Kishaba Chôken was a prominent scholar-official and royal advisor in the Ryûkyû Kingdom during the last years of the kingdom (1860s-70s).
Chôken became a close advisor to King Shô Tai in 1868, at the recommendations of Tsuhako ueekata and Tomizato ueekata. In addition to other duties and activities, Chôken took on oversight of the archiving and preservation of historical documents. This included hand-copying a number of precious texts.
Chôken's notable writings include the Tôtei zuihitsu (東汀随筆), a collection of records pertaining to the royal court, and the Ryûkyû kenbunroku 琉球見聞録; the latter, published in 1914 by Oyadomari Chôtaku, relates negotiations between Ryûkyû han (the former royal court) and Matsuda Michiyuki of the Meiji government, from the Ryukyuan point of view, from 1875 until the total annexation of Ryûkyû and establishment of Okinawa prefecture in 1879.[1]
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), 120.
- ↑ "Shurijô Seiden ha sekai saidaikyû no urushi no ki. Shurijô no shûfuku, fukugen ga dekiru shokunin o sodatete moraitai"「首里城正殿は世界最大級の漆の器。首里城の修復、復元ができる職人を育ててもらいたい。」、Fee nu kaji 南ぬ風 9 (2008/10-12), 5.
External Links
- The Tôtei zuihitsu, available at the University of Ryukyus Digital Archive.