The earliest mention of the Island region we now know as Okinawa in Chinese historical records goes back to the Sui Dynasty of the late-6th and early-7th century.[1] While Chinese influences had already spread into the Korean Peninsula and as far as Japan, many parts of Asia were uncharted frontier territories. Legend has it that in 607 Emperor Yangdi dispatched his envoy Zhu Kuan to explore beyond the horizon and to find, amongst other things, the secrets of immortality and transforming base metals into gold. Discovering islands that conjured up images of floating globes he named them 'Liuqiu.' Vagueness in the Sui Shu, the annals covering the Sui era, ensures that the precise location of Zhu Kuan’s Liuqiu will forever be unclear, yet over time it came to specifically pertain to Okinawa Island and the archipelago of which it is a part, particularly as informal trade and cultural relations with China developed over the following Tang and Song Dynasties. Japan’s recognition of the Chinese naming of the islands came in a letter to King Sho Shisho of Chuzan from the Ashikaga Shogun Yoshimochi in 1416, addressing him as 'Lord of Ryukyu,' or Riukiu koku no yo no nushi.[2]
Prior to the establishment of a unified state in 1429, the island of Okinawa had been divided into the so-called sanzan, or 'Three Kingdoms' of Hokuzan, Chuzan, and Nanzan (north, central, and south mountains, respectively).[3] Each kingdom had its own 'King,'[4] anji (aji),[5] or feudal lords,[6] and armies. These evolved over a period of many centuries as small, isolated communities were either enveloped or sought alignment with the more powerful.[7] Despite sporadic contacts with China and Japan, which certainly had some impact on societal development in the region, the disparate communities scattered throughout the island remained largely unaffected by the world beyond. From about the 12th century onwards, local anji began constructing gusuku, generally rendered as 'castle,' as both seats and symbols of their authority.[8] Although few of the gusuku were in any way as grand as the English term might suggest, being most often simple fortified compounds or structures, this era is commonly known as the gusuku period.[9] With no kingdom able to establish overall hegemony, however, an oftentimes fragile balance of power persisted. The Hokuzan (or Sanboku) Kingdom was largest in terms of land area, though most of it was mountainous and covered in dense forest which forced population centres to be located predominantly in coastal areas. Chuzan (or Chusan) had the best of the arable land, better harbour areas, and a larger population. Nanzan (or Sannan) shared many of Chuzan's positive attributes but was by far the smallest kingdom.
The system endured until the latter part of the 14th century.[10] In early-1372, King Satto of Chuzan responded to an earlier overture by sending his brother, Taiki, on a tribute mission with horses, sulphur, and shells to the recently-inaugurated Ming Court in China, establishing the first diplomatic relations and accepting use of the Chinese calendar.[11] In 1374, he was recognised as Liuqiu Koku Chuzan O, or 'King of Chuzan, Country of Liuqiu'[12] by seal of investiture,[13] or cefeng (sappo, sappu or sakuho) and accepted into the tributary system.[14] In return for entry into the system Satto recognised that he and his kingdom fell under China’s suzerainty. Although the Kings of Hokuzan and Nanzan were eventually recognised by the Ming Court[15] in 1383 and 1380, respectively, they had left it late.[16] Chuzan, economically boosted by this newly established union, moved to extend its authority. Led by the powerful army of the founder of the first Sho Dynasty, King Sho Hashi, the seat of Hokuzan power at Nakijin Castle was overrun and captured in 1416.[17] Given the obvious effort involved in conquering the vast Hokuzan region,[18] which necessarily reduced Chuzan's military presence on its southern border, it is likely Nanzan and Chuzan initially collaborated. Relations then must have soured as Chuzan took Shimajiri Ozato Castle in Nanzan some thirteen years later. This was the first step in the formation of the Ryukyu okoku, or Ryukyu Kingdom.[19] The whole Ryukyu archipelago was finally brought under Shuri control by 1571.[20]
A key element of the unification process was the dismantling of old feudal systems and the institution of a centralised administration. The capital of the entire island was designated as Shuri,[21] and the sole monarch King Sho Hashi.[22] Sho Hashi carried out various reforms to reduce the threat of any regional figure attempting to usurp control from Shuri. The old sanzan kingdoms were renamed Kunigami, Nakagami, and Shimajiri, from north to south, respectively, with each area subdivided into new magiri (majiri) districts. The boundaries of the magiri were almost identical to the boundaries of the old feudal domains, perhaps so as not to force change too swiftly on the anji. The dissolution of the northern and southern kingdoms to whom the non-Chuzan anji had pledged allegiance led most to retreat back to their domains with their tails between their legs. Those anji reluctant to accept the new government returned to a quiet life, living on what they collected in taxes from local farmers and fishermen. Those prepared to accept the new spirit of the times and pledge loyalty to Shuri did better economically. For the next century there were no credible challenges to Shuri authority on Okinawa Island. The only power struggle experienced was a bloodless coup d’êtat in 1470, in which a royal treasurer Kanemaru took the name Sho En and the throne, ushering in the Second Sho Dynasty.[23]
Although challenges from the regional anji during the first century of Shuri rule were non-existent, a package of reforms further preventing such an occurrence were implemented under King Sho Shin. [24] In the first part, he curtailed the private ownership and carrying of swords. [25] Secondly, Sho Shin issued an edict in 1526 requiring anji to relocate from their fiefdoms to within close proximity of Shuri Castle. Not that this in any way constituted imprisonment. The anji lived in great splendour and were entitled to wear the same royal red costume as the Sessei (Chancellor) and Oji (Royal Prince). Special north, central, and south districts within Shuri itself were designated for the anji coming from each of the old sanzan kingdoms so as to prevent old rivalries exploding on too regular a basis. [26] Thus, the means for an anji to wage war was lost, as was the security of isolated location from which treasonous plans might be formulated. Most of the anji quickly submitted to these new rules, but were sensible enough to leave a trusted individual at home to protect economic interests. The system was akin to granting a power of attorney. The individual representing an anji’s interests were known as anji ucchi ( anji okite) or, quite simply, ucchi. While initially content to allow this to go on free of Shuri interference, Sho Shin had been responsible for the creation of a comprehensive social and administrative structure that would, despite some tinkering, persist for several centuries. The main elements of the structure were threefold: a system of status ranks within the royal family and nobility, [27] a hierarchy of officials and offices of administration based at Shuri Castle that is commonly referred to as the Shuri Ofu, or 'Shuri Royal Government,' and a local administrative system. As the system was refined, bansho ( banjo), or district offices, were established in each of the magiri, with ofu representatives, known as jitodai ( jitodei) dispatched to keep an eye on the activities of the anji ucchi. This further strengthened the centralisation of power.
[1] See the chronology in: Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, ed. Okinawa-kenshi 1 - tsushi (Tokyo: Kokusho Kanko Kai, 1976), 3, and other books. Most present the story of a 7th century expedition arriving at Okinawa demanding the islanders accept the Sui Emperor as sovereign with scepticism since China referred to all the islands between Japan and the Philippines as Liuqiu. As time passed, Okinawa came to be known as 'Great Liuqiu,' and Taiwan as 'Minor Liuqiu.' A better documented attempt to bring Great Liuqiu under China's control came in 1296 under the Mongol Overlord Kublai Khan, but this failed. As for Japan's venturings toward Great Liuqiu, missions were sent to China from 607 AD onwards. Logic dictates that some strayed off course in the direction of Okinawa or other islands in the archipelago.
[2] Majikina Anko and Shimakura Ryuji, Okinawa issennenshi (Naha: Ryukyu Shiryo Kenkyukai, 1966), 143.
[3] In Chinese histories these districts are called Shan Pei (Sanboku), Chung Shan (Chuzan), and Shan Nan (Sannan). As is discussed below, they were technically not kingdoms.
[4] Scholars have noted that the term 'king' should be treated with caution. Takahashi Kimiaki argues that the sanzan 'kings' were more accurately chiefs or leaders (shucho), and that the title 'king' only became appropriate after they received investiture from the Ming Court. Takahashi Kimiaki, 'Ryukyu Okoku,' in Iwanami Koza: Nihon Tsushi, Dai 10 ken, Chusei (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1994), 305. Kerr makes the same case, noting that it was "by degrees leadership was institutionalised…distinctly individual leadership exercised through force of personality or preeminent skill in arms or political shrewdness was only slowly replaced by formal institutions of government…supported and strengthened by a developing respect for the royal office." George Kerr, Okinawa: The History of an Island People (Rutland, Vermont: Charles Tuttle, 2000), 52.
[5] For a concise description of anji and their role see Higaonna Kanjun, Ryukyu no rekishi (Tokyo: Shibundo, 1957), 170-171.
[6] An alternative to anji in the Ryukyuan language and commonly found in the aforementioned Omoro Soshi, is 'yo no nushi.' One could render it in English as 'master of the world,' which the anji certainly was to the average person. The no can be dispensed with leaving a two-kanji compound pronounced seishu. On the anji-yo no nushi connection see: Nakahara Zenchu, Ryukyu no rekishi (Naha: Bunkyo Tosho, 1978), 23, and Higaonna Kanjun, Ryukyu no rekishi (1957), 170.
[7] There is too little space to detail the historical evolution of Okinawa prior to the sanzan period. Those interested should consult: Higa Shuncho, Okinawa no rekishi (Naha: Okinawa Taimusu Sha, 1959), 1-40, Majikina Anko and Shimakura Ryuji, Okinawa Issennenshi (Naha: Ryukyu Shiryo Kenkyukai, 1966), 1-72, Miyagi Eisho, Okinawa no rekishi (Tokyo: NHK Books, 1968), 15-39, Nakahara Zenchu, Ryukyu no rekishi (1978), 1-35. In English, see Kerr's Okinawa: The History of an Island People (2000), 23-59. Clearly, there is much crossover between these resources.
[8] For the development of gusuku see Richard Pearson, 'The Chuzan Kingdom of Okinawa as a City-State,' in Nichols, Deborah L., and Charlton, Thomas H., ed. The Archaeology of City-States: Cross-Cultural Approaches (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997), 119-134.
[9] There were 100 such structures on Okinawa and adjacent islands at this time. Takara Kurayoshi and Dana Masayuki, ed. Zusetsu: Ryukyu Okoku (Tokyo: Kawade Shobo Shinsha, 1993), 59.
[10] Formal Liuqiu-China relations were established during the latter half of the 14th century. Having defeated the Yuan Empire in 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and became its first emperor. An imperial envoy, Yang Zai, was dispatched to Okinawa Island, or 'Great Liuqiu' (Taiwan being 'Liuqiu Minor'), in mid-1372 to inform the islanders of the succession of a new ruler, request they pay tribute at the Ming Court, and henceforth observe the Chinese calendar.
[11] Thereafter the chief envoys sent on a tribute missions would be of Sanshikan, or 'Council of Three' rank. The Sanshikan is discussed in more detail later in this chapter.
[12] Takahashi Kimiaki points out that despite the existence and investiture of the three separate sanzan kings, the official Ming history (in Japanese Min jitsuroku) only ever makes reference to a single 'Country of Ryukyu' (Ryukyu koku). Takahashi Kimiaki, 'Ryukyu Okoku,' loc. cit., 306.
[13] On the various seals given by China to the kings of tributary states, including illustrations, see Nishizato Kiko, Uezato Kenichi, and Xu Gong Sheng, ed. Chugoku-Ryukyu koryushi (Naha: Okinawa Bunko, 1991), 238-254.
[14] The sappo policy was introduced by the first Ming Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang (1368-1399). He encouraged surrounding countries to use the Chinese calendar and bring gifts as tribute in recognition of China’s greatness as moral exemplar. To those leaders offering tribute to the Emperor, China would recognise their sovereignty over the new vassal or tributary state and extend gifts and favours. The Kings of Chuzan and Korea accepted the policy within 5 years of the inauguration of the first Ming Emperor. Higaonna Kanjun sums up the pros and cons of the tributary system for both parties as follows: "The tributary system meant to a great country who took tributes the discarding of substance and taking of name, whereas it meant to a small country the discarding of name and taking of substance." For accepting China's suzerainty Chuzan received many economic benefits. Higaonna also argues the tributary system existed from China's standpoint as a mechanism for ensuring international peace and that China had no interest in sovereignty issues. This theme is discussed further later in the current text. Higaonna Kanjun, 'An Outline of Okinawan History,' in Higaonna Kanjun zenshu - 1 (Tokyo: Ryukyu Shimpo Sha, 1978), 17-18.
[15] Sun Wei, a researcher at the Hosei daigaku Okinawa bunka kenkyusho, recently discovered among Ming Dynasty records that tribute was actually being received from two Nanzan kings: Oeishi and Ufusatto. Okinawa Times, 13th March 2001.
[16] For a short time, however, we have the somewhat strange set-up in which each of the tiny island's states independently conducted diplomatic and cultural relations with China, sending ships and ambassadors on tribute missions and enrolling students in the National Academy in Beijing. One can only wonder how they managed to avoid each other, or what they said and did if they inadvertently met. The Ming Court was little concerned since it was receiving three separate tributes. Interestingly, when the Ming Court dispatched the so-called 'Thirty-Six Families' from Fuchien Province to Okinawa in 1391, it was to Chuzan. It should be noted that the 'Thirty Six' does not actually refer to the number sent to Okinawa but to the different surnames. Rather than being homesteaders, these people were highly skilled in various areas: from drafting official correspondences, ship construction, diplomacy, artistic pursuits, and the like. They were settled in district of Naha that they later named Kume. Kume became a highly prestigious community, even after the increase in Japanese influence in Okinawa after the Satsuma invasion in the early-17th century, producing many officials who served in high offices of government at Shuri.
[17] The King of Hokuzan committing suicide. US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Research and Analysis Branch, The Okinawas of the Loo Choo Islands: A Japanese Minority Group, reprinted in Okinawa-kenshi, Shiryohen 2 (Naha: Okinawa Prefectural Library, 1996), 49. The history section of this OSS document, whilst chaotic, poorly referenced, saturated with appalling English, and prepared during W.W.II primarily for psychological warfare efforts, seems to be based largely on the Shi Liuqiu Lu, or 'Record of Missions to the Liuqiu Kingdom,' from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, if not before, and is therefore of considerable use if used carefully in conjunction with other history texts, such as Takahashi Kimiaki's, which are heavily based on official Chinese records.
[18] Often referred to somewhat disparagingly as inakayambaru, or 'place of mountain and country people,' a reference to the low level of societal development in the region in comparison with Chuzan. The name Yanbaru persists in everyday use, though more in the sense of 'rural north,' rather than any slur on the inhabitants of Kunigami.
[19] China referred to Chuzan at this point in time as the Liuqiu Kingdom, yet it was little more than a city-state with a total land area of just less than twice the size of Singapore. In the opinion of the current writer, the Ryukyu Kingdom came into existence once the other islands in the Ryukyu retto had been subjugated and brought under the control of Shuri towards the end of the 16th century.
[20] The islands of Kume, Kerama, Iheya, and Oshima began sending tribute missions to Shuri as far back as the late-13th century. The southern regions of Yaeyama and Miyako began sending tribute to Chuzan in 1390, but were brought under the control of Shuri in the early-16th century. Pockets of resistance to centralisation abounded in these areas. There were the Yaeyama rebellions of Oyake Akahachi on Ishigaki, and Ufutura on Yonaguni, both of which were put down by the Miyako Island chieftain Nakasone Toyomioya, before he submitted to Chuzan rule. The northern Amami Island group was incorporated into the Chuzan Kingdom after two subjugation missions in 1537 and 1571. Takara Kurayoshi, Ryukyu Okoku (Tokyo: Iwanami Shinsho, 1993), 64-65.
[21] Urasoe Castle had originally been the seat of Chuzan.
[22] The name Sho, which has the sense of value or respect, was conferred upon Hashi by the Ming Emperor, Hsuan Tsung, in 1430, with his father Sho Chu being the first monarch to inherit the name. US OSS, Research and Analysis Branch, The Okinawas of the Loo Choo Islands: A Japanese Minority Group, in Okinawa-kenshi, Shiryohen 2 (Naha: Okinawa Prefectural Library, 1996), 51, and Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, ed. Okinawa-kenshi 1 - tsushi (Tokyo: Kokusho Kanko Kai, 1976), 4.
[23] There is insufficient space to examine how power transferred from monarch to monarch through Okinawa's history. Suffice it to say that while the absence of such explanations in the text may give the impression that power was smoothly transferred from one to another this was not the case. Records from Okinawa and China suggest that these were frequently violent conflicts within the royal family.
[24] Sho Shin became king in 1477, at only 13-years old, and held the throne for 51 years, becoming the longest-reigning monarch in Okinawa's history. Higaonna Kanjun writes that Sho Shin was king for so long that the Ming Court had lost most of its reference books on ceremonies and mission sizes in the intervening years and was totally unprepared for the investiture of his successor Sho Sei. Higaonna Kanjun, 'An Outline of Okinawan History,' in Higaonna Kanjun zenshu - 1 (1978), 28.
[25] As Sakihara Mitsugu points out in the revised edition of Kerr's 1958 English language history of Okinawa, the widely-held view that Sho Shin imposed a kingdom-wide ban on swords, bows and arrows, and the like, was based on a mistranslation by the famous Okinawan scholar Iha Fuyu. In actuality, it was a case of weapons being less in abundance in Okinawa than in Japan. See George Kerr, Okinawa: The History of an Island People (2000), 543-544. Whilst items weapons such as swords were in limited ownership, Patrick McCarthy points out that law enforcement officials and others developed skills with "weapon-usable objects," such as sickles and other farming tools, boat oars, and even flutes. Patrick McCarthy, 'The Sapposhi, Pechin, and Samurai,' The Ryukyuanist 24 (1994), 1.
[26] An unforeseen effect of this decision to relocate the anji to Shuri was a rapid increase in the number of houses constructed and firewood requirements. This, along with a rise in the island's population and the rise in the use and production of wood-based products, began to stretch the island's natural timber resources.
[27] With status indicated by the style and colour of one's hachimaki (head-dress) or kanzashi (hairpins).
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