| Queen of Wa | High Shaman |
- "The sun shines upon me, her daughter. Upon my enemies, it will burn."
Himiko (c. 170 – 247/248 BC) was a semi-mythical shamaness queen of the Yamatai kingdom in Wakoku, Yayoi-era Japan. She is attested to in early Chinese records, who describe her as a powerful sorceress who was chosen by her people as ruler after a long period of internal strife, and who forged diplomatic ties with the Wei kingdom in ancient China, earning her the title of Shingi Waō ("Ruler of Wa, Friend of Wei"). She is a leader in Civilization VII.
This is one of Himiko's two alternate personas, the other being Himiko, High Shaman.
Intro[]
The queen of Yamatai, an early Japanese state, Himiko used her political and religious authority as, possibly, a shaman of the sun-goddess Amaterasu to rule. Her political prowess was recognized by the Chinese kingdom of Cao Wei, who dubbed her a “friend of Wei.” Her authority is echoed in what will become the Empire of Japan for over a thousand years.
In-Game[]
Himiko, Queen of Wa has the Diplomatic and Scientific attributes. Her default colors are red and white.
Her leader ability is Friend of Wei. It grants her a unique Endeavor, Friend of Wei, that can only be performed in an Alliance, granting her and her ally +25% 
Science. She can support Endeavors for free, and gains +4 Science per Age for every leader with whom she's Friendly or Helpful.
Her agenda is Yamatai. Her Relationship with players decreases by a Small Amount for each Settlement with Culture and Happiness Buildings, and increases by a Small Amount for each Settlement with Science and Gold Buildings.
Strategy[]
A large portion of Himiko, Queen of Wa's strategy revolves around her powerful Friend of Wei endeavor, which gives her (and her chosen ally) 25% of their current Science per turn. While this is not too impactful with low Science, at high Science this can result in huge gains. Unfortunately, Himiko can only use Friend of Wei on one player at a time, meaning you only need one ally to maximize its potential. With that in mind, when playing as Himiko, your two top priorities should be building up your Science and securing an ally. Science can be built up through methods common to all leaders and civilizations (namely building Libraries and Academies, and enhancing them with proper usage of adjacencies and Specialists), but Himiko also comes with an additional source of Science, that being +4 Science per Age per turn for each other player she is at least friendly with. Therefore, while you only need one ally to activate Friend of Wei, it is in your best interest to keep as many other players friendly as you possibly can. While some aspects of diplomacy are not within your control, others (sending out and accepting Endeavors, choosing not to forward settle, sending Merchants to trade with other players) are, and should be frequently taken advantage of.
Himiko's final ability, and perhaps her most consistently strong, is that she can support any incoming Endeavor without paying 
Influence. This means that she can build up huge yields from incoming Endeavors while saving Influence for Endeavors of her own, including Friend of Wei. If you have no Endeavors on which to spend your saved Influence, that frees you up to befriend Independent Powers and build up a network of City-States faster than your opponents can, with only Greece able to compete with you in this regard. While you can also use your Influence on Sanctions and Espionage, this comes at the risk of angering your targets; however, if you are currently at war with someone and have little chance of buttering them up, this is a perfectly reasonable use of Influence (in addition to applying War Support to yourself).
Lines[]
Himiko is voiced by Ran Kurotani. She speaks modern Japanese.
| Line | Quote (English translation) | Quote (Japanese) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote | The sun shines upon me, her daughter. Upon my enemies, it will burn. (lit. "Amaterasu shines upon me, her daughter. But she shall scorch the flesh of my enemies.") | 天照大神は娘である我を照らす。だが敵の身は焦がすであろう。 | Himiko referring to herself as the daughter of Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess, reinforces her divine authority. |
| Amaterasuōmikami wa musumedearu ware o terasu. Daga teki no mi wa kogasudearou. | |||
| Greeting | Your coming was foretold. (lit. "I knew from the bone divination that you would come.") | そなたが来ることは骨の占いによれば知っておった。 | |
| Sonataga kuru koto wa hone no uranai ni yoreba shitte otta. | |||
| Attacked | Come to us and become ash. (lit. "All intruders will be turned to ashes.") | 侵入者は一人残らず灰になる。 | |
| Shin'nyū-sha wa hitori nokorazu hai ni naru. | |||
| Declares War | Preparations for the ritual are complete. Let us begin at once. (lit. "The ritual is ready, let us begin now.") | 儀式の準備はできた、今すぐ始めよう。 | |
| Gishiki no junbi wa dekita, ima sugu hajimeyou. | |||
| Accepts Player's Deal | Let us bring this matter into the light. (lit. "Let us clarify the situation.") | 事の次第を明らかにしよう。 | |
| Koto no shidai o akiraka ni shiyou. | |||
| Rejects Player's Deal | The sun is obscured by clouds. (lit. "The fire is covered by the clouds.") | 火は雲に覆われている。 | |
| Hi wa kumo ni ōwa rete iru. | |||
| Defeated | The heavy stone floats, and the streams run backwards. All is disorder. (lit. "The stones float. The water is narrow. The land is in chaos.") | 石は浮き。水は狭く。国は混沌の状態になるのだ。 | |
| Ishi wa uki. Mizu wa sakamaku. Kuni wa konton no jōtai ni naru noda. |
Leader Path[]
| Level | Unlocks |
|---|---|
| 2 |  Golden Seal Stone |
| 3 | Diplomatic Attribute Node
|
| 4 | Exploration Diplomatic Legacy Card
|
| Exploration Scientific Legacy Card | |
| 5 |  Dōtaku |
| 6 | Himiko Queen of Wa Badge 1
|
Himiko Queen of Wa Banner
| |
| 7 | Scientific Attribute Node
|
| 8 | Modern Diplomatic Legacy Card
|
| Modern Scientific Legacy Card | |
| 9 |  Yasakani no Magatama |
| 10 | Himiko Queen of Wa Badge 2
|
Queen of Wa
|
Civilopedia entry[]
Early Japanese history is divided into three distinct periods: the Jomon, the Yayoi, and the Yamato. It is during the latter period that what we recognize as “Japan” takes shape, although it is in the subsequent Heian period that a lot of the recognizable art, literature, and dress come into being – recall that the golden age of samurai, etc., does not come about until the middle of the second millennium CE.
Jomon Japan existed prior to anything, and is titled for its style of pottery, rather than any name the people would have called themselves. The Jomon people also appear a little ethnically different from other Japanese remains. This is a legacy of Japan’s links with Pacific islands – there are cultural similarities between the indigenous inhabitants of Okinawa, Taiwan, and further south into Southeast Asia. The Jomon appear to have been replaced by the Yayoi around the last millennium BCE, although the indigenous Ainu are likely their descendants.
It was this Yayoi culture – Japanese-speaking migrants from the mainland (meaning Korea, in this case) that Himiko ruled. The Yayoi bridged the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, and grew quite adept at crafting bronze weapons, tools, and, significantly, mirrors. The Kofun era (300-538 CE) saw this industry expand, as well as the development of a shared cultural heritage with strong Chinese influence from Honshu (the big island of Japan) to Kyushu (a smaller island) to Korea. The era ends with the rise of the Yamato clan and consolidation of Japanese power.
These islands were called Wo or Wa, by the Han Dynasty and were a cluster of scattered peoples – a group of culturally similar but politically divided tribes clinging to an often harsh ecosystem and possessing a warlike outlook on life.
Himiko herself was both a religious and political leader. From her base at Yamatai (either northern Kyushu or near present-day Kyoto), she is primarily known from Chinese records. Himiko sent gifts to the Cao Wei kingdom, the northernmost of the three states that divided China between them in the third century CE. In these records Himiko is dubbed “Queen of Wa and friend of Wei” by the Chinese emperor. Himiko’s actual position is less clear – here we are at the very beginnings of Japanese history, where sources are scattered and unreliable.
Himiko’s story gets interesting when she is accused of sorcery. Chinese sources allege that she bewitched all of the residents of Wa into submitting to her rule, and that she lived in a great castle served entirely by female attendants and guards (excepting one man, who brought her food). This mystical reputation is compounded in Japanese records, which identify Himiko with a number of divine beings: as the high shaman of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu, or a shamanic wife of a divine snake. In this latter story, Himiko (identified by the name Yamato-toto-hi-momo-so-bime no Mikoto) is happily married to a clearly divine being who only visits at night. She begs him to stay until morning so that she can see him in the sunlight, but he demurs. Eventually, she convinces him, and he tells her that she will see him in her toilet-case, but she must promise not to be shocked at his appearance. The next morning, when she opens the case, there is a beautiful white snake coiled inside. Himiko gasps in alarm, and the god-snake changes back to his human form. He is angry, tells her that she had been warned not to react, and that now he must leave her. Himiko, in her grief, stabs herself.
Whatever the nature of her demise, upon Himiko’s death, the people of Yamatai raised a burial mound for her. According to legend, the subsequent ruler was intended to be a king, but the people, still mourning their deceased queen, refused his rule until Himiko’s relative Iyo, a girl of thirteen, was offered as the new ruler, and order was restored.
As mentioned above, Himiko forms one of the foundations of Japanese theories of monarchy and Shinto, fusing the political with the supernatural in ways that are different from the Confucian-inspired Chinese ideals and the Indic-inspired Brahmanist ideals found elsewhere in Asia. With Himiko and Yamatai, we also see the first opening of Japan to a larger East Asian world. She is a common figure in popular culture, although often adapted to suit the needed narrative. She can be a villain or a hero, magical or mortal.
In our representation here, we have patterned Himiko off of similar spirit mediums elsewhere in the region and presented her as a person who acts as a conduit for the goddess Amaterasu. Their relationship is close, like mother and daughter inhabiting the same body, and our Himiko switches between the two voices of queen and goddess seemingly without knowing.
Amaterasu – the sun goddess of ancient Japan that, in our representation, is Himiko’s divine muse – is no reserved figure. She is vivacious and tricksy, taking part in contests, disguising herself as a man, hiding from the other gods, and the like. In one of her most famous myths, the god Susanoo, her younger brother who was famously rude and troublesome, comes to Amaterasu to say his farewell after their father exiles him. Amaterasu decides to take pity on the boy. They have a chewing contest to see who can spit out the most gods, and although Amaterasu wins, Susanoo declares that he has spat out the correct gods and falls into a rage. In one version, he is so angry that he sneaks into Amaterasu’s palace and places excrement on her throne. She sits in it. This is so upsetting that she runs into a cave and hides herself (a problem because, remember, she is the sun). The other gods hatch a plan to draw her out, and they gather outside of her cave and make a great spectacle. This makes her curious, and she peeks out to see who is there – what she sees is her own reflection. The gods have hung a mirror just outside the entrance, and Amaterasu is transfixed. Order is restored (and, incidentally, the mirror becomes a vital symbol of Shinto).
Trivia[]
- Himiko, Queen of Wa's leader ability is part of the title given to her in Chinese records that means "Ruler of Wa, Friend of Wei", while her agenda is the name of the kingdom she ruled (邪馬台国).
- This persona emphasizes Himiko's diplomatic ties with the Wei kingdom in ancient China, and is named after part of her title, "Ruler of Wa."
Gallery[]
Videos[]
First Look- Himiko - Civilization VII
First Look: Himiko
Related achievements[]
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Radiance of the Sun.
Win the modern age as Himiko, Queen of Wa.
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See also[]
- Himiko in other games
External links[]