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Kumemura was a walled district of [[Naha]], the chief port city of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]]. Located on the island of Ukishima, it was a community of members of the scholar-bureaucrat class, and the chief center of Confucian learning in the kingdom. The vast majority of government administrators and officials came from the families of Kumemura.

Kumemura was a walled district of [[Naha]], the chief port city of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]]. Located on the island of Ukishima, it was a community of members of the scholar-bureaucrat class, and the chief center of Confucian learning in the kingdom. The vast majority of government administrators and officials came from the families of Kumemura.

The community was said to have been founded in [[1393]] by [[36 Min families|thirty-six families from China]]<!-- 閩人三十六姓-->, and the Ryukyuans (as well as the Chinese and Koreans) who lived there were, to some extent, continually thought of as "Chinese," or at least as coming from different stock than other Ryukyuans, even after many generations passed (and after much intermarrying had occurred). Many scholars today suggest that the number "thirty-six" is really meant to simply indicate "many," and that while conventional wisdom has it that these families came chiefly or exclusively from [[Fuzhou]], in fact some at least are believed to have come from [[Zhangzhou]]<!--漳州-->, [[Taizhou]]<!--臺州-->, and [[Quanzhou]]<!--泉州-->.<ref>Gallery labels, "Kuninda - Ryûkyû to Chûgoku no kakehashi," special exhibit, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, Sept 2014.</ref>

The community was said to have been founded in [[1393]] by [[36 Min families|thirty-six families from China]]<!-- 閩人三十六姓-->, and the Ryukyuans (as well as the Chinese and Koreans) who lived there were, to some extent, continually thought of as "Chinese," or at least as coming from different stock than other Ryukyuans, even after many generations passed (and after much intermarrying had occurred). Many scholars today suggest that the number "thirty-six" is really meant to simply indicate "many," and that while conventional wisdom has it that these families came chiefly or exclusively from [[Fuzhou]], in fact some at least are believed to have come from [[Zhangzhou]]<!--漳州-->, [[Taizhou]]<!--臺州-->, and [[Quanzhou]]<!--泉州-->.

By the mid-15th century, the community was surrounded by earthen walls, and contained around a hundred homes. The main thoroughfare, Kume Ôdôri, cut across the district from northwest to southeast. The Taoist temple [[Shiseibyo|Tensonbyô]] lay to the north of the road, while [[Kume Tenpi-gu|two Tenpigû temples]] to the sea goddess [[Matsu]] (aka Tenpi) lay to the south.

By the mid-15th century, the community was surrounded by earthen walls, and contained around a hundred homes. The main thoroughfare, Kume Ôdôri, cut across the district from northwest to southeast. The Taoist temple [[Shiseibyo|Tensonbyô]] lay to the north of the road, while [[Kume Tenpi-gu|two Tenpigû temples]] to the sea goddess [[Matsu]] (aka Tenpi) lay to the south.

Though Kumemura would retain its distinct identity and societal/political/cultural role up until the fall of the kingdom in the 1870s, by the 17th century the walls around the district had gone, and the community was somewhat more integrated with the other districts of the city.

The community began to decline in the 16th century, and declined even further after the [[1609]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]]. But the royal government worked to restore [[tribute|tributary]] and [[Chinese investiture envoys|investiture]] relations with China, and so the Kume community revived. Though Kumemura would retain its distinct identity and societal/political/cultural role up until the fall of the kingdom in the 1870s, by the 17th century the walls around the district had gone, and the community was somewhat more integrated with the other districts of the city.

 

As experts in scholarship, languages, and diplomacy, members of the Kumemura community served as translators and official government representatives not only in interactions with China, but when the time came with Westerners as well.

==References==

==References==

*Uezato Takashi. "The Formation of the Port City of Naha in Ryukyu and the World of Maritime Asia: From the Perspective of a Japanese Network." ''[[Acta Asiatica]]'' 95 (2008). pp57-77.

*Uezato Takashi. "The Formation of the Port City of Naha in Ryukyu and the World of Maritime Asia: From the Perspective of a Japanese Network." ''[[Acta Asiatica]]'' 95 (2008). pp57-77.

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[[Category:Ryukyu]]

[[Category:Ryukyu]]

[[Category:Cities and Towns]]

[[Category:Cities and Towns]]