Jingu of Japan
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Empress Jingū of Japan (c. AD 169 - 269) was the legendary empress of Japan, wife of Chūai, the 14th emperor of Japan.
On her husband's death, she assumed leadership of the government. According to legend, she led an army for the invasion of Korea and returned to Japan victorious after three years. Subsequently, her son Ōjin was born. The empress Jingū ruled over Japan until 270 AD. She was succeeded by her son as the 15th emperor; later he was canonized as Hachiman, god of war.
As it is legendary, Jingo's invasion of the Korean peninsula is based on Japanese interpretation of the Kwanggeto Stele found in Manchuria which proclaimed Koguryo's dominion of Manchuria and the northern part of Korea. Closer examination has revealed that the Japanese interpretation was pure conjecture, since the three critical letters are in effect, missing, and in context would correlate more with Koguryo's immediate southern neighbors, the Silla and Paekche. The Paekche had very close relations with Japan, including exchanges of the two courts, and it was a primary conduit of continental culture to Japan, including the building of Japan's oldest wooden structure and temple.
Most historians today, including Japanese scholars, reject the legend of Jingū as truth. They refer instead to the close Japanese relations with the Korean state of the Paekche.
| Preceded by: Emperor Chūai | Legendary Empress Regent of Japan 209-269 | Succeeded by: Emperor Ōjin |