Changes

The village of [[Kumemura]], a short distance from the capital at Shuri, had been founded in [[1393]] by a number of Chinese scholars, bureaucrats, and craftsmen from Fukien settled there with their families by order of the Ming Court. The town rapidly developed into a center of scholarship and Chinese culture, and came to be something of a training ground for the kingdom's bureaucrats; nearly all of the administrators in the royal government came from Kumemura, and positions were based on showing in royal examinations, rather than purely on birth. A system was also established by which a select few members of the Kumemura community would travel to Fuzhou and Beijing to study. In addition to becoming well-versed in the Chinese classics, and being educated and trained in the ways of a bureaucrat, these students would frequently bring back specific skills or knowledges to be implemented in the kingdom, such as geomancy, navigation, or various craft skills.

The village of [[Kumemura]], a short distance from the capital at Shuri, had been founded in [[1393]] by a number of Chinese scholars, bureaucrats, and craftsmen from Fukien settled there with their families by order of the Ming Court. The town rapidly developed into a center of scholarship and Chinese culture, and came to be something of a training ground for the kingdom's bureaucrats; nearly all of the administrators in the royal government came from Kumemura, and positions were based on showing in royal examinations, rather than purely on birth. A system was also established by which a select few members of the Kumemura community would travel to Fuzhou and Beijing to study. In addition to becoming well-versed in the Chinese classics, and being educated and trained in the ways of a bureaucrat, these students would frequently bring back specific skills or knowledges to be implemented in the kingdom, such as geomancy, navigation, or various craft skills.

King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] (r. [[1477]]-[[1526]]) is often said to have ruled over a golden age for the kingdom. He solidified and strengthened the power of the king (and of the central royal government more generally), both practically and ideologically. Areas outside of Shuri had previously been ruled by ''anji'', local/regional rulers akin perhaps to feudal lords; Shô Shin required them to reside in Shuri, transforming them into an aristocratic-bureaucrat class, and reorganizing their lands into ''[[magiri]]'' (districts)<ref>Though this term may have previously existed, it now became a more formalized unit of political geography as delineated by Shuri, and governed by those appointed from Shuri.</ref> and ''shima'' (villages). Officials not of an ''anji'' ("warlord") background were appointed by the royal court to govern these districts; thus, the power of the ''anji'' to act as independent feudal states was removed, and put into the hands of administrators who were reliant on the royal court for the ability to continue to hold that post. By the end of Shô Shin's reign, all military forces in the kingdom were under his command, rather than under the command of individual regional lords; regional forces were now known as ''magiri gun'', rather than ''anji gun'', associating them with the districts, and not with the regional lords. Shô Shin also expanded the reach of the kingdom by sending military forces to conquer or subjugate other islands, sometimes coming into conflict with Japanese forces from [[Satsuma province]] seeking to expand their influence south into the Ryukyus.<ref name=pacifism>*Smits, Gregory. "[http://www.japanfocus.org/-Gregory-Smits/3409 Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism]." ''The Asia-Pacific Journal'' 37-3-10 (September 13, 2010).</ref>

King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] (r. [[1477]]-[[1526]]) is often said to have ruled over a golden age for the kingdom. He solidified and strengthened the power of the king (and of the central royal government more generally), both practically and ideologically. Areas outside of Shuri had previously been ruled by ''anji'', local/regional rulers akin perhaps to feudal lords, with considerable power and autonomy within their lands. Under Shô Shin's predecessors, and especially under Chûzan prior to the unification of the island, ''anji'' wielded considerable power, occasionally even toppling and replacing kings.<ref>As is believed to have happened at least once in Nanzan, as indicated in the ''Ming Taizong shilu''. Chan, Ying Kit. “A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526).” MA Thesis, National University of Singapore, 2010, 25-26. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/20602.</ref> The ''anji'' were not fully secure in their power, however, as local elites beneath them could also overthrow their ''anji'' when they perceived him to be politically or spiritually weak; priestesses also wielded considerable local political power.<ref>Chan, 25-26.</ref>

 

Shô Shin addressed these competing powers by forcing the ''anji'' to reside in Shuri, transforming them into an aristocratic-bureaucrat class, and reorganizing their lands into ''[[magiri]]'' (districts)<ref>Though this term may have previously existed, it now became a more formalized unit of political geography as delineated by Shuri, and governed by those appointed from Shuri.</ref> and ''shima'' (villages). Officials not of an ''anji'' ("warlord") background were appointed by the royal court to govern these districts; thus, the power of the ''anji'' to act as independent feudal states was removed, and put into the hands of administrators who were reliant on the royal court for the ability to continue to hold that post. By the end of Shô Shin's reign, all military forces in the kingdom were under his command, rather than under the command of individual regional lords; regional forces were now known as ''magiri gun'', rather than ''anji gun'', associating them with the districts, and not with the regional lords. Shô Shin also expanded the reach of the kingdom by sending military forces to conquer or subjugate other islands, sometimes coming into conflict with Japanese forces from [[Satsuma province]] seeking to expand their influence south into the Ryukyus.<ref name=pacifism>*Smits, Gregory. "[http://www.japanfocus.org/-Gregory-Smits/3409 Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism]." ''The Asia-Pacific Journal'' 37-3-10 (September 13, 2010).</ref>

 

The kingdom's booming trade declined around the 1570s, as the seas came to be dominated by other powers. Spanish and Portuguese galleons arrived around the mid-16th century, followed by the agents of the [[British East India Company|English]] and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] [[East India Company|East India Companies]] at the beginning of the 17th. Meanwhile, Ming China lifted its bans on Chinese trade with, and in, Southeast Asia, in [[1567]], and Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] began to engage in licensed trade under the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system after around [[1582]]. The dispatch of Ryukyuan trading ships to Siam in [[1570]] was to be the last act of direct Ryukyuan involvement in maritime trade in Southeast Asia.<ref>''Ryûkyû ôchô no bi'' 琉球王朝の美. Hikone Castle Museum 彦根城博物館. Hikone, 1993. p75.</ref>

The kingdom's booming trade declined around the 1570s, as the seas came to be dominated by other powers. Spanish and Portuguese galleons arrived around the mid-16th century, followed by the agents of the [[British East India Company|English]] and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] [[East India Company|East India Companies]] at the beginning of the 17th. Meanwhile, Ming China lifted its bans on Chinese trade with, and in, Southeast Asia, in [[1567]], and Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] began to engage in licensed trade under the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system after around [[1582]]. The dispatch of Ryukyuan trading ships to Siam in [[1570]] was to be the last act of direct Ryukyuan involvement in maritime trade in Southeast Asia.<ref>''Ryûkyû ôchô no bi'' 琉球王朝の美. Hikone Castle Museum 彦根城博物館. Hikone, 1993. p75.</ref>