Jingū of Japan
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Empress Consort Jingū of Japan (神功皇后 Jingū Kōgō?) (c. AD 169 - 269) was a legendary empress consort of Chūai and served as Regent and de facto leader from her husband's death in 209 until her son Emperor Ōjin acceded to the throne in 269.
Legend has it that she led an army in an invasion of Korea and returned to Japan victorious after three years. Her son Ōjin was born following her return. The legend alleges that her son was conceived but unborn when Chuai died. After those three years, the boy was born. Either a period of less than nine months contained three "years" (some seasons), e.g three harvests, or the paternity of her late husband was just mythical and symbolic, rather than real.
The legend of Jingū's invasion of the Korean peninsula is based on the traditional Japanese interpretation of the Kwanggeto Stele found in Manchuria, which proclaimed Goguryeo's dominion over Manchuria and the northern part of Korea. Closer examination has revealed that this traditional interpretation was based on conjecture, since several critical letters of the text are missing, and in context would correlate more with Goguryeo's immediate southern neighbors, Silla and Baekje. Baekje had very close relations with Japan, including exchanges between the two courts, and it was a primary conduit of continental culture to Japan.
Arai Hakuseki claimed that she was actually Himiko, the third century shaman-queen of Yamataikoku, and, because Himiko was a historical figure, had to be included as a member of the imperial family by the authors of the Nihon Shoki."
In 1881, Empress Jingu became the first woman to be featured on the Japanese banknote.
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| Preceded by Emperor Chūai |
Empress Consort of Japan 209-269 |
Succeeded by Emperor Ōjin |
