- published: 22 Oct 2014
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Yamataikoku (邪馬台国?) or Yamaichikoku (邪馬壹國?) is the Sino-Japanese name of an ancient country in Wa (Japan) during the late Yayoi period (circa 300 BCE – 300 CE). The (297 CE) Chinese history Sanguo Zhi first recorded Yemetaiguo (邪馬臺國) or Yemayiguo (邪馬壹國) as the domain of shaman Queen Himiko (died circa 248 CE). Generations of Japanese historians, linguists, and archeologists have debated where Yamataikoku was located and whether it was related to Yamato (大和?) "Japan".
The oldest accounts of Yamatai are found in the official Chinese dynastic Twenty-Four Histories for the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE), the Cao Wei Kingdom (220-265 CE), and the Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE).
The ca. 297 CE Wei Zhi (魏志 "Records of Wei"), which is part of the San Guo Zhi (三國志 "Records of the Three Kingdoms"), first mentions the country Yamatai (Yémǎtái 邪馬臺) written as Yamaichi (Yémǎyī 邪馬壹). Most Wei Zhi commentators accept the Yémǎtái (邪馬台) transcription in later texts and dismiss this original word yi 壹 "one" (the anti-forgery character variant for 一 "one") as a miscopy, or perhaps a naming taboo avoidance, of tai 臺 "platform; terrace" (a variant of 台). This history describes ancient Wa based upon detailed reports of 3rd-century Chinese envoys who traveled throughout the Japanese Archipelago.