Tei Shôkan served as gieisei (head of street musicians) on the 1796 Ryukyuan mission to Edo.
While in Kagoshima, he was interviewed, along with several other Ryukyuan officials, by Akazaki Kaimon, about their experiences in China. These conversations were then published as Ryûkaku danki, and remain a notable source for historians today investigating Ryûkyû-China-Japan relations.
References
- Gallery labels, "Kuninda - Ryûkyû to Chûgoku no kakehashi," special exhibit, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, Sept 2014.
- Maehira Fusaaki, Ryûkyû shisetsu no ikoku taiken 琉球使節の異国体験, Kokusai kôryû 国際交流 59 (1992), 63.