Queen Himiko found?
Posted: June 5, 2009 Filed under: Japan 2 Comments »After some heavy posts lately, I thought I would post something from Asahi Shimbun that piqued my interest. It seems that archaeologists believe they’ve found the location of the tomb of Queen Himiko. Queen Himiko was a kind of famous shaman queen in 3rd century Japan, who is mentioned in Chinese historical records as the Queen of the Kingdom of Yamatai, or yamataikoku (邪馬台国). According to Wikipedia, this was the predecessor to the later Yamato Kingdom in the Nara region, that eventually became the nation of Japan we know today.
Because so little is known about the ancient Yamatai Kingdom, and sources are contradictory, this is a pretty significant find, if proven true. However, it appears that excavation is not allowed:
The Imperial Household Agency has forbidden any excavation of the tomb itself on grounds that it is designated as an imperial burial ground.
Since the Imperial line in Japan has been unbroken since recorded history in Japan, and if Queen Himiko was a real historical person, then she is a direct ancestor of the current Emperor, the Heisei Emperor! Considering that I don’t know my ancestors past 4-5 generations very well, I think it’s interesting.
Also, very early Japanese history, before the rise of the Samurai, interests me a lot.
That would be a very interesting find. But we will never know if it can’t be excavated. It is a very interesting history in how the powerful clan from Yamato rose up and asserted themselves as the imperial line. And even more interesting that the line has endured for so long.
Amen to that. I still find it hard to believe that a single royal family has lasted this long. Shame they’ll never excavate the site though. Oh well.