Kingdom of Miyako

The Kingdom of Miyako was a religious absolute monarchy that existed in Ancient Yamatai, and is considered the forebear of the later Empire of Yamatai and the modern Yamataian state. Named for its capital city, which is today the location of the city Miyako, the Kingdom of Miyako was the first state to unify the Naichi archipelago.

Emerging towards the end of the Late Hakurei period, Miyako was an outlier in Yamataian society at the time as a theocratic monarchy instead of a clan-based domain. It proceeded to absorb and conquer the territories of numerous neighbouring clans in the early Saigyo period around the third century BCE, achieving total control over Akitsukuni by 200 BCE. Throughout the Saigyo period, Miyako would expand further and unified the rest of the Naichi archipelago, both through military conquest and diplomacy, by absorbing the territories of local clan leaders in exchange for rewards and roles in the government.

The first centralised government on Yamatai, Miyako was led by a central priestess-monarch known as Himiko, which some scholars believe was not a single individual but a title bestowed upon a hereditary leader. Believed to be the mortal incarnation of a god, Himiko led a shamanistic religion and ruled over a hierarchy of Uji, which were powerful local clans that swore fealty to Himiko in return for miracles and good fortune for their realms. Also key to the centralised government were the Jimi, priestesses that acted as religious heralds, messengers and enforcers of laws throughout the realms. Ferries across the various straits in Yamatai and a state-constructed footpath network also helped to further consolidate control over the Naichi archipelago.

According to records by the Hinoan Haku Domain, the last Himiko died in 82 CE, causing the outbreak of the lengthy Jingo War (壬午) between various Uji clans, marking the end of the Kingdom of Miyako and the eventual fracturing of Yamatai during the Sankoku Period.

The impact of the Kingdom of Miyako on the development of Yamatai was immense, with the public works and unprecedented governmental organisation of the Kingdom heavily influencing the subsequent regimes to come. The animistic religious beliefs of Miyako would attain widespread acceptance and eventually evolve into modern Michi during the classical period, with the figure of Himiko coming to be canonised as a goddess within the Michi pantheon. Eventually, a second Himiko claiming to be the reincarnation of the first would emerge during the Sankoku period and once again reunify Yamatai in the Teigai War (丁亥), founding the classical Empire of Yamatai.