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*''Other Names'': 系図 ''(J: keizu)''
*''Other Names'': 系図 ''(J: keizu)''
''Kafu'' were family registry records of the [[Ryukyuan aristocracy]] written in ''[[kanbun]]'', which included lineages and individual personal or career histories. The gentry were required to submit records of their lineages in [[1670]],<ref>[[Robert Sakai]], “The Ryukyu (Liu-ch’iu) Islands as a Fief of Satsuma,” in [[John K. Fairbank]], ''The Chinese World Order'', Harvard University Press (1968), 128.</ref> and an office known as the ''[[keizuza]]''<!--系図座--> was formally established within the government of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] in [[1689]] to create and maintain these records in a more formal and standardized manner; however, it is likely that ''kafu'' existed in some form before then.
''Kafu'' were family registry records of the [[Ryukyuan aristocracy]] written in ''[[kanbun]]'', which included lineages and individual personal or career histories.
Following the establishment of the ''keizuza'', records of each aristocratic lineage were systematically produced, with one copy being kept by the royal government, and one, stamped with the royal seal, kept by the family described in that record. With this system in place, an aristocrat could prove his lineage, and ancestral hometown.
''Kafu'' likely existed in some form earlier, but the system was first formally put into place beginning in [[1670]], when [[Sho Shoken|Shô Shôken]] required members of the aristocracy to submit records of their lineages.<ref>[[Robert Sakai]], “The Ryukyu (Liu-ch’iu) Islands as a Fief of Satsuma,” in [[John K. Fairbank]], ''The Chinese World Order'', Harvard University Press (1968), 128.</ref>. In [[1689]], an office known as the ''[[keizuza]]''<!--系図座--> was formally established within the government of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] to create and maintain these records in a more formal and standardized manner.
Following the establishment of the ''keizuza'', records of each aristocratic lineage were systematically produced, with one copy being kept by the royal government, and one, stamped with the royal seal, kept by the family described in that record. With this system in place, an aristocrat could prove his lineage, and ancestral hometown. These documents recorded not only the lineage, but also whether an individual had made formal journeys to China, [[Satsuma han|Kagoshima]], or [[Edo]].
As only members of the elite maintained these genealogy records, the aristocracy, or members of it, came to be known as ''keimochi'' (系持), or "lineage-holders."
Today, these serve as valuable primary sources for historical research.
Today, these serve as valuable primary sources for historical research.
==References==
==References==
*Miyagi Eishô 宮城栄昌, Ryûkyû shisha no Edo nobori 琉球使者の江戸上り, Tokyo: Daiichi Shobô (1982), 7-8.
*"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-40947-storytopic-121.html Kafu]." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia (沖縄コンパクト事典, ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten''). Ryukyu Shimpo. 1 March 2003. Accessed 6 October 2010.
*"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-40947-storytopic-121.html Kafu]." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia (沖縄コンパクト事典, ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten''). Ryukyu Shimpo. 1 March 2003. Accessed 6 October 2010.
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