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The right to wear dragon robes was enjoyed not only by the king of Ryûkyû, but by the entire royal family, and by certain high-ranking families of the aristocracy as well. Chinese robes were also, on rare occasions, given by the king of Ryûkyû as gifts to others; in [[1605]], King [[Sho Nei|Shô Nei]] bestowed a dragon robe from his personal wardrobe upon a prominent Kyoto monk who was about to return to Japan after a three-year stay in Ryûkyû. This same robe has since come into the possession of a group who display it during [[Gion Matsuri]] every year.

The right to wear dragon robes was enjoyed not only by the king of Ryûkyû, but by the entire royal family, and by certain high-ranking families of the aristocracy as well. Chinese robes were also, on rare occasions, given by the king of Ryûkyû as gifts to others; in [[1605]], King [[Sho Nei|Shô Nei]] bestowed a dragon robe from his personal wardrobe upon a prominent Kyoto monk who was about to return to Japan after a three-year stay in Ryûkyû. This same robe has since come into the possession of a group who display it during [[Gion Matsuri]] every year.

Patterns varied across the centuries, at the whim of the Chinese Emperor, but always prominently featured dragons, often directly on front, back, and sleeves, with more dragons on the skirt. The robes worn by the Chinese Emperor himself bore dragons with five claws on each hand; only the King of Ryûkyû was permitted the same, while all other royals and officials who wore dragon robes (e.g. the king of Korea) were restricted to dragons with four or three talons. The designs on the robe generally represented a celestial map, with images representative of earth and sea at the bottom, and clouds and the heavens towards the top, with a variety of [[Buddhism|Buddhist]], [[Taoism|Taoist]] and other symbols scattered across the composition.

Patterns varied across the centuries, at the whim of the Chinese Emperor, but always prominently featured dragons, often directly on front, back, and sleeves, with more dragons on the skirt. The robes worn by the Chinese Emperor himself bore dragons with five claws on each hand; only the King of Ryûkyû was permitted the same, while all other royals and officials who wore dragon robes (e.g. the king of Korea) were restricted to dragons with four or three talons. The designs on the robe generally represented a celestial map, with images representative of earth and sea at the bottom, and clouds and the heavens towards the top, with a variety of [[Buddhism|Buddhist]], [[Taoism|Taoist]] and other symbols scattered across the composition. Kings of Ryûkyû were also bestowed robes appropriate to a Ming official of the second rank, with a [[qilin]] design, combined with leather hat, jade tablet, and rhinoceros hide girdle.<ref>Ta-Tuan Ch’en, “Sino–Liu-Ch'iuan Relations in the Nineteenth Century,” PhD dissertation, Indiana University, 1963, 70-71.</ref>

Chinese records of robes given to other countries are almost completely non-existent; some vague references in Ryukyuan records seem to indicate that Ryûkyû may have first received dragon robes in [[1442]].<ref name=cammann/>

Chinese records of robes given to other countries are almost completely non-existent; some vague references in Ryukyuan records seem to indicate that Ryûkyû may have first received dragon robes in [[1442]].<ref name=cammann/>