Bai Iki

• Born: 1785/10/22
• Died: 1858
• Titles: 金城筑登之 (Kanagusuku chikudun)
• Japanese/Chinese: 貝唯紀 (Bai Iki / Bèi Wéijì)

Bai Iki was the sixth head of the Bai family of the scholar-aristocracy of Naha. It was during his time as head of the family that the Bai were elevated from shinsan status to being a fudaiji family.

The second son of the fifth family head, Bai Ishin, Bai Iki was named heir at the age of 14, in 1798, following the early death of his older brother Bai Isui. The following year, he had his coming-of-age ceremony, and on 1806/4/3, when Bai Iki was 22, his first daughter, Majirû, was born. Nearly two years later, on 1808/3/15, his first son, Isuke, was born. That same year, following the investiture of the king, Bai Iki was named Kanagusuku chikudun. His second daughter, Umitû, was born on 1810/6/9.

Iki's eldest son, Bai Isuke, died young on 1811/4/11. His second son, Bai Ien, who would later go on to become Iki's successor, was born two years later, on 1813/9/12. Iki then had another son, Bai Ishô, on 1816/6/28. The following year, he was appointed ufunitii hissha (clerk/secretary in charge of ships), and two years later, on 1819/2/13, his third daughter, Makadû, was born. His fourth daughter, Magami, was born on 1822/7/24.

Iki's eldest daughter, Majirû, died on 1824/10/19, when Iki was 40. His fourth son, Bai Izen, was born the following year, on 1825/3/8, and his fifth daughter, Umitama, on 1828/11/16. In 1832, Bai Iki gained a fifth son, Bai Ishu, on 1832/2/12, but lost his fourth son, Bai Izen, on 11/15. That same year, he was elevated in rank from chikudun to chikudun peechin; now a member of the Seventh Rank, he was entitled to wear a yellow hachimaki (court cap) as a mark of his status.

Sugar Guild Magistrate (satôza bujô) in 1854; he also served as head of the Omonogusuku for a time. The latter was the highest station a member of the Naha aristocracy could hope to attain.

Preceded by: Bai Ishin

Head of Bai family  ?-1858

Succeeded by: Bai Ien

References

• Naha shizoku no isshô 那覇士族の一生 (Naha: Naha City Museum of History, 2010).