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Ten such portraits have been confirmed to have existed, from [[Sho En|Shô En]] through [[Sho Iku|Shô Iku]]. All were destroyed in the 1945 battle of Okinawa, but pre-war writings indicate they were richly colored, painted in mineral pigments on paper. Today, these portraits survive only in black-and-white photos by [[Kamakura Yoshitaro|Kamakura Yoshitarô]]. Efforts are being made to reconstruct the techniques or reproduce the portraits.

Ten such portraits have been confirmed to have existed, from [[Sho En|Shô En]] through [[Sho Iku|Shô Iku]]. All were destroyed in the 1945 battle of Okinawa, but pre-war writings indicate they were richly colored, painted in mineral pigments on paper. Today, these portraits survive only in black-and-white photos by [[Kamakura Yoshitaro|Kamakura Yoshitarô]]. Efforts are being made to reconstruct the techniques or reproduce the portraits.

The portraits serve as a valuable resource for understanding royal ceremonial garb of the time. They appear to show that royal robes (''hibenfuku'') grew more elaborate and opulent over time.<ref>''Okinawa bijutsu zenshû'' 5, 318.</ref>

The portraits serve as a valuable resource for understanding royal ceremonial garb of the time. They appear to show that royal robes (''[[hibenfuku]]'') grew more elaborate and opulent over time.<ref>''Okinawa bijutsu zenshû'' 5, 318.</ref>

 

The ''Ogo-e'' portraits reflect close interconnections and notable distinctions between Ryukyuan painting traditions and those of other East Asian courts. Whereas Japanese portraits typically depict figures seated at a roughly 3/4 angle, facing off to the left or right, Ryukyuan royalty and aristocracy face front in their official portraits. They are also depicted with a group of followers or attendants, and with standing screens, bookshelves, and other accouterments in the background, like Korean kings; Chinese and Japanese portraits, by contrast, typically have minimal or no background, and no secondary figures depicted.<ref>Hirakawa Nobuyuki, "Ryûkyû kaiga no rekishi," talk given at Okinawan Art in its Regional Context: Historical Overview and Contemporary Practice symposium, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 10 Oct 2019.</ref>  

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