Gihon

• Japanese: 義本 (Gihon)

Gihon was a semi-legendary king of the Okinawan kingdom of Chûzan. According to traditional accounts, he succeeded King Shun Bajunki in 1249 and ruled roughly ten years, until 1259, when he abdicated, sent himself into exile, and was succeeded by a man named Eiso.

Though Gihon had a son, Prince Urasoe Taruyoshi (b. 1249), it was Eiso and not this prince who succeeded him.

Little is known of the final events of Gihon's life, or the true whereabouts of his remains. On Okinawa, traditional accounts typically relate that he made his way deep into the forests at the northern end of Okinawa Island and died there; a site near Asumui utaki just south of Hedo no misaki is traditionally identified as his tomb. In the Amami Islands, however, traditional accounts assert that he successfully fled further north, to the Amami Islands. A number of lineages trace their ancestry back to a figure called simply Amami ufunushi (阿麻美大主) - i.e. a "lord" or "prince" of Amami - said to be a direct descendant of Gihon.

The kumi udui play Kôko no maki features King Gihon as one of the primary characters.

References

• Gregory Smits, Maritime Ryukyu, University of Hawaii Press (2019), 152-153.