Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai: Archaeology, History, and Mythology

Author: J. Edward Kidder, Jr.

I just received Professor Kidder’s newest book in the mail today. At over 400 pages, it’s a beast in the truest sense of the word. You can find the following book summary and reviews on its amazon page:

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Book Description
The third-century Chinese chronicle Wei zhi (Record of Wei) is responsible for Japan’s most enduring ancient mystery. This early history tells of a group of islands off the China coast that were dominated by a female shaman named Himiko. Himiko ruled for more than half a century as head of the largest chiefdom, traditionally known as Yamatai, until her death in 248. Yet no such person appears in the old Japanese literature. Who was Himiko and where was the Yamatai she governed? These questions about a critical period in the rise of the Japanese state have puzzled scholars for more than two centuries. Although the postwar boom in archaeology has provided a more panoramic picture of Japan in the centuries following the introduction of rice, bronze, and iron, and the transformation into an agrarian society, scholarly discussion and archaeological evidence have been inconclusive. Nevertheless, the flood of new information, combined with the perennial interest in national origins, has produced a staggering amount of commentary and speculation.

In this, the most comprehensive treatment in English to date, a senior scholar of early Japan turns to three sources–historical, archaeological, and mythological–to provide a multifaceted study of ancient Japanese society. Analyzing a tremendous amount of recent archaeological material and synthesizing it with a thorough examination of the textual sources, Professor Kidder locates Yamatai in the Yamato heartland, in the southeastern part of the Nara basin. He describes the formation in the Yayoi period of pan-regional alliances that created the reserves of manpower required to build massive mounded tombs. It is this decisive period, at the end of the Yayoi and the beginning of the Kofun, that he identifies as Himiko’s era. He maintains, moreover, that Himiko played a part in the emergence of Yamato as an identifiable political entity. In exploring the cultural and political conditions of this period and identifying the location of Yamatai as Himiko’s area of activity, Kidder considers the role of magic in early Japanese society to better understand why an individual with her qualifications reached such a prominent position. He enhances Himiko’s story with insights drawn from mythology, turning to a rich body of commentary for explanations buried deep in mythological stories and the earliest descriptions.

Himiko and Japan’s Elusive Chiefdom of Yamatai is a masterful summary of Japanese archaeology, making it required reading for Japan historians as well as scholars with an interest in literature and art history during this formative stage in Japan’s past.

From the Back Cover
“Given the author’s long and distinguished career in the archaeological study of Japan, a retrospective summary of the archaeology alone is a significant event. Add tothis his very thorough examination of textual sources, and the result is a truly unique, multi-faceted study of ancient Japanese society.”–Walter Edwards, Tenri University

“Using a balanced combination of archaeology and historical texts, Professor Kidder gives a marvelously rich portrait of life in Yayoi Japan.”–Mark Hudson, University of Tsukuba

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I’m a few chapters in and I’ve learned a great deal about Yayoi society that I’ve never been able to read about before in English. It’s a truly groundbreaking work.

It’s a little steep at $60.00 (at the amazon page), but well worth every dollar.