Reinterpreting the Role of Female Shamans and Female Rulers: Himiko and Iyo

Abstract

This study discusses the connections between women, governance, and sacred power – specifically in this case shamanism – in the context of late Yayoi and Kofun-period Japanese society, focusing on the queens of the Wa country, Himiko and Iyo, and their place – or absence thereof – among traditional Japanese rulers. While the topic is less known in Hungary, it is a frequently researched subject in Japan and in other foreign countries. In my research, I mainly relied on secondary sources, collecting relevant studies related to my topic and drawing my own conclusions by comparing them. Although the topic has been extensively researched abroad, most of the studies I examined were not in direct contact with each other, which is why I believe that this study can offer a new perspective.

Himiko and Iyo do not appear in the Japanese chronicles Kojiki and Nihonshoki, although the Chinese chronicle Gishi gives a detailed account of Himiko’s reign, possibly because the two queens could not be incorporated into the patrilineal succession system of the later imperial dynasty. At that time, there might not have been a rule regarding inheritance or there could have been some form of female-centric inheritance. From archaeological findings starting from the middle of the Kofun-period, it can be inferred that a transition toward a more patriarchal society had already begun. This was likely a gradual process rather than the result of a religious revolution (Ellwood, 1990). It is conceivable that during Himiko’s time, the cult of the Queen Mother of the West, proposed by Barnes (2014) as an avatar of Himiko, was widespread in Japan. This study argues that since this was already a late Han-period version of the myth (which includes the counterpart of the Queen Mother, the King Father of the East), it was actually a step towards patriarchalisation, laying the foundation for the later tradition of dual female–male rule known as hime-hiko sei. However, the greatest impact on this process was exerted by militarisation, which had already begun before Himiko’s reign. Nevertheless, we can state that during this era, the roles of the sacred and political leaders were not dependent on gender.