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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>
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>
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>