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Government of the Ryukyu Kingdom (view source)
Revision as of 16:17, 8 December 2017
, 16:17, 8 December 2017→Organization
Lower ranks of officials included ''[[Jito (Ryukyu)|Jitô]]'', who were the chief representatives of the central government overseeing districts or regions (''[[magiri]]'') of the kingdom; ''[[atai]]'', who oversaw specific types of lands, such as farmlands or forests; ''[[gechiyaku]]'', who were temporarily appointed to oversee economic recovery in areas in need of such recovery; and a number of other local authorities or trade officials with titles such as ''[[oyako|ôyako]]'' and ''[[Naha satunushi]]''.<ref>Gregory Smits. ''Visions of Ryukyu''. University of Hawaii Press, 1999. p165.</ref>
Lower ranks of officials included ''[[Jito (Ryukyu)|Jitô]]'', who were the chief representatives of the central government overseeing districts or regions (''[[magiri]]'') of the kingdom; ''[[atai]]'', who oversaw specific types of lands, such as farmlands or forests; ''[[gechiyaku]]'', who were temporarily appointed to oversee economic recovery in areas in need of such recovery; and a number of other local authorities or trade officials with titles such as ''[[oyako|ôyako]]'' and ''[[Naha satunushi]]''.<ref>Gregory Smits. ''Visions of Ryukyu''. University of Hawaii Press, 1999. p165.</ref>
While diplomatic matters were handled by the Sanshikan and various other offices, several new offices were [[sakumei sakukan|created in the 1840s]] to deal with incursions from Westerners while keeping them at a distance from any interactions with the "real" offices of the government.<ref>Marco Tinello, "The termination of the Ryukyuan embassies to Edo : an investigation of the bakumatsu period through the lens of a tripartite power relationship and its world," PhD thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (2014), 142n255, 145.</ref>
Civil officials were chosen from among the ranks of [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|scholar-aristocrats]] and commoners, based in part on [[Chinese imperial examinations|Confucian exams]], and in part on inheritance of positions through lineage. However, government positions and aristocratic holdings were not simply passed down intact as in [[Edo period|Tokugawa]] Japan; they diminished from one generation to the next, and had to be regained through accomplishment and reward for government service.
Civil officials were chosen from among the ranks of [[scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|scholar-aristocrats]] and commoners, based in part on [[Chinese imperial examinations|Confucian exams]], and in part on inheritance of positions through lineage. However, government positions and aristocratic holdings were not simply passed down intact as in [[Edo period|Tokugawa]] Japan; they diminished from one generation to the next, and had to be regained through accomplishment and reward for government service.