Naha satonushi

  • Japanese/Okinawan: 那覇里主 (Naha satonushi / Naafa satunushi)

The Naha satonushi was an official of the Ryûkyû Kingom, who oversaw the administration of the four districts of the port city of Naha (Higashi, Nishi, Izumisaki, and Wakasa) alongside the head of the oyamise. His offices neighbored the Shimo Tenpi Shrine, and were also a center for communication with the Satsuma resident magistrate's office, and management of ships, officials overseeing travel, and the port itself. The Naha satonushi was the head of the office, while the staff under him included, among others, a lead secretary (ufu hissha) and a vice secretary (wachi hissha).

In the early modern period, the Naha satonushi came to be selected only from among the highest-ranking aristocratic families of Shuri, and came to be quite regularly one position in a top-ranking government career.

In the 1870s, just prior to the abolition of the kingdom, the satonushi had more than ten officials under him, including the Naha ôyako (Naafa ufuyaku) and some number of secretaries (hissha).

References

  • Plaques on-site at former sites of the Naha satonushisho[1], and Oyamise.