Empress Jingu
Dates: Uncertain/Fabricated Japanese: 神功皇后
From Seiichi Iwao's A Biographical Dictionary of Japanese History
"Empress of the ancient period. She can best be regarded as a legendary figure. According to traditio, she was the empress of Emperor Chûai. The emperor set off on a campaign to wipe out the Kumaso people of Kyushu but died suddenly on the way. The empress, though already pregnant with the future Emperor Ôjin, in person led the forces in an attack on the Korean state of Silla, carrying it through to successful completion. From this time on Silla, as well as the other Korean states of Koguryo and Paekche, were said to have come under Japanese control. After the empress returned to Japan, she gave birth to the future Emperor Ôjin, but she continued until her death to exercise the power of rule and did not permit him to ascend the throne. The legend just recounted seems to have come into existence sometime around the fourth century and is believed to have been an attempt to explain, through the figure of Empress jingû, the fact that Japanese forces at this time were sent to the korean peninsula."
