Changes

==Kagoshima==

==Kagoshima==

The Ryûkyû-kan in Kagoshima was located below the castle, directly between the family mansions of the [[Tanegashima clan]] to the north, the [[Hongo clan|Hongô]] (Miyakonojô Shimazu) clan to the south, and the [[Miyanojo Shimazu clan|Miyanojô]] and [[Tarumizu Shimazu clan]]s to the west, past the Shinbashi ("New Bridge") over the outer moats of [[Kagoshima castle]].<ref>Material posted at Nagata Middle School, Kagoshima.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/19479690860/sizes/o/]</ref> The compound covered an area of roughly 3599 ''[[Japanese Measurements|tsubo]]'', and appears in the ''[[Satsuma fudoki]]''.<ref>Gallery labels, [[Reimeikan Museum]], Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref> The structure was originally constructed as a residence for elite hostages, members of the [[Sho Dynasty|Ryukyuan royal family]] who would be kept in Kagoshima to help ensure the loyalty and cooperation of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Ryukyuan]] government. However, this quickly shifted into a different sort of relationship, and the building, originally known as the ''Ryûkyû-kariya'' (琉球仮屋, Ryûkyû temporary residence), became a sort of branch office for Ryukyuan official interactions with [[Satsuma han]] domainal authorities. The ''Ryûkyû kariya'' was renamed ''Ryûkyû kan'' or ''Ryûkyû yakata'', meaning roughly "Ryûkyû Hall," in [[1783]].<ref name=momoto>"Kagoshima wo aruku" 鹿児島を歩く, ''Momoto'' モモト 14 (April 2013), n.p.</ref> The site is occupied today by Nagata Middle School.

The Ryûkyû-kan in Kagoshima was located below the castle, directly between the family mansions of the [[Tanegashima clan]] to the north, the [[Hongo clan|Hongô]] (Miyakonojô Shimazu) clan to the south, and the [[Miyanojo Shimazu clan|Miyanojô]] and [[Tarumizu Shimazu clan]]s to the west, past the Shinbashi ("New Bridge") over the outer moats of [[Kagoshima castle]].<ref>Material posted at Nagata Middle School, Kagoshima.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/19479690860/sizes/o/]</ref> The compound covered an area of roughly 3599 ''[[Japanese Measurements|tsubo]]'', and appears in the ''[[Satsuma fudoki]]''.<ref>Gallery labels, [[Reimeikan Museum]], Kagoshima, Sept 2014.</ref> The structure was originally constructed as a residence for elite hostages, members of the [[Sho Dynasty|Ryukyuan royal family]] who would be kept in Kagoshima to help ensure the loyalty and cooperation of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Ryukyuan]] government. However, this quickly shifted into a different sort of relationship, and the building, originally known as the ''Ryûkyû-kariya'' (琉球仮屋, Ryûkyû temporary residence), became a sort of branch office for Ryukyuan official interactions with [[Satsuma han]] domainal authorities. The term ''kariya'' was widely used in Kagoshima domain to designate regional branch offices for domainal administration; this ''Ryûkyû kariya'' was thus but one (albeit a special one) within a network of standard domainal practices.<ref>Akamine Mamoru, Lina Terrell (trans.), Robert Huey (ed.), ''The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia'', University of Hawaii Press (2017), 73.</ref> The ''Ryûkyû kariya'' was renamed ''Ryûkyû kan'' or ''Ryûkyû yakata'', meaning roughly "Ryûkyû Hall," in [[1783]].<ref name=momoto>"Kagoshima wo aruku" 鹿児島を歩く, ''Momoto'' モモト 14 (April 2013), n.p.</ref> The site is occupied today by Nagata Middle School.

The Ryûkyû-kan played a central role in relations between the Kingdom of Ryûkyû and the ''[[han]]'' to which it was a vassal, serving a function not unlike a modern-day embassy. Visiting dignitaries lived and worked in the ''Ryûkyû-kan'' for various lengths of time, as did students studying classic subjects in preparation for careers in the kingdom's bureaucracy, and a number of Ryukyuan permanent residents of the city. The chief Ryukyuan official permanently resident at the Ryûkyû-kan, typically of ''[[ueekata]]'' (J: ''oyakata'') rank, was known as the ''zaiban oyakata'' ("resident elder"); he and a samurai official known as the ''Ryûkyû-kikiyaku'' (lit. "listener"), were collectively known as the ''[[Ryukyu-gakari|Ryûkyû-gakari]]'', and were charged with overseeing the residents and operations of the Ryûkyû-kan, as well as performing various administrative duties related to communicating [[Satsuma han]] missives and edicts to Ryûkyû.

The Ryûkyû-kan played a central role in relations between the Kingdom of Ryûkyû and the ''[[han]]'' to which it was a vassal, serving a function not unlike a modern-day embassy. Visiting dignitaries lived and worked in the ''Ryûkyû-kan'' for various lengths of time, as did students studying classic subjects in preparation for careers in the kingdom's bureaucracy, and a number of Ryukyuan permanent residents of the city. The chief Ryukyuan official permanently resident at the Ryûkyû-kan, typically of ''[[ueekata]]'' (J: ''oyakata'') rank, was known as the ''zaiban oyakata'' ("resident elder"); he and a samurai official known as the ''Ryûkyû-kikiyaku'' (lit. "listener"), were collectively known as the ''[[Ryukyu-gakari|Ryûkyû-gakari]]'', and were charged with overseeing the residents and operations of the Ryûkyû-kan, as well as performing various administrative duties related to communicating [[Satsuma han]] missives and edicts to Ryûkyû.