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I Kimitsune was an [[Amami Islands]] official who served as ''[[yohito]]'' for at least two different areas on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and made formal visits to [[Kagoshima castle]] on at least two occasions, in [[1838]] and [[1839]].

I Kimitsune was an [[Amami Islands]] official who served as ''[[yohito]]'' for at least two different areas on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and made formal visits to [[Kagoshima castle]] on at least two occasions, in [[1838]] and [[1839]].

Adopted into the [[Ijuin clan|Ijûin clan]] of [[Shimazu clan]] ''[[karo|karô]]'' (House Elders),<ref name=notes>Notes by Ijûin Kanehiro (n.d.), unpublished.</ref> he was originally known as Ijûin Kimitsune but was obliged to shorten his family name to I when he was assigned to Amami, in accordance with [[Satsuma han]] policy that the family names of island elites (''shima shizoku'') could only be one ''[[kanji]]'' in length.<ref name=notes/> This policy helped construct or strengthen ideas of difference between islanders and "mainland" Japanese.

Adopted into the [[Ijuin clan|Ijûin clan]] of [[Shimazu clan]] ''[[karo|karô]]'' (House Elders),<ref name=notes>Notes by Ijûin Kanehiro (n.d.), unpublished.</ref> he was originally known as Ijûin Kimitsune but was obliged to shorten his family name to I, in accordance with [[Satsuma han]] policy that the family names of island elites (''shima shizoku'') could only be one ''[[kanji]]'' in length.<ref name=notes/> This policy helped construct or strengthen ideas of difference between islanders and "mainland" Japanese.

==Lineage==

==Lineage==

Kimitsune is considered the 13th successive head of his lineage. His son and grandson (14th and 15th family heads, respectively) were also known as Kimitsune.<ref name=hayashi19>Hayashi Sokio 林蘇喜男, ''Yohito I Kimitsune ni tsuite'' 「与人・伊喜美恒について」, ''Heisei 14 nen Hayashi Sokio zassan 5'' 平成十四年　林蘇喜男雑纂 5 (2002), 19.</ref> A cemetery that includes their graves and those of several close relatives, located in the Tekebu area of Kasari Town on Amami Ôshima, has been officially designated as a historical site by Amami City.<ref>Plaques on-site, Tekebu I family cemetery (手花部の墓石（伊家の墓地）), Kasari, Amami Ôshima.</ref>

Kimitsune is considered the 13th successive head of his lineage. His son and grandson (14th and 15th family heads, respectively) were also known as Kimitsune.<ref name=hayashi19>Hayashi Sokio 林蘇喜男, ''Yohito I Kimitsune ni tsuite'' 「与人・伊喜美恒について」, ''Heisei 14 nen Hayashi Sokio zassan 5'' 平成十四年　林蘇喜男雑纂 5 (2002), 19.</ref> A cemetery that includes their graves and those of several close relatives, located in the Tekebu area of Kasari Town on Amami Ôshima, has been officially designated as a historical site by Amami City.<ref>Plaques on-site, Tekebu I family cemetery (手花部の墓石（伊家の墓地）), Kasari, Amami Ôshima.</ref>

The I / Ijûin line claims descent from the earliest kings of Okinawa ([[Shunten]], [[Shunbajunki]], and [[Gihon]]), and through them to [[Minamoto no Tametomo]], who according to legend found his way to Okinawa after being exiled to [[Izu Oshima|Izu Ôshima]] in [[1165]] and, with the daughter of a local lord (''[[anji]]''), fathered Shunten. While traditional accounts on Okinawa say that Gihon died somewhere near the northern end of Okinawa Island after being driven out by [[Eiso]] (who seized power from him in a coup), local traditions in the Amami Islands allege that Gihon survived and fled to the Amamis; the I family connects to this later set of legends, claiming that one of Gihon's descendants was a "prince" called Amami ufunushi (阿麻美大主, lit. "lord" or "great ruler" of Amami), and that one of his descendants in turn was Kishitô ueekata 喜志統親方, who is counted as the first head of this Ijûin / I lineage. Most of the first ten heads of the family, like Kishitô, are known only by a Ryukyuan title such as ''ueekata'' or ''satunushi'', or by a simple given name such as Umuituku or Umuinabi - names commonly held by Ryukyuans as childhood names before coming to be known by a more distinct individual name in adulthood. It is unclear when the name Ijûin or I came to be used by the family, as the Ryukyuan names of the early generations of family heads, as well as their burial in the Amami Islands, would seem to suggest a different origin than the idea of a member of the Ijûin samurai family relocating to Amami and being obliged to change his name to simply I.

The I / Ijûin line claims descent from the earliest kings of Okinawa ([[Shunten]], [[Shunbajunki]], and [[Gihon]]), and through them to [[Minamoto no Tametomo]], who according to legend found his way to Okinawa after being exiled to [[Izu Oshima|Izu Ôshima]] in [[1165]] and, with the daughter of a local lord (''[[anji]]''), fathered Shunten. While traditional accounts on Okinawa say that Gihon died somewhere near the northern end of Okinawa Island after being driven out by [[Eiso]] (who seized power from him in a coup), local traditions in the Amami Islands allege that Gihon survived and fled to the Amamis; the I family connects to this later set of legends, claiming that one of Gihon's descendants was a "prince" called Amami ufunushi (阿麻美大主, lit. "lord" or "great ruler" of Amami), and that one of his descendants in turn was Kishitô ueekata 喜志統親方, who is counted as the first head of this Ijûin / I lineage. Most of the first ten heads of the family, like Kishitô, are known only by a Ryukyuan title such as ''ueekata'' or ''satunushi'', or by a simple given name such as Umuituku or Umuinabi - names commonly held by Ryukyuans as childhood names before coming to be known by a more distinct individual name in adulthood.

A painting depicting Kimitsune's 1839 audience with [[Shimazu Narioki]] at Kagoshima castle, as well as other materials related to the family's history, remain in the possession today of the 18th head of the family, Ijûin Kanehiro (b. 1930). A reproduction of the painting is on permanent display at the Amami Museum in the Naze area of Amami Ôshima.

A painting depicting Kimitsune's 1839 audience with [[Shimazu Narioki]] at Kagoshima castle, as well as other materials related to the family's history, remain in the possession today of the 18th head of the family, Ijûin Kanehiro (b. 1930). A reproduction of the painting is on permanent display at the Amami Museum in the Naze area of Amami Ôshima.

Kimitsune was first cousins with [[Shimazu Hisataka|Shimazu Bungo Hisataka]], an influential ''[[karo|karô]]'' of the 1830s-50s. Kimitsune's mother, the eldest daughter of a member of the "main" Shimazu family lineage, had married into the Ijûin clan, while her younger sister married into the Shimazu Bungo lineage; Hisataka was a son of this younger sister.<ref name=notes/>

Kimitsune was first cousins with [[Shimazu Hisataka|Shimazu Bungo Hisataka]], an influential ''[[karo|karô]]'' of the 1830s-50s. Kimitsune's mother, the eldest daughter of a member of the "main" Shimazu family lineage, had married into the Ijûin clan, while her younger sister married into the Shimazu Bungo lineage; Hisataka was a son of this younger sister.<ref name=notes/>

===Heads of the I lineage<ref>From Hayashi, pp20, 26-27.</ref>===

===Heads of the I lineage<ref>From Hayashi, pp20, 26-27.</ref>===