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The community was said to have been founded in [[1393]] by [[36 Min families|thirty-six families from China]]<!-- 閩人三十六姓-->, and the Ryukyuans (as well as the Chinese and Koreans) who lived there were, to some extent, continually thought of as "Chinese," or at least as coming from different stock than other Ryukyuans, even after many generations passed (and after much intermarrying had occurred). Many scholars today suggest that the number "thirty-six" is really meant to simply indicate "many," and that while conventional wisdom has it that these families came chiefly or exclusively from [[Fuzhou]], in fact some at least are believed to have come from [[Zhangzhou]]<!--漳州-->, [[Taizhou]]<!--臺州-->, and [[Quanzhou]]<!--泉州-->. Further, while the myth of the 36 families suggests they came as a single distinct group, this concept more likely refers to a more general flow of some number of unrelated families over a period of some years, from a variety of places - in other words, to a more general immigration event.

The community was said to have been founded in [[1393]] by [[36 Min families|thirty-six families from China]]<!-- 閩人三十六姓-->, and the Ryukyuans (as well as the Chinese and Koreans) who lived there were, to some extent, continually thought of as "Chinese," or at least as coming from different stock than other Ryukyuans, even after many generations passed (and after much intermarrying had occurred). Many scholars today suggest that the number "thirty-six" is really meant to simply indicate "many," and that while conventional wisdom has it that these families came chiefly or exclusively from [[Fuzhou]], in fact some at least are believed to have come from [[Zhangzhou]]<!--漳州-->, [[Taizhou]]<!--臺州-->, and [[Quanzhou]]<!--泉州-->. Further, while the myth of the 36 families suggests they came as a single distinct group, this concept more likely refers to a more general flow of some number of unrelated families over a period of some years, from a variety of places - in other words, to a more general immigration event.

By the mid-15th century, the community was surrounded by earthen walls, and contained around a hundred homes. The main thoroughfare, Kuninda Ufumichi (J: ''Kume Ôdôri''), cut across the district, running from the "Great Gate" (O: ''Ufujô'', J: ''Ômon'') which served as the entrance to the neighborhood in the southeast, to the Nishinjô ("[[Four Directions|Northern Warrior]] Gate"<!--西武門-->) in the northwest. These gates were grand structures, in a style similar to that of the Shureimon of [[Shuri castle]].<ref>Flyers available at Kuninda Terrace, Kume, Naha.</ref> According to ''[[feng shui]]'' conceptions of the town's layout, the Great Gate was the neck of a dragon, Kuninda Ufumichi its back, and the Northern Gate as its tail, with the great stones of [[Nakashima (Naha)|Nakashima]], just across the river in Izumisaki, as the dragon's pearl, or [[wish-granting jewel]]. Two stones by the Great Gate represented the dragon's eyes, and two trees its horns.<ref name=kumeplaque>Plaques on-site in Kume district, Naha.</ref> The Taoist temple [[Shiseibyo|Tensonbyô]] lay to the north of the road, while [[Kume Tenpi-gu|two Tenpigû temples]] to the sea goddess [[Matsu]] (aka Tenpi) lay to the south. A natural spring called ''Yuuna-nu-kaa'', located near the center of the village, served as one of the chief communal sources of fresh water.<ref>Plaque on-site at Yuunukaa.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/21691303729/sizes/l]</ref>

By the mid-15th century, the community was surrounded by earthen walls, and contained around a hundred homes. The main thoroughfare, Kuninda Ufumichi (J: ''Kume Ôdôri''), cut across the district, running from the "Great Gate" (O: ''Ufujô'', J: ''Ômon'') which served as the entrance to the neighborhood in the southeast, to the Nishinjô ("[[Four Directions|Northern Warrior]] Gate"<!--西武門-->) in the northwest. These gates were grand structures, in a style similar to that of the Shureimon of [[Shuri castle]].<ref>Flyers available at Kuninda Terrace, Kume, Naha.</ref> According to ''[[feng shui]]'' conceptions of the town's layout, the Great Gate was the neck of a dragon, Kuninda Ufumichi its back, and the Northern Gate as its tail, with the great stones of [[Nakashima (Naha)|Nakashima]], just across the river in Izumisaki, as the dragon's pearl, or [[wish-granting jewel]]. Two stones by the Great Gate represented the dragon's eyes, and two trees its horns.<ref name=kumeplaque>Plaques on-site in Kume district, Naha.</ref> The Taoist temple [[Shiseibyo|Tensonbyô]] lay to the north of the road, while [[Kume Tenpi-gu|two Tenpigû temples]] to the sea goddess [[Matsu]] (aka Tenpi) lay to the south. A natural spring called ''Yuuna-nu-kaa'', located near the center of the village, served as one of the chief communal sources of fresh water.<ref>Plaque on-site at Yuuna-nu-kaa.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/21691303729/sizes/l]</ref>

The community began to decline in the 16th century, as the kingdom's foreign trade connections declined, due to shifts in [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] maritime trade policies, and the entrance of Europeans into the trading networks. As early as [[1606]], it's said only six lineages remained (the [[Sai family|Sai (蔡)]], [[Tei family (鄭)|Tei (鄭)]], [[Tei family (程)|Tei (程)]], [[Rin family|Rin (林)]], [[Kin family|Kin (金)]], and [[Ryo family|Ryô (梁)]]).<ref>Plaques on display at [[Shuri castle]].[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15282359859/]; Other families which were active in Kumemura in the medieval period included the Chin (陳), Kô (紅), Kô (高), Ri (李), Ô (王), Shin (沈), Den (田), Gen (阮), Yô (葉), Sô (宗), Mô (毛), Gi (魏), Ba (馬), Son (孫), Sen (銭), Han (範), Go (呉), Kô (黄), Sô (曾), Yô (楊), and Kaku (郭). Shunzo Sakamaki, "On Early Ryukyuan Names," in Sakamaki (ed.), ''Ryukyuan Names'' (Honolulu: East-West Center, 1964), 15.</ref> The [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] also had a detrimental effect upon the community. The royal government worked to restore [[tribute|tributary]] and investiture relations with China, however, and also transferred the family registers of a number of Naha and [[Shuri]] elite families to Kumemura, and so the community began to revive. These families, along with those descended from Chinese immigrants more recent than the original 36 families, were known as ''shinnyû tôei jin'', or "newly entered people of the Chinese community [i.e. Kume]." By the late 19th century, just before the [[Ryukyu shobun|fall of the kingdom]], as many as ten out of twenty-five Kume families (or 40%) were of one of these newer lineages; only fifteen families (or 60% of the Kume aristocracy) traced their lineage back to the 36 families.<ref>Ikemiya Masaharu, ''Kumemura: rekishi to jinbutsu'', Naha: Hirugi-sha (1993), 16.</ref>

The community began to decline in the 16th century, as the kingdom's foreign trade connections declined, due to shifts in [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] maritime trade policies, and the entrance of Europeans into the trading networks. As early as [[1606]], it's said only six lineages remained (the [[Sai family|Sai (蔡)]], [[Tei family (鄭)|Tei (鄭)]], [[Tei family (程)|Tei (程)]], [[Rin family|Rin (林)]], [[Kin family|Kin (金)]], and [[Ryo family|Ryô (梁)]]).<ref>Plaques on display at [[Shuri castle]].[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/15282359859/]; Other families which were active in Kumemura in the medieval period included the Chin (陳), Kô (紅), Kô (高), Ri (李), Ô (王), Shin (沈), Den (田), Gen (阮), Yô (葉), Sô (宗), Mô (毛), Gi (魏), Ba (馬), Son (孫), Sen (銭), Han (範), Go (呉), Kô (黄), Sô (曾), Yô (楊), and Kaku (郭). Shunzo Sakamaki, "On Early Ryukyuan Names," in Sakamaki (ed.), ''Ryukyuan Names'' (Honolulu: East-West Center, 1964), 15.</ref> The [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] also had a detrimental effect upon the community. The royal government worked to restore [[tribute|tributary]] and investiture relations with China, however, and also transferred the family registers of a number of Naha and [[Shuri]] elite families to Kumemura, and so the community began to revive. These families, along with those descended from Chinese immigrants more recent than the original 36 families, were known as ''shinnyû tôei jin'', or "newly entered people of the Chinese community [i.e. Kume]." By the late 19th century, just before the [[Ryukyu shobun|fall of the kingdom]], as many as ten out of twenty-five Kume families (or 40%) were of one of these newer lineages; only fifteen families (or 60% of the Kume aristocracy) traced their lineage back to the 36 families.<ref>Ikemiya Masaharu, ''Kumemura: rekishi to jinbutsu'', Naha: Hirugi-sha (1993), 16.</ref>