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The position was created in [[1631]], with [[Kawakami Matazaemon]] serving as the first ''zaiban bugyô''.<ref>''Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!'' 琉球使節、江戸へ行く！, Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 47.</ref>

The position was created in [[1631]], with [[Kawakami Matazaemon]] serving as the first ''zaiban bugyô''.<ref>''Ryûkyû shisetsu, Edo he iku!'' 琉球使節、江戸へ行く！, Okinawa Prefectural Museum (2009), 47.</ref>

The staff of the ''zaiban bugyôsho'' (resident magistrate's office), numbering roughly 100 men altogether, included four ''[[yoriki]]'' (low-ranking samurai), several ''tsuke-yakunin'' (attachés), and a number of ''[[yokome]]'' (censors); some of these ''yokome'' were assigned to outlying islands, to keep an eye on goings-on there, on behalf of the ''zaiban bugyô''. Most of these men served only for periods of three years, before returning to Satsuma and being replaced by a new batch of officials.

The staff of the ''zaiban bugyôsho'' (resident magistrate's office), numbering roughly 100 men altogether, included four ''[[yoriki]]'' (low-ranking samurai), several ''tsuke-yakunin'' (attachés), and a number of ''[[yokome]]'' (censors); some of these ''yokome'' were assigned to outlying islands, to keep an eye on goings-on there, on behalf of the ''zaiban bugyô''. Most of these men served only for periods of three years, before returning to Satsuma and being replaced by a new batch of officials. They were lodged in a series of residences called the ''zaiban kariya'' or ''ôkariya'' (O: ''ufukaiya'') located along the same street along with the office, in the Nishi district of Naha, on the western edge of Ukishima. The annual [[Naha Tug-of-War]] competition between the four towns of Naha (Nishi, Higashi, Wakasa, Izumisaki) was traditionally held along this street.<ref name=plaque>Plaque on-site at the former site of the ''zaiban bugyôsho''.</ref>

As Satsuma's representative in Ryûkyû, the ''zaiban bugyô'' was forbidden from borrowing things or money from the Ryukyuan government treasury, or otherwise asking favors of the king; when members of the ''[[sanshikan]]'' or other high-ranking Ryukyuan officials came to his office on business, they were to be received by the ''zaiban bugyô'' himself, and not by members of his staff. As for the ''zaiban bugyô'' paying visits to government officials, or to the king, these were limited to New Year's greetings, official reports of the arrival or departure of the ''zaiban bugyô'' to/from his post, and certain other official circumstances; he was explicitly instructed not to overstay his welcome or to accept entertainments.

As Satsuma's representative in Ryûkyû, the ''zaiban bugyô'' was forbidden from borrowing things or money from the Ryukyuan government treasury, or otherwise asking favors of the king; when members of the ''[[sanshikan]]'' or other high-ranking Ryukyuan officials came to his office on business, they were to be received by the ''zaiban bugyô'' himself, and not by members of his staff. As for the ''zaiban bugyô'' paying visits to government officials, or to the king, these were limited to New Year's greetings, official reports of the arrival or departure of the ''zaiban bugyô'' to/from his post, and certain other official circumstances; he was explicitly instructed not to overstay his welcome or to accept entertainments.

The ''yokome'' were charged with reporting back to Satsuma on the behavior of the ''zaiban bugyô'' and of their other colleagues, in order to help enforce these many policies and restrictions.

The ''yokome'' were charged with reporting back to Satsuma on the behavior of the ''zaiban bugyô'' and of their other colleagues, in order to help enforce these many policies and restrictions.

==References==

==References==