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* ''Japanese:'' 琉球館 ''(Ryuukyuukan)''
* ''Japanese/Chinese:'' 琉球館 ''(Ryuukyuukan / Liuqiu guan)''
''Ryûkyû-kan'' were institutions serving as homes and bases of operations for [[Ryukyuan embassy|Ryukyuan missions]] in early modern [[Fuzhou]] (Fujian province, China) and [[Kagoshima]] ([[Satsuma province]], Japan).
''Ryûkyû-kan'' were institutions serving as homes and bases of operations for [[Ryukyuan embassy|Ryukyuan missions]] in early modern [[Fuzhou]] (Fujian province, China) and [[Kagoshima]] ([[Satsuma province]], Japan).
==Fuzhou==
==Fuzhou==
The other ''Ryûkyû-kan'' (''Liuqiu guan'' in Chinese ''pinyin''), was located in the Chinese city of Fuzhou. Built around 1430-1440, and originally known as the ''rouyuan yi'' (J: ''jûen-eki''),<ref>柔遠駅. A station (駅) for treating gently (柔) people from faraway (遠).</ref> this was one of a number of stations established by the Chinese to cater to foreign visitors. Fuzhou became the official site for Ryukyuan business in China in [[1470]], and for a Maritime Trade Office, or ''[[shibosi]]'' previously located in [[Quanzhou]]. The ''rouyuan yi'' or ''Ryûkyû-kan'' in Fuzhou, though already in operation for several decades at this time, now more officially took on a more official status as the chief Ryukyuan headquarters in southern China, as the ''laiyuan yi'' (J: ''raien-eki'', lit. "station for [those who] come from faraway"), a similar institution in Quanzhou, declined. Custom dictated that establishments for foreigners, such as this one, be placed outside the city gates, so as to prevent visiting foreigners from spying on formal goings-on within the city; to that end, the ''Ryûkyû-kan'' was built just beyond the city gates (specifically, the Suibumen<!--水部門-->).
The other ''Ryûkyû-kan'' (''Liuqiu guan'' in Chinese ''pinyin''), was located in the Chinese city of Fuzhou. Built around 1430-1440, and originally known as the ''rouyuan yi'' (J: ''jûen-eki''),<ref>柔遠駅. A station (駅) for treating gently (柔) people from faraway (遠).</ref> this was one of a number of stations established by the Chinese to cater to foreign visitors. Fuzhou became the official site for Ryukyuan business in China in [[1470]], and for a Maritime Trade Office, or ''[[shibosi]]'' previously located in [[Quanzhou]]. The administration of the ''rouyuan yi'' in Fuzhou, now known as the ''Ryûkyû-kan'', which had previously been operated by Chinese officials, was now placed under Ryukyuan control. The hall now took on a more official status as the chief Ryukyuan headquarters in southern China, as the ''laiyuan yi'' (J: ''raien-eki'', lit. "station for [those who] come from faraway"), a similar institution in Quanzhou, declined. Custom dictated that establishments for foreigners, such as this one, be placed outside the city gates, so as to prevent visiting foreigners from spying on formal goings-on within the city; to that end, the ''Ryûkyû-kan'' was built just beyond the city gates (specifically, the Suibumen<!--水部門-->).
The Ryûkyû-kan covered roughly 5600 m<sup>2</sup>, and contained a variety of facilities. Its dormitories were one of three places in the city, along with the nearby ''[[Kaido-kan]]'' and ''[[Kokushi-kan]]''<ref>"Rekidai Hoan." p13.</ref>, which housed visiting dignitaries, scholars and students, most of whom were stopping in Fuzhou on their way between Beijing and Okinawa. The costs of hosting these visitors were mostly borne by the Chinese side. The Ryûkyû-kan also contained storage areas, where goods being gathered or prepared to be given as [[tribute]] were held, alongside offices for liaising with the Fuzhou ''shiboshi'' Maritime Trade Office. A series of shrines on the grounds were dedicated to Tenpi ([[Mazu]]) and local deities, and a mortuary chapel was erected in the memory of Ryukyuans who died in China. Chinese officials also maintained a residence at the Ryûkyû-kan.
The Ryûkyû-kan was often used to store goods being gathered or prepared to be given as [[tribute]], and contained offices as well for liaising with the Fuzhou ''shiboshi'' Maritime Trade Office.
The structure was renovated seven times during the [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644-1911). In the 1870s, a small number of fleeing officials temporarily made the Ryûkyû-kan their base of operations as they tried to convince China to take action to oppose Japan's [[Ryukyu shobun|overthrow and annexation of the Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. They were ultimately unsuccessful, and the kingdom's territory was annexed by the [[Meiji period|Meiji state]] as [[Okinawa Prefecture]]. For a brief period in the early decades of the 20th century, a group of Okinawans operated a tea business out of the Ryûkyû-kan.
Today, the Qing period building has been completely lost. A new structure was built in 1992, in a local Fuzhou residential style, with high walls to protect against fire and crime. The grounds contain a small museum, and gravestones for Ryukyuans who died in China during the Qing Dynasty are on display. Though the Ryûkyû-kan was originally built on the banks of a tributary of the Min River, today the river has gone mostly underground, so the reconstruction has moved slightly, facing the Wanshou Bridge (J: Manju-bashi).
==References==
==References==
