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''Sessei'', or ''Shisshi'' in [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]], was the highest government post of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] below the king; the ''sessei'' served the function of royal or national advisor. Though the same [[kanji]] which compose the Okinawan word ''sessei/shisshi'' (摂政) are read as ''[[Sessho|Sesshô]]'' in [[Japanese language|Japanese]], the position is not quite the same, and is not derived originally from the Japanese model or system.

''Sessei'', or ''Shisshi'' in [[Okinawan language|Okinawan]], was the highest government post of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] below the king; the ''sessei'' served the function of royal or national advisor. Though the same [[kanji]] which compose the Okinawan word ''sessei/shisshi'' (摂政) are read as ''[[Sessho|Sesshô]]'' in [[Japanese language|Japanese]], the position is not quite the same, and is not derived originally from the Japanese model or system.

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]]. Some were actually [[Han Chinese]], appointed into this top-ranking position because of their expertise in matters of government; Chinese were occasionally also appointed to other high-ranking positions, such as that of ''[[choshi|chôshi]]''<!--長史-->.<ref>Chan, Ying Kit. “A Bridge between Myriad Lands: The Ryukyu Kingdom and Ming China (1372-1526).” Thesis, National University of Singapore, 2010, 59. http://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/20602.

According to the "Mirror of Chûzan" (中山の世鑑, chûzan no sekan), the classical Ryukyuan history text by ''sessei'' [[Sho Shoken|Shô Shôken]], the ''sessei'' have always been a part of the system of the Ryukyuan Kingdom and were originally appointed by the "excellent ancestors" (英祖). The three men who held the position of ''sessei'' during the first Shô Dynasty of Ryukyuan kings were Chinese, but beginning with the Second Shô Dynasty, ''sessei'' were native Ryukyuans. Royal officials, sometimes princes, would select the ''sessei'', and the appointment would come with an appropriate rank and title, often that of "prince" (王子), despite the ''sessei'' often being a member of the aristocracy and not royalty himself. It was not uncommon for such a title to be conferred upon anyone who performed great service to the kingdom, though right of succession and other such royal rights implied by the title of "prince" did not accompany such an honor. In some cases, however, a royal prince already in the line of succession by right of descent would serve as ''sessei''; the Crown Prince served as ''sessei'', for example, from [[1828]] to [[1835]], before taking the throne as King [[Sho Iku|Shô Iku]].<ref>Miyagi Eishô 宮城栄昌, ''Ryûkyû shisha no Edo nobori'' 琉球使者の江戸上り, Tokyo: Daiichi Shobô (1982), 16. </ref>

According to the "Mirror of Chûzan" (中山の世鑑, chûzan no sekan), the classical Ryukyuan history text by ''sessei'' [[Sho Shoken|Shô Shôken]], the ''sessei'' have always been a part of the system of the Ryukyuan Kingdom and were originally appointed by the "excellent ancestors" (英祖). The three men who held the position of ''sessei'' during the first Shô Dynasty of Ryukyuan kings were Chinese, but beginning with the Second Shô Dynasty, ''sessei'' were native Ryukyuans. Royal officials, sometimes princes, would select the ''sessei'', and the appointment would come with an appropriate rank and title, often that of "prince" (王子), despite the ''sessei'' often being a member of the aristocracy and not royalty himself. It was not uncommon for such a title to be conferred upon anyone who performed great service to the kingdom, though right of succession and other such royal rights implied by the title of "prince" did not accompany such an honor. In some cases, however, a royal prince already in the line of succession by right of descent would serve as ''sessei''; the Crown Prince served as ''sessei'', for example, from [[1828]] to [[1835]], before taking the throne as King [[Sho Iku|Shô Iku]].<ref>Miyagi Eishô 宮城栄昌, ''Ryûkyû shisha no Edo nobori'' 琉球使者の江戸上り, Tokyo: Daiichi Shobô (1982), 16. </ref>

==References==

==References==

*Smits, Gregory (1999). "Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics." Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.

*Smits, Gregory (1999). "Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics." Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.

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