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→Hiding the Japan Connection
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>
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>
Nevertheless, it is clear that the Chinese Court was well aware of the Satsuma connection, at least in general terms. There are numerous anecdotal examples of slip-ups in the deception, including Chinese officials noticing Japanese [[year dates|era names]] on Ryukyuan documents, bells, and other objects, and on at least one occasion, in [[1719]], the Chinese investiture envoy Xu Baoguang noticing a samurai official watching the investiture ceremony from behind a screen. Chinese merchants officially associated with [[Nagasaki]] but active in smuggling along the Satsuma coast may have been able to inform Chinese officials about the relationship as well.<ref>Schottenhammer, "Empire and Periphery?", 182-183.</ref>
Though the early decades of the 17th century, on the heels of [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi|Toyotomi Hideyoshi's]] [[Korean Invasions|invasions of Korea]] may have reasonably made Ming authorities concerned about Japanese expansionism through the Ryukyus, the Qing seem to have had no such concerns. Satisfied with Ryûkyû's regular shows of loyalty, and Ryûkyû's embrace of Confucian/Chinese high culture, the Qing may have even seen Japan's reliance on Chinese goods (as obtained through Ryûkyû) as a form of tacit submission, or at least dependency. Thus, the Qing, at least tacitly, tolerated Ryûkyû's relationship with Satsuma.
==Timeline of Missions==
==Timeline of Missions==