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Created page with "*''Other Names'': 龍船 ''(ryuusen)'', 綾船 ''(ayabune)'' *''Japanese'': 紋船 ''(ayabune)'' ''Ayabune'' were a particular type of ship sent by the royal government of th..."
*''Other Names'': 龍船 ''(ryuusen)'', 綾船 ''(ayabune)''
*''Japanese'': 紋船 ''(ayabune)''
''Ayabune'' were a particular type of ship sent by the royal government of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], carrying embassies to the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma province|Satsuma]], in the period before Satsuma's [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of the kingdom]]. They were generally sent to congratulate a new head of the Shimazu clan whenever there was a succession, or on similar celebratory occasions, as part of the maintenance of a friendly relationship between Ryûkyû and Satsuma. The ''ayabune'' embassies typically brought gifts, including ''[[awamori]]''.
The ship was an unarmed, decorative ship in the Chinese style, with decorations of blue-green birds and a yellow dragon on the bow of the ship, and the king's crest, a ''[[tomoe|mitsu-domoe]]'' also featured prominently. As a result, it came to be known variously as a ''ryûsen'' (dragon ship)<ref>Not to be confused with [[dragon boat]] races, which use a very different type of boat.</ref>, or an ''ayabune'' (crest ship); the character ''aya'', the same as the ''mon'' in ''kamon'' ("house crest" or "family crest"), was sometimes replaced with a different character, also read ''aya'', and referring to a particular textile design.
The earliest instance in records extant today of such a ship arriving in Satsuma appears in a record for the 8th month of [[1481]], but it is believed that Ryûkyû sent ''ayabune'' missions to Satsuma earlier than that. Ryukyuan sources indicate that ''ayabune'' were sent twice during the reign of King [[Sho Sei|Shô Sei]], three times during the reign of King [[Sho Ei|Shô Ei]] (r. [[1573]]-[[1589]]), and four times during the reign of King [[Sho Nei|Shô Nei]] (r. [[1589]]-[[1621]]), though Shimazu documents emphasize that the ''ayabune'' stopped coming after the reign of Shô Ei. [[Shimazu Takahisa]] died in [[1566]] and was succeeded as head of the family by [[Shimazu Yoshihisa]]; but according to Shimazu accounts, when the Shimazu informed Ryûkyû of this development in [[1570]], there was no response, and furthermore, when missions did resume in [[1573]], the [[Sanshikan]] are said to have showed contempt, or insulted, the members of the embassy. This was termed the "''ayabune'' failure of courtesy incident" (''ayabune ketsurei jiken''), and was cited among the pretexts for the Shimazu invasion of Ryûkyû in 1609.
Ships which brought [[tribute]] from Ryûkyû to Satsuma after the 1609 invasion were called ''[[kaisen]]''.
==References==
*"[http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E7%B4%8B%E8%88%B9 Ayabune]." ''Shôchû awamori yôgo shû'' 焼酎・泡盛用語集, ''Nihon sake-zukuri kumiai chûô kai'' 日本酒造組合中央会.
*"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-40139-storytopic-121.html Ayabune]." ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.
<references/>
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Ships]]
[[Category:Muromachi Period]]
*''Japanese'': 紋船 ''(ayabune)''
''Ayabune'' were a particular type of ship sent by the royal government of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]], carrying embassies to the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma province|Satsuma]], in the period before Satsuma's [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of the kingdom]]. They were generally sent to congratulate a new head of the Shimazu clan whenever there was a succession, or on similar celebratory occasions, as part of the maintenance of a friendly relationship between Ryûkyû and Satsuma. The ''ayabune'' embassies typically brought gifts, including ''[[awamori]]''.
The ship was an unarmed, decorative ship in the Chinese style, with decorations of blue-green birds and a yellow dragon on the bow of the ship, and the king's crest, a ''[[tomoe|mitsu-domoe]]'' also featured prominently. As a result, it came to be known variously as a ''ryûsen'' (dragon ship)<ref>Not to be confused with [[dragon boat]] races, which use a very different type of boat.</ref>, or an ''ayabune'' (crest ship); the character ''aya'', the same as the ''mon'' in ''kamon'' ("house crest" or "family crest"), was sometimes replaced with a different character, also read ''aya'', and referring to a particular textile design.
The earliest instance in records extant today of such a ship arriving in Satsuma appears in a record for the 8th month of [[1481]], but it is believed that Ryûkyû sent ''ayabune'' missions to Satsuma earlier than that. Ryukyuan sources indicate that ''ayabune'' were sent twice during the reign of King [[Sho Sei|Shô Sei]], three times during the reign of King [[Sho Ei|Shô Ei]] (r. [[1573]]-[[1589]]), and four times during the reign of King [[Sho Nei|Shô Nei]] (r. [[1589]]-[[1621]]), though Shimazu documents emphasize that the ''ayabune'' stopped coming after the reign of Shô Ei. [[Shimazu Takahisa]] died in [[1566]] and was succeeded as head of the family by [[Shimazu Yoshihisa]]; but according to Shimazu accounts, when the Shimazu informed Ryûkyû of this development in [[1570]], there was no response, and furthermore, when missions did resume in [[1573]], the [[Sanshikan]] are said to have showed contempt, or insulted, the members of the embassy. This was termed the "''ayabune'' failure of courtesy incident" (''ayabune ketsurei jiken''), and was cited among the pretexts for the Shimazu invasion of Ryûkyû in 1609.
Ships which brought [[tribute]] from Ryûkyû to Satsuma after the 1609 invasion were called ''[[kaisen]]''.
==References==
*"[http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E7%B4%8B%E8%88%B9 Ayabune]." ''Shôchû awamori yôgo shû'' 焼酎・泡盛用語集, ''Nihon sake-zukuri kumiai chûô kai'' 日本酒造組合中央会.
*"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-40139-storytopic-121.html Ayabune]." ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.
<references/>
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Ships]]
[[Category:Muromachi Period]]