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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]]. 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.

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). The ''sessei'' and Sanshikan together were known as the ''wii nu za'', or "Upper Seat," while the less powerful [[Council of Fifteen]] was known as the ''shicha nu za'', or "Lower Seat."

 

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.

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