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==History & Geography==

==History & Geography==

It is not fully known at what time Naha emerged as a settlement and a port, but it is presumed to have formed as a matter of course in the late 14th century when Chinese and Japanese ships (among others) found the site a convenient waystation.<ref>Uezato. p73.</ref> The port was already burgeoning by the 1420s, when [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]] united [[Okinawa Island]], founding the Kingdom of Ryûkyû and establishing the [[first Sho dynasty|first Shô dynasty]].<ref>Uezato. p57.</ref> In the previous century, increased piracy activity around Korea, along with revolts by [[Fang Guozhen]]<!--方國珍--> and [[Zhang Shicheng]]<!--張士誠-->, caused Japanese merchants to take a different route to China, passing through the Ryukyus and making their way to [[Fuzhou]], rather than traveling to [[Ningpo]] via [[Hakata]], a more direct route.<ref>Uezato. p58.</ref>

It is not fully known at what time Naha emerged as a settlement and a port, but it is presumed to have formed as a matter of course in the late 14th century when Chinese and Japanese ships (among others) found the site a convenient waystation.<ref>Uezato. p73.</ref> The port was already burgeoning by the 1420s, when [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]] united [[Okinawa Island]], founding the Kingdom of Ryûkyû and establishing the [[Sho dynasty|first Shô dynasty]].<ref>Uezato. p57.</ref> In the previous century, increased piracy activity around Korea, along with revolts by [[Fang Guozhen]]<!--方國珍--> and [[Zhang Shicheng]]<!--張士誠-->, caused Japanese merchants to take a different route to China, passing through the Ryukyus and making their way to [[Fuzhou]], rather than traveling to [[Ningpo]] via [[Hakata]], a more direct route.<ref>Uezato. p58.</ref>

In addition to serving as the chief port for the kingdom, Naha was a major transshipment port, one of the most major trading hubs in the entire Southeast & East Asia region, during its height in the 15th-16th centuries. Many Japanese merchants operating within the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system made port here or even maintained homes and families in Naha. The port served as a transshipment point for a great many goods, including metals, aromatic woods, silks, porcelains, ivory, and the like, as well as for silver. Though the kingdom itself did not send its own trading ships anywhere in Southeast Asia after [[1570]] (the final trading mission to Siam), the government did hire or contract Japanese merchants (and presumably others) to perform both mercantile and diplomatic duties on behalf of the kingdom. To name just two examples, [[Taira Nobushige]] of Hakata traveled to Korea in [[1471]] as an envoy of the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, and [[Kawasaki Rihee]]<!--川崎利兵衛--> of Sakai set sail for Southeast Asia in [[1598]] to engage in trade on behalf of the kingdom.<ref>Uezato. p71.</ref>

In addition to serving as the chief port for the kingdom, Naha was a major transshipment port, one of the most major trading hubs in the entire Southeast & East Asia region, during its height in the 15th-16th centuries. Many Japanese merchants operating within the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system made port here or even maintained homes and families in Naha. The port served as a transshipment point for a great many goods, including metals, aromatic woods, silks, porcelains, ivory, and the like, as well as for silver. Though the kingdom itself did not send its own trading ships anywhere in Southeast Asia after [[1570]] (the final trading mission to Siam), the government did hire or contract Japanese merchants (and presumably others) to perform both mercantile and diplomatic duties on behalf of the kingdom. To name just two examples, [[Taira Nobushige]] of Hakata traveled to Korea in [[1471]] as an envoy of the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, and [[Kawasaki Rihee]]<!--川崎利兵衛--> of Sakai set sail for Southeast Asia in [[1598]] to engage in trade on behalf of the kingdom.<ref>Uezato. p71.</ref>

The entrance to the port, to the west of Ukishima, was guarded by a pair of fortresses built in the early 1550s on spits of land extending out towards the sea. These two fortresses, [[Mie gusuku]] and [[Yarazamori gusuku]], had a large chain strung out between them across the water, which could rather effectively block ships from entering the harbor. The fortresses were quite successful in repelling ''wakô'' raids on several occasions, but proved ultimately useless against the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] by forces from [[Satsuma han]], who simply made landfall elsewhere and approached [[Shuri]] by land.<ref>Turnbull, Stephen. The Samurai Capture a King: Okinawa 1609. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2009. pp29, 41, 46.</ref>  

The entrance to the port, to the west of Ukishima, was guarded by a pair of fortresses built in the early 1550s on spits of land extending out towards the sea. These two fortresses, [[Mie gusuku]] and [[Yarazamori gusuku]], had a large chain strung out between them across the water, which could rather effectively block ships from entering the harbor. The fortresses were quite successful in repelling ''wakô'' raids on several occasions, but proved ultimately useless against the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] by forces from [[Satsuma han]], who simply made landfall elsewhere and approached [[Shuri]] by land.<ref>Turnbull, Stephen. The Samurai Capture a King: Okinawa 1609. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2009. pp29, 41, 46.</ref>  

Beyond these fortresses lay numerous small islands in a body of water - all but completely filled in today - which stretched as far south as [[Madanbashi]]. Many of these tiny islands were home to either government buildings, such as the warehouses ''[[Omono gusuku]]'' (O: ''umun gushiku'') and [[Io gusuku|Iô gusuku]] (O: ''yuuwa gusuku''), or sacred spaces, such as the shrines or ''[[utaki]]'' of [[Ganamui|Gânâmui]], [[Rinkai-ji]] & [[Oki Shrine]] (Oki-gû or Oki-no-tera, O: ''Uchi nu tira''), Watanji, [[Sumiyoshi Shrine (Okinawa)|Sumiyoshi Shrine]], Chinpe<!--君南風-->, and Ibinume<!--イビヌ前-->.

Beyond these fortresses lay numerous small islands in a body of water - all but completely filled in today - which stretched as far south as [[Madanbashi]]. Many of these tiny islands were home to either government buildings, such as the warehouses ''[[Omono gusuku]]'' (O: ''umun gushiku'') and [[Io gusuku|Iô gusuku]] (O: ''yuuwa gusuku''), or sacred spaces, such as the shrines or ''[[utaki]]'' of [[Ganamui|Gânâmui]], [[Rinkai-ji]] & [[Oki Shrine]] (Oki-gû or Oki-no-tera, O: ''Uchi nu tira''), Watanji, [[Sueyoshi Shrine]], Chinpe<!--君南風-->, and Ibinume<!--イビヌ前-->.

The construction of the Chôkôtei and inter-island roads connecting Mie-gusuku to Rinkai-ji & Oki Shrine, and Yarazamui-gusuku to Ibinume and Sumiyoshi, along with other structures, altered the flow of the waters in the area, and the port began to silt up. By around 1700, [[Lake Man]] (''Manko'') had shrunk considerably, and many of the small islands grew to intersect with one another, joining into larger (though still quite tiny) islands within Naha Harbor. For example, where Iô gusuku and Watanji had previously occupied separate islands, their two islands had now joined into one. By 1868, Onoyama, the largest of these small islands, had grown considerably. Public works landfill projects began in earnest in the [[Meiji period]], continuing through the pre-war and early post-war periods, filling in this section of the harbor and transforming these many small islands into fewer, larger islands, and eventually connecting them to the "mainland" of Okinawa Island completely. Today, Onoyama Park encompasses much of the area that used to be tiny islands or the water separating them; Omonogusuku stands apart as one of the few of these sites still surrounded mostly by water, though it too is now connected to the "mainland" by a spit of land, rather than sitting on its own separate island.

The construction of the Chôkôtei and inter-island roads connecting Mie-gusuku to Rinkai-ji & Oki Shrine, and Yarazamui-gusuku to Ibinume and Sueyoshi, along with other structures, altered the flow of the waters in the area, and the port began to silt up. By around 1700, [[Lake Man]] (''Manko'') had shrunk considerably, and many of the small islands grew to intersect with one another, joining into larger (though still quite tiny) islands within Naha Harbor. For example, where Iô gusuku and Watanji had previously occupied separate islands, their two islands had now joined into one. By 1868, Onoyama, the largest of these small islands, had grown considerably. Public works landfill projects began in earnest in the [[Meiji period]], continuing through the pre-war and early post-war periods, filling in this section of the harbor and transforming these many small islands into fewer, larger islands, and eventually connecting them to the "mainland" of Okinawa Island completely. Today, Onoyama Park encompasses much of the area that used to be tiny islands or the water separating them; Omonogusuku stands apart as one of the few of these sites still surrounded mostly by water, though it too is now connected to the "mainland" by a spit of land, rather than sitting on its own separate island.

Efforts were undertaken in [[1907]]-1915 to expand the harbor, to make it accessible for steamships. By 1915, the harbor could handle three 1500-ton ships at once; later, it was further expanded to accommodate 4500-ton ships. Meanwhile, Osaka Shôsen, a company founded in [[1884]], began running regular passenger ship routes between Osaka and Naha in [[1885]]; other companies soon joined in, connecting Naha to Kagoshima, Tokyo, and other cities, and enabling the rise of Okinawa's tourism industry.<ref>Gallery labels, Naha City Museum of History, August 2013.</ref>

Efforts were undertaken in [[1907]]-1915 to expand the harbor, to make it accessible for steamships. By 1915, the harbor could handle three 1500-ton ships at once; later, it was further expanded to accommodate 4500-ton ships. Meanwhile, Osaka Shôsen, a company founded in [[1884]], began running regular passenger ship routes between Osaka and Naha in [[1885]]; other companies soon joined in, connecting Naha to Kagoshima, Tokyo, and other cities, and enabling the rise of Okinawa's tourism industry.<ref>Gallery labels, Naha City Museum of History, August 2013.</ref>