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==Kagoshima==

==Kagoshima==

The Ryûkyû-kan in Kagoshima was located below the castle, on the site occupied today by Nagata Middle School and governmental food provisions offices.

The Ryûkyû-kan in Kagoshima was located below the castle, directly between the family mansions of the [[Tanegashima clan]] to the west, and of the [[Hongo clan|Hongô]] (Miyakonojô Shimazu) clan to the east. It covered an area of roughly 3500 ''[[Japanese Measurements|tsubo]]''. The site is occupied today by Nagata Middle School.

It played a central role in relations between the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] and the ''[[han]]'' to which it was a vassal, serving a function not unlike a modern-day embassy. Visiting dignitaries lived and worked in the ''Ryûkyû-kan'' for various lengths of time, as did students studying classic subjects in preparation for careers in the kingdom's bureaucracy, and a number of Ryukyuan permanent residents of the city. The chief Ryukyuan official permanently resident at the Ryûkyû-kan was the ''zaiban oyakata'' ("resident elder"); he and a samurai official known as the ''Ryûkyû-kikiyaku'' (lit. "listener"), were collectively known as the ''[[Ryukyu-gakari|Ryûkyû-gakari]]'', and were charged with overseeing the residents and operations of the Ryûkyû-kan, as well as performing various administrative duties related to communicating [[Satsuma han]] edicts and the like to Ryûkyû.

The Ryûkyû-kan played a central role in relations between the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] and the ''[[han]]'' to which it was a vassal, serving a function not unlike a modern-day embassy. Visiting dignitaries lived and worked in the ''Ryûkyû-kan'' for various lengths of time, as did students studying classic subjects in preparation for careers in the kingdom's bureaucracy, and a number of Ryukyuan permanent residents of the city. The chief Ryukyuan official permanently resident at the Ryûkyû-kan, typically of ''[[ueekata]]'' (J: ''oyakata'') rank, was known as the ''zaiban oyakata'' ("resident elder"); he and a samurai official known as the ''Ryûkyû-kikiyaku'' (lit. "listener"), were collectively known as the ''[[Ryukyu-gakari|Ryûkyû-gakari]]'', and were charged with overseeing the residents and operations of the Ryûkyû-kan, as well as performing various administrative duties related to communicating [[Satsuma han]] missives and edicts to Ryûkyû.

A number of Ryukyuan students and officials were resident at the Ryûkyû-kan on a semi-permanent basis. In addition, a delegation of roughly twenty officials visited the city each year to perform "''sankin''," paying formal respects to the Satsuma daimyô, on behalf of the King of Ryûkyû. As with the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' missions performed by the daimyô, to pay respects to the shogun in [[Edo]], here too there was a connotation of this delegation, as well as the permanently resident officials, serving as political hostages. Additional missions were sent from Ryûkyû on occasions such as congratulating the daimyô on receiving certain titles and honors, or on becoming daimyô, as well as for expressing gratitude for the daimyô's recognition of a new king on the Ryukyuan throne, or for other favors granted by the daimyô to the kingdom. It was also customary for Ryukyuan Crown Princes to pay an official visit to Kagoshima upon turning fifteen years old, but the king himself was not typically obligated to journey to Kagoshima himself.

A number of Ryukyuan students and officials were resident at the Ryûkyû-kan on a semi-permanent basis. In addition, a delegation of roughly twenty officials visited the city each year to perform "''sankin''," paying formal respects to the Satsuma daimyô, on behalf of the King of Ryûkyû. As with the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' missions performed by the daimyô, to pay respects to the shogun in [[Edo]], here too there was a connotation of this delegation, as well as the permanently resident officials, serving as political hostages. Additional missions were sent from Ryûkyû on occasions such as congratulating the daimyô on receiving certain titles and honors, or on becoming daimyô, as well as for expressing gratitude for the daimyô's recognition of a new king on the Ryukyuan throne, or for other favors granted by the daimyô to the kingdom. It was also customary for Ryukyuan Crown Princes to pay an official visit to Kagoshima upon turning fifteen years old, but the king himself was not typically obligated to journey to Kagoshima himself.