Wa倭

The people of Wa (倭) say of themselves that they are the descendants of Taibo, and by custom they all tattoo their bodies. They are more than twelve thousand li from Daebang, and they lie for the most part east of Kuaiji, very far off. To go from Daebang to Wa one follows the sea and goes by water, passing the land of Han (韓), now east and now south, and after more than seven thousand li one crosses a sea for the first time. That sea is more than a thousand li wide and is named Hanhai, and one comes to the kingdom of Ilji. One crosses another sea of more than a thousand li, and this is the kingdom of Mallo. Then five hundred li southeast by land brings one to the kingdom of Ido, another hundred li southeast to the kingdom of No, another hundred li east to the kingdom of Bulmi, twenty days south by water to the kingdom of Tuma, and ten days south by water and a month by land to the kingdom of Gimadae, which is where the king of Wa dwells. Among its offices there is the ijima, and next the mimahoekji, and next the nowangje. The people plant rice and ramie and hemp, and they raise silkworms and spin and weave. They have ginger, cinnamon, orange, Sichuan pepper and perilla. Black pheasants, pearls and blue jade come from there. There is a beast like an ox, named shanshu (山鼠). There is also a great snake that swallows this beast. The snake's hide is hard and cannot be cut, but on it there is a hole that opens and closes, and at times a light shines from it, and if a man shoots and strikes that place the snake dies. Their products are much the same as those of Dan'er and Zhuya. The land is warm, and their customs are not lewd. Men and women alike go with the hair bound and bare, and the rich and noble make hats of brocade and colored stuffs, like the hugongtou of China. In eating and drinking they use bian and dou vessels. When a man dies there is an inner coffin but no outer one, and they heap up earth to make a mound. The people are all fond of wine by nature. In their customs they do not know the proper New Year. Many of them live long, often to eighty or ninety, and some to a hundred. In their customs the women are many and the men few, so a man of rank has four or five wives, and even a low man has two or three.

The women are not lewd and not jealous, there is no thieving, and quarrels and lawsuits are few. When the law is broken, the wife and children of the lighter offender are taken away, and for the heavier the whole kin is wiped out. In the Guanghe years of Emperor Ling of Han the kingdom of Wa fell into disorder, and they attacked one another for years, and then they set up together one woman, Himiko, as their ruler. Himiko had no husband. She held to the way of spirits and could beguile the people, and for this the men of the kingdom set her up. She had a younger brother who helped her govern the kingdom. After she became ruler few ever saw her. She had a thousand bondwomen to wait upon her, and only one man went in and out to carry her orders. Soldiers always kept guard over the palace where she dwelt. In the third year of Jingchu of Wei, after Gongsun Yuan had been put to death, Himiko sent an envoy with tribute for the first time, and Wei made her King of Wa Friendly to Wei and gave her a gold seal with a purple cord. In the Zhengshi years Himiko died, and a male king was set up again, but the kingdom would not submit and they killed one another, and so they set up Toyo, a kinswoman of Himiko, as ruler. After that a male king was set up once more, and all of them received titles from China. In the time of Emperor An of Jin there was a king of Wa named Chan (讚). Chan died and his younger brother Mi (彌) was set up. Mi died and his son Je (濟) was set up. Je died and his son Heung (興) was set up. Heung died and his younger brother Mu (武) was set up. In the Jianyuan years of Qi, Mu was appointed Bearer of the Tally, Governor of All Military Affairs of the six kingdoms of Wa, Silla, Imna, Gara, Jinhan and Mohan, and Great General Who Guards the East. When Gaozu ascended the throne he raised Mu's title to General Who Conquers the East. To the south of it there is the kingdom of Juyu (侏儒國), where the people are three or four feet tall. Further south are the kingdom of Heukchi and the kingdom of Na, more than four thousand li from Wa, and a ship takes about a year to reach them. Again, ten thousand li to the southwest there are sea folk whose bodies are black and whose eyes are white, naked and ugly, and their flesh is sweet, so that travelers sometimes shoot them and eat them.

The kingdom of Wenshen (文身國) lies more than seven thousand li northeast of the kingdom of Wa. The people have marks on their bodies like the markings of beasts, and on the forehead there are three marks. Those whose marks are straight are noble, and those whose marks are small are base. Their customs are merry, goods are plentiful and cheap, and a traveler carries no food with him. They have houses but no city walls. The place where their king dwells is adorned with gold and silver and rare and lovely things. A moat is dug around the house, a fathom wide and filled with quicksilver, and when it rains the rain runs off over the quicksilver. In the market they use precious things. One who commits a light offense is beaten with the whip and the rod. One who commits a capital offense is set before fierce beasts to be eaten, and if he has been wronged the beasts turn aside and do not eat him, and when a night has passed he is pardoned.