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Kumemura, or Kuninda in the [[Okinawan language]], was a walled district of [[Naha]], the chief port city of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]]. Located on the island of Ukishima, it was a community of members of the scholar-bureaucrat class, and the chief center of Confucian learning in the kingdom. The vast majority of government administrators and officials came from the families of Kumemura. The community was also responsible for the introduction of much of the Confucian and Chinese influence otherwise into Ryukyuan popular & folk culture, with many practices and philosophies being adopted within Kumemura first, before spreading into the broader population. Members of the Kume community were central to Ryukyuan foreign relations, serving as translators and interpreters, and as embassy officials on missions to [[Edo]] and [[Beijing]], as well as heading the reception of [[Chinese investiture envoys]] in Ryûkyû, and drafting official diplomatic documents.

Kumemura, or Kuninda in the [[Okinawan language]], was a walled district of [[Naha]], the chief port city of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]]. Located on the island of Ukishima, it was a community of members of the scholar-bureaucrat class, and the chief center of Confucian learning in the kingdom. The vast majority of government administrators and officials came from the families of Kumemura. The community was also responsible for the introduction of much of the Confucian and Chinese influence otherwise into Ryukyuan popular & folk culture, with many practices and philosophies being adopted within Kumemura first, before spreading into the broader population. Members of the Kume community were central to Ryukyuan foreign relations, serving as translators and interpreters, and as embassy officials on missions to [[Edo]] and [[Beijing]], as well as heading the reception of [[Chinese investiture envoys]] in Ryûkyû, and drafting official diplomatic documents.

The community was said to have been founded in [[1393]] by [[36 Min families|thirty-six families from China]]<!-- 閩人三十六姓-->, and the Ryukyuans (as well as the Chinese and Koreans) who lived there were, to some extent, continually thought of as "Chinese," or at least as coming from different stock than other Ryukyuans, even after many generations passed (and after much intermarrying had occurred). Many scholars today suggest that the number "thirty-six" is really meant to simply indicate "many," and that while conventional wisdom has it that these families came chiefly or exclusively from [[Fuzhou]], in fact some at least are believed to have come from [[Zhangzhou]]<!--漳州-->, [[Taizhou]]<!--臺州-->, and [[Quanzhou]]<!--泉州-->. Further, while the myth of the 36 families suggests they came as a single distinct group, this concept more likely refers to a more general flow of some number of unrelated families over a period of some years, from a variety of places - in other words, to a more general immigration event.

The community was said to have been founded in [[1393]] by [[36 Min families|thirty-six families from China]]<!-- 閩人三十六姓-->, and the Ryukyuans (as well as the Chinese and Koreans) who lived there were, to some extent, continually thought of as "Chinese," or at least as coming from different stock than other Ryukyuans, even after many generations passed (and after much intermarrying had occurred). Many scholars today suggest that the number "thirty-six" is really meant to simply indicate "many," and that while conventional wisdom has it that these families came chiefly or exclusively from [[Fuzhou]], in fact some at least are believed to have come from [[Zhangzhou]]<!--漳州-->, [[Taizhou]]<!--臺州-->, and [[Quanzhou]]<!--泉州-->. Further, while the myth of the 36 families suggests they came as a single distinct group, this concept more likely refers to a more general flow of some number of unrelated families over a period of some years, from a variety of places - in other words, to a more general immigration event. A number of sources suggest a notable community of Koreans living in Kumemura as well, by the 1450s if not decades or even a hundred years earlier.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Early Ryukyuan History: A New Model'', Univ. of Hawaii Press (2024), 135.</ref>

By the mid-15th century, the community was surrounded by earthen walls, and contained around a hundred homes. The main thoroughfare, Kuninda Ufumichi (J: ''Kume Ôdôri''), cut across the district, running from the "Great Gate" (O: ''Ufujô'', J: ''Ômon'') which served as the entrance to the neighborhood in the southeast, to the Nishinjô ("[[Four Directions|Northern Warrior]] Gate"<!--西武門-->) in the northwest. These gates were grand structures, in a style similar to that of the Shureimon of [[Shuri castle]].<ref>Flyers available at Kuninda Terrace, Kume, Naha.</ref> According to ''[[feng shui]]'' conceptions of the town's layout, the Great Gate was the neck of a dragon, Kuninda Ufumichi its back, and the Northern Gate as its tail, with the great stones of [[Nakashima (Naha)|Nakashima]], just across the river in Izumisaki, as the dragon's pearl, or [[wish-granting jewel]]. Two stones by the Great Gate represented the dragon's eyes, and two trees its horns.<ref name=kumeplaque>Plaques on-site in Kume district, Naha.</ref> The Taoist temple [[Shiseibyo|Tensonbyô]] lay to the north of the road, while [[Kume Tenpi-gu|two Tenpigû temples]] to the sea goddess [[Matsu]] (aka Tenpi) lay to the south. A natural spring called ''Yuuna-nu-kaa'', located near the center of the village, served as one of the chief communal sources of fresh water.<ref>Plaque on-site at Yuuna-nu-kaa.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/21691303729/sizes/l]</ref>

By the mid-15th century, the community was surrounded by earthen walls, and contained around a hundred homes. The main thoroughfare, Kuninda Ufumichi (J: ''Kume Ôdôri''), cut across the district, running from the "Great Gate" (O: ''Ufujô'', J: ''Ômon'') which served as the entrance to the neighborhood in the southeast, to the Nishinjô ("[[Four Directions|Northern Warrior]] Gate"<!--西武門-->) in the northwest. These gates were grand structures, in a style similar to that of the Shureimon of [[Shuri castle]].<ref>Flyers available at Kuninda Terrace, Kume, Naha.</ref> According to ''[[feng shui]]'' conceptions of the town's layout, the Great Gate was the neck of a dragon, Kuninda Ufumichi its back, and the Northern Gate as its tail, with the great stones of [[Nakashima (Naha)|Nakashima]], just across the river in Izumisaki, as the dragon's pearl, or [[wish-granting jewel]]. Two stones by the Great Gate represented the dragon's eyes, and two trees its horns.<ref name=kumeplaque>Plaques on-site in Kume district, Naha.</ref> The Taoist temple [[Shiseibyo|Tensonbyô]] lay to the north of the road, while [[Kume Tenpi-gu|two Tenpigû temples]] to the sea goddess [[Matsu]] (aka Tenpi) lay to the south. A natural spring called ''Yuuna-nu-kaa'', located near the center of the village, served as one of the chief communal sources of fresh water.<ref>Plaque on-site at Yuuna-nu-kaa.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/21691303729/sizes/l]</ref>