Changes

In addition to serving as the chief port for the kingdom, Naha was a major transshipment port, one of the most major trading hubs in the entire Southeast & East Asia region, during its height in the 15th-16th centuries. Many Japanese merchants operating within the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system made port here or even maintained homes and families in Naha, as did a small community of Korean merchants involved in trade with Java and Siam.<ref>Geoffrey Gunn, ''History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800'', Hong Kong University Press (2011), 217.</ref> The port served as a transshipment point for a great many goods, including metals, aromatic woods, silks, porcelains, ivory, and the like, as well as for silver. Though the kingdom itself did not send its own trading ships anywhere in Southeast Asia after [[1570]] (the final trading mission to Siam), the government did hire or contract Japanese merchants (and presumably others) to perform both mercantile and diplomatic duties on behalf of the kingdom. To name just two examples, [[Taira Nobushige]] of Hakata traveled to Korea in [[1471]] as an envoy of the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, and [[Kawasaki Rihee]]<!--川崎利兵衛--> of Sakai set sail for Southeast Asia in [[1598]] to engage in trade on behalf of the kingdom.<ref>Uezato. p71.</ref>

In addition to serving as the chief port for the kingdom, Naha was a major transshipment port, one of the most major trading hubs in the entire Southeast & East Asia region, during its height in the 15th-16th centuries. Many Japanese merchants operating within the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system made port here or even maintained homes and families in Naha, as did a small community of Korean merchants involved in trade with Java and Siam.<ref>Geoffrey Gunn, ''History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800'', Hong Kong University Press (2011), 217.</ref> The port served as a transshipment point for a great many goods, including metals, aromatic woods, silks, porcelains, ivory, and the like, as well as for silver. Though the kingdom itself did not send its own trading ships anywhere in Southeast Asia after [[1570]] (the final trading mission to Siam), the government did hire or contract Japanese merchants (and presumably others) to perform both mercantile and diplomatic duties on behalf of the kingdom. To name just two examples, [[Taira Nobushige]] of Hakata traveled to Korea in [[1471]] as an envoy of the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, and [[Kawasaki Rihee]]<!--川崎利兵衛--> of Sakai set sail for Southeast Asia in [[1598]] to engage in trade on behalf of the kingdom.<ref>Uezato. p71.</ref>

Trade declined dramatically in the 17th century, due to heavy restrictions imposed by Satsuma, the imposition of maritime restrictions (''[[kaikin]]'') in Japan (which brought a severe decline in Japanese maritime activity), and a variety of factors concerning trade relations with Southeast Asia. But Naha remained the chief port city, and along with Shuri, the chief economic, cultural, and political center in the Ryukyus, from that time through today. Major efforts to dredge the harbor and revitalize the port were undertaken in [[1717]]. It is said 70,000 men were involved in the effort, and a stone still stands today in honor and memory of the event.<ref>Hokama Masaaki 外間政明。”''Nahakō no seiritsu to sono kinō iji''” 那覇港の成立とその機能維持。''Shimatati'' しまたてぃ 13. Okinawa Shimatate Kyōkai 沖縄しまたて協会。July 2000. pp5-7.</ref>

Trade declined dramatically in the 17th century, due to heavy restrictions imposed by Satsuma, the imposition of maritime restrictions (''[[kaikin]]'') in Japan (which brought a severe decline in Japanese maritime activity), and a variety of factors concerning trade relations with Southeast Asia. But Naha remained the chief port city, and along with Shuri, the chief economic, cultural, and political center in the Ryukyus, from that time through today. Major efforts to dredge the harbor and revitalize the port were undertaken in [[1717]], under the direction of [[Tamagusuku Chokun|Tamagusuku Chôkun]] as ''waki bugyô''. It is said 70,000 men were involved in the effort, and a stone still stands today in honor and memory of the event.<ref>Hokama Masaaki 外間政明。”''Nahakō no seiritsu to sono kinō iji''” 那覇港の成立とその機能維持。''Shimatati'' しまたてぃ 13. Okinawa Shimatate Kyōkai 沖縄しまたて協会。July 2000. pp5-7.; "Monument of Construction of Naha Port," gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/49599881326/sizes/l/]</ref>

Naha was home to one of four sets of scholar-aristocracies in the kingdom, along with Shuri, [[Tomari]], and Kumemura. Members of the Naha aristocracy were selected for certain governmental positions - largely those related to managing trade and the administration of Naha itself - often alongside scholar-officials from Shuri, while other positions were filled exclusively from the Shuri and Kumemura families. The highest position attainable for a member of the Naha scholar-aristocracy was that of ''Omonogusuku osasu-no-soba'', head of the [[Omonogusuku]], the royal storehouse located out in the harbor. The administration of the port town itself was headed by the [[Naha satonushi]] (O: ''Naafa satunushi''), who had under him some ten to twenty officials. Two Naha ''hissha'' and two Naha ''kari hissha'', whose position might be translated as "clerk" or "secretary," oversaw official records and archives, under the authority of the ''Omonogusuku osasu-no-soba'', and a number of Naha ''[[yokome]]'' served as inspectors, investigating local civil cases, under the jurisdiction of the ''[[Jito (Ryukyu)|jitô]]'' of the neighboring port town of Tomari.<ref>''Naha shizoku no isshô'' 那覇士族の一生 (Naha: Naha City Museum of History, 2010), 14.</ref>

Naha was home to one of four sets of scholar-aristocracies in the kingdom, along with Shuri, [[Tomari]], and Kumemura. Members of the Naha aristocracy were selected for certain governmental positions - largely those related to managing trade and the administration of Naha itself - often alongside scholar-officials from Shuri, while other positions were filled exclusively from the Shuri and Kumemura families. The highest position attainable for a member of the Naha scholar-aristocracy was that of ''Omonogusuku osasu-no-soba'', head of the [[Omonogusuku]], the royal storehouse located out in the harbor. The administration of the port town itself was headed by the [[Naha satonushi]] (O: ''Naafa satunushi''), who had under him some ten to twenty officials. Two Naha ''hissha'' and two Naha ''kari hissha'', whose position might be translated as "clerk" or "secretary," oversaw official records and archives, under the authority of the ''Omonogusuku osasu-no-soba'', and a number of Naha ''[[yokome]]'' served as inspectors, investigating local civil cases, under the jurisdiction of the ''[[Jito (Ryukyu)|jitô]]'' of the neighboring port town of Tomari.<ref>''Naha shizoku no isshô'' 那覇士族の一生 (Naha: Naha City Museum of History, 2010), 14.</ref>

Following the fall of the kingdom in the 1870s and its annexation as Okinawa prefecture, Naha absorbed Shuri and became the prefectural capital. Combining with Kumemura and Tomari, it was first designated Naha-ku (Naha Ward), and then in 1921, after absorbing the towns of Kakinohana and Makishi, was named Naha City.<ref name=mai/> As the city modernized, Higashi and Nishi remained the center of political and commercial activity through the prewar period, and into the 1940s. In the 1920s to early 1940s, the main avenue of the city center was ''Ufujômee dûi'' (大門前通り, J: ''Ômon mae dôri'', lit. "Avenue in front of the Great Gate"), which ran roughly along the border between Nishi and Higashi, at a diagonal to today's street grid. The street took its name from the Kumemura Great Gate (O: ''Kuninda ufujô'', J: ''Kumemura ômon'') Three of the chief landmarks along the road were the Naha City Post Office (today, the Higashi-machi post office), Naha City Hall, and the Yamagata-ya department store. The neighborhood immediately around the City Hall was also home to the Naha City Auditorium (那覇市公会堂, ''Naha shi kôkaidô''), police and fire stations, banks, theatres, and numerous notable shops and businesses. This incarnation of the Naha City Hall, designed by Takeda Goichi, was completed in 1919, in what Takeda termed a "tropical Spanish mission style." This was the first building in Okinawa to be built in steel-reinforced concrete, and was the tallest in Naha; its 23-meter tower, which quickly became a landmark and symbol of the city, was used as a watchtower by the local fire department, and featured sirens which would be used to announce the time.<ref name=showanonaha/>

The three neighborhoods of Tsuji, Watanji, and Nakashima served as the kingdom's chief pleasure districts. Tsuji and Nakashima were created as officially designated pleasure districts in [[1672]], and prostitutes previously operating illegally were gathered there, and became authorized.<ref name=satsuyu>Ono Masako, Tomita Chinatsu, Kanna Keiko, Taguchi Megumi, "Shiryô shôkai Kishi Akimasa bunko Satsuyû kikô," ''Shiryôhenshûshitsu kiyô'' 31 (2006), 233-234.</ref> A third pleasure quarters was built at Watanji later on.<ref name=watanabe11>Watanabe Miki 渡辺美季, "Ryûkyû Shuri no zu, Ryûkyû Naha zu: Koga rekishi hakubutsukan zô Takami Senseki kankei shiryô yori" 「琉球首里ノ図・琉球那覇図ー古河歴史博物館蔵　鷹見泉石関係資料より」, ''Tôkyô daigaku shiryôhensanjo fuzoku gazô shiryô kaiseki sentaa tsûshin'' 東京大学史料編纂所附属画像史料解析センター通信 90 (Oct 2020), p11.</ref> According to one source, there may have been as many as 3,000 [[courtesans]] operating in Naha at the beginning of the 19th century. The establishments were mostly, if not entirely, run by women as well, and to a certain extent the districts were self-contained entities, with their own distinctive administrative structures and community customs.<ref name=satsuyu/>

The Naha branch of the Yamagata-ya (the head location being in [[Kagoshima]] City) was the first department store opened in Okinawa. Nearby was the Hirao branch store (平尾分店), opened in [[1892]] by [[Nara]] native Hirao Minokichi and selling both Western and Japanese clothing, and various other goods, as well as the Namikawa Hardware Store (並川金物店), run by another Nara native, Namikawa Kamejirô, who opened his shop in [[1900]]. The nearby Nakandakari clothing shop (仲村渠呉服店) was one of comparatively few clothing stores run by Okinawans. Immediately east and south of the Yamagata-ya were the Aoyama Bookstore (青山本店), run by Aoyama Sôkichi, a man from Kagoshima who specialized in Okinawa-related books; the Meishidô (明視堂), run by Yamashita Tokuzô, which sold a wide variety of items, including eyeglasses, smoking pipes, cameras, and radios; and the Okinawa Book Company (沖縄書籍株式会社), famous for its headquarters, which was said to resemble a museum. Other notable shops included the Kasuri-ya, a [[Ryukyuan textiles]] tailor's run by Nakasone Sôon; a restaurant called Mannin-ya, opened in 1929 by Nakazato Seijun and specializing in [[Okinawa soba]], [[sushi]], ''[[donburi]]'', and Western-style dishes; a pharmacy known as Seiseidô yakubô (生盛堂薬房), run by Gushiken Tôru from [[Motobu]]; the Okinawa Products Display Hall (沖縄物産陳列館), selling various local products; the headquarters of the Ryukyu Textiles Union (琉球織物同業組合); and a major telephone exchange station (telephone service began on the island in 1910). Electric street cars ran from ''Ufujômee-dûi'' all the way to Shuri beginning in 1914, but were shut down in 1933 due to overwhelming competition from the city bus lines.<ref name=showanonaha>"Shôwa no Naha fukugen mokkei," pamphlet, Naha City Museum of History, 2014.</ref> Meanwhile, a series of light rail lines were opened beginning in 1914, connecting Naha with [[Yonabaru]] and [[Itoman]] to the south, and [[Kadena]] to the north; known popularly as the "Keibin," this rail service connected through a one-story, wooden, red-tile-roofed Naha Station as its main hub, located in the Izumisaki neighborhood of Naha. The rail lines and stations were destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, and were never rebuilt; the Okinawa Monorail (aka Yui Rail), running from Naha Airport to Shuri, is the only rail line in the prefecture today, leaving Yonabaru, Itoman, Kadena, and the entire rest of the prefecture to be served by bus as the only form of public transport. Naha Bus Terminal was built on the former site of the Naha train station in 1959.<ref>Plaque at Naha Bus Terminal, Izumizaki.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/29880322403/sizes/o/]</ref>

 

The Naha branch of the Yamagata-ya (the head location being in [[Kagoshima]] City) was the first department store opened in Okinawa. Nearby was the Hirao branch store (平尾分店), opened in [[1892]] by [[Nara]] native Hirao Minokichi and selling both Western and Japanese clothing, and various other goods, as well as the Namikawa Hardware Store (並川金物店), run by another Nara native, Namikawa Kamejirô, who opened his shop in [[1900]]. The nearby Nakandakari clothing shop (仲村渠呉服店) was one of comparatively few clothing stores run by Okinawans. Immediately east and south of the Yamagata-ya were the Aoyama Bookstore (青山本店), run by Aoyama Sôkichi, a man from Kagoshima who specialized in Okinawa-related books; the Meishidô (明視堂), run by Yamashita Tokuzô, which sold a wide variety of items, including eyeglasses, smoking pipes, cameras, and radios; and the Okinawa Book Company (沖縄書籍株式会社), famous for its headquarters, which was said to resemble a museum. Other notable shops included the Kasuri-ya, a [[Ryukyuan textiles]] tailor's run by Nakasone Sôon; a restaurant called Mannin-ya, opened in 1929 by Nakazato Seijun and specializing in [[Okinawa soba]], [[sushi]], ''[[donburi]]'', and Western-style dishes; a pharmacy known as Seiseidô yakubô (生盛堂薬房), run by Gushiken Tôru from [[Motobu]]; the Okinawa Products Display Hall (沖縄物産陳列館), selling various local products; the headquarters of the Ryukyu Textiles Union (琉球織物同業組合); and a major telephone exchange station (telephone service began on the island in 1910). Electric street cars ran from ''Ufujômee-dûi'' all the way to Shuri beginning in 1914, but were shut down in 1933 due to overwhelming competition from the city bus lines.<ref name=showanonaha>"Shôwa no Naha fukugen mokkei," pamphlet, Naha City Museum of History, 2014.</ref> Meanwhile, a series of light rail lines were opened beginning in 1914, connecting Naha with [[Yonabaru]] and [[Itoman]] to the south, and [[Kadena]] to the north; known popularly as the "Keibin," this rail service connected through a one-story, wooden, red-tile-roofed Naha Station as its main hub, located in the Izumisaki neighborhood of Naha. The rail lines and stations were destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, and were never rebuilt; the Okinawa Monorail (aka Yui Rail), running from Naha Airport to Shuri, is the only rail line in the prefecture today, leaving Yonabaru, Itoman, Kadena, and the entire rest of the prefecture to be served by bus as the only form of public transport. Naha Bus Terminal was built on the former site of the Naha train station in 1959. Renovation work at the bus terminal in the late 2010s uncovered the old railroad turntable of Naha Station, the only such turntable in the city.<ref>Plaques at Naha Bus Terminal, Izumizaki.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/29880322403/sizes/o/][https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/49599724727/in/photostream/]</ref>

Some 90% of Naha City as a whole was destroyed in the October 10, 1944 Air Raid (十・十空襲); the city suffered further in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. Under the postwar American Occupation, the area immediately surrounding the former City Hall and ''Ufujômee-dûi'' was made off-limits to Japanese or Okinawan civilians, due to its proximity to the port facilities, then being actively used for military purposes. As a result, the areas of [[Tsuboya]] and Makishi, which had historically been on the outer edges of the city, now became the main center of activity. New government buildings, department stores, theatres, and the like were established along a new main avenue, called Kokusai-dôri, or "International Street," which remains the chief center of activity today.<ref name=showanonaha/>

Some 90% of Naha City as a whole was destroyed in the October 10, 1944 Air Raid (十・十空襲); the city suffered further in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa. Under the postwar American Occupation, the area immediately surrounding the former City Hall and ''Ufujômee-dûi'' was made off-limits to Japanese or Okinawan civilians, due to its proximity to the port facilities, then being actively used for military purposes. As a result, the areas of [[Tsuboya]] and Makishi, which had historically been on the outer edges of the city, now became the main center of activity. New government buildings, department stores, theatres, and the like were established along a new main avenue, called Kokusai-dôri, or "International Street," which remains the chief center of activity today.<ref name=showanonaha/>

==Geography==

==Geography==

Throughout most of the time of the Kingdom, Naha consisted of six neighborhoods or districts, all but two of them located on a small island called Ukishima, which sat in the harbor, surrounded on three sides by the Asato, Kokuba, and Kumoji Rivers, which separated it from the "mainland" of Okinawa Island by a short span. Kumemura was located in the southern part of this island, closest to the "mainland," facing the neighborhood of Izumisaki across the harbor, while the neighborhoods of Higashi and Nishi were located to the west. Wakasamachi, occupied the northern or northeastern section of the island, and finally, the port of Tomari was located just across the way, to the east of Ukishima, on the Okinawan "mainland." The [[Chokotei|Chôkôtei]], a narrow, kilometer-long earthen embankment built in [[1452]], connected Tomari and Ukishima.<ref>Uezato. p61.</ref>

Throughout most of the time of the Kingdom, Naha consisted of six neighborhoods or districts, all but two of them located on a small island called Ukishima, which sat in the harbor, surrounded on three sides by the Asato, Kokuba, and Kumoji Rivers, which separated it from the "mainland" of Okinawa Island by a short span. It was the flow of these freshwater rivers into the harbor which suppressed [[coral]] growth, thus helping it to be such an ideal harbor.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 23.</ref>

 

Kumemura was located in the southern part of this island, closest to the "mainland," facing the neighborhood of Izumisaki across the harbor, while the neighborhoods of Higashi and Nishi were located to the west. Wakasamachi, occupied the northern or northeastern section of the island, and finally, the port of Tomari was located just across the way, to the east of Ukishima, on the Okinawan "mainland." The [[Chokotei|Chôkôtei]], a narrow, kilometer-long earthen embankment built in [[1452]], connected Tomari and Ukishima.<ref>Uezato. p61.</ref>

The body of water separating Ukishima from the Okinawan "mainland" was at some point filled in, uniting the city more fully into a single section of land.

The body of water separating Ukishima from the Okinawan "mainland" was at some point filled in, uniting the city more fully into a single section of land.

A number of important economic and diplomatic institutions were located in the main port areas of Higashi and Nishi. The ''[[Oyamise]]'' (O: ''weemishi'') was the chief governmental trading center, and later came to serve as a kind of city hall or municipal affairs office as well. Markets were often held in the open space before the ''Oyamise'', which was quite close to the temples, and to the [[Tenshikan]], a mansion for visiting [[Chinese investiture envoys]] which is said to have rivaled [[Shuri Castle]] itself.

A number of important economic and diplomatic institutions were located in the main port areas of Higashi and Nishi. The ''[[Oyamise]]'' (O: ''weemishi'') was the chief governmental trading center, and later came to serve as a kind of city hall or municipal affairs office as well. Markets were often held in the open space before the ''Oyamise'', which was quite close to the temples, and to the [[Tenshikan]], a mansion for visiting [[Chinese investiture envoys]] which is said to have rivaled [[Shuri Castle]] itself.

Wakasamachi, which according to oral tradition was founded by Japanese, lay to the north of Kumemura. Here were located temples to [[Ebisu]] and [[Jizo|Jizô]], established by Japanese monks, and the [[Naminoue Shrine]]. [[Zen]] monks from Japan also founded the temple [[Koganji|Kôganji]], which was the site of the chief Japanese cemetery in the city. Wakasamachi Ôdôri ran through the district from northeast to southwest, intersecting with Kume Ôdôri near the center of Ukishima, and connecting directly into the Chôkôtei on its eastern end. While Chinese envoys stayed in residences set aside for them in Higashi/Nishi, Wakasa was home to a residence set aside for those from the [[Tokara Islands]].

Wakasamachi, which according to oral tradition was founded by Japanese, lay to the north of Kumemura. Here were located temples to [[Ebisu]] and [[Jizo|Jizô]], established by Japanese monks, and the [[Naminoue Shrine]]. [[Zen]] monks from Japan also founded the temple [[Koganji|Kôganji]], which was the site of the chief Japanese cemetery in the city. Wakasamachi Ôdôri ran through the district from northeast to southwest, intersecting with Kume Ôdôri near the center of Ukishima, and connecting directly into the Chôkôtei on its eastern end. While Chinese envoys stayed in residences set aside for them in Higashi/Nishi, Wakasa was home to a residence set aside for those from the [[Tokara Islands]].

Efforts were undertaken in [[1907]]-1915 to expand the harbor, to make it accessible for steamships. By 1915, the harbor could handle three 1500-ton ships at once; later, it was further expanded to accommodate 4500-ton ships. Meanwhile, Osaka Shôsen, a company founded in [[1884]], began running regular passenger ship routes between Osaka and Naha in [[1885]]; other companies soon joined in, connecting Naha to Kagoshima, Tokyo, and other cities, and enabling the rise of Okinawa's tourism industry.<ref>Gallery labels, Naha City Museum of History, August 2013.</ref>

Efforts were undertaken in [[1907]]-1915 to expand the harbor, to make it accessible for steamships. By 1915, the harbor could handle three 1500-ton ships at once; later, it was further expanded to accommodate 4500-ton ships. Meanwhile, Osaka Shôsen, a company founded in [[1884]], began running regular passenger ship routes between Osaka and Naha in [[1885]]; other companies soon joined in, connecting Naha to Kagoshima, Tokyo, and other cities, and enabling the rise of Okinawa's tourism industry.<ref>Gallery labels, Naha City Museum of History, August 2013.</ref>

==References==

==References==