Changes

*''Japanese'': 琉球王国 ''(Ryuukyuu-ou-koku)''

*''Japanese'': 琉球王国 ''(Ryuukyuu-ou-koku)''

The Kingdom of Ryûkyû encompassed and ruled over most of the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]], which stretch between [[Kyushu|Kyûshû]] and Taiwan, from [[1429]] to [[1879]].  

The Kingdom of Ryûkyû encompassed and ruled over most of the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]], which stretch between [[Kyushu|Kyûshû]] and Taiwan, from around the 1520s until [[1879]].  

Ruled by the [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]] of kings from [[Shuri Castle]], on the island of [[Okinawa]], the kingdom was formed by the unification in 1419-1429 of the island, which had been previously divided into [[Sanzan period|three kingdoms]]. It was an independent state, though a [[tribute|tributary]] to Ming China, until the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] by forces of Japan's [[Satsuma han]]. From then until its dissolution in [[1879]], the kingdom served as a semi-independent vassal state under Satsuma, and continued its tributary relationship with China.

Ruled by the [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]] of kings from [[Shuri Castle]], on the island of [[Okinawa]], the kingdom is traditionally said to have been formed by the unification in 1419-1429 of the island, which had been previously divided into [[Sanzan period|three kingdoms]]. However, as Gregory Smits and others have shown, there is little evidence of a centralized territorial state with a bureaucratized government prior to the 1520s. Ryûkyû operated as an independent and sovereign state in a [[tribute|tributary]] relationship with [[Ming Empire|Ming China]] until the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] by forces of Japan's [[Satsuma han]]. From then until its dissolution in [[1879]], the kingdom served as a semi-independent vassal state under Satsuma, and continued its tributary relationship with China.

The kingdom's territory expanded over the course of the 15th-16th centuries, as the islands of the archipelago were absorbed into the kingdom one by one; after 1624, [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and a number of its neighboring islands were annexed by Satsuma han. The Amami Islands today remain part of [[Kagoshima Prefecture]] while the rest of the Ryûkyûs constitute [[Okinawa Prefecture]].

The kingdom's territory expanded over the course of the 15th-16th centuries, as the islands of the archipelago were absorbed into the kingdom one by one; after 1624, [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and a number of its neighboring islands were annexed by Satsuma han. The Amami Islands today remain part of [[Kagoshima Prefecture]] while the rest of the Ryûkyûs constitute [[Okinawa Prefecture]].

==History==

==History==

===Origins===

===Origins===

Prior to [[1314]] or so, the Ryûkyû Islands were controlled by a myriad of small chiefdoms; those on the main island of Okinawa were loosely united under a "king". [[Tamagusuku]], who ascended to this post in 1314, lacked the charisma, leadership qualities, and skills to maintain this unity, and the island fractured into three polities<ref>For the sake of convenience and simplicity, most sources in English refer to these as "kingdoms" and their leaders as "kings", though most are also keen to point out that the political structures of the time continued to far more closely resemble chiefdoms. Though the Chinese character for "king" (王) is used in both Chinese and Japanese sources of the period, it is perhaps most accurate to not consider these rulers "kings" until sometime around the unification of Okinawa in 1419-1429.</ref>: [[Nanzan]] in the south of the island, [[Hokuzan]] in the north, and [[Chuzan|Chûzan]] in the center.

According to official histories written by the kingdom in the 17th-18th centuries as part of efforts to legitimate the kingdom and glorify its history, prior to [[1314]] or so, the Ryûkyû Islands were controlled by a myriad of small chiefdoms; those on the main island of Okinawa were loosely united under a "king." In truth, most of these local powerholders were likely not indigenous Ryukyuan Islanders who had risen to power within their local communities, nor was their power based primarily in territorial claims or authority. Rather, most were likely "sea lords" who controlled harbors, trading fleets, and trading routes, and vied against one another for such control.<ref name=maritime>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu, 1050-1650'', University of Hawaii Press, 2019.</ref> The traditional narrative names [[Tamagusuku]] as a chief/"king" who ascended to this post in 1314, but who lacked the charisma, leadership qualities, and skills to maintain this unity, and the island fractured into three polities: [[Nanzan]] in the south of the island, [[Hokuzan]] in the north, and [[Chuzan|Chûzan]] in the center. Though the traditional narrative speaks of these as territorial states - kingdoms that divided the island of Okinawa between them - recent scholarship suggests they should be better understood as "kingdoms for trade purposes"; these were not territorial states so much as they were trading entities, consisting primarily of harbors, fleets, and harbor fortresses, which portrayed themselves as "kingdoms" (headed by "kings") in diplomatic and trade interactions in order to consolidate power, assert legitimacy, and facilitate trade.<ref name=maritime/>

A local lord (''[[anji]]'') by the name of Hashi rose to power at the beginning of the 15th century, and overthrew the king of Chûzan, [[Bunei]], around 1407. Hashi originally set up his father as king, but continued to wield power behind the scenes, succeeding his father in 1422. The two received formal investiture from the Ming Court, and were granted the surname Shô (尚, "Shang" in Chinese); father and son thus became [[Sho Shisho|Shô Shisho]] and [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]] respectively, marking the beginning of the first [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]]. Under their leadership, in the traditional narrative, Chûzan conquered Hokuzan in 1419 and Nanzan in 1429, uniting the island of Okinawa, establishing the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, and moving the capital from [[Urasoe]] to [[Shuri]]. There is little evidence, however, of a consolidated, bureaucratic, and territorially-based state - a kingdom in the typical sense - until around the 1520s, a century later.<ref>Smits, ''Early Ryukyuan History: A New Model'', University of Hawaii Press (2024), 22ff.</ref>

 

A local lord (''[[anji]]'') by the name of Hashi rose to power at the beginning of the 15th century, and overthrew the king of Chûzan, [[Bunei]], around 1407. Hashi originally set up his father as king, but continued to wield power behind the scenes, succeeding his father in 1422. The two received formal investiture from the Ming Court, and were granted the surname Shô (尚, "Shang" in Chinese); father and son thus became [[Sho Shisho|Shô Shisho]] and [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]] respectively, marking the beginning of the first [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]]. Under their leadership, Chûzan conquered Hokuzan in 1419 and Nanzan in 1429, uniting the island of Okinawa, establishing the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, and moving the capital from [[Urasoe]] to [[Shuri]].

===Independence===

===Independence===

[[File:Shureimon.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The Shureimon gate to Shuri castle, bearing a plaque reading "Nation of Propriety"]]

[[File:Shureimon.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The Shureimon gate to Shuri castle, bearing a plaque reading "Nation of Propriety"]]

[[File:Shiseibyo-gate.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The main gate to the [[Shiseibyo|Confucian temple]] in [[Kumemura]]]]

[[File:Shiseibyo-gate.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The main gate to the [[Shiseibyo|Confucian temple]] in [[Kumemura]]]]

Despite its tiny land area, the kingdom came to play a crucial role in regional trade networks as a transshipping point. Much of the tribute goods paid by the kingdom to China came originally from Southeast Asia. Hundreds of Ryukyuan vessels, many of them acquired from the Ming, but operating on behalf of the Ryukyuan royal government, traversed the seas, making port in China, Korea, Japan, and at least eight different ports across Southeast Asia, engaging not only in trade but also in diplomatic exchanges.<ref>Records show a number of instances of Ryûkyû requesting seagoing vessels from Ming and from Siam, explicitly for the purpose of facilitating maritime trade activities. Some scholars have suggested this indicates that Ryukyuan vessels were themselves not capable of traversing such vast distances safely or effectively. Chan, Ying Kit. “A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526).” MA Thesis, National University of Singapore, 2010, 58n147, 60. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/20602.</ref> Goods from Japan consisted primarily of precious metals and objects of fine art; the kingdom acquired primarily medicinal herbs, ceramics, and textiles from Korea and China. These were then exchanged in Luzon, Siam, Java (Sunda), Melaka, Palembang, Sumatra, Pattani, and Annam for a variety of spices, aromatic woods, skins, ivory, and other animal products, and sugar. Ryukyuan ships traveling to Southeast Asia were typically manned by entirely Chinese crews, with Chinese navigators, though they were always captained by native Ryukyuans, with the exception of missions to Java.<ref>Gunn, 220.</ref>

Despite its tiny land area, Ryûky6U came to play a crucial role in regional trade networks as a transshipping point. Much of the tribute goods paid by the kingdom to China came originally from Southeast Asia. Hundreds of Ryukyuan vessels, many of them acquired from the Ming, but operating on behalf of the Ryukyuan royal government, traversed the seas, making port in China, Korea, Japan, and at least eight different ports across Southeast Asia, engaging not only in trade but also in diplomatic exchanges.<ref>Records show a number of instances of Ryûkyû requesting seagoing vessels from Ming and from Siam, explicitly for the purpose of facilitating maritime trade activities. Some scholars have suggested this indicates that Ryukyuan vessels were themselves not capable of traversing such vast distances safely or effectively. Chan, Ying Kit. “A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526).” MA Thesis, National University of Singapore, 2010, 58n147, 60. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/20602.</ref> Goods from Japan consisted primarily of precious metals and objects of fine art; the kingdom acquired primarily medicinal herbs, ceramics, and textiles from Korea and China. These were then exchanged in Luzon, Siam, Java (Sunda), Melaka, Palembang, Sumatra, Pattani, and Annam for a variety of spices, aromatic woods, skins, ivory, and other animal products, and sugar. Ryukyuan ships traveling to Southeast Asia were typically manned by entirely Chinese crews, with Chinese navigators, though they were always captained by native Ryukyuans, with the exception of missions to Java.<ref>Gunn, 220.</ref>

Annam was perhaps the greatest of Ryûkyû's Southeast Asian trading partners, with a greater number of Ryukyuan ships traveling to Annam in the 16th century than to any other destination outside of China. Eleven other destinations also saw more Ryukyuan ships in that period than Japan did.<ref>McNally, 96.</ref> Siam, meanwhile, was the only Southeast Asian polity to which Ryûkyû sold [[sulfur]]. Interactions with Siam began as early as the 1380s, via Chinese intermediaries, but in the 15th century came to be handled more directly by Ryukyuan merchants. With perhaps only one exception, Siamese ships did not travel to Ryûkyû; the trade was conducted entirely on Ryukyuan vessels. Ryûkyû traded with the sultans of Melaka from [[1463]] until [[1511]], when Melaka fell to the Portuguese, and the Ryukyuans diverted their trade activities to Pattani. Records of Ryukyuan activity in Java indicate interactions in [[1430]]-[[1442]], and again in [[1513]]-[[1518]]; unlike in relations with Siam and other regions, in Java and Sumatra local Chinese merchant communities directed the trade with Ryûkyû.<ref>Gunn, 220-221.</ref>

Annam was perhaps the greatest of Ryûkyû's Southeast Asian trading partners, with a greater number of Ryukyuan ships traveling to Annam in the 16th century than to any other destination outside of China. Eleven other destinations also saw more Ryukyuan ships in that period than Japan did.<ref>McNally, 96.</ref> Siam, meanwhile, was the only Southeast Asian polity to which Ryûkyû sold [[sulfur]]. Interactions with Siam began as early as the 1380s, via Chinese intermediaries, but in the 15th century came to be handled more directly by Ryukyuan merchants. With perhaps only one exception, Siamese ships did not travel to Ryûkyû; the trade was conducted entirely on Ryukyuan vessels. Ryûkyû traded with the sultans of Melaka from [[1463]] until [[1511]], when Melaka fell to the Portuguese, and the Ryukyuans diverted their trade activities to Pattani. Records of Ryukyuan activity in Java indicate interactions in [[1430]]-[[1442]], and again in [[1513]]-[[1518]]; unlike in relations with Siam and other regions, in Java and Sumatra local Chinese merchant communities directed the trade with Ryûkyû.<ref>Gunn, 220-221.</ref>