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Chinese investiture envoys (view source)
Revision as of 18:29, 5 December 2013
, 18:29, 5 December 2013→The Investiture Ceremony
Following the investiture, an emissary would journey to the Chinese capital, to formally express gratitude (C: ''hsieh-en'')<ref name=chen/>.
Following the investiture, an emissary would journey to the Chinese capital, to formally express gratitude (C: ''hsieh-en'')<ref name=chen/>.
==Hiding the Japan Connection==
There were no formal relations between China and Japan throughout the Edo period, and officials in both Ryûkyû and Satsuma feared that if Beijing knew of the nature of Ryûkyû's relationship with Satsuma, relations with Ryûkyû might be cut off as well - this would be devastating for both Satsuma's interests in Ryûkyû, and for Ryûkyû itself. As a result, considerable efforts were made to hide the Japanese presence whenever Chinese envoys visited Okinawa.
The Satsuma officials normally resident in Naha relocated temporarily to [[Gusukuma]] for the duration. Suspicious Chinese officials were sometimes taken to a different village, [[Makinato]], to be shown that there were no Japanese being hidden there. Similarly, Japanese-language inscriptions on stone lanterns and elsewhere in public view were explained away by attributing them to trade connections between Ryûkyû and the [[Tokara Islands]].<ref>Matsuda Mitsugu, ''The Government of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, 1609-1872'', Yui Publishing (2001), 60n34.</ref>
==Timeline of Missions==
==Timeline of Missions==