The ''sessei'' worked alongside the king and the ''[[Sanshikan]]'' (Council of Three) to draft and enact laws, though the king gradually became more and more of a figurehead over the course of the period when Ryûkyû was a subsidiary of the Japanese ''[[han]]'' of [[Satsuma han|Satsuma]] (1609-1870s). Like most Ryukyuan government officials at the time, most ''sessei'' were appointed from the elite class of ''[[yukatchu]]'', scholars of Chinese subjects from the town of [[Kumemura]]. | The ''sessei'' worked alongside the king and the ''[[Sanshikan]]'' (Council of Three) to draft and enact laws, though the king gradually became more and more of a figurehead over the course of the period when Ryûkyû was a subsidiary of the Japanese ''[[han]]'' of [[Satsuma han|Satsuma]] (1609-1870s). Like most Ryukyuan government officials at the time, most ''sessei'' were appointed from the elite class of ''[[yukatchu]]'', scholars of Chinese subjects from the town of [[Kumemura]]. |