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[[Buddhism]], [[Shinto]], [[Confucianism]], and Chinese folk religion (e.g. [[Tenpi]] worship) were all introduced into the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]] in the premodern period, and had considerable impacts upon local religious beliefs and practices, particularly among the [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|elites]], and particularly in the central region of [[Okinawa Island]]. However, Ryûkyû is also home to its own native/indigenous religion, a set of animist beliefs and practices likely growing out of similar or shared origins with Japanese Shinto.
The ''[[Ryukyu Shinto ki|Ryûkyû Shintô ki]]'' ("Record of the Ways of the Gods in Ryûkyû") written by the Buddhist monk [[Taichu|Taichû]] in [[1605]] indicates that Ryûkyû's native religion takes two deities, ''Shinerikyo'' and ''Amamikyo'' as the creator deities. They created the lords, ''[[noro]]'' (priestesses), and common people, as well as the new storm gods ''Kisomamon''. [[Writing]], specifically the "[[sexagenary cycle|ten stems and twelve branches]]," was given to the people by Heaven.<ref>The term used for "Heaven" or "Heavenly Beings" here is 天人, which in certain contexts could also refer to the Chinese people, or the Chinese emperor. See, for example, the [[Tenshikan]], a hall for hosting envoys from the Chinese emperor, or, literally "Heavenly envoys." Such an interpretation would also align with the [[Sinocentric]] notion of the Chinese emperor as the source from whom civilized culture emanates.</ref><ref>Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 52-53.</ref>
==Sacred Spaces==
Like mainland Japanese Shinto, the native Ryukyuan religion is centered in large part around naturally sacred spaces. In Ryûkyû, these are called ''[[utaki]]'', and most often take the form of sacred groves of trees, rock outcroppings, or clearings amongst the trees. While some are marked off by stone walls and gates, others simply feature small stone markers at the center of the site. [[Sefa utaki]] in southern Okinawa is considered the most sacred on the island, though [[Sonohyan utaki]] on the site of [[Shuri castle]], being associated with the king, is also a highly sacred site. Certain islands and peaks are also sacred, [[Kudaka Island]] being perhaps one of the most important. Finally, as in many Pacific Islander religions, there is a belief in a land of the gods somewhere across the sea, from which sacredness emanates. In Ryûkyû, this land is called ''[[nirai kanai]]''.<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42520-storytopic-121.html Nirai kanai]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; Videos and exhibit displays, "Minzoku" (Folk Customs) exhibit, National Museum of Japanese History, Sakura, Chiba. Viewed July 2013. </ref> [[Miruku]], a Ryukyuan form of the Buddha Maitreya (J: ''[[Miroku]]''), is said to come from ''nirai kanai'' bringing ''[[yugafu|yugafû]]'' (good fortune); this is reenacted in numerous island festivals, with a villager often dressing as Miruku and paddling to shore from the sea.
==Religious Hierarchy==
Women were traditionally believed to be more spiritually powerful than men, and men more spiritually vulnerable. As a result, the most prominent and significant religious figures in the kingdom were priestesses. Though organized somewhat more loosely in earlier times, in the late 15th century, King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] formalized the priestesses into a kingdom-wide hierarchy, linking them more closely to the royal court; though still quite powerful, the religious establishment thus represented somewhat less of a political threat.
This new hierarchy was headed by the ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikoe-ôgimi]]'', typically the king's sister, who was responsible for providing spiritual protection for the king and kingdom, and overseeing some of the most important royal rituals. She also oversaw the entire hierarchy of priestesses, and along with the king was in charge of appointing women to become priestesses within the hierarchy.<ref>George Kerr, ''Okinawa: the History of an Island People'', Revised ed., Tuttle Publishing (2000), 111.</ref> Directly below the ''kikoe-ôgimi'' were the ''[[Oamushirare]]'', three high priestesses who each oversaw one-third of the ''utaki'', and one-third of the ''[[noro]]'' (priestesses) of the kingdom. Beneath them, then, were the ''noro'', each of whom oversaw the ''utaki'' and spiritual affairs of a village or ''[[magiri]]'' (district); each village or ''magiri'' typically had several ''noro''. Shamanesses called ''[[yuta]]'' were significantly less powerful, but were also not strictly overseen within the hierarchy.<ref>Plaque on-site at former site of ''Kikoe-ôgimi udun'', just outside Shuri Middle School, at 2-55 Tera-chô, Shuri, Naha.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9444382739]; Plaques at reproduction of a noro's house, Okinawa Furusato Mura, Ocean Expo Park, Nakijin.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15456827940/sizes/h/].</ref>
==Deities==
In addition to the creator deities Shinerikyo and Amamikyo, the sun ([[Okinawan language|O]]: ''tiida'') was also of great significance, and the king was considered "the son of the sun" (太陽子, ''tedako''). A sacred [[hearth deity]] was also maintained, at Shuri castle by the ''kikoe-ôgimi'' for the whole kingdom, for each individual village by the local ''noro'', and in each individual home as well.<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42759-storytopic-121.html Hinokami]." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; Gregory Smits. ''Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1999. p165.</ref>
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==References==
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[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Religion]]
