Okumiza

• Japanese/Okinawan: 大与座 or 大與座 (oo kumi za / ufu kumi za)

The Ôkumiza was an office of the government of the Ryûkyû Kingdom which handled family registers.

When a child was born into the scholar-aristocracy, whether they were a son or a daughter, they were to be brought to the ôkumiza to be formally registered and assigned a childhood name (童名, warabina). This was to be done no later than 17 days after the birth; if the child was older than 17 days when the parents submitted the paperwork (a shôshi shômon 生子證文), the parents were penalized with either terairi, or a monetary fine.

References

• Naha shizoku no isshô 那覇士族の一生 (Naha: Naha City Museum of History, 2010), 3.