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Prior to the unification of [[Okinawa Island]] and the establishment of the Kingdom, China received tribute from three separate Okinawan polities. [[Chuzan|Chûzan]], the kingdom which controlled the central areas of the island, conquered the other two kingdoms in [[1419]]-[[1429]]. In the intervening time, Chûzan sent 52 missions to China beginning in [[1372]], [[Nanzan]] sent nineteen, beginning in [[1380]], and [[Hokuzan]] sent nine beginning in [[1383]], all of them vying as well for official recognition from the Ming Court as the only rightful king of Okinawa.
Prior to the unification of [[Okinawa Island]] and the establishment of the Kingdom, China received tribute from three separate Okinawan polities. [[Chuzan|Chûzan]], the kingdom which controlled the central areas of the island, conquered the other two kingdoms in [[1419]]-[[1429]]. In the intervening time, Chûzan sent 52 missions to China beginning in [[1372]], [[Nanzan]] sent nineteen, beginning in [[1380]], and [[Hokuzan]] sent nine beginning in [[1383]], all of them vying as well for official recognition from the Ming Court as the only rightful king of Okinawa.
Following unification, Ryûkyû generally sent tribute once every two years, though the pattern changed at times along with shifts in Chinese politics. Tribute was sent in a variety of forms, including Southeast Asian trade goods, aromatic woods, sulfur and saltpeter, [[Ryukyuan horses|horses]], and sugar. Ryukyuan ships sent to China, like [[Chinese investiture envoys]]' ships to Ryûkyû, were known as ''okansen'' ([[Okinawan language|O]]: ''ukwanshin'')<!--冠船-->; trading ships accompanying the embassies vessels were known as ''sekkôsen''<!--接貢船-->. While hosting Chinese envoys was quite expensive for the kingdom, the interaction was beneficial for the kingdom, which generally received more in gifts from China than it gave in tribute.<ref>Gregory Smits, "Ryukyu and its Geo-cultural Context," presentation at Parades & Processions Joint Event, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 10 Feb 2013.</ref>
Following unification, Ryûkyû generally sent tribute once every two years, though the pattern changed at times along with shifts in Chinese politics. The Ming Court placed restrictions on the size and frequency of Ryukyuan missions in [[1472]], lifting these restrictions in [[1507]] after repeated Ryukyuan petitions, restoring the pattern to annual tribute missions.<ref name=tanaka>Tanaka Takeo, "Japan's Relations with Overseas Countries," in John Whitney Hall and Toyoda Takeshi (eds.) ''Japan in the Muromachi Age'', Cornell University East Asia Program (2001), 159-178.</ref>
Meanwhile, tribute from Ryûkyû was often demanded by the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma province]], who laid claims to the islands since the 12th century; however, no tribute was paid, nor any actual direct Japanese dominion exerted, until after the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] by that same samurai clan.
Tribute was sent in a variety of forms, including Southeast Asian trade goods, aromatic woods, sulfur and saltpeter, [[Ryukyuan horses|horses]], and sugar. Ryukyuan ships sent to China, like [[Chinese investiture envoys]]' ships to Ryûkyû, were known as ''okansen'' ([[Okinawan language|O]]: ''ukwanshin'')<!--冠船-->; trading ships accompanying the embassies vessels were known as ''sekkôsen''<!--接貢船-->. While hosting Chinese envoys was quite expensive for the kingdom, the interaction was beneficial for the kingdom, which generally received more in gifts from China than it gave in tribute.<ref>Gregory Smits, "Ryukyu and its Geo-cultural Context," presentation at Parades & Processions Joint Event, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 10 Feb 2013.</ref>
For a time, the Ryûkyû Kingdom also sent tribute to the [[Ashikaga Bakufu|Ashikaga shogunate]] once every three or four years. Tribute and trade goods carried by these ships included [[currency|Chinese copper coins]], wine, <i>nanban</i> silks, aloe, sappanwood, and other scented and medicinal products, many of them obtained from Southeast Asian ports or from Iberian traders.<ref name=tanaka/>
Meanwhile, tribute from Ryûkyû was often demanded by the [[Shimazu clan]] of [[Satsuma province]], who laid claims to the islands since the 12th century. The Shimazu were officially named "Lords of the Twelve Southern Islands" by the [[Kamakura shogunate]] in [[1206]], and were granted the islands by the Ashikaga shogunate in [[1441]];<ref name=tanaka/> however, Ryûkyû was never informed of this, and no tribute was paid to Satsuma, nor any actual direct Japanese dominion exerted in the islands, until after the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]] by that same samurai clan.
Following the outbreak of the [[Onin War|Ônin War]], Ryukyuan tribute missions to the shogunate gradually disappeared, and [[Sakai]] merchants jumped to fill in the gap, sending their own ships to Ryûkyû. Losing profits, and control over the trade, in [[1471]], the shogunate sent an order to the Shimazu indicating that from henceforward, merchants traveling to Ryûkyû would be required to hold shogunate-issued licenses. The export of copper coins was especially singled-out as prohibited. The Shimazu were then allowed to be the ones to notify the island kingdom of these new policies; that Ryûkyû then got the impression that it was the Shimazu - and not the shogunate - which issued licenses, and which held monopolistic control over the Japan-Ryûkyû trade, is indicated by a [[1559]] letter from a [[Naha]] official to a Shimazu retainer noting that only merchants with Shimazu permits were permitted to trade at Naha.<ref name=tanaka/>
The Kingdom of Ryûkyû, based on Okinawa Island, received ships from the other islands at the port of [[Tomari]], where warehouses stood for storing tribute goods from those islands. The ''[[Tomari satonushi]]'', the chief port official, oversaw in particular the reception of tribute payments and missions from the Amami Islands. Tribute from these outlying islands was sent in a variety of forms; for example, the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands, which had originally begun sending tribute in [[1390]], were permitted to send part of their tribute in the form of ''jôfu'' textiles beginning in [[1659]].
The Kingdom of Ryûkyû, based on Okinawa Island, received ships from the other islands at the port of [[Tomari]], where warehouses stood for storing tribute goods from those islands. The ''[[Tomari satonushi]]'', the chief port official, oversaw in particular the reception of tribute payments and missions from the Amami Islands. Tribute from these outlying islands was sent in a variety of forms; for example, the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands, which had originally begun sending tribute in [[1390]], were permitted to send part of their tribute in the form of ''jôfu'' textiles beginning in [[1659]].
