Changes

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>

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, as did a small community of Korean merchants involved in trade with Java and Siam.<ref>Geoffrey Gunn, ''History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800'', Hong Kong University Press (2011), 217.</ref> 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>

Trade declined dramatically in the 17th century, due to heavy restrictions imposed by Satsuma, the imposition of maritime restrictions (''[[kaikin]]'') in Japan (which brought a severe decline in Japanese maritime activity), and a variety of factors concerning trade relations with Southeast Asia. But Naha remained the chief port city, and along with Shuri, the chief economic, cultural, and political center in the Ryukyus, from that time through today. Major efforts to dredge the harbor and revitalize the port were undertaken in [[1717]]. It is said 70,000 men were involved in the effort, and a stone still stands today in honor and memory of the event.<ref>Hokama Masaaki 外間政明。”''Nahakō no seiritsu to sono kinō iji''” 那覇港の成立とその機能維持。''Shimatati'' しまたてぃ 13. Okinawa Shimatate Kyōkai 沖縄しまたて協会。July 2000. pp5-7.</ref>

Trade declined dramatically in the 17th century, due to heavy restrictions imposed by Satsuma, the imposition of maritime restrictions (''[[kaikin]]'') in Japan (which brought a severe decline in Japanese maritime activity), and a variety of factors concerning trade relations with Southeast Asia. But Naha remained the chief port city, and along with Shuri, the chief economic, cultural, and political center in the Ryukyus, from that time through today. Major efforts to dredge the harbor and revitalize the port were undertaken in [[1717]]. It is said 70,000 men were involved in the effort, and a stone still stands today in honor and memory of the event.<ref>Hokama Masaaki 外間政明。”''Nahakō no seiritsu to sono kinō iji''” 那覇港の成立とその機能維持。''Shimatati'' しまたてぃ 13. Okinawa Shimatate Kyōkai 沖縄しまたて協会。July 2000. pp5-7.</ref>