View source for Bai Iki

*''Born: [[1785]]/10/22''
*''Died: [[1858]]/5/12''
*''Titles'': 金城筑登之 ''(Kanagusuku chikudun)'', 高里親雲上 ''(Takazato peechin)'', 仲本親雲上 ''(Nakamoto peechin)''
*''Japanese/Chinese'': [[貝]]唯紀 ''(Bai Iki / Bèi Wéijì)''

Bai Iki was the sixth head of the [[Bai family]] of the [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|scholar-aristocracy]] of [[Naha]]. It was during his time as head of the family that the Bai were elevated from ''shinsan'' status to being a ''fudaiji'' family.

The second son of the fifth family head, [[Bai Ishin]], Bai Iki was named heir at the age of 14, in [[1798]], following the early death of his older brother Bai Isui. The following year, he had his coming-of-age ceremony, and on [[1806]]/4/3, when Bai Iki was 22, his first daughter, Majirû, was born. Nearly two years later, on [[1808]]/3/15, his first son, Isuke, was born. That same year, following the [[Chinese investiture envoys|investiture]] of the king, Bai Iki was named Kanagusuku ''chikudun''. His second daughter, Umitû, was born on [[1810]]/6/9.

Iki's eldest son, Bai Isuke, died young on [[1811]]/4/11. His second son, [[Bai Ien]], who would later go on to become Iki's successor, was born two years later, on [[1813]]/9/12. Iki then had another son, Bai Ishô, on [[1816]]/6/28. The following year, he was appointed ''ufunitii hissha'' (clerk/secretary in charge of ships), and two years later, on [[1819]]/2/13, his third daughter, Makadû, was born. His fourth daughter, Magami, was born on [[1822]]/7/24.

Iki's eldest daughter, Majirû, died on [[1824]]/10/19, when Iki was 40. His fourth son, Bai Izen, was born the following year, on [[1825]]/3/8, and his fifth daughter, Umitama, on [[1828]]/11/16. In [[1832]], Bai Iki gained a fifth son, Bai Ishu, on 1832/2/12, but lost his fourth son, Bai Izen, on 11/15. That same year, he was elevated in rank from ''chikudun'' to ''chikudun peechin''; now a member of the Seventh Rank, he was entitled to wear a yellow ''[[hachimaki]]'' (court cap) as a mark of his status.

Beginning in [[1833]], Bai Iki was elevated to ''setô zashiki'' rank (Junior Sixth Rank), and was appointed to a series of different positions. That year, he was named ''Satôza Ôyako'', one of two ''ôyako'' directly under the Magistrate of the [[Sugar]] Guild (''Satôza bujô''). The following year, at the age of 50, he began serving as Naha ''yokome'', a position he held for 25 months, and as Yamato ''yokome'' (a position within the ''zaiban bugyôsho'') for 15 months. He was reappointed to the latter in [[1836]] for another term of 16 months. That same year, his family was elevated from ''shinsan'' to ''fudai'' status.

In [[1837]], he was named ''Ukwanshin yokome'', a position he held for 22 months, and the following year, he was elevated to full ''zashiki'' status (Junior Fourth Rank). Over the next few years, he served further terms as Naha ''yokome'' and Yamato ''yokome'', before being named head of the [[Omonogusuku]] in [[1852]]. This was the highest station a member of the Naha aristocracy could hope to attain; he held the position for 26 months. That same year, he was granted the territory of Nakamoto in [[Haebaru]] ''[[magiri]]'', and the title of Nakamoto ''peechin'', as well as being named ''[[jito (Ryukyu)|jitô]]'' of [[Henoko]] in Kushi ''magiri'', earning the title Takazato ''peechin''.

In [[1854]], at the age of 70, Bai Iki was elevated to ''môshikuchi-za'' (Junior Third Rank) status, and was appointed ''Satôza bujô'', Magistrate of the Sugar Guild. At the end of a long life of much official service and numerous rank elevations, Bai Iki died on [[1858]]/5/12, and was succeeded as head of the Bai family by his second son, Bai Ien.

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<center>
{| border="3" align="center"
|- align="center"
|width="32%"|Preceded by:<br>[[Bai Ishin]]
|width="35%"|'''Head of [[Bai family]]'''<br> ?-[[1858]]
|width="32%"|Succeeded by:<br>'''[[Bai Ien]]'''
|}
</center>

==References==
*''Naha shizoku no isshô'' 那覇士族の一生 (Naha: Naha City Museum of History, 2010). 

[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Nobility]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]