− | These 1,166 documents, along with another 175 not designated National Treasures, are known as the "Shô Family Documents," or ''Shôke monjo'' 尚家文書. Following the [[Ryukyu shobun|fall of the kingdom]] in [[1879]], the Shô family was forced to leave [[Shuri castle]]; while King (now [[kazoku|Marquis]]) [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]] and certain other members of the former-royal household took up residence in a mansion in Tokyo,<ref>The Tokyo mansion was originally located at Kôjimachi Fujimi-chô 2-8 in Chiyoda-ku, today the site of the Kudan Middle School. Following the 1923 Great Kantô Earthquake, the family relocated to the Nanpeidai neighborhood in Shibuya-ku, a site today occupied by the Embassy of Malaysia. Meanwhile, [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]] (Ryukyu Domain) had its official mansion on Mochikizaka 檎木坂, in what is today Fujimi 1-chôme, Chiyoda-ku, from [[1872]] to [[1879]]. "Ryûkyû hanshu e teitaku o tamawaru" 「琉球藩主へ邸宅を賜はる」, Tokyo nichinichi shimbun 東京日日新聞 (1872/10/3), reproduced in Meiji hennen shi 明治篇年史, vol 1 (1934), 497.</ref><ref name=ryukyuten>Hokama Masaaki 外間政明, "Shôke no takaramono ni tsuite" 「尚家の宝物について」, ''RYUKYU'' exhibition catalog, Tokyo National Museum (2022), 437-438.</ref> other members of the family remained behind at [[Nakagusuku udun]], formerly the Crown Prince's mansion, just below Shuri castle. Some portion of these documents were then sent to Tokyo so they could be consulted by scholar [[Higashionna Kanjun]] as he compiled his ''[[Sho Tai ko jitsuroku|Shô Tai kô jitsuroku]]'' 尚泰侯実録 ("True Record of Lord Shô Tai"); while those kept at Nakagusuku udun were tragically lost in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, those sent to Tokyo (along with new documents created or obtained in the intervening years) survived the 1923 earthquake, World War II, and other events.<ref name=feenukaji>Katsuren Shôko 勝連晶子, "Ryûkyû ôkoku Shôke no monjo fukusei kara mietekuru mono" 琉球王国尚家の文書複製からみえてくるもの, ''Fee nu kaji'' 南ぬ風 48 (2018/7-9), 6-7.; the Shô family's Tokyo mansion escaped any significant damage in the 1923 earthquake, and it is said that the family offered refuge to many residents of the nearby area. Hokama, 439.</ref> Additional court documents (especially those pertaining to foreign relations) were seized by the [[Meiji government]] in [[1879]] and separated from the possession of the Shô family.<ref name=ryukyuten/> | + | These 1,166 documents, along with another 175 not designated National Treasures, are known as the "Shô Family Documents," or ''Shôke monjo'' 尚家文書. Following the [[Ryukyu shobun|fall of the kingdom]] in [[1879]], the Shô family was forced to leave [[Shuri castle]]; while King (now [[kazoku|Marquis]]) [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]] and certain other members of the former-royal household took up residence in a mansion in Tokyo,<ref>The Tokyo mansion was originally located at Kôjimachi Fujimi-chô 2-8 in Chiyoda-ku, today the site of the Kudan Middle School. Following the 1923 Great Kantô Earthquake, the family relocated to the Nanpeidai neighborhood in Shibuya-ku, a site today occupied by the Embassy of Malaysia. Meanwhile, [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]] (Ryukyu Domain) had its official mansion on Mochikizaka 檎木坂, in what is today Fujimi 1-chôme, Chiyoda-ku, from [[1872]] to [[1879]]. "Ryûkyû hanshu e teitaku o tamawaru" 「琉球藩主へ邸宅を賜はる」, Tokyo nichinichi shimbun 東京日日新聞 (1872/10/3), reproduced in Meiji hennen shi 明治篇年史, vol 1 (1934), 497.</ref><ref name=ryukyuten>Hokama Masaaki 外間政明, "Shôke no takaramono ni tsuite" 「尚家の宝物について」, ''RYUKYU'' exhibition catalog, Tokyo National Museum (2022), 437-438.</ref> other members of the family remained behind at [[Nakagusuku udun]], formerly the Crown Prince's mansion, just below Shuri castle. Some portion of these documents were then sent to Tokyo so they could be consulted by scholar [[Higashionna Kanjun]] as he compiled his ''[[Sho Tai ko jitsuroku|Shô Tai kô jitsuroku]]'' 尚泰侯実録 ("True Record of Lord Shô Tai"); while those kept at Nakagusuku udun were tragically lost in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, those sent to Tokyo (along with new documents created or obtained in the intervening years) survived the 1923 earthquake, World War II, and other events.<ref name=feenukaji>Katsuren Shôko 勝連晶子, "Ryûkyû ôkoku Shôke no monjo fukusei kara mietekuru mono" 琉球王国尚家の文書複製からみえてくるもの, ''Fee nu kaji'' 南ぬ風 48 (2018/7-9), 6-7.; the Shô family's Tokyo mansion escaped any significant damage in the 1923 earthquake, and it is said that the family offered refuge to many residents of the nearby area. Hokama, 439.</ref> Roughly 100 items were stolen from the residence's storehouse, however, in 1946, including a ''yingluo'' (golden jeweled attachment for the royal crown) |
| In the postwar period, the family entrusted many materials, including those that had previously been lent to Higaonna, to Matsumoto Hiroshi, son-in-law of [[Sho Hiroshi|Shô Hiroshi]] (1918-1997), 22nd head of the family. Matsumoto, a librarian at the [[Waseda University]] Libraries, allowed the Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education to conduct a survey of these materials in 1973, and in 1989 began in earnest restoring and conserving the materials.<ref>Hokama, 440.</ref> | | In the postwar period, the family entrusted many materials, including those that had previously been lent to Higaonna, to Matsumoto Hiroshi, son-in-law of [[Sho Hiroshi|Shô Hiroshi]] (1918-1997), 22nd head of the family. Matsumoto, a librarian at the [[Waseda University]] Libraries, allowed the Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education to conduct a survey of these materials in 1973, and in 1989 began in earnest restoring and conserving the materials.<ref>Hokama, 440.</ref> |