Changes

In [[1683]], Chinese envoy [[Wang Ji]] expressed his confusion, or perhaps even distaste, at seeing the stones arranged in this manner. In [[1719]], [[Xu Baoguang]] reported that the stones had been rearranged, and now fit the standard Chinese system, with the reigns simply alternating left and right, extending outwards from the earliest kings at the center, to the latest at the edges. A similar set of tablets erected at [[Engaku-ji (Okinawa)|Engaku-ji]] were temporarily rearranged only when Chinese envoys were about, and were then placed back into the standard Ryukyuan order when the envoys had left.<ref>[[Gregory Smits]], "Ryukyu and its Geo-cultural Context," presentation at [http://www.hawaii.edu/asiaref/japan/event2013/Index.htm#symposium Interpreting Parades and Processions of Edo Japan symposium], University of Hawaii at Manoa, 10 Feb 2013.</ref>

In [[1683]], Chinese envoy [[Wang Ji]] expressed his confusion, or perhaps even distaste, at seeing the stones arranged in this manner. In [[1719]], [[Xu Baoguang]] reported that the stones had been rearranged, and now fit the standard Chinese system, with the reigns simply alternating left and right, extending outwards from the earliest kings at the center, to the latest at the edges. A similar set of tablets erected at [[Engaku-ji (Okinawa)|Engaku-ji]] were temporarily rearranged only when Chinese envoys were about, and were then placed back into the standard Ryukyuan order when the envoys had left.<ref>[[Gregory Smits]], "Ryukyu and its Geo-cultural Context," presentation at [http://www.hawaii.edu/asiaref/japan/event2013/Index.htm#symposium Interpreting Parades and Processions of Edo Japan symposium], University of Hawaii at Manoa, 10 Feb 2013.</ref>

In [[1527]], a pair of stelae were erected at the gates to Sôgen-ji declaring that all who enter, even the reigning king himself, were expected to dismount before passing through the gates.

In [[1527]], a pair of stelae were erected at the gates to Sôgen-ji declaring that all who enter, even the reigning king himself, were expected to dismount before passing through the gates. The eastern of these two stelae survives today.

The temple was a branch temple of Engaku-ji, the chief Rinzai temple in the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|kingdom]], which was located just outside the grounds of [[Shuri castle]]. The grounds of Sôgenji covered more than 1230 ''[[tsubo]]'', following a layout with a Chinese flavor, but surrounded by a distinctively Ryukyuan stone wall. When Chinese investiture envoys came to the kingdom, before visiting the castle, they would take part in a ceremony here at Sôgenji in honor of the previous kings. The main buildings of the complex were arranged in a square around an open plaza; entering via the gates to the south and proceeding north, one would first encounter the ''zendô'', or "front hall." Passing through it, one comes to the central plaza, flanked by a West Building (西庁) and East Building (東庁), and with the main shrine (正廟) straight ahead to the north. It was within this building that all the kings of Ryûkyû, from [[Shunten]] to [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]], were enshrined, more in the manner of a Chinese Confucian or Daoist temple than that of a Buddhist temple. The ''kuri'' (monks' quarters) was located just east of the main shrine building, north of the East Building.

The temple was a branch temple of Engaku-ji, the chief Rinzai temple in the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|kingdom]], which was located just outside the grounds of [[Shuri castle]]. The grounds of Sôgenji covered more than 1230 ''[[tsubo]]'', following a layout with a Chinese flavor, but surrounded by a distinctively Ryukyuan stone wall. When Chinese investiture envoys came to the kingdom, before visiting the castle, they would take part in a ceremony here at Sôgenji in honor of the previous kings. The main buildings of the complex were arranged in a square around an open plaza; entering via the gates to the south and proceeding north, one would first encounter the ''zendô'', or "front hall." Passing through it, one comes to the central plaza, flanked by a West Building (西庁) and East Building (東庁), and with the main shrine (正廟) straight ahead to the north. It was within this building that all the kings of Ryûkyû, from [[Shunten]] to [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]], were enshrined, more in the manner of a Chinese Confucian or Daoist temple than that of a Buddhist temple. The ''kuri'' (monks' quarters) was located just east of the main shrine building, north of the East Building.