June
24
/ 2025
One of the greatest mysteries in Japanese archaeology is the resting place of Queen Himiko. The first named person in all of Japanese history, she is thought to have lived between 170 and 248 AD. Chinese accounts paint a picture of Himiko as an awesome but shadowy presence in her land: “There were few who saw her. She had one thousand women as attendants, but only one man. He served her food and drink, and acted as her medium of communication. She resided in a palace surrounded by towers and stockades, with armed guards in a state of constant vigilance.” Dr Chris Harding is a senior lecturer in Asian History at the University of Edinburgh. He writes on wide range
