Miusuku Shishikadun

• Died: c. 1500
• Japanese: 明宇底獅子嘉殿 (Miusuku shishikadun)

Miusuku Shishikadun was a local elite active on Hateruma Island during Ryûkyû's Era of Rival Chiefs. Though local legend presents him as a local hero, as though he were a member of the indigenous community of Hateruma, Miusuku and many of his prominent allies and rivals may have in fact been wakô leaders, or descendants of wakô leaders, originally from elsewhere.

According to traditional accounts, when called upon by Oyake Akahachi of Ishigaki Island to join him in seeking to conquer a number of neighboring islands, Miusuku rejected Akahachi, declaring his continued loyalty to the Ryûkyû Kingdom (i.e. the Shuri court). Miusuku was then captured or kidnapped by Akahachi's forces, and is said to have been taken aboard a boat, stabbed to death, and his body dropped into the ocean. It was later returned to Hateruma, however, and given a proper burial, in 1500. Following Shuri's suppression of Akahachi's uprising, six of Miusuku's children were appointed to official positions on Hateruma by the Shuri court.

References

• Gregory Smits, "Rethinking Ryukyu," International Journal of Okinawan Studies 6:1 (2015), 5.