Shiro Furi Dispute

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  • Japanese: 志魯・布里の乱 (Shiro Furi no ran)

The Shiro Furi dispute was a succession dispute which took place in the Kingdom of Ryûkyû in 1453. Following the death of King Shô Kinpuku, a dispute broke out between his younger brother Furi and son Shiro over the succession. The dispute resulted in the destruction of Shuri castle, and the deaths of both claimants. Prince Goeku, a younger son of Shô Hashi (and thus younger brother to Furi, and uncle to Shiro), then took the throne as King Shô Taikyû.

Chûzan seifu, an official history written by kingdom officials in the early 18th century, characterizes Furi as aggressively and inappropriately seeking to interfere with Shiro's rightful succession as the son and heir of the late Shô Kinpuku; the volume also characterizes Shô Taikyû's ultimate accession to the throne as enjoying the support of local powerholders (J: kokujin, "people of the country").[1] The actual circumstances and politics at the time remain unclear, however.

Little is known about the actual fighting that may have taken place at the time, but archaeological evidence shows the castle did burn down at that time. Among the artifacts said to have been lost in the burning of Shuri castle were a set of silver royal seals bestowed upon Ryûkyû by the Hongwu Emperor as symbols of authority and legitimacy.[2] The Veritable Records of the Ming mentions the conflict, indicates that an envoy later traveled to China to report the death of Shô Taikyû's older brother Shô Kinpuku, and notes that Taikyû had stepped in to manage affairs of state amidst the conflict. Gregory Smits suggests that rather than power simply falling to Taikyû at the end of a dispute between others (Shiro and Furi), Taikyû may have more actively seized power, and that the burning of the castle may have had more to do with Taikyû's seizure of power than any other dispute.[1]

The graves of Shiro and Furi can be found in Nanjô City, in the southern portion of Okinawa Island.

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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gregory Smits, Maritime Ryukyu, University of Hawaii Press (2019), 113.
  2. ↑ George Kerr, Okinawa: The History of an Island People. Revised Edition. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000, 97.
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