Changes

*''Existence: [[1429]]-[[1879]]''

*''Existence: [[1429]]-[[1879]]''

*''Territory: most of the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]]''

*''Territory: most of the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryûkyû Islands]]''

*''[[Kokudaka]]: 89,086 (1610);<ref>As of a [[1610]] land survey. By [[1634]], this amount was counted as part of the ''kokudaka'' of Satsuma han.</ref> 94,230 (after 1727)<ref name=kokudaka>Tomiyama Kazuyuki, “Ryukyu Kingdom Diplomacy with Japan and the Ming and Qing Dynasties,” Ishihara Masahide et al (eds.), ''Self-determinable Development of Small Islands'', Singapore: Springer Publishing (2016), 63.; ''Shimazu ke rekidai seido'' (vol. 14, item #803), ''Kagoshima ken shiryô: Satsuma han hôrei shiryô shû 1'', Kagoshima: Reimeikan (2004), 510. While this figure represents the ''kokudaka'' of the islands administered by the kingdom, i.e. those from Okinawa Island in the north to the Sakishimas in the south, the Shimazu and the Tokugawa shogunate officially considered the production of the Amami Islands - administered by Kagoshima but still regarded as the territory of the kingdom - to be included in the kingdom's ''kokudaka'', for a grand total of 123,700 ''koku''. Akamine, 69-70.</ref>

*''[[Kokudaka]]: 89,086 (1610);<ref>As of a [[1610]] land survey. By [[1634]], this amount was counted as part of the ''kokudaka'' of Satsuma han.</ref><ref name=smitskoku>Smits provides different figures, suggesting that the total ''kokudaka'' of the kingdom was assessed at 110,304 ''koku'', of which the kingdom was obliged to pay 21,218 ''koku'' in tax to the Shimazu, leaving the figure of 89,086. Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu,, 237.</ref> 94,230 (after 1727)<ref name=kokudaka>Tomiyama Kazuyuki, “Ryukyu Kingdom Diplomacy with Japan and the Ming and Qing Dynasties,” Ishihara Masahide et al (eds.), ''Self-determinable Development of Small Islands'', Singapore: Springer Publishing (2016), 63.; ''Shimazu ke rekidai seido'' (vol. 14, item #803), ''Kagoshima ken shiryô: Satsuma han hôrei shiryô shû 1'', Kagoshima: Reimeikan (2004), 510. While this figure represents the ''kokudaka'' of the islands administered by the kingdom, i.e. those from Okinawa Island in the north to the Sakishimas in the south, the Shimazu and the Tokugawa shogunate officially considered the production of the Amami Islands - administered by Kagoshima but still regarded as the territory of the kingdom - to be included in the kingdom's ''kokudaka'', for a grand total of 123,700 ''koku''. Akamine, 69-70.</ref>

*''Capital: [[Shuri]]''

*''Capital: [[Shuri]]''

*''Kings: First & Second [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]]''

*''Kings: First & Second [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]]''

Shô Shin also addressed the power of the priestesses by establishing a new religious hierarchy, with his sister [[Utuchitunumuigani]] as the first ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikôe-ôgimi]]'', spiritual protector of the king and kingdom, and head of a hierarchy overseeing all ''[[noro]]'' and ''[[yuta]]'' priestesses in the kingdom. Though quite powerful still, the priestess establishment was now contained within the kingdom's institutions, and was less of a separate, independent, autonomous, power unto itself.

Shô Shin also addressed the power of the priestesses by establishing a new religious hierarchy, with his sister [[Utuchitunumuigani]] as the first ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikôe-ôgimi]]'', spiritual protector of the king and kingdom, and head of a hierarchy overseeing all ''[[noro]]'' and ''[[yuta]]'' priestesses in the kingdom. Though quite powerful still, the priestess establishment was now contained within the kingdom's institutions, and was less of a separate, independent, autonomous, power unto itself.

Beginning in the 15th century, and continuing well into the 16th, the kingdom expanded its control over other islands in the Ryûkyû chain, both to the north and to the south. King [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]] personally led an invasion force to [[Kikai-jima]] in [[1466]], and forces from the kingdom were dispatched to [[Kumejima]] in [[1506]]. Meanwhile, in 1500, [[Oyake Akahachi]], the dominant power on [[Ishigaki Island]], rose up in rebellion against the Shuri government, refusing to pay taxes or [[tribute]] to Shuri, and also making efforts to extend his own power over other nearby islands; Shuri's successful suppression of this rebellion, with the aid of [[Nakasone Toyomiya]] of [[Hateruma Island]] and other local elites, was followed immediately by Shuri appointing local "chiefs" or "heads" (''kashira''), many of them already elites native to the [[Miyako Islands|Miyako]] or [[Yaeyama Islands]], as official administrators recognized by, and in service to, the kingdom. A system of high priestesses, called ''[[oamu]]'', were also dispatched to the various southern islands. Meanwhile, the kingdom made efforts to expand to the north, where it encountered considerably greater resistance. Battles between the kingdom's forces and local resistance on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and other parts of the [[Amami Islands]] continued well into the 1550s and 1560s. Ryukyuan forces also clashed with samurai forces from southern Kyushu, who were pushing southward. The Shimazu clan attacked Amami Ôshima in 1571, the same year as the island finally formally submitted to Shuri's authority, as part of an ultimately abortive attempt to conquer the entire kingdom. The furthest north Ryukyuan forces ever managed to attain territory was on [[Gajashima]], one of the [[Tokara Islands]] to the north of Amami. These expansionist efforts were aimed chiefly at consolidating power, and securing access to trade and resources. The kingdom made local elites dependent on Shuri for their legitimacy and authority, and required a certain amount of tax or tribute payments, along with certain other forms of service, but otherwise gave the Miyakos and Yaeyamas, as well as the Amami Islands, considerable leeway in managing their own affairs and maintaining their own cultures.<ref>Smits, "Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism"; Smits, "Rethinking Ryukyu," ''International Journal of Okinawan Studies'' 6:1 (2015), 7.</ref>

Beginning in the 15th century, and continuing well into the 16th, the kingdom expanded its control over other islands in the Ryûkyû chain, both to the north and to the south. King [[Sho Toku|Shô Toku]] personally led an invasion force to [[Kikai-jima]] in [[1466]], and forces from the kingdom were dispatched to [[Kumejima]] in [[1506]]. Meanwhile, in 1500, [[Oyake Akahachi]], the dominant power on [[Ishigaki Island]], rose up in rebellion against the Shuri government, refusing to pay taxes or [[tribute]] to Shuri, and also making efforts to extend his own power over other nearby islands; Shuri's successful suppression of this rebellion, with the aid of [[Nakasone Toyomiya]] of [[Hateruma Island]] and other local elites, was followed immediately by Shuri appointing local "chiefs" or "heads" (''[[kashira (Ryukyu)|kashira]]''), many of them already elites native to the [[Miyako Islands|Miyako]] or [[Yaeyama Islands]], as official administrators recognized by, and in service to, the kingdom. A system of high priestesses, called ''[[oamu]]'', were also dispatched to the various southern islands. Meanwhile, the kingdom made efforts to expand to the north, where it encountered considerably greater resistance. Battles between the kingdom's forces and local resistance on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and other parts of the [[Amami Islands]] continued well into the 1550s and 1560s. Ryukyuan forces also clashed with samurai forces from southern Kyushu, who were pushing southward. The Shimazu clan attacked Amami Ôshima in 1571, the same year as the island finally formally submitted to Shuri's authority, as part of an ultimately abortive attempt to conquer the entire kingdom. The furthest north Ryukyuan forces ever managed to attain territory was on [[Gajashima]], one of the [[Tokara Islands]] to the north of Amami. These expansionist efforts were aimed chiefly at consolidating power, and securing access to trade and resources. The kingdom made local elites dependent on Shuri for their legitimacy and authority, and required a certain amount of tax or tribute payments, along with certain other forms of service, but otherwise gave the Miyakos and Yaeyamas, as well as the Amami Islands, considerable leeway in managing their own affairs and maintaining their own cultures.<ref>Smits, "Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism"; Smits, "Rethinking Ryukyu," ''International Journal of Okinawan Studies'' 6:1 (2015), 7.</ref>

The kingdom's booming trade faced challenges throughout the late 15th and 16th centuries, however. The [[Onin War|Ônin War]] influenced Ryukyuan trade to shift to [[Hakata]], [[Bonotsu|Bônotsu]], and other ports in Kyushu, inadvertently providing greater opportunities for the Shimazu to exercise influence; merchants based in Hakata and [[Tsushima]] posing as envoys of the Ryukyuan court interfered with Ryûkyû's genuine efforts to engage in relations with Korea; and the arrival of Europeans and other developments in Southeast Asian shipping caused a decline in Ryûkyû's share of trade in that region as well.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 134.</ref> By the 1570s, trade declined all the more sharply, as the seas came to be dominated by other powers. Spanish and Portuguese galleons arrived around the mid-16th century, followed by the agents of the [[British East India Company|English]] and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] [[East India Company|East India Companies]] at the beginning of the 17th. Meanwhile, Ming China lifted its bans on Chinese trade with, and in, Southeast Asia, in [[1567]], and Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] began to engage in licensed trade under the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system after around [[1582]]. The dispatch of Ryukyuan trading ships to Siam in [[1570]] was to be the last act of direct Ryukyuan involvement in maritime trade in Southeast Asia.<ref>''Ryûkyû ôchô no bi'' 琉球王朝の美. Hikone Castle Museum 彦根城博物館. Hikone, 1993. p75.</ref>

The kingdom's booming trade faced challenges throughout the late 15th and 16th centuries, however. The [[Onin War|Ônin War]] influenced Ryukyuan trade to shift to [[Hakata]], [[Bonotsu|Bônotsu]], and other ports in Kyushu, inadvertently providing greater opportunities for the Shimazu to exercise influence; merchants based in Hakata and [[Tsushima]] posing as envoys of the Ryukyuan court interfered with Ryûkyû's genuine efforts to engage in relations with Korea; and the arrival of Europeans and other developments in Southeast Asian shipping caused a decline in Ryûkyû's share of trade in that region as well.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 134.</ref> By the 1570s, trade declined all the more sharply, as the seas came to be dominated by other powers. Spanish and Portuguese galleons arrived around the mid-16th century, followed by the agents of the [[British East India Company|English]] and [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch]] [[East India Company|East India Companies]] at the beginning of the 17th. Meanwhile, Ming China lifted its bans on Chinese trade with, and in, Southeast Asia, in [[1567]], and Japan under [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] began to engage in licensed trade under the ''[[shuinsen]]'' system after around [[1582]]. The dispatch of Ryukyuan trading ships to Siam in [[1570]] was to be the last act of direct Ryukyuan involvement in maritime trade in Southeast Asia.<ref>''Ryûkyû ôchô no bi'' 琉球王朝の美. Hikone Castle Museum 彦根城博物館. Hikone, 1993. p75.</ref>

Hideyoshi died in 1598, and was replaced as secular, martial, ruler of Japan a few years later by [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]. Shô Nei ignored demands that he formally recognize the new [[Tokugawa shogunate]], and that his kingdom serve as intermediary to help the Tokugawa (re)establish formal relations with the Ming. In 1600, the shogunate returned a number of Ryukyuan castaways from [[Date clan]] territory in [[Tohoku region|Tôhoku]], and in 1605 the shogunate again returned a number of castaways, and much of their cargo, albeit while confiscating a portion of the cargo. Still, the Ryukyuan court issued no formal expression or mission of gratitude.<ref>Takara Kurayoshi 高良倉吉 and Tomiyama Kazuyuki 豊見山和行, ''Ryûkyû / Okinawa to kaijô no michi'' 琉球・沖縄と海上の道, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (2005), 82.</ref>

Hideyoshi died in 1598, and was replaced as secular, martial, ruler of Japan a few years later by [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]]. Shô Nei ignored demands that he formally recognize the new [[Tokugawa shogunate]], and that his kingdom serve as intermediary to help the Tokugawa (re)establish formal relations with the Ming. In 1600, the shogunate returned a number of Ryukyuan castaways from [[Date clan]] territory in [[Tohoku region|Tôhoku]], and in 1605 the shogunate again returned a number of castaways, and much of their cargo, albeit while confiscating a portion of the cargo. Still, the Ryukyuan court issued no formal expression or mission of gratitude.<ref>Takara Kurayoshi 高良倉吉 and Tomiyama Kazuyuki 豊見山和行, ''Ryûkyû / Okinawa to kaijô no michi'' 琉球・沖縄と海上の道, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (2005), 82.</ref>

Citing these incidents, and a broader narrative of Ryukyuan failure to pay proper respects,<ref>The term employed by Takara Kurayoshi and Tomiyama Kazuyuki is ''heimon'' 聘問, meaning to visit someone & bring gifts in order to pay respects. Takara and Tomiyama, 82.</ref> the Shimazu house then requested permission from Tokugawa Ieyasu to launch a punitive mission. Permission was granted in 1606, and the [[invasion of Ryukyu]] was undertaken in [[1609]]. After a few battles on smaller outlying islands, the samurai forces seized Shuri Castle and took Shô Nei, along with a number of his chief officials, captive. All were brought to Japan, where they met with Ieyasu and his son, the reigning [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Hidetada]], and were forced to submit to a number of demands and conditions. The kingdom became a vassal state under the Shimazu, and was forced to pay taxes to Satsuma on a regular basis, as well as sending regular missions to Kagoshima, among several other obligations. The crown prince of the kingdom was to visit Kagoshima each year to formally reenact rituals of subordination or allegiance; envoys also traveled to Kagoshima on a number of other occasions, including as a "New Year's mission" (''nentôshi'') which included a rotation of Ryukyuan officials resident in the castle-town, and on special occasions such as the birth, marriage, succession, or death of a Shimazu lord.<ref name=tomi63/> A land survey conducted in 1610-1611 determined the ''[[kokudaka]]'' of the kingdom to be 89,086 ''[[koku]]'', a number which was revised upwards to just over 94,230 ''koku'' in [[1727]],<ref name=kokudaka/> of which the kingdom was permitted to keep 50,000 ''koku''.<ref name=akamine68>Akamine, 68.</ref> Based on this assessment, the kingdom was obliged to pay a certain amount of regular annual tax (''shinobose mai'') to Satsuma; originally paid in kind (i.e. in various products/commodities, mainly [[Ryukyuan textiles|textiles]]), this tax obligation was shifted to [[silver]], and then to rice by [[1620]]. The amount varied until [[1660]], at which time it became roughly stable; around [[1870]] the kingdom was paying just over 7,600 ''koku'' in annual tax, plus an additional 1,000 ''koku'' in supplemental tax.<ref name=tomi63>One year later, in [[1871]], following the [[abolition of the han]], Satsuma han was abolished but the kingdom was still obliged to pay tax to [[Kagoshima prefecture]], in the amount of 11,777 ''koku'' (including transportation costs, and with some 970,000 ''[[Japanese Measurements|kin]]'' of [[sugar]] substituted for 3,680 ''koku'' of rice. Tomiyama, “Ryukyu Kingdom Diplomacy with Japan and the Ming and Qing Dynasties,” 63.</ref> From [[1636]] onwards,<ref>Tomiyama, "Ryukyu Kingdom Diplomacy," 56.</ref> the kingdom was also obligated to provide Satsuma each year with a ''Kirishitan shûmon aratamechô'', a register of religious affiliation of everyone living in the kingdom, to help ensure there were no [[Christianity|Christians]],<ref>People were not required to register with a Buddhist temple, however, as they were in Japan.</ref> and to organize all the kingdom's subjects into ''[[goningumi]]'' - groups of five households which would be responsible for enforcing one another's lawful behavior. Satsuma was also charged with maintaining a coast guard which would prevent foreigners (specifically, Westerners and especially Christian missionaries) from entering Ryûkyû.<ref>This was seen as a kind of "house obligation" (''[[ieyaku]]'') of maritime defense service, of the same category as [[Saga han|Saga]] and [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka domains']] obligations to guard the port of [[Nagasaki]]. Satsuma and [[Tsushima han]] had served similar functions during the [[Muromachi period]] as well, guarding against events in Korea or Ryûkyû which might threaten Japan. Akamine, 66-67, 73.</ref> To further guard against foreigners entering the kingdom, a system of signal fires called ''fiitatimoo'' was established, along with a network of swift boats called ''tobifune'' in Japanese, which could inform Okinawa of any sightings or shipwrecks in the outer islands.<ref name=akamine68/>  

Citing these incidents, and a broader narrative of Ryukyuan failure to pay proper respects,<ref>The term employed by Takara Kurayoshi and Tomiyama Kazuyuki is ''heimon'' 聘問, meaning to visit someone & bring gifts in order to pay respects. Takara and Tomiyama, 82.</ref> the Shimazu house then requested permission from Tokugawa Ieyasu to launch a punitive mission. Permission was granted in 1606, and the [[invasion of Ryukyu]] was undertaken in [[1609]]. After a few battles on smaller outlying islands, the samurai forces seized Shuri Castle and took Shô Nei, along with a number of his chief officials, captive. All were brought to Japan, where they met with Ieyasu and his son, the reigning [[Shogun]] [[Tokugawa Hidetada]], and were forced to submit to a number of demands and conditions. The kingdom became a vassal state under the Shimazu, and was forced to pay taxes to Satsuma on a regular basis, as well as sending regular missions to Kagoshima, among several other obligations. The crown prince of the kingdom was to visit Kagoshima each year to formally reenact rituals of subordination or allegiance; envoys also traveled to Kagoshima on a number of other occasions, including as a "New Year's mission" (''nentôshi'') which included a rotation of Ryukyuan officials resident in the castle-town, and on special occasions such as the birth, marriage, succession, or death of a Shimazu lord.<ref name=tomi63/> A land survey conducted in 1610-1611 determined the ''[[kokudaka]]'' of the kingdom to be 89,086 ''[[koku]]'', a number which was revised upwards to just over 94,230 ''koku'' in [[1727]],<ref name=kokudaka/> of which the kingdom was permitted to keep 50,000 ''koku''.<ref name=akamine68>Akamine, 68.</ref><ref name=smitskoku/> Based on this assessment, the kingdom was obliged to pay a certain amount of regular annual tax (''shinobose mai'') to Satsuma; originally paid in kind (i.e. in various products/commodities, mainly [[Ryukyuan textiles|textiles]]), this tax obligation was shifted to [[silver]], and then to rice by [[1620]]. The amount varied until [[1660]], at which time it became roughly stable; around [[1870]] the kingdom was paying just over 7,600 ''koku'' in annual tax, plus an additional 1,000 ''koku'' in supplemental tax.<ref name=tomi63>One year later, in [[1871]], following the [[abolition of the han]], Satsuma han was abolished but the kingdom was still obliged to pay tax to [[Kagoshima prefecture]], in the amount of 11,777 ''koku'' (including transportation costs, and with some 970,000 ''[[Japanese Measurements|kin]]'' of [[sugar]] substituted for 3,680 ''koku'' of rice. Tomiyama, “Ryukyu Kingdom Diplomacy with Japan and the Ming and Qing Dynasties,” 63.</ref> From [[1636]] onwards,<ref>Tomiyama, "Ryukyu Kingdom Diplomacy," 56.</ref> the kingdom was also obligated to provide Satsuma each year with a ''Kirishitan shûmon aratamechô'', a register of religious affiliation of everyone living in the kingdom, to help ensure there were no [[Christianity|Christians]],<ref>People were not required to register with a Buddhist temple, however, as they were in Japan.</ref> and to organize all the kingdom's subjects into ''[[goningumi]]'' - groups of five households which would be responsible for enforcing one another's lawful behavior. Satsuma was also charged with maintaining a coast guard which would prevent foreigners (specifically, Westerners and especially Christian missionaries) from entering Ryûkyû.<ref>This was seen as a kind of "house obligation" (''[[ieyaku]]'') of maritime defense service, of the same category as [[Saga han|Saga]] and [[Fukuoka han|Fukuoka domains']] obligations to guard the port of [[Nagasaki]]. Satsuma and [[Tsushima han]] had served similar functions during the [[Muromachi period]] as well, guarding against events in Korea or Ryûkyû which might threaten Japan. Akamine, 66-67, 73.</ref> To further guard against foreigners entering the kingdom, a system of signal fires called ''fiitatimoo'' was established, along with a network of swift boats called ''tobifune'' in Japanese, which could inform Okinawa of any sightings or shipwrecks in the outer islands.<ref name=akamine68/>  

The king was restored to his castle and his kingdom in [[1611]], and was returned to power, though only within strict limits set by the Shimazu. In addition, while the kingdom retained the Ryukyus from Okinawa south (to the [[Sakishima Islands]] and [[Yonaguni]]), the [[Amami Islands]] and all other islands in the chain north of Okinawa Island proper were placed under the direct administration of Satsuma, though Satsuma and the shogunate both continued, through the end of the Edo period, to consider those islands part of the territory of the kingdom.<ref>Akamine, 69-70.</ref> A vassal state, Ryukyu was not considered an integral part of Japan until it was formally annexed as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879; while the provinces of Japan were regarded as ''takoku'' (他国, "other lands"), Ryukyu was considered ''ikoku'' (異国, "foreign lands"), along with China, Korea, Holland, and the rest of the world. However, ''[[Nanto zatsuwa|Nantô zatsuwa]]'', a Japanese text published in the 1850s, reveals that Ryukyuan people continued to travel between Okinawa and Amami, and to engage directly in trade in pottery, marine goods, and other products, despite the ostensible "national" boundaries (i.e. with travel to Amami, as part of Satsuma's territory, now being "foreign" travel and therefore theoretically subject to more strict control).<ref>Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, August 2013.</ref>

The king was restored to his castle and his kingdom in [[1611]], and was returned to power, though only within strict limits set by the Shimazu. In addition, while the kingdom retained the Ryukyus from Okinawa south (to the [[Sakishima Islands]] and [[Yonaguni]]), the [[Amami Islands]] and all other islands in the chain north of Okinawa Island proper were placed under the direct administration of Satsuma, though Satsuma and the shogunate both continued, through the end of the Edo period, to consider those islands part of the territory of the kingdom.<ref>Akamine, 69-70.</ref> A vassal state, Ryukyu was not considered an integral part of Japan until it was formally annexed as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879; while the provinces of Japan were regarded as ''takoku'' (他国, "other lands"), Ryukyu was considered ''ikoku'' (異国, "foreign lands"), along with China, Korea, Holland, and the rest of the world. However, ''[[Nanto zatsuwa|Nantô zatsuwa]]'', a Japanese text published in the 1850s, reveals that Ryukyuan people continued to travel between Okinawa and Amami, and to engage directly in trade in pottery, marine goods, and other products, despite the ostensible "national" boundaries (i.e. with travel to Amami, as part of Satsuma's territory, now being "foreign" travel and therefore theoretically subject to more strict control).<ref>Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, August 2013.</ref>