuántú Commandery administered an area near present-day Fengtian; the distance between them amounted to approximately seventeen of our *ri*.
In the same passage, it states that when the Wu envoys Qin Dan, Zhang Qun, Du De, Huang Jiang, and others fled from Xuántú Commandery and made for Goguryeo, they first traveled six to seven hundred *li*, then spent several days before reaching the capital of Goguryeo’s royal court—that is, Wandu City.
The distance from Xuántú Commandery to Wandu City was approximately over ninety of our *ri*.

Furthermore, upon examining the *Records of Wei*, Volume 30: Account of Han,

"Han lies south of Daifang Commandery, bounded by sea to east and west, adjoining Wa to the south. Its area measures approximately four thousand *li* square. It comprises three groups: the first called Mahan, the second Jinhan, and the third Byeonhan."

it states.
The land of the Three Han encompassed the present-day three provinces of Gyeongsang, Jeolla, and Chungcheong.
Regarding the circumference of this region, we are currently unable to present precise distance measurements; however, when estimating it on a map, it likely does not fall below three hundred of our *ri*.
Furthermore, in the section of the same text’s *Account of the Xianbei* that records Tan Shihuai’s domain,

"To the north they resisted the Dingling, to the east they repelled Buyeo, to the west they attacked the Wusun, completely occupying the former lands of the Xiongnu. Its territory spanned over twelve thousand *li* from east to west and over seven thousand *li* from north to south."

it states.
Buyeo was situated in the areas north and south of present-day Nong’an and Changchun, while the Wusun dwelled in the western regions of the Tianshan Mountains, the distance between them being approximately one thousand ri.
As demonstrated above, the li measurements cited in the Records of Wei, Records of Wu, and other texts outside the Account of the Wa People generally corresponded to conventional standard li measurements, with not a single instance matching the abbreviated li figures seen in the section from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai Kingdom within the Account of the Wa People.
Upon further investigation of the distance measurements recorded in the Records of Wei, Account of the Wa People, we find that only the route from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai Kingdom became an enormous figure of over twelve thousand li due to the use of an extremely short li measurement, whereas distances related to areas not traversed by Wei envoys—that is, regions beyond the main route—appeared to have been calculated using ordinary standard li, a point demanding significant attention.
For example, according to the Account of the Wa People, Iki Province was said to measure three hundred li square; yet Inō Tadataka’s actual survey recorded this island’s coastal circumference as thirty-five ri, fifteen chō, fifty-nine ken, and a half. Thus, when the Records of Wei states it as three hundred li, this did not significantly deviate from standard li measurements.
Furthermore, the Records of Wei records the circumference of Wa as "a circuit of approximately five thousand li."
According to survey records, the coastal circumference of Kyushu measured eight hundred and sixty ri, seven chō, forty-nine ken and a half.
This li measurement—though derived from precise surveys that accounted for even the curved portions along the coast—nonetheless showed that when the Records of Wei states "over five thousand li," this figure generally aligned with reality, since what the text presented constituted a rough estimation of the coastline.
As demonstrated above, while the Account of the Wa People’s statements regarding the circumferences of Iki Province and Wa as a whole contradicted the standard li measurements of the time, it uniquely recorded Tsushima Island’s perimeter as “over four hundred li square.” However, according to survey records, Kami-no-shima’s coastal circumference measured fifty ri, fourteen chō, twenty-one ken, and a half, while Shimo-no-shima’s coastal circumference was one hundred thirty-five ri, thirty-one chō, nineteen ken, and a half—revealing a substantial discrepancy between the two accounts.
I conjecture that the "over four hundred li" recorded in the Account might have referred solely to the circumference of Kami-no-shima.
If this were not the case, then it must have been a miscalculation by the Wei envoys.
In any case, when the Records of Wei calculated the distance from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai Kingdom as three hundred and thirty to forty li yet presented an enormous total of over twelve thousand li, while simultaneously stating that Tsushima Island—with an actual circumference of over one hundred and eighty li—measured merely over four hundred li, this constituted a significant discrepancy.

As can be understood from the above research, the distance measurements cited in the *Records of Wei* and *Records of Wu* not only generally conformed to the standard *li* measurements of the Han era but also—with the exception of the route from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai in the *Records of Wei’s Account of the Wa People*—showed little discrepancy when compared to standard *li* in other recorded sections.
However, that solely regarding the route from Daifang to Yamatai they had calculated using an abbreviated *li* measurement unparalleled in history, thereby producing the enormous figure of over twelve thousand *li*, was something we could not help but find highly suspicious.
Not only were the distance measurements excessively large, but even when considering the number of days cited—when compared to the short actual distance—one could not help but be astonished at their excessiveness.
Given that the distance measurements already failed to align with the measurement system of that era, and considering that the number of days recorded also deviated from standard practice, we were compelled to conclude that the Wei envoys must have had some ulterior motive in deliberately exaggerating both the distances and travel durations.
Even if we supposed that the Wei envoys had honestly established a fixed standard and calculated the route accordingly, their claim that traveling the over 1,300 *li* (in reality, our thirty-four *ri*) from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom required thirty-one days by land and water—when it should not have exceeded ten days at most—remained excessively large.
If the Wei Emperor had known that the measurement standard adopted by his envoys was as short as recorded in the *Records of Wei*, how could he have believed such an unreasonable report?
The envoys, having presented such a false report, could not have expected to receive rewards; they were certain to face severe reprimand for spreading fabrications.
However, if the envoys had intentionally exaggerated the distance measurements and travel durations along this route from the very beginning, there would have been absolutely no contradiction.
For if we calculated the over 1,300 *li* using the Later Han Jianwu bronze ruler—which corresponded to approximately 140 of our *ri*—then even their claim that traveling this distance required thirty-one days need not have been considered implausible.

Furthermore, upon examining the structural composition of the travelogue from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai Kingdom in the *Account of the Wa People*, we observe that while only distance measurements were provided for the route from Daifang Commandery to Kuyahan Kingdom, entries for Tsushima, Iki, Matsura, Ito, and Fumi additionally listed household numbers and official titles alongside distances. For Toma and Yamatai, though household numbers and official titles were recorded similarly to the aforementioned provinces, here alone—in place of distance measurements—the number of days traveled was specified.
When examining Chinese travelogues, in cases where only the number of days was provided, they often omitted distance measurements.
This was likely because they had been unable to ascertain exact distance measurements.
However, in the *Account of the Wa People*, while the distance from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai Kingdom was calculated as over twelve thousand *li*, and since it had been established that the distance from Daifang to Fumi Province amounted to ten thousand seven hundred *li*, the one thousand three hundred *li* obtained by subtracting this ten thousand seven hundred *li* from those twelve thousand *li*—that is, the distance from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom—was something the Wei envoys of that time must have thoroughly known.
However, it was only in the route from Fumi Province to Toma Province and from Toma Province to Yamatai Kingdom that they recorded the number of days without providing *li* measurements.
Some scholars might argue that since these two provinces were located in lands extremely distant from Daifang Commandery, they lacked precise knowledge regarding the distances between these various provinces.
However, given that the Account not only recorded official titles and household numbers for both Toma and Yamatai Provinces—as it did for other provinces—but also provided the total distance from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai Kingdom, there could be no reason why the distances from Fumi to Toma and from Toma to Yamatai would not have been calculated.
If we accept that this travelogue truthfully recorded actual conditions, then we should simply interpret the substitution of days for distance measurements as a straightforward omission; however, if we posit that this itinerary was deliberately exaggerated, then the use of days instead of *li* to indicate the route from Fumi Province onward to Yamatai Kingdom must be seen as a calculated stratagem requiring considerable ingenuity.
According to the Account, the distance from Daifang Commandery to Yamatai Kingdom was recorded as twelve thousand-odd *li*.
If one were to impartially consider this *li* measurement, even the Wei people—despite their ignorance of eastern geography—would surely have harbored doubts about its excessive magnitude.
It was under these circumstances that those who compiled this report found it necessary to devise a method to thoroughly eliminate such doubts.
Therefore, wishing to demonstrate that their route calculations contained no errors, the envoys explicitly recorded the number of days from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom while also indirectly indicating that the distance between these points amounted to over 1,300 *li*, thereby implying that their average daily travel distance had been four to five *ri*.
If one interprets the itinerary in this manner, then even when calculating thirty-one days and over 1,300 *li* for the journey from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom, one realizes this does not conflict with our conclusion that Yamatai Kingdom was situated within Higo.
According to today's transmitted version of *Records of Wei*, *Account of the Wa People*, it states that traveling from Fumi Province to Toma Province required twenty days by water, and from Toma Province to Yamatai Kingdom required ten days by water and one month by land.
If one follows this explicit account as written, traveling the over 1,300 *li* from Fumi Province to Yamatai Kingdom would have required sixty-one days—resulting in an average daily travel distance of two to two and a half *ri*.
Why would Wei envoys who labored to craft a false report commit such folly as revealing this easily noticeable flaw and inviting shame upon themselves?
Furthermore, considering that even along the thirty-day water route from Fumi Province they saw fit to name Toma Province where they docked, it defies reason that along the month-long land route to Yamatai they failed to record even a single province’s name.
We concur with our predecessors’ opinion that “one month” recorded in *Records of Wei* constitutes a scribal error for “one day,” based on these reasons.

Based on the above geographical analysis, since Yamatai Kingdom—where the queen maintained her capital—was understood to have been situated within Higo Province with its territory extending across northern Kyushu, Kunu Kingdom, which opposed and ultimately defeated it, could likewise by no means be considered a minor state.
Regarding Kunu Kingdom's location and territorial extent, while the Account of the Wa People provides no explicit descriptions preventing detailed elaboration, this kingdom's position as an adversary to the Queen's state that occupied southern Kyushu suggests it likely held status comparable to the Kumaso recorded in our national histories.
Furthermore, the names Himiko for the Queen and Himikoko for Kunu Kingdom demonstrate that these two rulers governed as major sovereigns over Kyushu rather than petty chieftains controlling minor localities.
Concerning the etymology and significance of Queen Himiko's name, various interpretations had existed since antiquity without reaching consensus.
Matsushita Kenrin argued in Volume One of his work *Ishō Nihonden* (Different Names of Japan) that "Himiko constitutes a corruption of the august name Okinaga-tarashi-hime no Mikoto belonging to Empress Jingū," thereby positing Himiko as a phonetic corruption of Hime-mikoto.
However, Motoori Norinaga rejected this interpretation and instead proposed it represented an equivalent rendering of Himeko.
The inadequacy of this latter interpretation had been thoroughly demonstrated by Dr. Naka in Volume 28 of *Diplomatic History* concerning the *Records of Wei's Account of the Wa People*, necessitating quotation of relevant passages below.

Himiko is the name of the female chieftain of Kumaso. In Gyojū Gaigen it states: "The reference to 'a certain woman' in fact pertains to Her Majesty Okinaga-tarashi-hime, whose account was heard and recorded through distorted transmissions from regions such as the Three Han." Himiko refers to what is called Himeko ("Princess Child"), being identical to those seen in the Age of the Gods volume—such as Hino Tobata Himeko Chichihime no Mikoto and Yorozu Hata Himeko Tamayorihime no Mikoto. There are also examples in ancient texts where hime was referred to as Himi. "Precisely because they revered her so profoundly—as our countrymen customarily referred to her thus—and Koreans heard and transmitted this, foreign compilers must have interpreted it as her name." Chūgai Keiiden also follows this theory, stating: "The interchange between Hime and Himi in usage reflects an ancient convention." In the Jōgūki cited within Shaku Nihongi, among the imperial princesses referred to with the title "Princess [So-and-so]," we find Ōnaka Hime, Tamamiya Naka Hime, Anari Hime, and Furi Hime no Mikoto; furthermore, in the ancient text recorded in Jōgū Shōtoku Hōō Teisetsu, there also appear such names as Kitasu Hime no Mikoto and Kashikoi Hime no Mikoto. In the Register of Deities for Awa Province, it also appears as Haniwamahime Shrine. Now, upon examination: though Her Majesty the Empress administered all affairs of state at that time, in reality—since it was naturally the reign of Emperor Ōjin—they should not have referred to Her Majesty's governance as Sumera Mikoto. "Therefore, having specially revered and reported her as Himiko, they understood this to be the august name of a female emperor and thus recorded it as such." However, Motoori Norinaga’s Koshi Chō (Inquiry into Ancient History), in its Thirty-Seventh Section, states: "By citing fragments from the Age of the Gods chronicles in historical texts—such as Takuhata Chichihimeko, Yorozuhata Hime no Mikoto, Hino Tobata Himeko, and Chichihime no Mikoto—earlier scholars forcibly interpreted Himeko as a unified title. Furthermore, they transcribed 'Takamimusubi no Mikoto’s child Yorozuhata Himeko Tamayorihime no Mikoto' as 'Yorozuhata Himeko Tamayorihime no Mikoto,' claiming it to be another name for Toyoakitsu Shihime no Mikoto. This contradicts even what is stated in Gyojū Gaigen." This critique remains valid, for no evidence exists of Himeko being used as an actual title; thus, equating it with Queen Himiko’s honorific persists as a baseless theory.

In Part III of his earlier work *Nikkan Koshi Dan* (A Critique of Japanese-Korean Ancient History), Dr. Yoshida argued that "Himiko" derived from the meaning of "Hiko" (日/ひ "sun" + 子/こ "child") rather than "Himeko" (姫子 "princess child"), thereby also declining to endorse Mr. Motoori’s theory. According to our research, Himiko constitutes an honorific title for the queen rather than her actual name. As Mr. Matsushita had already argued, this meaning likely stemmed from a phonetic corruption of the august title *Hime-mikoto* (姫尊). The Chinese had a tendency to dislike lengthy foreign names and would abbreviate them. Therefore, they abbreviated the two overlapping syllables "me" and "mi" in Hime-mikoto to simply "me," and further omitted the "to" from mikoto, thus writing it as Himiko. The validity of this interpretation could be comprehended when considered alongside the explanation of Kunu Kingdom’s king’s name, Himikoko. Regarding the name and significance of Himikoko, the work that provided a detailed explanation was titled *Nikkan Koshi Dan* (A Critique of Japanese-Korean Ancient History). In Part III, Chapter 2, “Tsukushi” section of the same work, it stated:

Kunu Kingdom had a male king called Himikokoso.
The Book of the Later Han states: "East of the Queen’s Kingdom, crossing over a thousand li by sea, one reaches Kunu Kingdom; though all are of Wa ethnic groups, they do not submit to the Queen."
The Records of Wei states that south of Na Province lies Kunu Kingdom.
Some argue that Kunu corresponds to Kawano in Iyo Province, and this is likely correct [omitted annotations].
Upon examining, Iyo was an old southwestern province with a prominent clan called Kawano—whose origins lay in Kuno and whose ancestor was named Kochi—and the figure referred to in the Records of Wei as Kankochihiko may indeed be this Kochihiko.
Kochi was also called Ochi [Omitted annotations].
Moreover, that there was a king called Himikokoso indicates that he too bore the title Hiko.
The Iyo provincial governor descended from imperial lineage [Omitted annotations], and it appears he came at that time to pacify the province.
Furthermore, regarding their names—calling the queen Iyo and the male king Koso—this likely resulted from the two kingdoms concluding peace and performing the ancient custom of exchanging names through alliance oaths: attaching the designation "Iyo Iyo" to the queen, perhaps relating to Oso/Koso [clans]. According to Kojikiden and Seikan Kigen among others, the etymology of Oso derives from "Woso," with "Ko" and "Wo" being frequently interchangeable in ancient speech. Alternatively, this naming may stem from the Kumaso people having reported the male king's title to Wei envoys in a particularly derogatory manner as "Koso" ("Lesser Oso"), which was then applied to him.

Dr. Yoshida did not read the King of Kunu Kingdom’s name as Himikoko but instead interpreted it as Himikokoso, viewing the Himikyō component within this name as equivalent to Hiko—just as with Himiko—while considering Kosō to be a phonetic rendering of Oso.
The reason Dr. Yoshida interpreted the King of Kunu Kingdom’s name as *Himikokoso* was that he connected the character 素 (*so*) appearing in the *Account of the Wa People*’s passage—“The Queen of Wa, Himiko, and the King of Kunu Kingdom, *Himikokoso*, were at odds”—to the end of the male king’s title.
Given that the modern pronunciation of 呼 is *hu*, *Koso* would phonetically be *hu-so*—closely resembling *Oso*—yet in the same text, the 呼 in Himiko’s name resonated correctly as *ko*. How then could they have pronounced this [character] as *o* in Himikoko’s name?
Mr. Kan, in his *Kanseki Wajin Kō* (A Study of Wa People in Chinese Texts), also explained the significance of this king’s name, stating:

The name *Himikoko* merely adds the character for “bow” [弓] to *Himiko*; however, since *Himi* [卑彌] itself denotes *Hime* [姫], a title for women, it was inconceivable that such a name could belong to a male ruler. If we attribute this to textual corruption, scribal errors were by no means limited to this instance alone—they frequently occurred—and given that even Kunu Kingdom’s location remained unclear, there existed no solid basis for conjecture. Nevertheless, tentatively proposing: *Himikoko* originally read *Hikomiko* [卑呼彌呼], but through omission of the depreciative *ko* [呼] and a graphical error in the *mi* [彌] radical, the bow component [弓] was erroneously appended below *mi*. *Hikomiko* [卑呼彌呼] signified “Prince” [彦御子], a corruption of Emperor Kaika’s son, Prince Hikoyasu [開化天皇々子彦坐王].

According to our research, Himikoko constitutes an inverted form of Hikomi Yohiko, being an abbreviation of hikomikoto. Therefore, Hikomi Yohiko—like Himiko—was not the real name of the King of Kunu Kingdom but rather his honorific title. Since the Records of Wei also documents "male king Himikoko" alongside "Queen Himiko" in its text, the Wa people of Kyushu at that time—because the ruler of Yamatai Kingdom was female—honorifically referred to her as Himiko, that is, Hime-mikoto (Princess Sovereign), while because the king of Kunu Kingdom was male, they called him Hikomi Yohiko, that is, Hiko-mikoto (Prince Sovereign). The hi in Hiko and Hime functions as an honorific prefix akin to the mu in musuko ("son") and musume ("daughter"), and thus should not necessarily be interpreted as deriving from the meaning of "sun." The Records of Wei, Account of the Wa People lists various official titles (personal names), yet none were accorded the honorific mikoto—this was because they were all local chieftains subordinate to either the Queen or the King. In contrast, the fact that the Queen of Wa and the King of Kunu were referred to with mikoto should be seen as evidence that these two rulers constituted the two major powers in Kyushu.

That in ancient times the entire island of Kyushu was divided into two major states could be discerned even through our mytho-historical accounts of creation.
We regard the tale of Ho-no-suseri-no-mikoto—acknowledged as ancestor of the Hayato people—and his younger brother Hiko-hoho-demi-no-mikoto contending over a fishhook as representing this conflict between two great powers transformed into myth.
Indeed, Hiko-hoho-demi-no-mikoto embodied northern Kyushu's authority while Ho-no-suseri-no-mikoto personified southern influence—specifically that of Hayato Province.
Now, concerning the distinctive method whereby the younger brother deity afflicted his elder sibling and ultimately subjugated him—a process bearing unique regional characteristics—we shall proceed to cite below a passage from the *Kojiki*.

Therefore, having prepared everything in accordance with the Sea God’s instructions and returned the hook, from that time onward [the elder brother] gradually fell into deeper poverty. When [he] again stirred violent intent and pressed forward to attack, [the younger brother] produced the salt-ebbing pearl and caused [him] to drown; when those who pleaded in distress [did so], [he] produced the salt-drying pearl and saved [them]. After tormenting [him] in this manner repeatedly until [he] was utterly exhausted, [the elder brother] prostrated himself and declared: "Your servant shall henceforth become Your Majesty’s day-and-night guardian and serve you devotedly; therefore, even now, [I] continue without cease to serve in all manner of ways as when [I] was drowning."

The west coast of Kyushu is renowned for its marked difference between high and low tides; therefore, the aforementioned legend of the salt-ebbing pearl and salt-drying pearl likely originated from this natural phenomenon.
Therefore, the conflict between Hiko-hoho-demi-no-mikoto and Ho-no-suseri-no-mikoto as seen in sacred texts should be regarded as reflecting a political state analogous to the conflict between the Queen of Wa and the King of Kunu Kingdom transmitted through the *Records of Wei*.

According to the *Records of Wei*, the Yamatai Kingdom originally established a male ruler, but afterward, the country fell into chaos and warred among itself, ultimately elevating a woman to ascend to the throne. She was named Himiko. Although the exact year of this queen’s accession remains unclear, the first envoy she dispatched to Wei was in the second year of Jingchu, corresponding to 238 CE. In the eighth year of Zhengshi (247 CE), she battled the male king of Kunu Kingdom and perished amidst the turmoil; thus, it can be surmised that she had ruled northern Kyushu from the late Eastern Han period until this time. After the Queen’s death, the country again fell into chaos; but when they enthroned Iyo, a young royal relative, the turmoil was quelled. In what year Himiko’s adversary, Himikoko, the male king of Kunu Kingdom, ascended the throne, and until what year did he reign? As the *Records of Wei* do not transmit this information, there remains no means of knowing.

However, since this king had fought Queen Himiko and achieved victory in the eighth year of Zhengshi (247 CE), even by the time of the Queen’s successor Iyo, he undoubtedly continued to occupy southern Kyushu and exercised his tyrannical power.

At a time when two great northern and southern states in Kyushu stood opposed to each other, contending for supremacy, what condition were the lands east of this in? From the perspective of Chinese histories, there remained no means to ascertain their circumstances.
If the Yamato court had indeed maintained close relations with the Kyushu region at that time, the *Records of Wei, Account of the Wa People* should not have omitted this.
However, considering that the Account of the Wa People contains only extremely vague descriptions regarding matters east of the Queen’s Kingdom, it becomes clear that the imperial court’s authority had not yet extended to the Kyushu region at that time.
According to Dr. Naka’s “Study of Ancient Chronology” (*Shigaku Zasshi* Vol. 8, No. 12), Emperor Sujin’s death in the Wuyin year corresponded to the third year of Ganlu under Wei Emperor Cao Mao—that is, 258 CE—while Emperor Chūai’s death in the Renxu year corresponded to the eleventh year of Yonghe under Jin Emperor Mu—that is, 355 CE.
Therefore, Queen Himiko of Wa and her successor Iyo were contemporaries of Emperor Sujin.
The accuracy of this chronological estimation can be proven by how well it allows the ancient histories of Japan and Korea to be elucidated.
According to the national histories, the extension of imperial rule to the Kyushu region occurred after Emperor Sujin’s reign.
During this emperor’s reign, four generals of the Four Circuits were dispatched to the four directions, and among them, the one who headed toward the western route was Kibitsuhiko.
This general focused solely on strategizing in the Chūgoku region; it is not believed he crossed over to Kyushu.
However, according to the *Kuni no Miyatsuko Honji* (Records of Provincial Governors), among the eleven provincial governors established by this imperial court—

During the reign of Emperor Sujin, the Hi Province Governor—sharing ancestry with the Ōita Province Governor through Shikitatanahiko no Mikoto’s descendant Tateo no So no Mikoto—was established as provincial governor.

During the reign of the Mizugaki Court, the Aso Provincial Governor—sharing ancestry with the Hi Provincial Governor through Kamiyaimimi no Mikoto’s grandson Hayamikatama no Mikoto—was established as provincial governor.

From this documentation, while the Hi Province Governor appears to have been granted a portion of Higo Province and the Aso Provincial Governor is recorded as having received Aso District in Higo Province, northern Kyushu—particularly Higo—constituted Queen Himiko’s original domain during Emperor Sujin’s era and remained Iyo’s territory even after her death. Therefore, the purported establishment of these provincial governors during the Mizugaki Court’s reign cannot be regarded as factual.
Consequently, Dr. Naka too expressed skepticism regarding this administrative arrangement.

The *Chronicles of Emperor Keikō* records: "Kibitsuhiko was dispatched to the western route." While the exact extent of this "western route" remains unclear, the *Kojiki* states: "Ōkibitsuhiko no Mikoto and Wakatakekibitsuhiko no Mikoto pacified Kibi Province." Given that the pacification carried out by these two princes took place in what is now the Chūgoku region, it stands to reason that their western campaigns had not yet reached Tsukushi Island; consequently, accounts of these two provincial governors likely represent an anachronistic projection of later circumstances onto earlier times through ancestral invocation.

This interpretation remains entirely sound. Subsequently, during Emperor Keikō's reign—when the sovereign personally conducted imperial tours of Toyo, Hi, Hyūga, and Tsukushi; ordered Prince Yamato Takeru to subjugate the Kumaso; and established provincial governors including that of Ashikita—we observe northern Kyushu gradually beginning to come under imperial rule. By Emperor Seimu's era, as documented in the *Kuni no Miyatsuko Honji* (Records of Provincial Governors), governorships were instituted across Kyushu for Chikushi, Chikushimeda, Toyo, Kunisaki, Hita, Matsuura, Matsura, Amakusa, and Katsura—demonstrating that all territories once belonging to Queen Himiko had by this time submitted to Yamato authority. That northern Kyushu yielded so readily to imperial governance from Keikō's through Seimu's reigns undoubtedly stemmed from successive sovereigns' divine majesty; yet this compliance equally reflected the waning power of the queen's domain entrenched there.

Now, there were two causes for the decline of the Queen’s Kingdom.
The first was that since this country, during Queen Himiko’s reign, had fought against its southern enemy state Kunu Kingdom and suffered defeat, its power never recovered to its former state; the second was the destruction of the two commanderies of Lelang and Daifang—upon which the Queen’s Kingdom had relied—resulting from the Five Barbarians’ invasions of China from the late Western Jin onward.
Had there been no such shifts in circumstances, even with Emperor Keikō and Prince Yamato Takeru’s martial prowess, they might not have been able to conquer and pacify northern Kyushu so readily.
Even as northern Kyushu had come to comply with the imperial court’s commands, the southern Kumaso—that is, the Kunu Kingdom—continued to resist the imperial forces and maintained its independent status.
However, when the era of Emperor Chūai and Empress Jingū arrived, as the Imperial House's authority extended to Tokai, Hokuriku, Shikoku, Chūgoku, and northern Kyushu, even the formidable Kumaso ultimately proved unable to withstand this pressure and had no choice but to submit.
Thus, with the Great Eight-Island Country being entirely subjugated and the Imperial House attaining prosperity unparalleled before or since, Empress Jingū deigned to conquer the Three Han States by mobilizing the entire military force of the nation.
Now, considering the state of Korea at that time: with the fall of the Lelang and Daifang commanderies, Goguryeo advanced southward from the north to seize their former territories, gaining momentum to further annex the Three Han States.
At this juncture, the Korean tribes, who had hitherto been passive, came to recognize the necessity of organizing themselves into strong states. Simultaneously, there emerged among them those who sought to secure support from the eastern Wa state in order to maintain their own independence.
Empress Jingū’s Korean campaigns, having ridden upon this geopolitical tide, likely achieved their effects with relative ease; this success should not be attributed solely to the imperial state’s formidable power.

Having thus discussed how the rise and fall of the Queen’s Kingdom and its demise provided a favorable opportunity for imperial authority’s development, we shall now return to our principal argument and turn our attention to Queen Himiko herself.
As previously noted, the Yamatai Kingdom had initially maintained a male ruler; however, when chaos later engulfed the nation, they ultimately elevated Himiko to sovereignty.
Upon Himiko’s death and the country’s renewed descent into turmoil, it was only through enthroning Iyo—a girl of thirteen—that order was finally restored.
That Yamatai should have consecutively enshrined queens across two generations might appear extraordinary; yet considering the abundance of female chieftains documented in Kyushu from Emperor Keikō’s era through Empress Jingū’s reign, one finds nothing remarkable in this kingdom’s acceptance of a queenly sovereign.
Since Dr. Naka has already adduced examples of such female leaders from the *Nihon Shoki* and provincial gazetteers in Volume XXVIII of his *Diplomatic History*, we shall reproduce those citations below.

That Tsukushi Island had customs venerating female chieftains is evident from the *Chronicles of Emperor Keikō*, which states: "When [the Emperor] arrived at Suō Samashi, he gazed southward and proclaimed to his ministers: 'In the southern direction, much smoke rises—surely rebels are present.' Halting there, he first dispatched Take Moroki, ancestor of the Ōtomo clan; Unate, ancestor of the Kunisaki clan; and Natsu Hana, ancestor of the Mononobe clan to investigate the situation. There existed a woman named Kamunatsuhime, whose followers were exceedingly numerous—the paramount leader of a province. Upon hearing of the Emperor’s envoys’ arrival, she uprooted a sacred tree from Isotsu Mountain, hung an eight-grasp sword from its upper branches, an eight-span mirror from its middle branches, and an eight-foot jewel from its lower branches. She also planted white banners at the ship’s prow and approached to declare: 'I beseech you not to deploy troops. Those under my command shall assuredly offer no resistance. Now we shall submit to your virtue.'"
Suō Samashi corresponds to present-day Saba District in Suō Province.
The phrase "the paramount leader of a province" refers to being the chieftain of a single area within Tsukushi Province.
Isotsu Mountain is identified in Mr. Kawata Hikojirō’s *Geographical Study of the Western Campaigns* as "present-day Nuki Mountain in Kiku District, also known as Shihatsu Mountain."
.”
“Arriving at Hayami Village, there was a woman named Hayatsu-hime who served as the local chieftain; upon hearing of the Emperor’s procession, she personally went forth to receive him, and so forth.”
Hayami Village corresponds to present-day Hayami District in Bungo Province.
Regarding Hayatsu-hime, the *Bungo Province Fudoki*’s entry on Hayami District also states: “In ancient times, Emperor Sujin, who reigned from the Makimuku Hishiro Palace, intending to subjugate the Kumaso, proceeded to Tsukushi. Embarking from Saba Port in Suō Province and anchoring at Miyaura in Kaifu District, there was a woman in this village named Hayatsu-hime who served as its chieftain. Upon hearing of the Emperor’s procession, she personally went forth to receive him. Thus, it came to be called Hayatsuhime Province, but later generations renamed it Hayami District.”
.”
The *Chronicles of Emperor Keikō* further states: “As the Emperor was about to return to the capital after conducting an imperial tour of Tsukushi Province, he first arrived at Imori. At that time, a crowd had gathered by the Ishise River. Observing this from afar, the Emperor addressed his attendants: ‘Who are these gathered people? Could they be bandits?’ He then dispatched two men—the Elder Imori and Younger Imori—to investigate. The Younger Imori returned and reported: ‘Agatanagimi Izumihime has assembled her clan to present offerings of sacred provisions.’”
Imori corresponds to present-day Kobayashi Village in Nishimorokata District, Hyūga Province.
When they arrived at Yame District and crossed Fuji Mountain, gazing south toward Awa Misaki, [the Emperor] proclaimed: “These mountain peaks are layered and exceedingly beautiful—perhaps a deity resides here?” At that time, Minuma District Chief Saru Ōmi reported: “There is a goddess named Yame Tsu Hime who constantly dwells within these mountains; thus, the name Yame Province arose from this.”
Yame District corresponds to present-day Kamitsuma and Shimotsuma Districts in Chikugo Province.
Fuji Mountain is now called Gozengatake and lies on the border between Mii and Shimotsuma Districts; Minuma District corresponds to present-day Mizuma District in Chikugo Province.
The Hita District entry of the *Bungo Fudoki* states: “In antiquity, Emperor Ōtarashihiko—who reigned from the Makimuku Hishiro Palace—subjugated the Kumaso and, upon his triumphal return, departed from the Kōbai Temporary Palace in Chikugo Province to visit this district. There existed a deity named Tsuhime, who transformed into human form, greeted [him], and reported on provincial affairs. Thus, it came to be called Kutsuhime District; what is now termed Hita District is a corruption [of that name].”
Regarding Tsuhime [mentioned] above, the character 久 (ku) may have been dropped; Kōbai is recorded as Mato Village in the Chronicles of Emperor Keikō and corresponds to present-day Kōbai District.
Hita District is still called as such even today.

The Kashū Village entry in Matsuura District of the *Hizen Province Fudoki* states: "In antiquity, there existed in this village a local chieftain named Umikashi-hime. When the Emperor who reigned from the Makimuku Hishiro Palace conducted his imperial tour of the provinces, he dispatched his attendant Ōya Tago to subjugate [her], and so on."
"In the Musume-yama entry of Kishima District: 'During the same Emperor’s imperial tour, there were eighty female local chieftains atop this mountain who persistently resisted imperial commands and refused to submit. Hereupon, he dispatched troops to annihilate them, hence naming it Musume-yama (Daughter Mountain).' In the Ukiana Village entry of Sono-gi District: 'While staying at the Usa Beach Temporary Palace during the same Emperor’s reign, he commanded Kamiyo no Atae as follows: [omitted]. Immediately ordering Atae to proceed to this village—where there was a local chieftain named Ukiana-awa-hime who resisted imperial commands with great disrespect—he had her subjugated, hence naming it Ukiana Village.' The Chronicles of Empress Jingū state: 'Proceeding onward to Yamato District, they subjugated Aburazu-hime. At that time, Aburazu-hime’s elder brother Natsuha raised an army to confront them, but upon hearing of his sister’s subjugation, he fled.' Yamato District corresponds to present-day Yamato District in Chikugo Province."
As observed [in these examples], the Hita District's Goba Mountain entry in the *Bungo Fudoki* records a local chieftain named Goba-hime, while the Saga District entry in the *Hizen Fudoki* mentions local chieftains such as Ōyamata-me and Sayamata-me, among others.

According to these examples, from Emperor Keikō’s reign through Empress Jingū’s era, twelve women had served as chieftains in the Kyushu region.
When we include Himiko and Iyo in this count, the number reaches fourteen.
From a modern perspective, this cannot but strike one as rather peculiar.
While this undoubtedly reflected contemporary customs, why such practices emerged and what enabled so many female chieftains to arise remain questions demanding rigorous investigation.
Dr. Naka offered an explanation for this phenomenon,

While the precise causes that gave rise to this custom cannot be ascertained, the reverence accorded to Himiko, Iyo, and others by the people must have derived not solely from their demonstrated leadership capabilities but also from the existence of this very practice.
Conversely, it cannot be definitively known whether Himiko's exemplary leadership in winning over the populace conversely led the people themselves to develop reverence for female chieftains, ultimately resulting in the emergence of such leaders across various regions of Tsukushi.
While this has been posited, Dr. Miyake proposed an alternative theory:

In general, ancient lineages were rooted in matrilineal systems.
Though the era of our ancient chronicles lies far removed from such primitive society, traces of such customs persisted; the Kojiki recurrently cites women as clan progenitors.
Furthermore, our archaic chronicle period saw numerous prominent women, with female chieftains being common across regions—a phenomenon likely correlated with ancient traditions prioritizing matrilineal descent.

This was posited.
Did these two scholars' theories truly succeed in elucidating why our nation's ancient customs produced so many female chieftains?
Let us now examine what the Records of Wei document regarding Himiko's character.

They jointly established a woman as ruler, named Himiko, who practiced spirit communication and could mystify the masses. Though advanced in age, she had no husband, with a younger brother assisting in governance. Since becoming ruler, few saw her—she kept a thousand maidservants in attendance, with only one man providing meals and conveying messages. Her residence had palaces, towers, walls, and strict security, always guarded by armed men.

Through this text's description of Himiko's character, rather than perceiving her as a military monarch of the secular world who personally administered state affairs through strategic brilliance and martial prowess, we must instead recognize her as a religious sovereign who secluded herself in palace depths to conduct rituals, serving divine will to unify popular allegiance.

This constitutes my reason for being unable to accept Dr. Naka's theory.

Furthermore, while traces of matrilineal emphasis indeed existed in our nation's ancient past—as Dr. Miyake has noted—the marital system's clear establishment by Himiko's era is evident both from the *Records of Wei* text and our own foundation myths. Thus I cannot endorse Dr. Miyake's view.

Moreover, considering this through customs valuing matrilineal systems, a queen commanding national respect would naturally require maternal qualifications. Yet how reconcile this with Himiko reaching advanced age husbandless, living her entire life as a virgin?

In our ancient customs where human affairs were deemed defiling, women serving deities typically refrained from marriage.

This applied not only to wives but extended to any violated woman losing qualification as saigū—common knowledge.

Thus reflecting, Himiko's remaining unwed despite advanced age derived from her position serving deities—no other cause existing.

Therefore Himiko's enthronement as queen stemmed not from wise or courageous disposition but from possessing qualities suited to conveying divine will.

Furthermore, that Iyo—Himiko's successor—became queen at thirteen shouldn't be attributed solely to aristocratic lineage connections.

Considering imperial court precedents—where princesses became saigū at two or three years old—Iyo's succession at thirteen must similarly derive from religious necessity.

If scholars should infer from the prevalence of female chieftains in our country's ancient customs that female superiority over males constituted the prevailing custom of early Japan, this would be a grave misconception.
The "Account of the Wa People" in the *Records of Wei* states:

In their customs, high-ranking men all had four or five wives; commoners sometimes had two or three. The women were neither promiscuous nor jealous.

From this passage, we may discern that in our ancient customs, women maintained chastity and remained obedient to their husbands.
Furthermore, observing how in the divine chronicles—such as when Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto are recorded, or Minanagi and Minanami—the male deity was invariably prioritized before the female deity, one discerns that male superiority and female inferiority constituted our country’s ancient custom. This is unequivocally evidenced by the passage describing how Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto circled the Heavenly Pillar to perform their sacred union: “Izanami-no-Mikoto first spoke [the ritual words], ‘Ah, what a fine young man,’ after which Izanagi-no-Mikoto declared, ‘Ah, what a fine young woman.’ When both had finished speaking, [Izanagi] admonished his sister: ‘It is ill-omened for a woman to speak first.’”
Despite male superiority and female inferiority being our ancient custom as described, the fact that numerous women became rulers may seem profoundly paradoxical; yet if one comprehends that the reason lay in religious circumstances, these doubts would immediately melt away.
In our ancient customs, although women were generally inferior to men, there existed those among them who became vessels for divine possession and possessed qualities suited to conveying their will.
That such women came to receive the people’s reverence due to this reason—in an age of profound religious devotion—was by no means something to find strange.
The fact that Himiko and Iyo were revered as great monarchs of northern Kyushu stemmed entirely from this religious rationale; it should by no means be attributed solely to these queens’ personal bravery or military prowess.

Having thus examined the nature of Queen Himiko of Wa, I believe we may now resolve a profound enigma within our sacred texts.
What then constitutes this so-called great enigma?
It lies in the Imperial Ancestor Amaterasu Ōmikami reigning over Takamagahara in Her august person as a female deity.
Though a thorough reading of the divine chronicles reveals male superiority and female inferiority permeating every passage, Her Augustness being venerated as celestial sovereign in female form presents at first glance a glaring contradiction.
Scholars through the ages had labored to reconcile this paradox yet failed to apprehend its essence.
Some even ventured to theorize that Her Augustness was fundamentally a male deity rather than female.
This however stems ultimately from misconceptions born of ignorance regarding our nation's ancient customs.
All myths and legends articulate a people's ideals while encapsulating their era's spiritual ethos—thus when we consider Kyushu, ancestral birthplace of our Imperial Line, having nurtured countless female rulers since antiquity beginning with Himiko, what astonishment should there be that Her Augustness illuminates the celestial realm as goddess-sovereign?
The Heavenly River passage in these chronicles not only manifests Her divine qualifications but reveals that period's social conditions, as I shall now cite below.

Then Susanoo-no-Mikoto addressed Amaterasu Ōmikami: "My heart being pure and clear, the children I have begotten are delicate maidens—by this utterance alone, I claim victory!" With this declaration of triumph, he destroyed the ridges of Amaterasu’s sacred rice paddies and filled their irrigation channels with earth. Moreover, within the hall of the Grand Tasting Ritual, he scattered excrement in defilement. Though Amaterasu accepted these acts with forbearance—interpreting the fouling of the ritual space as akin to drunken vomit—Susanoo persisted in his transgressions unabated. When Amaterasu sat within the sacred weaving hall to have the divine garments woven, he pierced its roof and hurled downward a flayed heavenly dappled horse. The celestial weaving maidens, startled by this violation, struck their genitals against their shuttles and perished. Witnessing this horror, Amaterasu retreated in dread into the Heavenly Rock Cave, plunging Takamagahara into darkness and shrouding Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni in perpetual night. The clamor of myriad deities swarmed like buzzing flies; all manner of calamities arose. Thereupon, eight million deities gathered at the Heavenly River of Ama-no-Yasukawa... [omission]... Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto bound heavenly sun-gems from Mount Ama-no-Kaguyama into her hair as ornaments, wove sacred bamboo leaves into her hands, and—stamping upon an upturned tub at the cave’s entrance while baring her breasts and loosening her skirt-cords—became divinely possessed. As Takamagahara trembled and the eight million deities roared with laughter, Amaterasu—perplexed by this commotion—partially opened the Rock Cave door and proclaimed from within: "Having secluded myself, I believed both the Heavenly Plain and Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni would remain in darkness. Why then does Ame-no-Uzume revel so? And why do the eight million deities laugh?"
and so on

When examining this through the text, we observe that Amaterasu Ōmikami, though reigning as the supreme deity in Takamagahara, maintained profound reverence for divine beings and prioritized ritual observance, personally conducting worship of the heavenly deities herself.

To prepare offerings for the Niiname festival, she had rice cultivated in sacred paddies, and to create divine garments, commanded celestial weaving maidens to produce them within the sacred weaving hall.

The manner in which the Great Goddess served the heavenly deities proved entirely indistinguishable from how Yamato-hime no Mikoto would later serve that same deity in subsequent eras.

Though the *Yamato-hime no Mikoto Seiki* constitutes a later composition, its passage documenting the Divine Garment Festival's origins preserves ancient institutions; through this text we may discern both the Great Goddess's mode of divine service and how figures like Himiko conducted their worship of deities. I shall therefore transcribe the relevant section below.

In the 25th year of Emperor Suinin's reign, a Hinoto-Tatsu (Fire Dragon) year, during the third month of spring in Ise Province's Hyakusen Tsu no Kuni at Tamatsudoi Iso no Kuni, they immediately established the Kamihataori Shrine and commanded the weaving of the Great Deity's divine garments—this being the Asaomi Hatanedo Kamihataori Shrine. Following divine instruction, they constructed sacred enclosures. In the winter tenth month of the following Tsuchinoto-Mi year on the Kinoe-Ne day, after relocating [the shrine] to the upper reaches of the Isuzu River, they sought out clear and fertile land to erect the Watae no Hatanedo weaving hall alongside the Isuzu Riverbank, commanding Yamato-hime no Mikoto to reside there. At this time, Amenotanabata-hime no Kami was ordered to weave the Great Deity's sacred robes of harmony—this becoming the namesake of Iso-no-Miya. Later, during the reign at Hinokuma-no-Miya Palace, Emperor Keikō's Prince Yamato Takeru presented an eight-hiro spear tip made of Hihiraki wood to the Grand Shrine of the Imperial Deity. Princess Yamato-hime then enshrined this spear tip within a crimson bag as a sacred treasure of the Imperial Deity. Concealing it within an eight-hiro weaving hall structure, they conducted veneration rituals for the Imperial Deity's spirit. They commanded Yachiyo-hime no Mikoto—descendant of Amenotanabata-hime—to weave divine garments annually during the fourth month of summer and ninth month of autumn for offering to the deities. This became known as the Divine Garment Festival.

Through examination of these records, we came to understand that Amaterasu Ōmikami reigns supreme in the celestial realm and governs all deities due to Her profound reverence for the divine and filial devotion to ancestral founders; we also believe that Himiko’s veneration as ruler of a nation in Kyushu stemmed entirely from this same principle.
However, while Himiko was but a minor ruler in the mortal world, Amaterasu Ōmikami—the supreme deity residing in the celestial realm—has made the solar orb Her august form, eternally illuminating the earthly realm below.
We humbly behold the august form of Amaterasu Ōmikami and admire the magnificence of Her divine virtues, while also being compelled to reflect upon how sun worship constituted the fundamental ideology of our people.

When we carefully examined the texts of the sacred scriptures, we found that Amaterasu Ōmikami, enraged by Susanoo-no-Mikoto’s violent conduct, had retreated into the Heavenly Rock Cave. At this moment, heaven and earth plunged into darkness; the voices of myriad deities buzzed like swarming flies, and all manner of calamities arose. Thereupon, the eight million deities gathered in divine assembly at the Heavenly River of Ama-no-Yasukawa, reverently drew the Great Goddess forth from the Rock Cave, and having expelled Susanoo-no-Mikoto, restored illumination to heaven and earth.

Turning to examine the text of the *Records of Wei*, we observe that Queen Himiko of Wa, enraged by the Kunu Kingdom’s male king’s insolence, engaged in prolonged conflict with him until she ultimately perished in battle, unable to withstand his violence. The country descended into great turmoil; though people temporarily installed a man as king, the populace refused submission, and mutual struggles claimed several thousand lives. However, when they came to uphold Iyo—a relative of the queen—as sovereign, the national chaos subsided immediately.

This constitutes a historical fact upon earth contrasting with that celestial event recorded in sacred texts, yet none can deny their striking circumstantial parallels. If we regard myths as transmissions of ancient facts, might we not perceive the Ama-no-Yasukawa narrative in the sacred texts as reflecting social conditions akin to Himiko’s era?

Since the dawn of recorded history in our land, the first woman to govern the state within the Imperial Court was Empress Jingū.
Though Her Majesty—being a woman of noble station—commanded such authority that she crossed distant seas to subjugate the Three Han realms, and while her inherently valiant disposition requires no elaboration, should historians attribute this monumental achievement solely to her military exploits of marshaling armies amidst battlefields, this would constitute a grave error.
From our perspective, rather than having secured the military’s reverence through martial strategy alone, Her Majesty appears to have consolidated public trust chiefly through her role as a ritual officiant who served the deities and proclaimed their divine will.
As for how Her Majesty became a vessel for divine possession and how she came to command the awe of both military forces and populace alike, there exists no necessity for my meager pen to delineate these matters; rather, one would do better to directly examine their true nature through the text of the *Kojiki* recorded hereafter.

At that time, Empress Okinaga-tarashi-hime became divinely possessed. When Emperor Chūai, residing at Kashihi Palace in Tsukushi, prepared to attack the Kumaso, he played the koto while Minister Takeuchi no Sukune knelt in the sand courtyard to receive divine instruction. Through the possessed Empress, the deity proclaimed: “To the west lies a land founded on gold and silver, where myriad treasures blaze before one’s eyes. I now bestow this land upon you.” The Emperor replied: “Ascending high ground to gaze westward, I see no land—only open sea.” Declaring this a false oracle, he pushed aside his koto and sat in silence. Enraged, the deity decreed: “This realm is not yours to govern. You shall walk but one path.” Minister Takeuchi pleaded: “In awe of Your Majesty, let us reverently attend to this sacred koto.” Softly strumming its strings from first to last note—*nama-nama ni*—he played until the koto fell silent. When torches were lit, they found the Emperor had already passed. In terror, they enshrined his body and performed the Grand Purification for the nation’s sins: live flaying, reverse flaying, abandonment, ditch-filling, defiled thresholds, forbidden marriages across statuses or species. Minister Takeuchi again knelt in the sand courtyard to seek divine guidance. The oracle declared: “This land shall be ruled by the child within your womb.” When asked: “O Great Deity—what child is this?” came the reply: “A son.” Further inquiry revealed: “This is the will of Amaterasu Ōmikami—manifest through Sokotsutsu-no-O, Nakatsutsu-no-O, and Uwatsutsu-no-O, whose names are now revealed. To claim this land, offer tribute to all deities of heaven and earth, mountains and seas. My spirit shall reside upon your ships...”

As for what methods Queen Himiko of Wa employed to govern her people, while the *Records of Wei* provides only a brief account—making it impossible to ascertain the details—one cannot but acknowledge that in constituting a form of theocratic rule where religious rituals formed the foundation of governance, there was no difference from Empress Jingū.
Therefore, when the *Wei Zhi* states that Himiko “practiced the Way of Spirits and swayed the masses,” this likely refers to phenomena akin to Empress Jingū becoming divinely possessed to proclaim divine will. The description of her being “advanced in age yet without a husband” corresponds to ancient customs where sacred priestesses remained virgins, or to practices such as Empress Jingū’s chaste widowhood after Emperor Chūai’s demise. The account of her “having a younger brother who assisted in governance, with few seeing her since becoming queen—attended by a thousand female servants, with only one man conveying food and messages”—should be compared to how Empress Jingū, as chief priestess, secluded herself in the shrine hall while Takeuchi no Sukune prostrated in the sand courtyard to receive divine commands.
And the reason why Empress Jingū compelled the people of that time to revere and obey her was not merely due to her position as empress-regent, nor solely because of her personal authority, but rather because she possessed the august capacity to proclaim the will of the deities.
Thus, even Emperor Chūai—when he failed to obey the divine command proclaimed through the Empress—met with divine wrath and perished.
Even when viewed through this lens, one can sufficiently glimpse how profoundly faith in the deities dominated the hearts and minds of the people at that time.
That Empress Jingū achieved great undertakings as regent, and that Himiko exerted her influence as queen over Kyushu—both stemmed from this very relationship; thus, the similarities observed between these two figures are nothing but natural.
The compilers of the *Nihon Shoki* implicitly likened Himiko to Empress Jingū precisely because they recognized this similarity; however, such parallels are by no means limited solely to the Empress and Himiko.
Any queen who held sway over a region and was revered as monarch in those times generally possessed these very qualities. Therefore, we hereby categorically reject the *Nihon Shoki*’s erroneous determination of Himiko as Empress Jingū, and shall conclude our main argument here.

[Meiji 43 (June–July 1910), *The Light of East Asia* Vol. 5, Nos. 6–7]