Text by Takehiko Yoshimura
The "Beimihu" in the Game of The Glory of the Three Kingdoms is the queen of the Evil Matai Kingdom of Japan, who is very powerful in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms 9, with more than 300,000 troops, witches can also do magic, and it is difficult to cross the sea to attack. Beimihu is a real figure in history, but what is his national strength and combat strength? This involves the origin of the Yamato regime in Japan, which will be covered in detail in this article.
The Uighurs and the Uighurs recorded in Chinese history books
The Uighurs who lived in the Japanese archipelago first appeared in the Chinese history book "Hanshu Geographical Chronicle":
There are Uighurs in the Fule Wave Sea, divided into more than a hundred kingdoms, and they come to see the clouds at the age of the year.
The "Lelang" in the text is the Lelang Commandery set up by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty on the Korean Peninsula in 108 BC, and the tribute of the Uighurs was around the first century BC. From the term "when the year" is used, it can be seen that the Uighurs have been paying regular tributes to the Lelang County set up in China. This can be confirmed by the excavation of bronze mirrors from the Western Han Dynasty at the Sujiugang Okamoto Ruins (Kasugai City) and the Mitsuun Ruins (Maehara City) in Fukuoka Prefecture. And, as mentioned earlier, it is consistent with the historical fact that the origin of raw materials for bronzes from this period has changed from the Korean Peninsula to China.
According to the classification of archaeology, this is the formation period of the giant ring trench tribe in the middle of the Yayoi period, equivalent to the ruins of Yoshino-ri. The "Hundred Orutan Kingdoms" probably refer to the "kingdoms" with central tribes such as the Yoshino-ri ruins, that is, the countries in the north of Kyushu as a developed region. Although the history books record a "state", China regards it as a "group" of the Uighurs.
The Book of Han is followed by the Book of The Later Han Dynasty. However, the history book was compiled after the "Three Kingdoms Zhi Wei Shu" (hereinafter referred to as "Wei Zhi" according to the convention), and it refers to the "Wei Zhi", which needs to be paid attention to when reading. The Book of later Han contains a separate description of the State of Wei that is not found in the Wei Zhi, which is a very valuable historical material.
In the second year of the reign of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (57 AD), the Uighur state "Fenggong Chaohe" traveled thousands of miles to Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, where for the first time a slave state as one of the core of the Uighur community appeared. The visit to Beijing proved that the slave state saw the Eastern Han Dynasty as the political and cultural center of East Asia. In return, emperor Guangwu awarded the slave state a golden seal. The slave kingdom is also found in the Wei Zhi, which corresponds to the later "Dai-gun" (Nihon Shoki Naka-wai eight years old) and "Natsu" (Nihon Shoki Shōkaku Shōkaku), located in the Nakegawa River basin that flows through the Fukuoka Plain.
The golden seal is the seal of the "King of Hanjuu" unearthed on the former Island of Shiga in Hakata Bay (now a land). The golden seal indicates that China and the nu king were not yet monarchs and vassals, that is, non-vassal tributary states, and the center of the slave kingdom was the ruins of Sujiu Okamoto.
Seal of the King of Han Dynasty
The Book of later Han also records that in 107 AD (the first year of emperor Yongchu of The Han Dynasty), "the king of Wu was promoted to the rank of one hundred and sixty people, and he would like to see him." According to the original version, the Northern Song edition of the Tang Dynasty's Law Book Tongdian has "King of The Uighur Soil", so there are "Face Earth Kingdoms" (Yidu Kingdoms) and "Last Lu Kingdoms". However, as recorded in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, it is the King of Wu (Nishijima Dingsheng", "Evil Matai Kingdom and Wu Kingdom").
During this period, the object of Chinese diplomacy was not the specific state of slavery, but the individual King of Wu. This also shows that there is already a political group of the Uighurs in the Japanese archipelago. In this way, we can think that the structure of the Uighur state was already established at the beginning of the second century.
The "raw mouth" seen in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty means living people. This may refer to people who are slaves, or it may refer to the Uighurs. In any case, one hundred and sixty people is a lot. According to the "Biography of Wei Zhi And the Wu People", Beimihu offered "Shengkou" to four men and six women, one and thirty people, and some people said that "Shengkou" refers to prisoners of war. If this claim holds, then when the Uighur Empire was established, there was a large-scale war on the island.
Himiko, who is the second-largest-up of Japan
According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han and Emperor Ling of Han, that is, from 146 to 189 AD, the Kingdom of Wu was in turmoil. The "Wei Zhi" wrote: Its kingdom was also based on a man as the king, lived for 70 or 80 years, rebelled in the kingdom of Wu, and attacked each other for many years, but established a woman as the king, and the name was Beimihu. The countries that make up the Uighur kingdom are united by Queen Beimihu. Later, I will talk about it later, and here we will first look at a side of the Great Rebellion of the Uighur Kingdom from the perspective of the highland tribes discovered by archaeology.
In the middle and late Yayoi period, highland tribes appeared in open areas such as the mountain tops and highlands from Kyushu to the Kanto region, including around the Seto Inland Sea; like the Ring Trench Tribes, defensive trenches were dug around them. Establishing tribes on hilltops and other places is not necessary for daily life, but has a special intention. This is likely to be a political tension that has caused military conflicts in various parts of the Uighur state, perhaps related to the "Great Disturbance of the Uighur State".
Judging from the large number of highland tribes in western Japan, there may have been disputes between political forces in northern Kyushu and the region. Therefore, it can be speculated that some highland tribes were established during the "Great Rebellion of the Uighurs". Archaeological excavations have brought these tribes to the world.
Highland tribes
(Ruins of Guzenbu Shibaya in Takatsuki City, Osaka, 2nd century)
In this military and political tension, Queen Beimihu was co-opted; after Beimihu, the daughter of Beimihu's clan, Yihe (also known as Taihe), took the throne. Why are female kings elected?
In the Wei Zhi, it is written that Beimihu "can confuse the people" and is a wizard-type woman. Most people believe that because of this religious character, Beimihu was proclaimed king of the Uighurs. This view highly emphasizes the importance of sacrifice in ancient political affairs, but let us not rush to conclusions.
After The Death of Beimihu, Yihe was proclaimed King of the Uighurs. Regarding this matter, the Wei Zhi records: "More male kings, the kingdom disobeyed, and more each other was killed, killing more than a thousand people at that time." "As when Beimihu ascended the throne, a male king was first proposed, but the nations did not accept it, leading to war, so they had to let the thirteen-year-old One and take the throne.
That is to say, it is gender, not religion, that determines who is to be elected. In other words, only in the form of a queen could the unity of the Uighur kingdoms be maintained. Therefore, the key to solving the mystery of the queen must start from the enthronement of the one and the other.
The next question is, what is the reason for making women kings? We still look at it from the historical material "Wei Zhi". Beimihu "has grown up, has no husband, has a male brother, and is a ruler of the country." Beimihu was never married for life, and the next one and may not be married. In this way, the focus of the queen is not to allow her to have children, and countries do not want the king to be inherited by the male line.
According to the Book of Liang, the kings of Yi and later were male kings. Although the Book of Liang is not very credible, in the third century, the queen did last only two generations.
Beimihu was the queen of the Uighur kingdom, not the evil Matai kingdom
Most readers may think that Beimihu was the queen of the evil Matai Kingdom, and even in the ancient historical circles, there are many people who hold this claim. However, Chinese historian Nishijima Dingsheng believes that "according to the Wei Zhi, Beimihu was the queen of the Uighur kingdom, not the queen of the evil Matai state" ("The Evil Matai State and the Uighur State"). The Kingdom of Evil Matai is the name of the country where Beimihu lived.
Indeed, the Wei Zhi does not state that "Beimihu is the queen of the evil Matai Kingdom", but can only be seen that she is the queen of the Uighur Kingdom. As a great power in the Uighur confederation, the former evil Matai king may have appeared as a Uighur king to the outside world, but the Beimihu, who was supported by various countries, took the throne as the Uighur king. Nishijima's views put forward new arguments for the evil Mataiguo controversy.
Humble Hu in the Glorious Romance of the Three Kingdoms game
It has been pointed out that Beimihu has two faces, one is the civilized face of the "pro-Wei Uighur King" who represents the Uighur kingdom in negotiations with the Wei state, and the other is the uncivilized queen face as a wizard (Ishimu TianZheng, "The Ancient State of Japan").
However, Beimihu was described as "the one who has seen little since he became king", that is, after ranking the king of the Uighurs, he became a "missing" king. Because of the "worship leave" to meet with the emissaries sent by the Wei state and Fang County, he appeared on the occasion of diplomatic involvement. Under the primitive dynastic system, there was often a "no-seeing king", and it was precisely as such a king that he did not appear.
The title of "Pro-Wei King" awarded by the State of Wei to Beimihu was a high-ranking title that exceeded the strength of the Uighur state at that time. According to the description "When in the East of Huiji Dongye", the location of the Uighur state was in the eastern sea of the enemy state of Wu of the State of Wei. Based on this geographical understanding, and out of the need for Wu's foreign policy, the State of Wei gave Beimihu high-level treatment.
As the place where Beimihu lived, the names of the "residence", "palace room", "louguan" and "city gate" can be seen, the respective scale of which is not yet known, but it can be determined that it is a city fortress developed by the ring trench tribe and has both defensive facilities, and these landscapes will be displayed later. The queen had a thousand maids at her, and only one man passed on food and drink and entered the house. As stated in "Brother with Male Brother, Ruler State", the younger brother of Beimihu, who handled government affairs, assisted in the governance of the Uighur Kingdom as an ally of the Tsushima Kingdom, the Molu Kingdom, the Itu Kingdom, and the Slave Kingdom.
Against this confederation was the Dog Slave Kingdom, whose king was a man named Beimi Bowhu. In 247 CE, Beimihu went to war with the Dog Slave State and sent emissaries to the Wei state of Fang County for support, and the State of Wei sent subordinate officials to award edicts and yellow buildings (yellow banners) to motivate the soldiers. It can be seen from this that the State of Wei had a strong political influence over the Evil Horse State.
The seat of the Evil Matai State
The focus of the concern of all Japanese citizens today is the controversy over the location of the evil Matai State. In the face of this impatience, the first thing that needs to be clarified is the pronunciation of "evil Horse Taiwan Country". We generally pronounce it as "Yamatai Koku", but the correct pronunciation should be "Yamato" or "Yamado" (Supplement to the Iwanami Dictionary).
Regarding the areas that are included in the alternate list of the seat of the evil Matai State, it is well known that there are Kyushu Theory and Theory (the Yamato region of Nara Prefecture is more likely). Some scholars use the Kiuchi theory, but Kiuchi means the direct jurisdiction of Tianzi including the capital city and already exists in the region, so it is self-evident that the evil Matai kingdom is located in Kiuchi. Here, we believe that as a name for the region, it is necessary to use. Also, follow the previous pronunciation, because with "Yamato" ("Yamato" is pronounced Japanese as Yamato. The pronunciation is the same, so the theory is more advantageous.
According to the geographical distribution, ancient historians in Tokyo advocate the Kyushu theory, Kyoto advocates the theory, and archaeology believes that the theory is more reliable.
When I was a student, I also advocated the Kyushu theory that this was not because of the consciousness of the "scholar valve", but because of the influence of the university's education in ancient history, but now it is not necessary to think according to this pattern.
Thanks to the Yayoi era view, which absorbs the results of archaeological research, I am now more inclined to theory. As long as there is no unearthing of written historical materials such as "pro-Wei Wu Wang", the location of the evil Matai State cannot be thoroughly investigated. If the pro-Wei King seal was unearthed in Kyushu, the problem would be solved; but if it was unearthed in the area, then some people would argue that the seal was transferred from Kyushu to.
To the evil Map of the Matai Country
According to the biography of Wei Zhi and the Wuren, the southern state of Evil Matai was located on the sea far east of Taiwan, equivalent to the east of the State of Wu, which was one of the reasons why the State of Wei, which was opposing the State of Wu, attached importance to the State of Evil Matai. However, the Japanese archipelago extends northeast from Kyushu in a bow-shaped shape, and if interpreted according to the description of the Wei Zhi, the evil Matai Kingdom is located on the sea. Therefore, if the direction of "south" is changed to east, it can be interpreted in the radial way shown in the "Mileage Chart of the Most Evil Matai Kingdom", but first of all, the geographical concept of "Wei Zhi" needs to be clarified.
Research trends in recent years have gradually moved away from the question of direction and distance. Nowadays, the study of social groups, criminal law and customs represented by the theory of kingship is a hot topic in the study of the Biography of Wei Zhi and The Wuren. In terms of archaeology, the number of researchers discussing the Evil Matai Kingdom from the perspective of a comprehensive study of the Yayoi period is increasing.
The Winding Ruins in Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, one of the most noteworthy spots in the area, are adjacent to the oldest large front-facing hokufun tomb. Before the appearance of this front and back circular graves, the so-called "winding front circular grave system" such as the Ishizuka Kofun (93 meters in total length) was built at the site. It has also been suggested that its construction dates back to the middle to the first half of the third century (according to the theory that the tomb is the end of the third century, that is, the second half of the third century).
The remains of entanglement suddenly appeared in the early third century after the decline of the central tribes, where large man-made facilities such as canals and waterways were unearthed, as well as earthen artifacts from the western Seto Inland Sea to various parts of the Kanto region. In addition, advanced special artifacts, etc. have been unearthed in Kibi, and their nature is unlikely to be that they are merely "rural tribes" (Kaoru Terasawa, "The Birth of the Yamato Regime"). If these ruins are taken into account, the area is more suitable as a candidate area. But this is only one of the candidate areas and must be viewed with caution.
Needless to say, it is not the exclusive task of the researcher to find out the evil Matai country, and anyone can freely express their opinions. Readers should not stick to the "academic valve", but should think freely and explore problems in accordance with academic norms.
Look at the evil Matai kingdom from the bronze mirror
Let's look at some of the evil Mataiguo theories from the perspective of archaeology from the perspective of bronze mirrors. In the third year of the Jing Dynasty (239), Beimihu received gold and a five-foot sword, along with "a hundred bronze mirrors". The queen showed these objects to the Uighurs as a sign of mercy from the Heavenly Son of Wei. This bronze mirror, which is believed to be a Wei mirror, has been excavated in various ancient tombs.
Among them are the sacred beast mirrors inscribed with the inscription "Three Years of the First Period of the Jingchu Period", such as the Pictorial Sacred Beast Mirror excavated from the Golden Tomb Kofun in Osaka Prefecture and Izumi City, and the Triangular Edge Divine Beast Mirror excavated from the Kofun Tomb of The Kambara Shrine in Shimane Prefecture (see the pages of this chapter).
Bronze mirrors imported during the Evil Matai Period were found in the Kofun tomb because they were passed down by the chiefs as funerary objects. Based on this fact, many archaeologists believe that the "Bronze Mirror Hundred" includes the Triangular Edge Divine Beast Mirror.
However, so far, about four hundred facets of the Triangle Edge Divine Beast Mirror had been found, and in terms of quantity, it was impossible that all of these were made by Wei Guo and given to Beimihu. Therefore, there are two theories, one is that the ancient triangular edge divine beast mirror is a Wei mirror, and the other is that the triangular edge divine beast mirror is a domestic copper mirror. Recently, it has also been suggested that imitation mirrors, which are said to have been produced in the Uighur kingdom, are all bronze mirrors made in China.
Japanese-style triangular edge mythical beast mirror
To solve this problem, it is not easy at present. This is because China has not yet unearthed the Triangular Edge Divine Beast Mirror, only the Triangular Edge God Human Carriage and Horse Portrait Mirror (Okazaki Kei et al., "The Controversy of the Evil Horse And The TaiwanEse"). The interpretation of this fact has diverged. Although there are also opinions that the bronze mirror is a special casting made by the Wei state for the Uighur state, it has never been unearthed in the production country, which is difficult to understand.
In addition, a bronze mirror with the inscription "Jingchu Four Years" that does not exist in the Wei Guonian inscription was excavated in the Guangfeng No. 15 Tomb in Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Province, and the bevel pan dragon mirror in the Tatsuma Archaeological Data Museum also identified it as a Tongfan mirror (a bronze mirror cast with the same mold). While it may have been pre-manufactured, it is very unconvincing.
Judging from the number of Triangle Edge Divine Beast Mirrors alone, even if it was more than doubled at that time, it was not surprising, considering the nature of its special items, the number was too much. In 1997, 33 triangular edge mythical mirrors were unearthed in Tenri City, Nara Prefecture (the front and back round tombs of the early Kofun period), which shocked the world (announced in January 1998).
These bronze mirrors are placed on the outside of the wooden coffin, and inside the wooden coffin, the head of the coffin is placed with a pictured beast mirror. This time, the position of the painting with the divine beast mirror was more valued, which favored the theory that the bronze mirror was produced in the Uighur kingdom. However, China has also unearthed patterns that are highly similar to the triangle edge bronze mirror and the triangle edge divine beast mirror, so it can also be admitted that the ancient triangle edge god beast mirror included a Wei mirror.
What we hope to pay attention to is the problem of the same mirror of the Triangle Edge Divine Beast Mirror. According to a chart showing the relationship between the triangular edge divine beast mirror and the fan (also called the relationship between the points) unearthed in various places, the center of which is the region. This indicates that the person assigning the Triangular Edge Divine Beast Mirror is in the area. If the local chiefs imported separately, such contingencies could not be repeated. Even the imitation of the Triangular Edge Divine Beast Mirror has the same result (Yukio Kobayashi's "Examination of Kofun Culture").
This means that the workshop centers for importing Chinese bronze mirrors and imitating them are distributed from to local chiefs in the region. Even if the Triangle Edge Divine Beast Mirror is a domestic copper mirror, this distribution relationship will not change.
If we look at the distribution of the ruins of the Yayoi period and its funerary objects from the perspective of the bronze mirror, it can be assumed that the region of the late Yayoi period was above Kyushu in terms of political power, including diplomacy.
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