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Government of the Ryukyu Kingdom (view source)
Revision as of 17:13, 8 December 2017
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==History==
==History==
The structure and organization of government in the mature Ryûkyû Kingdom (from the 15th century onward) were largely a continuation of those from the previous century, when the Kingdom of [[Chuzan|Chûzan]] established such governmental structures based on Ming models. Over the course of the ensuing centuries, various reforms and adaptations were built atop this foundation.
The structure and organization of government in the mature Ryûkyû Kingdom (from the 15th century onward) were largely a continuation of those from the previous century, when the Kingdom of [[Chuzan|Chûzan]] established such governmental structures based on Ming models. Over the course of the ensuing centuries, various reforms and adaptations were built atop this foundation.
Though the kingdom was [[invasion of Ryukyu|invaded]] by [[Satsuma han|Kagoshima domain]] in [[1609]] and made a vassal to the [[Shimazu clan]] of that domain, the royal government was allowed to continue intact, maintaining its structures, practices, and administrative authority in most areas, albeit subject at times to Satsuma requests or edicts.
==Organization==
==Organization==
An official known as the ''[[sessei]]'' (a position which has been compared to Prime Minister) and three known as the ''[[Sanshikan]]'' (Council of Three) were the chief royal advisors, advising the king and deciding or confirming most decisions of governance and legislation. Alongside two ministries known in Japanese as [[Moshikuchiho|Môshikuchihô]] and [[Umun bujo|Mono bugyôsho]] (O: ''Umun bujôju'')<ref>物奉行所, overseeing land resources, taxes, court coffers and finances, and staffing, among other matters.</ref>, they formed the ''[[Hyojoju|Hyôjôjû]]'', the highest administrative and legislative body in the kingdom. This highest echelon of the government was also known as ''wii-nu-uza'' (J: ''ue no oza''), or "the upper seats."
An official known as the ''[[sessei]]'' (a position which has been compared to Prime Minister) and three known as the ''[[Sanshikan]]'' (Council of Three) were the chief royal advisors, advising the king and deciding or confirming most decisions of governance and legislation. Alongside two ministries known in Japanese as [[Moshikuchiho|Môshikuchihô]] and [[Umun bujo|Mono bugyôsho]] (O: ''Umun bujôju''), they formed the ''[[Hyojoju|Hyôjôjû]]'', the highest administrative and legislative body in the kingdom. This highest echelon of the government was also known as ''wii-nu-uza'' (J: ''ue no oza''), or "the upper seats."
They worked closely with the [[Council of Fifteen]] (J: ''omote jûgonin''), the heads of the various bureaus and offices of government which constituted the "lower seats" of the government (O: ''shimu nu uza'', J: ''shimo no oza''). Policy decisions and actions were discussed between these "upper" and "lower" bodies, with decisions being ultimately determined by the king. The Fifteen included three ''umun bujô'', the two ''[[hicho nushidori|hichô nushidori]]'', and the seven heads and six ''ginmiyaku'' (vice-heads) of the ''[[sasu no soba]]'', the ''[[soshi kuri|sôshi kuri]]'', the [[Tomari]] [[Jito (Ryukyu)|jitô]] (oversaw the port of Tomari), and the ''[[hira no soba]]'' (judicial department).
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]]''.
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.
Internal government documents were regularly written in ''[[kana]]'', in the [[Okinawan language]], not in Chinese; students studying to join the scholar-bureaucracy were educated in Chinese, Japanese, and Okinawan, and in fact from the 17th century onwards, [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] and [[Confucian classics|classic Confucian texts]] were taught largely in Japanese forms, rather than in the original Chinese.<ref>Takatsu Takashi, “Ming Jianyang Prints and the Spread of the Teachings of Zhu Xi to Japan and the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Seventeenth Century,” in Angela Schottenhammer (ed.), ''The East Asian Mediterranean: Maritime Crossroads of Culture'', Harrassowitz Verlag (2008), 263-264.</ref> Chinese ''was'' used in formal communications with Ming (and later Qing) China, but even from quite early on, communications with Japan were written in a Japanese form called ''[[kanbun|wayô kanbun]]'', and not in standard [[classical Chinese]].<ref>Ying Kit Chan. “[http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/20602. A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526)].” MA Thesis, National University of Singapore, 2010, 70.</ref>
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==References==
==References==
*Akamine Mamoru, Lina Terrell (trans.), Robert Huey (ed.), ''The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia'', University of Hawaii Press (2017), 81.
*Akamine Mamoru, Lina Terrell (trans.), Robert Huey (ed.), ''The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia'', University of Hawaii Press (2017), 81.
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[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Political Institutions]]
[[Category:Political Institutions]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]
[[Category:Edo Period]]