Eiso dynasty

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

The Eiso dynasty [1] (英祖王統) was the third dynasty in the traditional historiography of Okinawa Island. It was established by Eiso in 1259. Chūzan Seikan , the first official history of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, claimed that Eiso was a descendant of the ancient Tenson dynasty. [2] During Gihon's reign, Okinawa sufferred from several terrible disasters, including storm, flood and famine. [3] Around 1254, Gihon appointed Eiso to be regent ( sessei ). Seven years later, Gihon abdicated in favor of Eiso, whom established the Eiso dynasty in the same year. [4] Gihon had to hand over his power because he was unable to manage these disasters and that discontent made it necessary to share authority with a representative chosen from the old Tenson chieftains; or a rival from Tenson chieftains forced Gihon to relinquish power. [3] Though commonly called the "kings", the Okinawan rulers at that time should be more accurately identified as paramount chiefs, or overlords among aji during the Gusuku period.

Contents

George H. Kerr suggested that the stories of Shunten and Eiso dynasties "reflect the increasing penetration of Japanese influence" among Ryukyu Islands. [5]

The Eiso dynasty had five kings, lasted from 1259 to 1349. When the fourth ruler Tamagusuku ascended the throne in 1314, the Okinawa Island fell into confusion and split into three principalities: Chūzan, Nanzan and Hokuzan. [2] The lord (aji) of Ōzato left for his own castle and declared himself to be King of Nanzan, while the lord of Nakijin declared himself independent of Chūzan and crowned himself as the King of Hokuzan. [6] On the death of the last king Seii in 1349, the last king of Eiso dynasty died. Satto, the Governor of Urasoe, seized the throne for himself and established the Satto dynasty. [7]

List of rulers

Name Kanji Divine name [8] ReignAge at death
Eiso 英祖Wezo-no-tedako
英祖日子
1260–129970
Taisei 大成Unknown1300–13089 or 61
Eiji 英慈Unknown1309–131345
Tamagusuku 玉城Unknown1314–133640
Seii 西威Unknown1337–135421

Notes

  1. Richard Pearson (2013). Ancient Ryukyu: An Archaeological Study of Island Communities. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN   9780824865894. The victorious Ryukyu Kingdom compiled the Chūzan seikan as its history in the seventeenth century AD, outlining a succession of three early dynasties (Haneji 1983). These were the Tenson Dynasty, the Eiso Dynasty (AD 1260 to 1349), and the Satto Dynasty (AD 1350 to 1405).
  2. 1 2 Chūzan Seikan, vol. 2
  3. 1 2 Kerr. p53.
  4. Chūzan Seikan, vol. 1
  5. Kerr. p58–59.
  6. Kerr. p61.
  7. Shimaziri District Elementary School Social Studies Research (島尻地区小学校社会科研究会, Shimajiri Chiku Shōgakkō Shakaika Kenkyūkai) (2002). Okinawa History Biographical Dictionary (沖縄歴史人名事典, Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten), p. 85.
  8. 琉球国王の神号と『おもろさうし』 (PDF) (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2021-02-16.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryukyu Kingdom</span> Historical kingdom in Okinawa, Japan from 1429 to 1875

The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a tributary state of imperial Ming China by the Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island to end the Sanzan period, and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands and Sakishima Islands. The Ryukyu Kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East Asia and Southeast Asia despite its small size. The Ryukyu Kingdom became a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain of Japan after the invasion of Ryukyu in 1609 but retained de jure independence until it was transformed into the Ryukyu Domain by the Empire of Japan in 1872. The Ryukyu Kingdom was formally annexed and dissolved by Japan in 1879 to form Okinawa Prefecture, and the Ryukyuan monarchy was integrated into the new Japanese nobility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanzan period</span> Period in Okinawan history

The Sanzan period is a period in the history of the Okinawa Islands when three lines of kings, namely Sanhoku, Chūzan and Sannan, are said to have co-existed on Okinawa Island. It is said to have started during King Tamagusuku's reign and, according to Sai On's edition of the Chūzan Seifu (1725), ended in 1429 when Shō Hashi unified the island. Historical records of the period are fragmentary and mutually conflicting. Some even question the co-existence of the three polities.

Shō Hashi was the last King of Chūzan and the first king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, uniting the three polities of Chūzan, Hokuzan, and Nanzan by conquest and ending the Sanzan period.

Satto (察度) was King of Chūzan. He is the first ruler of Okinawa Island who was recorded by contemporary sources. His reign was marked by expansion and development of Chūzan's trade relations with other states, and the beginning of Okinawa's tributary relations with Ming dynasty China, a relationship that continued for roughly five hundred years, almost until the fall of the Qing dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chūzan</span> Kingdom from 1314 to 1429 on the island of Okinawa, now part of Japan

Chūzan (中山) was one of three kingdoms which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more solidly defined kingdoms within a few years after 1314; the Sanzan period thus began, and would end roughly one hundred years later, when Chūzan's King Shō Hashi conquered Hokuzan in 1419 and Nanzan in 1429.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hokuzan</span> One of three political entities which controlled Okinawa during Sanzan period

Hokuzan, also known as Sanhoku (山北) before the 18th century, located in the north of Okinawa Island, was one of three independent political entities which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century during Sanzan period. The political entity was identified as a tiny country, a kingdom, or a principality by modern historians, however the ruler of Hokuzan was in fact not "kings" at all, but petty lords with their own retainers owing their direct service, and their own estates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanzan</span> Kingdom controlling 14th century Okinawa

Nanzan (南山), also known as Sannan (山南) before the 18th century, located in the south of Okinawa Island, was one of three independent political entities which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. The political entity was identified as a tiny country, a kingdom, or a principality by modern historians, however the ruler of Nanzan was in fact not "kings" at all, but petty lords with their own retainers owing their direct service, and their own estates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamagusuku</span> King of Ryūkyū

Tamagusuku was a legendary local ruler of Okinawa Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eiso (king)</span> King of Ryūkyū

Eiso was a semi-legendary ruler of Okinawa Island. He was the founding monarch of the Eiso dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King of Ryukyu</span> Ruling dynasties of the 12th to 19th-century kingdoms of Okinawa Island

King of Ryūkyū, also known as King of Lew Chew, King of Chūzan, or more officially Ryūkyū Kingdom's King of Chūzan, was a title held by several lineages from Okinawa Island until 1879. It effectively started in 1372 when Satto greeted a Chinese envoy from the newly established Ming dynasty although his son Bunei was the first to be officially recognized as the King of Chūzan. However, the official Okinawan narrative traces the line of succession further back to the legendary ruler Shunten, who supposedly ascended to the throne in 1187. Another peculiar feature of the official Okinawan narrative is the notion of the single line of succession, instead of Chinese-style dynastic changes, even though they clearly recognized that several unrelated lineages had taken over the position.

Shōsatto (承察度), read variously as Ōzato, Ofosato, and Ufusatu, was a local ruler of Okinawa Island who was given the title of King of Sannan. Contemporary sources on Shōsatto are very scarce. Following a visit of a Chinese envoy to Okinawa Island, he first sent a tributary mission in 1380. His last contact was in 1396. His "reign" deviated too much from the ideological ideal. Only the "king" should have a tributary relationship with the Chinese emperor, but the "King's father's younger brother" (王叔) Ōeishi also sent envoys from 1388 to 1397. In 1403, Ōōso, who claimed to be Shōsatto's younger brother or cousin, reported Shōsatto's death in 1403 and was recognized as King of Sannan the next year.

Taromai (他魯毎), read variously as Tarumoi and Tarumī, was a local ruler of Okinawa Island, who was given the title of King of Sannan. He first contacted the Chinese emperor in 1415, claiming himself to be an heir to King Ōōso, without clearly specifying his blood relationship with the former king. He claimed that Ōōso was killed by his elder brother Tabuchi, who had in turn been killed by local chiefs, in favor of Crown Prince Taromai. This report was highly unusual because Okinawans routinely deceived the Chinese into thinking that the throne was normally succeeded from the father to the son. Historian Dana Masayuki raises the possibility that it was a cover story for Taromai's illegitimate seizure of power. His last contact was of 1429. The Chinese records suggest that the Chinese had no information on when and how the king disappeared. Because the King of Chūzan continued tributary missions, the Chinese later speculated that the Kings of Sannan and Sanhoku had been removed by the King of Chūzan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shunten</span> King of Ryūkyū

Shunten, also known as Shunten-Ō, was a legendary ruler of Okinawa Island. Shunten is the earliest chief in Okinawa for whom a name is known. He is said to have taken power after defeating an usurper to the throne by the name of Riyū who had overthrown the 25th king of the Tenson dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military of the Ryukyu Kingdom</span> Overview of the military of the Ryukyu Kingdom

The military of the Ryukyu Kingdom defended the kingdom from 1429 until 1879. It had roots in the late army of Chūzan, which became the Ryukyu Kingdom under the leadership of King Shō Hashi. The Ryukyuan military operated throughout the Ryukyu Islands, the East China Sea, and elsewhere that Ryukyuan ships went. Ryukyu primarily fought with other Ryukyuan kingdoms and chiefdoms, but also Japanese samurai from Satsuma Domain and pirates. Soldiers were stationed aboard ships and Ryukyuan fortifications. The Ryukyuan military declined after the 17th century until it was abolished following the Japanese annexation of Ryukyu in 1879.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amamikyu</span> Creation goddess of the Ryukyu Islands in the Ryukyuan religion

Amamikyu, or Amekushin-otome-ōankami (天久臣乙女王御神), is the creation goddess of the Ryukyu Islands in the Ryukyuan religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Shō dynasty</span> Royal house of Ryukyu Kingdom

The First Shō dynasty was a dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom on Okinawa Island in the 15th century, ruled by the First Shō family under the title of King of Chūzan. According to the official history books compiled during the second Shō Dynasty, it lasted from 1406 to 1469. However, the official account is considered unreliable by modern historians because it contradicts contemporary sources.

The Tenson dynasty (天孫氏王統) was the first dynasty in the traditional historiography of the Ryukyu Islands. According to the Ryukyuan creation myth, the Heavenly Emperor (天帝), who lived in the Heavenly Gusuku (天城), ordered Amamikyu to create the Ryukyu Islands. Without sexual intercourse, she became pregnant by a male deity, Shinerikyu, and populated the islands. Generations of mankind lived in caves and fields. At last there emerged a "heavenly child", who had three sons and two daughters: the first son became the first king, the second son became the first lord (Aji), the third son became the commoners; both daughters became the priestesses, the elder daughter became the first kikoe-ōgimi, while the younger became the first noro. The Chūzan Seikan claimed that the Tenson dynasty had twenty-five kings and ruled for seventeen thousand years. The last king was assassinated and usurped by a powerful official named Riyū (利勇), and later, Riyū was overthrown by Shunten, the lord of Urasoe, who established the Shunten dynasty in 1187.

The Shunten dynasty (舜天王統) was the second dynasty in the traditional historiography of Okinawa Island. It was established by Shunten in 1187. According to Chūzan Seikan, Shunten's mother was a daughter of the aji, or local chieftain, of Ōzato; his father, Minamoto no Tametomo, was an adventurer from Japan. Prior to becoming king, Shunten was the lord of Urasoe. At that time, Okinawa Island was in great confusion; the last overlord of Tenson dynasty was assassinated by the powerful official named Riyū (利勇), whom promoted himself as paramount chief. Shunten revolted against Riyū and overthrew him. In 1187, Shunten was recognized as the new "king". overlord among aji. Though commonly called the "kings", the Okinawan rulers at that time should be more accurately identified as paramount chiefs, or overlords among aji during the Gusuku period.

King of Sannan was a title given to a line of local rulers on Okinawa Island from the late 14th century to the early 15th century. Contemporary sources on the kings of Sannan are scarce and mutually conflicting. The narratives on the kings have gradually been expanded over time. In historiography, the term Sannan conventionally refers to a realm supposedly under their control. Sannan is also known as Nanzan (南山). The new term was coined in the 18th century by Sai On by flipping the two-character title.

King of Sanhoku was a title given to a line of local rulers on Okinawa Island from the late 14th century to the early 15th century. Contemporary sources on the Kings of Sanhoku are extremely scarce, and narratives on them have gradually been expanded over time. In historiography, the term Sanhoku conveniently refers to a realm supposedly under their control. Sanhoku is also known as Hokuzan (北山). The new term was coined in the 18th century by Sai On by flipping the two-character title.

References