Changes

Court rituals and ceremonies were also dramatically altered and expanded, in emulation of Chinese modes. A pair of tall stone "Dragon Pillars" were placed at the entrance to the palace, patterned not after Chinese, Korean or Japanese models, but after those of Thailand and Cambodia, reflecting, as Kerr points out, the reach and extent of Okinawan trade and the cosmopolitan nature of the capital at this time<ref>Kerr. p109.</ref>. The Buddhist temple [[Enkaku-ji (Okinawa)|Enkaku-ji]] was built in 1492, [[Sogen-ji|Sôgen-ji]] was expanded in 1496, and in 1501, [[Tamaudun]], the royal mausoleum complex, was completed. Shô Shin successfully petitioned the Korean royal court, several times, to send volumes of Buddhist texts<ref>Kerr. p112.</ref>; the first metal movable type printing presses in the world had been invented in Korea in the 13th century. In the thirtieth year of his reign, a stele was erected in the grounds of [[Shuri Castle]], listing Eleven Distinctions of the Age enumerated by court officials. A reproduction of this stele, destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa along with the castle, stands in the castle grounds today.

Court rituals and ceremonies were also dramatically altered and expanded, in emulation of Chinese modes. A pair of tall stone "Dragon Pillars" were placed at the entrance to the palace, patterned not after Chinese, Korean or Japanese models, but after those of Thailand and Cambodia, reflecting, as Kerr points out, the reach and extent of Okinawan trade and the cosmopolitan nature of the capital at this time<ref>Kerr. p109.</ref>. The Buddhist temple [[Enkaku-ji (Okinawa)|Enkaku-ji]] was built in 1492, [[Sogen-ji|Sôgen-ji]] was expanded in 1496, and in 1501, [[Tamaudun]], the royal mausoleum complex, was completed. Shô Shin successfully petitioned the Korean royal court, several times, to send volumes of Buddhist texts<ref>Kerr. p112.</ref>; the first metal movable type printing presses in the world had been invented in Korea in the 13th century. In the thirtieth year of his reign, a stele was erected in the grounds of [[Shuri Castle]], listing Eleven Distinctions of the Age enumerated by court officials. A reproduction of this stele, destroyed in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa along with the castle, stands in the castle grounds today.

The reign of Shō Shin also saw the expansion of the kingdom's control over several of the outlying [[Ryukyu Islands]]. Okinawan ships began in the late 15th century to frequent [[Miyakojima]] and the [[Yaeyama Islands]]; following a series of disputes among the local lords in the Yaeyama Islands which broke out in 1486, Shô Shin in 1500 sent military forces to quell the disputes and establish control over the islands. [[Kumejima]] was brought under firm control of Shuri, and liaison offices were established in Miyako and Yaeyama, in 1500 and 1524 respectively<ref>Kerr. p115.</ref>.

The reign of Shō Shin also saw the expansion of the kingdom's control over several of the outlying [[Ryukyu Islands]]. Okinawan ships began in the late 15th century to frequent [[Miyakojima]] and the [[Yaeyama Islands]]; following a series of disputes among the local lords in the Yaeyama Islands which broke out in 1486, Shô Shin in 1500 sent military forces to quell the disputes and establish control over the islands. [[Kumejima]] was brought under firm control of Shuri, and liaison offices were established in Miyako and Yaeyama, in 1500 and 1524 respectively<ref>Kerr. p115.</ref>. Administrative officials were similarly installed on [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]] and [[Yoronjima]] in the 1500s-1520s.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 179-180.</ref>

Shô Shin also effected significant changes to the organization of the native ''[[noro]]'' (high priestesses) cult and its relationship to the government. He owed his uncle's abdication, and his own succession to his sister, the ''noro'' of the royal family, a special position known as the ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikoe-ôgimi]]''. He established a new residence for the ''kikoe-ôgimi'' just outside the gates to the castle, and erected high walls in 1519 around the [[Sonohyan Utaki]], the sacred space and accompanying sacred hearth which she tended. A system by which the king and ''kikoe-ôgimi'' appointed local ''noro'' across the kingdom was established, tying this element of the native Ryukyuan religion into formal systems of authority under the government<ref>Kerr. p111.</ref>.

Shô Shin also effected significant changes to the organization of the native ''[[noro]]'' (high priestesses) cult and its relationship to the government. He owed his uncle's abdication, and his own succession to his sister, the ''noro'' of the royal family, a special position known as the ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikoe-ôgimi]]''. He established a new residence for the ''kikoe-ôgimi'' just outside the gates to the castle, and erected high walls in 1519 around the [[Sonohyan Utaki]], the sacred space and accompanying sacred hearth which she tended. A system by which the king and ''kikoe-ôgimi'' appointed local ''noro'' across the kingdom was established, tying this element of the native Ryukyuan religion into formal systems of authority under the government<ref>Kerr. p111.</ref>.