is the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

word for

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

or a lady of higher birth. Daughters of a monarch are actually referred to by other terms, e.g. {{nihongo3, , 王女, Ōjo, literally king's daughter, even though ''Hime'' can be used to address ''Ōjo''. The word ''Hime'' initially referred to any beautiful female person. The antonym of ''Hime'' is ''Shikome'' (醜女), literally ''ugly female'', though it is archaic and rarely used. ''Hime'' may also indicate ''feminine'' or simply ''small'' when used together with other words, such as ''Hime-gaki'' (a low line of

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoin ...

). ''Hime'' is commonly seen as part of a Japanese female divinity's name, such as

Toyotama-hime or Luxuriant-Jewel-Princess is a goddess in Japanese mythology in the episode of the "Luck of the Sea and the Luck of the Mountain" in the '' Kojiki'' as well as '' Nihon Shoki''. She is the daughter of the sea deity, Watatsumi. Toyotama marrie ...

. The

Kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

applied to transliterate ''Hime'' are 比売 or 毘売 rather than 姫. The masculine counterpart of ''Hime'' is ''Hiko'' (彦, 比古 or 毘古,) which is seen as part of Japanese male gods' names, such as Saruta-hiko. Unlike ''Hime'', ''Hiko'' is neutral, non-archaic and still commonly used as a modern Japanese male given name, for example

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada ( ja, 高田伸彦, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UW ...

Proverb

*Ichi hime ni

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...

"''First baby, a girl. Second baby, a boy''": It originally meant that having a girl first, and a boy second was easier on the mother as she gained experience before nurturing a boy. However, with each household having fewer children, this is commonly confused as having "one girl and two boys", or three children. This is because "ichi" means "one" in Japanese and "ni" means "two" in Japanese, and therefore could be read as, "One girl, two boys."

Usage

While many use the name ''Hime'' to address those of a higher or more noble birth, there are a few who use it as a girl's name. Thus some names either incorporate the word ''Hime'' or the giver simply will name said girl ''Hime''.

Historical

Himiko , also known as , was a shamaness-queen of Yamatai-koku in . Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom (220–265) and record that the Yayoi period people chose her as ruler fol ...

Some believe that Himiko is a

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

from Japanese to Chinese of ''Himemiko'' or female shaman. *

Soga no Kitashihime was a Japanese noblewoman and high lady, a daughter of Soga no Iname, a high-ranking official. She was a consort of Emperor Kinmei of Japan. Among her offspring were Emperor Yōmei, Empress Suiko and Princess Ōtomo. Issue Soga no Kitashihime ...

(consort of

Emperor Kimmei was the 29th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 欽明天皇 (29) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Titsingh, Isaac. (1834)pp. 34–36 Brown, Delmer. (1979) ''Gukanshō,'' pp. 261–2 ...

)

Sengoku Period

Nōhime , also known as Kichō (帰蝶), was the legal wife of Oda Nobunaga, a major ''daimyō'' during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. Her proper name was Kichō, but since she came from Mino Province, she is most commonly referred to as Nōhime ...

(wife of Oda Nobunaga) * Ichi Hime (市姫)　(younger sister of Oda Nobunaga) * Koma Hime (駒姫) (daughter of

Mogami Yoshiaki was a ''daimyō'' of the Yamagata Domain in Dewa Province, in the late Sengoku and early Edo periods. Known as "Fox of Dewa". Biography Mogami Yoshiaki was the first son of Mogami Yoshimori ( 最上義守), of the Mogami clan and succeeded h ...

) * Gotoku Hime (五徳姫) (daughter of Oda Nobunaga) * Iroha Hime (五郎八姫) (daughter of Date Masamune) * Toku Hime （督姫） (second daughter of

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

) *

Hosokawa Gracia Akechi Tama, usually referred to as , (1563 – 25 August 1600) was a member of the aristocratic Akechi family from the Sengoku period. Gracia is best known for her role in the Battle of Sekigahara, she was considered to be a political hos ...

(daughter of

Akechi Mitsuhide , first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...

) *

Senhime (May 26, 1597 – March 11,February 6 in the old calendar 1666), or Lady Sen, was the eldest daughter of the '' shōgun'' Tokugawa Hidetada and later the wife of Toyotomi Hideyori. She was remarried to Honda Tadatoki after the death of her fir ...

(Princess Sen, eldest daughter Shogun

Tokugawa Hidetada was the second ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate. Early life (1579–1593) Tokugawa Hidetada was bo ...

) *

Komatsuhime (1573 – March 27, 1620) was a female warrior (''onna-musha'') during late-Sengoku period and early Edo period . Born the daughter of Honda Tadakatsu, she was adopted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, before marrying Sanada Nobuyuki. She is described as h ...

(daughter of

Honda Tadakatsu , also called Honda Heihachirō (本多平八郎) was a Japanese samurai, general and daimyo of the late Sengoku through early Edo periods, who served Tokugawa Ieyasu. Honda Tadakatsu was one of the Tokugawa Four Heavenly Kings along with Ii ...

) *

Yodo-dono or (1569 – June 4, 1615) was a prominently placed figure in the late- Sengoku period. She was the daughter of Oichi and sister of Ohatsu and Oeyo. She was a concubine and second wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was then the most powerful ...

(daughter of Ichi Hime (市姫)) * Hatsu Hime (初姫)　(daughter of Ichi Hime (市姫)) *

Oeyo , , or : 1573 – September 15, 1626) was a prominently-placed female figure in the Azuchi–Momoyama period and early Edo period. She was daughter of Oichi and the sister of Yodo-dono and Ohatsu. When she rose to higher political status during ...

(daughter of Ichi Hime (市姫), wife of

) *

Tachibana Ginchiyo was head of the Japanese Tachibana clan and onna-musha during the Sengoku period. She was the daughter of Tachibana Dōsetsu, a powerful retainer of the Ōtomo clan (which were rivals of the Shimazu clan at the time). Because Dosetsu had no s ...

　(daughter of

Tachibana Dōsetsu file:Tachibana Dosetsu.jpg, Painting of Tachibana Dōsetsu , born , also as Bekki Akitsura, and Bekki Dōsetsu, was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period who served the Ōtomo clan. He was the father of Tachibana Ginchiyo and adopted father of ...

) * Mah Hime (摩阿姫) (daughter of

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又� ...

) * Go hime (豪姫) (daughter of

)

Literature

* Kaguya-hime; or The Moon Princess;

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the form. The story detail ...

folk tale * Tsubaki-hime (椿姫, a common Japanese translation of the French work

The Lady of the Camellias ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

)

In popular culture

* '' Shikabane Hime'' is a Japanese manga series and a TV anime series * ''

Anmitsu Hime Anmitsu (, rarely ) is a Japanese dessert that dates to the Meiji era. It is made of small cubes of agar jelly, a white translucent jelly made from red algae. The agar is dissolved with water (or fruit juice such as apple juice) to make the jell ...

'' (The Sugar Princess,

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

and manga series) * '' Mononoke Hime'' (Princess Mononoke, film) * Hime, the lead character in the anime and manga series ''

Princess Resurrection is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yasunori Mitsunaga. The manga was serialized in '' Monthly Shōnen Sirius'' magazine and published by Kodansha. A 26-episode anime series by Madhouse aired on TBS in 2007. Both the ma ...

''. * '' Sakura Hime Kaden'', a manga by Arina Tanemura * ''

Fushigiboshi no Futagohime is a 2005 Japanese anime television series conceptualized by Birthday and produced by Nihon Ad Systems and TV Tokyo, with animation from Hal Film Maker. A manga adaptation titled ''Twin Princess of Wonder Planet: Lovely Kingdom'' by Mayuki ...

'', a Japanese anime * Tsunade Hime, a character from the manga ''

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

'' *

Orihime Inoue is a fictional character and in the ''Bleach'' manga series and its anime adaptations created by Tite Kubo. She is one of Ichigo Kurosaki's friends, and later his wife. Like the many other characters in the series, she quickly develops spiritua ...

, a character from the Manga & Anime '' Bleach''. * '' Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon'', the sequel to the manga and anime series ''

Inuyasha is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from November 1996 to June 2008, with its chapters collected in fifty-six '' ...

''. * Luna Himemori, a Hololive VTuber

Castle

Himeji Castle is a hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of prototypical Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network o ...

Proverb

Usage

Historical

Sengoku Period

Literature

In popular culture

Castle

See also