Lara Croft first climbed her way into our consoles in 1996, less than 2 decades later Lara would get an updated look in the reboot from Square Enix and Crystal Dynamic. Simply titled Tomb Raider, the 2013 reboot places Lara in the Dragon’s Triangle looking for the kingdom of Himiko, queen of the small island of Yamatai. Lara and her team quickly become ship wrecked on the island and discover they are not the only ones. Past survivors have formed a cult which makes Lara’s and the other travelers of the Endurance difficult and deadly. Another force, a mysterious storm, threatens to keep them on the island. Lara has to discover the history and mystery of the island in order to save her friends and escape Yamatai.
Lara and her team are looking for the island of Yamatai in the Dragon’s triangle. Known as one of the 12 Vile Vortices, the Dragon’s Triangle is also known as the Devil’s Sea where it is thought that electromagnetic fields are stronger due to warm and cold currents converging. The Bermuda Triangle, probably the best known of the Vile Vortices but methane activity may be the reason for the mysterious occurrences in the Atlantic Ocean, this may be due to volcanic activity. Starting at the island of Miyake, 100 kilometers south of Tokyo, the actual area of the triangle is still under debate. A Google image search will bring up a picture of a rusted ship that is in reality the Maria Schröder that is found in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt. During the 1950s, 5 military ships were lost in the Devil’s Sea, and scientists have also disappeared in the region. Charles Berlitz wrote about the disappearances in his 1989 book, however another author Larry Kusche has come out against Berlitz accusing him of fabricating evidence in particular to his claims on the Bermuda Triangle.
Croft and her team become shipwrecked on the island Yamatai, the island they were searching for. While the area is tied to the Empress Himiko, where that area is actually located is still in dispute. It may be northern Kyushu (southern part of Japan) or central Honshu, both are part of the four main islands that make up Japan and are not part of the Dragon’s Triangle. Is the location of Yamatai important? For the game, no but as a central government of an early Japan, yes. Ancient Japan was made up of small kingdoms or clans and to have a central government that rules over those kingdoms, location is important. A closer influence would build a stronger control with easier access to the clans. However, Chinese influence on Japan is thought to first be found in the southern regions coming from the Korean peninsula having a great influence in the development of the southern region of the country especially in the use of iron, pottery, and rice. Control over foreign trade and the mention of Himiko in Chinese texts would make sense for Yamatai to be in the southern region of Kyushu.
Queen Himiko is listed in Chinese text but no references have been found in Japanese text by her name. Documentation in Japan did not start until the 6th century and Himiko would have predated that by 300 years. There is a legend of a sorcerer queen or priestess that is later connected to Himiko, whose name translates to sun child or sun daughter. She is referred to as the Queen of Wa and was gifted bronze mirrors and beads for sending emissaries to China. She is often referred to as unmarried. There is a story of another Empress, later in Japanese history, who had a hail storm at her death but it seems to be more legend than fact.
Much of what we see in the reboot of Tomb Raider is fiction and the foundation of the story seems to be more legend than fact. There is a place called the Dragon’s Triangle and yet we’re not sure where it is exactly and if Yamatai existed, it would not have been found there. Empress Himiko is only mentioned in Chinese documents and is not associated with storms but with the sun in the translation of her name. With two more games in the reboot series we will have to see what other legends Lara Croft will face and if like this game there is more fiction than fact.
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