Himiko Rules the Yamatai.

Much of Japanese history before the sixth century c.e. is shrouded in uncertainty, including the question of the precise origins of the Japanese people. Because writing came late to Japan, no indigenous historical accounts of this period exist, but there are references in Chinese chronicles to Wa (the archaic name given to Japan), beginning in 57 c.e. One of the most significant descriptions of early Japan occurs in the Wei Zhi (written between 280 and 297 c.e.; “The History of the Wei Kingdom,” 1951). According to these annals, the kingdom of Wa, consisting of more than thirty domains, previously had a male sovereign in the second century, but for some seventy years afterward, there was chaos and conflict. The people agreed on a woman as ruler, Himiko (also Pimiko or Pimeho) of the domain of Yamatai, described in the chronicle as “the Queen’s country,” an area within Japan identified as being either in the Yamato region located in modern-day Nara Prefecture on the main island of Honshū or somewhere in the northern portion of Kyūshū Island. Himiko was adept at sorcery (kido: the way of occult magic), with which she mesmerized the people. She remained unmarried and reigned with a thousand female servants in attendance but only one man, who served her meals and functioned as her liaison with the outside world. While she remained cloistered in her palace conducting rites, her younger brother aided her in the day-to-day matters of governing. The chronicle describes her palace as consisting of fortified buildings with watchtowers and stockades presided over by guards.