Gender Feminine
Usage Japanese Mythology
Scripts 卑弥呼, 卑彌呼(Japanese Kanji)
Other Forms FormsPimiko, Hibiko, Himeko
Meaning & History
Meaning "sun daughter" or "sun child" or possibly "princess" in archaic Japanese. This is from Old Japanese hime (姫) meaning 'young noblewoman, princess', or from hi (日) 'sun' and me (女) 'woman' or miko (覡 or 巫女) 'shamaness, shrine maiden, priestess'. Some sources posit that Himiko (Pimiko) is from an archaic Japanese title, himeko, which means 'princess', from hime with the female name suffix -ko (子) 'child'.A famous bearer of the name is the Empress Himiko (Pimiko), a shaman queen also known as Yamtohime No Mikoto, the Sun Queen or Sun Goddess of Japanese legend. She is alleged to be the first known ruler of Wa (Japan), and of the legendary land of Yamatai, believed by some to be the same as Wa. She is the supposed originator of the Grand Shrine of Ise, which is considered one of the most important Shintō sanctuaries in Japan to this day.