O Koretsu

• Japanese/Chinese: 翁 宏烈 (Ô Kôretsu / Wēng Hóngliè)

Ô Kôretsu was a Ryukyuan scholar-official and court musician & dancer.

After serving as a gakudôji (teenage musician and dancer) on the 1790 Ryukyuan embassy to Edo, and as a dancer at court, he was appointed lead envoy on a nentôshi annual mission to Kagoshima in 1817.

Earning formal praise from the court for his accomplishments as nentôshi envoy, he saw two of his sons, Ô Seihan and Ô Shôkin named gakusei (head musicians) on a later mission to Edo. Ô Shôkin also later led a nentôshi mission to Kagoshima.

References

• Liao Zhenpei 廖真珮, "Ryûkyû kyûtei ni okeru Chûgoku kei ongaku no ensô to denshô" 琉球宮廷における中国系音楽の演奏と伝承, in Uzagaku no fukugen ni mukete 御座楽の復元に向けて, Naha, Okinawa: Uzagaku fukugen ensô kenkyûkai 御座楽復元演奏研究会 (2007), 102, 104, 124-125, citing Naha shishi vol 7, p97-102.