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==Shô Shin and Shô Nei==

==Shô Shin and Shô Nei==

Those who speak of the Okinawans being inherently a peaceful people, or having a great history of pacifism, often trace this back to King [[Shô Shin]] (r. [[1477]]-[[1526]]), claiming that he seized all the weapons in the island, ushering in a culture of pacifism, and sparking the development of the art of [[karate]]. This is a misinterpretation, however, of Shô Shin's consolidation of the military, and of the political power on the island. He did indeed remove military power from the hands of the regional ''anji'', but he did not destroy the kingdom's weapons or its military power; he merely consolidated it under the control of the royal central government, in order to strengthen the kingdom and weaken the possibility of uprisings or rebellions. Shô Shin mandated the ''anji'' to reside in [[Shuri]], the royal capital, transforming them from a landed class of regional lords, each with their own powerbase, into an aristocrat-courtier / bureaucrat class more concerned with affairs of state and court intrigues. He then assigned officials loyal to the central government to govern each district, or ''[[magiri]]'', eliminating the ''anji gun'' (lords' armies) and replacing them with ''magiri gun'' (district armies).

Those who speak of the Okinawans being inherently a peaceful people, or having a great history of pacifism, often trace this back to King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] (r. [[1477]]-[[1526]]), claiming that he seized all the weapons in the island, ushering in a culture of pacifism, and sparking the development of the art of [[karate]]. This is a misinterpretation, however, of Shô Shin's consolidation of the military, and of the political power on the island. He did indeed remove military power from the hands of the regional ''anji'', but he did not destroy the kingdom's weapons or its military power; he merely consolidated it under the control of the royal central government, in order to strengthen the kingdom and weaken the possibility of uprisings or rebellions. Shô Shin mandated the ''anji'' to reside in [[Shuri]], the royal capital, transforming them from a landed class of regional lords, each with their own powerbase, into an aristocrat-courtier / bureaucrat class more concerned with affairs of state and court intrigues. He then assigned officials loyal to the central government to govern each district, or ''[[magiri]]'', eliminating the ''anji gun'' (lords' armies) and replacing them with ''magiri gun'' (district armies).

Shô Shin also introduced a system of military organization known as ''hiki'', organized not around groups of similar units, e.g. with separate cavalry units and infantry units, but rather conceptually quite similar to the crew of a ship. Historian [[Takara Kurayoshi]] has characterized the ''hiki'' as "ships on land," and Ryukyuan ships as "floating ''hiki''." Each ''hiki'' incorporated all the personnel necessary to work as an independent unit (just as the crew of a ship would), from a captain (''sedo'', O: ''shiidu'')<ref>A term etymologically related to the Japanese ''sentô'' 船頭, for "boatman" or "captain."</ref> down to infantry and porters (the "sailors"). Below the ''sedo'' were ranks or posts known as ''chikunodono'', ''satunushibe''<!--里主部-->, and ''keraiakukabe''<!--家来赤頭-->, in descending order of importance/power.

Shô Shin also introduced a system of military organization known as ''hiki'', organized not around groups of similar units, e.g. with separate cavalry units and infantry units, but rather conceptually quite similar to the crew of a ship. Historian [[Takara Kurayoshi]] has characterized the ''hiki'' as "ships on land," and Ryukyuan ships as "floating ''hiki''." Each ''hiki'' incorporated all the personnel necessary to work as an independent unit (just as the crew of a ship would), from a captain (''sedo'', O: ''shiidu'')<ref>A term etymologically related to the Japanese ''sentô'' 船頭, for "boatman" or "captain."</ref> down to infantry and porters (the "sailors"). Below the ''sedo'' were ranks or posts known as ''chikunodono'', ''satunushibe''<!--里主部-->, and ''keraiakukabe''<!--家来赤頭-->, in descending order of importance/power.