Himiko
| Sun Queen Himiko | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Died | 2013 Yamatai | |
| Nationality | Japanese | |
| Occupation | The Sun Queen and ruler of Yamatai | |
| Game(s) | Tomb Raider (2013) | |
| Voice | Arden Cho[1] | |
Himiko ((卑弥呼), who is also known by her title The Sun Queen, is a character in Tomb Raider (2013).
When Himiko was alive she was a Japanese shaman queen. On the mysterious island Yamatai, where Lara Croft and the crew of the Endurance get stranded on in the Tomb Raider Reboot, a temple was built in her name.[2]
Contents
Life
Himiko is the first and the last Sun Queen[3] and the ruler of Yamatai. The origins of the very first Sun Queen are not revealed.
Forever Living Soul
The secret of Himiko is that by choosing certain Priestesses of the Sun to her court and possessing one of their bodies, she is able to live and rule Yamatai forever. As the current Himiko grows old, she chooses one of the Priestesses of the Sun to become her successor, or in fact the next vessel for her soul. The chosen priestess is escorted to the Chamber of the Sun where Himiko's soul transfers from her old body to the next by means of a ancient Ritual, turning this priestess into the next Sun Queen.[4][5]
The Ritual and Hoshi
During the reign of the last Sun Queen a young girl named Hoshi was chosen to become a Priestess of the Sun. Years passed and she became Himiko's "precious first daughter", which scared Hoshi as she suspected she would be chosen to become the next Sun Queen.[6] When Hoshi's fate became clear as Himiko grew old, Hoshi learns the truth about what it truly means to become the next Sun Queen. She chooses to defy her fate for the sake of all Priestesses of the Sun that would follow her as well as for the sake of Yamatai. She steals a dagger from the Stormguard General and kills herself inside the Chamber of the Sun, just as the ritual was performed, as this was the only thing that could save her soul and trapping that of Himiko in a dying body.[7]
From this moment Himiko's soul rages in the storms as she lives a half-life, her soul still trapped in the decaying body of the last Sun Queen. The storms will finally end only when her soul is no longer trapped.[8]
Himiko and Mathias
Many years after the corrupted Ritual - in June 1982 - a plane crahes on Yamatai due to the raging storms. On board of that plane was Mathias, who gets trapped on the island as so many before him. Determined to escape Yamatai some day, he desperately searches for the secret of the island as he sees learning what has happened there as a key for escaping. A couple of months pass and Mathias learns that somehow everything started with Himiko. To be able to fully control the island's storms and move forward with his plans, Mathias creates a cult, the Solarii, who worship the Sun Queen, effectively resurrecting the ancient religion once native to the island.[9]
Being stranded on Yamatai for years, Mathias starts to somehow believe that Himiko is showing him the way - that she has always shown him the way, even before he reached the island. He discovers what - or actually who - is the key to escaping the island and he is sure that he will find her, even if it takes years. Mathias starts to hear Himiko whispering in his sleep as the important event of the Endurance shipwrecking on Yamatai draws closer.[10] He believes that if he is able to bring Himiko back, everything he wants to escape from will vanish in an instant "and like the sun rising anew, she will bathe all the land and seas with her light, burning away everything." Mathias would then "emerge from this scorched earth... reborn and pure".[11]
Endurance's Shipwreck to Yamatai (2013)
The Endurance shipwreck on Yamatai brings new survivors to the island. Most importantly it brings Samantha Nishimura there, to the land of her ancestors. When he meets her Mathias almost instantly realizes that she is the one he has been waiting for all those years he has been stranded on Yamatai. He then goes on to kidnap Sam as he intends to complete the Ritual that was corrupted ages ago.
Ultimate Death
Lara finds the tomb where the remains of the Stormguard General rest, and she removes the sword that he used to commit suicide. She finds a secret compartment inside the handle of the sword which contains a note:
This note makes Lara realize that in order to stop the storms she needs to destroy Himiko's body in the ritual chamber. She sets out to yet again save her friend Samantha. After fighting Mathias, Lara interrupts the transferring of Himiko's soul by hitting the decaying body of Himiko with a lit torch. Himiko's body starts to burn and, as it is destroyed, the horrid screams of Himiko can be heard.
After Himiko's body has been destroyed and her soul finally set free, the storms calm down and the remaining survivor's of the Endurance, - Jonah Maiava, Joslin Reyes, Sam and Lara - are able to leave Yamatai for good.
Characterization
Queen Himiko of Yamatai is the kind of ruler who is both feared and worshipped.[13] A Chinese Ambassador describes Himiko in the following way:
Hoshi in her journals talks about how the Sun Queen is like a mother to the Priestesses of the Sun: warm, attentive and loving,[15] but eventually she learns the truth about the Sun Queen: "A twisted evil beyond imagining lives within the Sun Queen. An evil that hungers for more than just the land and seas of Yamatai."[16]
Family
Himiko doesn't have any family, but she surrounds herself with the Priestesses of the Sun, who she calls her daughters or Daughters of the Sun. Hoshi becomes Himiko's "precious first daughter".[17]
An important figure in Himiko's court is the Stormguard General, who pledged his very life to serving Himiko.[18] After the corrupt Ritual, the Stormguard General saw no other option but to commit suicide as he felt he had failed his queen.[19]
Historical Precedent
Himiko or Pimiko was the obscure shaman queen of the kingdom of Yamatai-koku in ancient Japan. She supposedly ruled some time around 170-250 CE. Her Name is mentioned in historical Chinese documents, so it is possible she was a historical figure. She supposedly ended a time of warfare among the people and united them under her rule using some kind of magic. After her death the realm fell back into chaos.[20]
See Also
- One of the Priestesses of the Sun, who was chosen to become the next vessel of Himiko's soul
- Group of maidens who surround Himiko and are chosen by her
- The General of Himiko's Stormguard, committed suicide after the Ritual was corrupted
- Man who is stranded to Yamatai, finds out the secret of Himiko
- Gets kidnapped by Mathias, and is then about to become the next Sun Queen. Must have some sort of relation to either Himiko, Hoshi or other Priestesses of the Sun.
Gallery
Character model of Himiko
Face of Himiko
References
- ↑ Tomb Raider (2013) end credits
- ↑ play3 Germany Issue 69
- ↑ In-game document General: Failure of Duty
- ↑ In-game document Hoshi: In Her Image
- ↑ In-game document Hoshi: An End
- ↑ In-game document Hoshi: In Her Image
- ↑ In-game documents Hoshi: Answering the Call, Hoshi: In Her Image, General: Failure of Duty and Hoshi: An End
- ↑ In-game document General: Failure of Duty
- ↑ In-game documents Stranded, Alone, Research and The Solarii
- ↑ In-game documents Belief, Obsession and Lost
- ↑ In-game document Lost
- ↑ In-game cutscene
- ↑ In-game document titled Ambassador: Discoveries
- ↑ In-game document titled Ambassador: First Impressions
- ↑ In-game document Hoshi: At Her Side
- ↑ In-game document titled Hoshi: An End
- ↑ In-game document Hoshi: In Her Image
- ↑ In-game document General: The Oath
- ↑ In-game document General: Failure of Duty
- ↑ Wikipedia article on Himiko Retrieved on Jan 1st 2013.
