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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.
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 a king of the Okinawan polity of Chūzan, traditionally described as the unifier of Okinawa and the founder of the Ryukyu Kingdom. He was the son of the lord Shō Shishō of the First Shō dynasty. Modern scholarship has connected Shishō's potential father, Samekawa, to a family of Southern Court-affiliated seafarers from southwestern Kyushu, where Hashi was possibly born. Hashi became the lord of Sashiki Castle in southern Okinawa in 1392, becoming a noted military leader. In 1407, following a diplomatic incident between the Chūzan king Bunei and the Ming dynasty court, Shō Shishō took the throne, attributed by the Ryukyuan official histories to a coup d'état by Hashi to install his father as king.
Bunei was King of Chūzan. He was the second and last ruler of the Satto dynasty.
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.
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.
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.
Seii was a legendary local ruler of Okinawa Island. He succeeded his father, Tamagusuku, in 1336, at the age of ten. His reign is characterized by the meddling of his mother in government affairs, and her corruption. The king's mother took advantage of her privileges and position, and severely damaged popular support for her son.
Sai On (蔡温) (1682–1762), or Cai Wen in Chinese, also known as Gushi-chan Bunjaku, was a scholar-bureaucrat official of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, serving as regent, instructor, and advisor to King Shō Kei. He is renowned for the many reforms he initiated and oversaw, and is among the most famous figures in Okinawan history. He edited Chūzan Seifu, a rewrite of Chūzan Seikan by his father Sai Taku.
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.
Imperial Chinese missions to the Ryukyu Kingdom were diplomatic missions that were intermittently sent by the Yuan, Ming and Qing emperors to Shuri, Okinawa, in the Ryukyu Islands. These diplomatic contacts were within the Sinocentric system of bilateral and multinational relationships in the Sinosphere.
Shishō, or Shō Shishō (尚思紹) in later sources, was Anji of Sashiki and later King of Chūzan, one of three polities on the island of Okinawa, before they were united. He was the progenitor of what became the First Shō dynasty.
Ryukyuan missions to Imperial China were diplomatic missions that were intermittently sent from the Ryukyuan kings to the Ming and Qing emperors. These diplomatic contacts were within the Sinocentric system of bilateral and multinational relationships in East Asia. A total of 347 Ryukyuan missions to China have been recorded.
Aranpō, also known by Yalanpao, was a politician and diplomat of Chūzan 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 Eiso dynasty (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. During Gihon's reign, Okinawa suffered from several terrible disasters, including storm, flood and famine. 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. 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. 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
- Kerr, George H. (1965). Okinawa, the History of an Island People. Rutland, Vermont: C.E. Tuttle Co. OCLC 39242121
- Smits, Gregory. (1999). Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-824-82037-4; OCLC 39633631
- 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). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha. OCLC 170411659 (1997 ed.)
- Suganuma, Unryu. (2000). Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations: Irredentism and the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824821593; ISBN 9780824824938; OCLC 170955369