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A one-kilometer-long, narrow earthen embankment called the [[Chokotei|Chôkôtei]] connected the tiny off-shore island of Ukishima, where most of the other districts of Naha were located, to the Okinawan "mainland," ending at the temple of [[Sogenji|Sôgenji]] in Tomari.

A one-kilometer-long, narrow earthen embankment called the [[Chokotei|Chôkôtei]] connected the tiny off-shore island of Ukishima, where most of the other districts of Naha were located, to the Okinawan "mainland," ending at the temple of [[Sogenji|Sôgenji]] in Tomari.

Tomari was an active and busy port as early as the 13th-14th centuries. While the port of Naha was the chief site for receiving foreign ships, ships from [[Yaeyama]], [[Miyako]], [[Amami Islands|Amami]], and other outlying islands within the kingdom, including those bringing [[tribute]], made port at Tomari. The ''[[Tomari satonushi]]'', the chief administrator for the district, was also in charge of receiving and managing the tribute from Amami. His office was known as ''Tumai udun''; the district also contained warehouses for storing the tribute goods, known as ''Ôshimakura''.<ref>Uezato. pp62-63.</ref>

Tomari was one of the chief ports on the island, along with [[Makiminato]], as early as the 13th-14th centuries. During the time when the kingdom of [[Chuzan|Chûzan]] was ruled from [[Urasoe]] (i.e. up until the 1410s or 1420s), Tomari was home to a number of government offices and warehouses.

 

King [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]] (r. 1422-1439) made Naha the chief site for receiving foreign ships, and the port city quickly came to eclipse both Tomari and Makiminato as the kingdom's central port. However, ships from [[Yaeyama]], [[Miyako]], [[Amami Islands|Amami]], and other outlying islands within the kingdom, including those bringing [[tribute]], continued to make port at Tomari. The ''[[Tomari satonushi]]'', the chief administrator for the district, was also in charge of receiving and managing the tribute from Amami. His office was known as ''Tumai udun''; the district also contained warehouses for storing the tribute goods, known as ''Ôshimakura''.<ref>Uezato. pp62-63.</ref>

In the 19th century, when European and American ships began to call at Ryûkyû, Ryukyuan and [[Satsuma han]] authorities did not wish to allow these ships into Naha Harbor; thus the water off of Tomari were employed as an anchorage, and foreigners who came ashore thus did so in Tomari, and not in Naha proper. A monument still stands today at the [[Tomari International Cemetery]] marking that [[Commodore Perry]] came ashore near that spot in [[1853]].

In the 19th century, when European and American ships began to call at Ryûkyû, Ryukyuan and [[Satsuma han]] authorities did not wish to allow these ships into Naha Harbor; thus the water off of Tomari were employed as an anchorage, and foreigners who came ashore thus did so in Tomari, and not in Naha proper. A monument still stands today at the [[Tomari International Cemetery]] marking that [[Commodore Perry]] came ashore near that spot in [[1853]].

*Plaques on-site at Tomari Port.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9545757368/in/dateposted-public/]

*Plaques on-site at Tomari Port.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/9545757368/in/dateposted-public/]

*Uezato Takashi. "The Formation of the Port City of Naha in Ryukyu and the World of Maritime Asia: From the Perspective of a Japanese Network." ''[[Acta Asiatica]]'' 95 (2008). pp57-77.

*Uezato Takashi. "The Formation of the Port City of Naha in Ryukyu and the World of Maritime Asia: From the Perspective of a Japanese Network." ''[[Acta Asiatica]]'' 95 (2008). pp57-77.

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[[Category:Ryukyu]]

[[Category:Ryukyu]]

[[Category:Cities and Towns]]

[[Category:Cities and Towns]]