Norinaga strongly believed that Japan had been an independent country since ancient times, and therefore to him, the article in the Record of Japan in the History of Wei that described Himiko's tribute to Wei as a fiefdom and appointed her as Queen of Wa was not acceptable.
宣長は、日本は古来から独立を保った国という考えを強く持っており、「魏志倭人伝」の卑弥呼が魏へ朝貢し、倭王に封じられたという記述は、宣長の受け入れられるものではなかった。