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Collected in two sections (上・下巻), the text is a compilation of twenty-eight documents circulated in Ryûkyû at that time, selected by Taichû to represent Ryûkyû's culture and customs. These include pieces reflecting Ryukyuan poetry, festivals, [[Buddhist temples]] & offerings made to them, events surrounding the reception of [[Chinese investiture envoys|Ming imperial envoys]], tax goods collected from the other islands, and the cargoes of Ryukyuan and Japanese ships which made port at [[Naha]]. Letters included in the collection, exchanged between members of Ryûkyû's cultural elite, reveal considerable familiarity with and interest in Japanese poetry (''[[Kokinshu|Kokinshû]]'', ''[[Manyoshu|Man'yôshû]]'', ''[[Ise monogatari]]'', ''[[Senzaishu|Senzaishû]]'', etc.), [[tea ceremony]], and tea utensils.

Collected in two sections (上・下巻), the text is a compilation of twenty-eight documents circulated in Ryûkyû at that time, selected by Taichû to represent Ryûkyû's culture and customs. These include pieces reflecting Ryukyuan poetry, festivals, [[Buddhist temples]] & offerings made to them, events surrounding the reception of [[Chinese investiture envoys|Ming imperial envoys]], tax goods collected from the other islands, and the cargoes of Ryukyuan and Japanese ships which made port at [[Naha]]. Letters included in the collection, exchanged between members of Ryûkyû's cultural elite, reveal considerable familiarity with and interest in Japanese poetry (''[[Kokinshu|Kokinshû]]'', ''[[Manyoshu|Man'yôshû]]'', ''[[Ise monogatari]]'', ''[[Senzaishu|Senzaishû]]'', etc.), [[tea ceremony]], and tea utensils.

In contrast to the ''Ryûkyû Shintô ki'' which was [[Printing and Publishing|published]] as a woodblock-printed book and widely circulated in Japan, the ''Ryûkyû ôrai'' circulated only in manuscript form. It still had a considerable circulation among elite circles in Japan, thanks in large part to [[Ban Nobutomo]], but did not make it into the popular publications market.<ref>Yokoyama, 57.</ref>

In contrast to the ''Ryûkyû Shintô ki'' which was [[Printing and Publishing|published]] as a woodblock-printed book and widely circulated in Japan, the ''Ryûkyû ôrai'' circulated only in manuscript form. It still had a considerable circulation among elite circles in Japan, thanks in large part to [[Ban Nobutomo]], but did not make it into the popular publications market. Based on the fact that most surviving manuscript copies contain a preface by Nobutomo, historian Yokoyama Manabu suggests that Nobutomo likely read and copied Taichû's own original version, or a very close copy.<ref>Yokoyama, 57-58.</ref>

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