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The ''Omoro Sôshi'' is a compilation of ancient poems and songs from [[Okinawa]] and the [[Amami Islands]], collected into 22 volumes and written primarily in [[hiragana]] with some simple [[kanji]]. There are 1,553 poems in the collection, but many are repeated; the number of unique pieces is 1,144.<ref>Sakihara, Mitsugu. ''A Brief History of Early Okinawa Based on the Omoro Sōshi.'' Tokyo: Honpo Shoseki Press, 1987. p6.</ref>
The ''Omoro Sôshi'' is a compilation of ancient poems and songs from [[Okinawa]] and the [[Amami Islands]], collected into 22 volumes and written primarily in [[hiragana]] with some simple [[kanji]]. There are 1,553 poems in the collection, but many are repeated; the number of unique pieces is 1,144.<ref>Sakihara, Mitsugu. ''A Brief History of Early Okinawa Based on the Omoro Sōshi.'' Tokyo: Honpo Shoseki Press, 1987. p6.</ref> It is one of the only surviving examples of native Ryukyuan written material dating before the 16th century.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu, 1050-1650'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 2.</ref>
The hiragana used, however, is a traditional Okinawan orthography which associates different sounds to the characters than their normal Japanese readings. The characters used to write ''omoro'', for example (おもろ), would be written this same way, but pronounced as ''umuru'' in the [[Okinawan language]].
The hiragana used, however, is a traditional Okinawan orthography which associates different sounds to the characters than their normal Japanese readings. The characters used to write ''omoro'', for example (おもろ), would be written this same way, but pronounced as ''umuru'' in the [[Okinawan language]].
Though reflective of ancient folk traditions, the poetry also reflects the intricate links the Ryukyus enjoyed with other nearby states. Many of the Ryukyuan islands, largely culturally and linguistically isolated, are mentioned, along with various locations in Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
Though reflective of ancient folk traditions, the poetry also reflects the intricate links the Ryukyus enjoyed with other nearby states. Many of the Ryukyuan islands, largely culturally and linguistically isolated, are mentioned, along with various locations in Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
The ''Omoro Sôshi'' was first compiled in [[1532]], and again in [[1613]] and [[1623]], as part of attempts by the royal government to help secure their cultural or spiritual legitimacy and power. The first compilation came just after the reign of [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]], who consolidated, centralized, and reformed the government, and the second was performed only a few years after Ryukyu became a direct vassal to [[Satsuma han]]. At both times, cultural and ideological means, as well as more mundane political ones, were needed to help ensure unity, and to maintain a connection to tradition and history.
The ''Omoro Sôshi'' was first compiled in [[1532]], and again in [[1613]] and [[1623]], as part of attempts by the royal government to help secure their cultural or spiritual legitimacy and power. The first compilation came just after the reign of [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]], who consolidated, centralized, and reformed the government, and the second was performed only a few years after Ryukyu became a direct vassal to [[Satsuma han]]. At both times, cultural and ideological means, as well as more mundane political ones, were needed to help ensure unity, and to maintain a connection to tradition and history. The ''Omoro sôshi'' was recompiled in [[1710]] following a palace fire, and it is this version which survives today.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 3.</ref>
Only a small handful of scholars have studied the documents in any significant depth. The vast changes in Ryukyuan culture and language over the last several centuries have made the poetry difficult to access and understand, and Iha Fuyû (d. 1947) and Nakahara Zenchû (d. 1964) were among the only ones to study it extensively. Torigoe Kenzaburô (b. 1914) after focusing on the indigenous [[Ryukyuan religion]] earlier in his academic career (c. 1940-44), studied the Omoro sôshi for roughly thirty years in the 1940s-60s, eventually publishing in 1968 a five-volume, roughly 3000 page ''Omoro sôshi zenshaku'', or "Complete Translation of the Omoro sôshi," based on the so-called ''Shô-ke bon'', the manuscript copy held by the Shô family, the former royal family of Ryûkyû.<ref>Yamaguchi Eitetsu, "[http://venus.unive.it/okinawa/en/sunti/yamaguchi.html On Torigoe Omoro]," Presentation at 5th International Conference on Okinawan Studies, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 14-16 September 2006.</ref> Nakahara, Iha, and several others have used the compilation as a basis for research into ancient Ryukyuan customs and society. Thorough analysis has been able to yield some elements of a foundation of understanding of ancient governance, social structures, and folk religion, but it cannot be expected that a fuller understanding will be able to be derived from the material.
A twenty-two volume manuscript copy of the ''Omoro sôshi'', possibly the only extant historical copy, was stolen during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. It had been kept in the [[Nakagusuku udun|Nakagusuku palace]]<ref>Located just outside [[Shuri castle]], and not to be confused with [[Nakagusuku gusuku]], located elsewhere on the island.</ref> since the 1870s, along with a large collection of other royal objects not brought to [[Tokyo]] by the royal family following the [[ryukyu shobun|fall of the kingdom]]. In 1945, as the Battle of Okinawa began, eight royal stewards charged with overseeing the collection hid this copy of the ''Omoro sôshi'' in a drainage ditch outside the castle, along with a number of other objects including a [[Ryukyu investiture crown|royal crown]]. When they returned to recover the objects after the battle, however, they were all gone. Several of the objects, including this copy of the ''Omoro sôshi'', were later discovered to have been taken by a Commander Carl W. Sternfelt. Sternfelt brought the documents to Asian art expert [[Langdon Warner]] at the Harvard Art Museums to be appraised in December 1945; in 1953, convinced of their value, he relinquished them to agents of the US federal government, who promptly returned them to Okinawa. Some of the objects hidden in that ditch, however, have not been recovered.<ref>William Honan, "[http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/13/us/hunt-for-royal-treasure-leads-okinawan-to-a-house-in-massachusetts.html Hunt for Royal Treasure Leads Okinawan to a House in Massachusetts]," New York Times, 13 July 1997.</ref>
Only a small handful of scholars have studied the documents in any significant depth. The vast changes in Ryukyuan culture and language over the last several centuries have made the poetry difficult to access and understand, and Iha Fuyû (d. 1947) and Nakahara Zenchû (d. 1964) were among the only ones to study it extensively. Torigoe Kenzaburô (b. 1914) after focusing on the indigenous [[Ryukyuan religion]] earlier in his academic career (c. 1940-44), studied the Omoro sôshi for roughly thirty years in the 1940s-60s, eventually publishing in 1968 a five-volume, roughly 3000 page ''Omoro sôshi zenshaku'', or "Complete Translation of the Omoro sôshi," based on the so-called ''Shô-ke bon'', the manuscript copy held by the Shô family, the former royal family of Ryûkyû.<ref>Yamaguchi Eitetsu, "[http://venus.unive.it/okinawa/en/sunti/yamaguchi.html On Torigoe Omoro]," Abstract for presentation at 5th International Conference on Okinawan Studies, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, 14-16 September 2006.</ref> Nakahara, Iha, and several others have used the compilation as a basis for research into ancient Ryukyuan customs and society. Thorough analysis has been able to yield some elements of a foundation of understanding of ancient governance, social structures, and folk religion, but it cannot be expected that a fuller understanding will be able to be derived from the material.
==References==
==References==
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