Himiko
shaman queen of Yamataikoku in Wa (ancient Japan)
Years: 170 - 248
Himiko or Pimiko (c. 170–248) is a shaman queen of Yamataikoku in Wa (ancient Japan).
Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom (220–265), and record that the Yayoi period people chose her as ruler following decades of warfare among the kings of Wa.
Early Japanese histories do not mention Himiko, but historians associate her with legendary figures such as Empress Consort Jingū, who was Regent (c. 200–269) in roughly the same era as Himiko.
Scholarly debates over the identity of Himiko and the location of her domain Yamatai have raged since the late Edo period, with opinions divided between northern Kyūshū or traditional Yamato province in present-day Kinki.
"The Yamatai controversy", writes Keiji Imamura (1996:188), is "the greatest debate over the ancient history of Japan".
