View source for Peechin

*''Okinawan'': 親雲上 ''(peechin, peekumi)''

''Peechin'', sometimes rendered as ''peekumi'', was an aristocratic title held by scholar-aristocrats associated with the royal court of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. It was a middle-ranking title, held by those in the Third through Seventh [[Ryukyuan court ranks|Ranks]] (out of nine), and was associated with the privilege of wearing a yellow ''[[hachimaki|hachimachi]]'' court cap. The title was always associated with an individual's fief - combined with the placename of his fief, an official might therefore be known as [[Gima peechin|Gima ''peechin'']], [[Noguni peechin|Noguni ''peechin'']], or [[Sho Dokyo|Yoseyama ''peechin'']], for example.

Some have suggested that the term ''peechin'' might be related to the Japanese word ''baishin'' 陪臣, meaning simply "retainer" or "vassal." Meanwhile, the [[kanji|characters]] used to write the term, 親雲上, do not normally carry a reading (pronunciation) at all similar to ''peechin'', but rather might be read in [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]] as ''uya kumu uii'', suggesting that the term may have derived from or been related to the Ryukyuan title ''[[oyako|ufuyakumui]]'' 大屋子もい (J: ''ôyakomoi'') held by officials in certain government posts.<ref>Andreas Quast, ''Okinawan Samurai: Instructions of a Royal Official to his Only Son'', Baden-Württemberg, Germany: Andreas Quast (self-published)(2018), 171-172.</ref>

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==References==
*Matsuda Mitsugu. ''The Government of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, 1609-1872''. Naha: Yui Publishing, 2001. pp203-205ff.
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[[Category:Ranks and Titles]]
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]