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Prior to [[1314]] or so, the Ryûkyû Islands were controlled by a myriad of small chiefdoms; those on the main island of Okinawa were loosely united under a "king". [[Tamagusuku]], who ascended to this post in 1314, lacked the charisma, leadership qualities, and skills to maintain this unity, and the island fractured into three polities<ref>For the sake of convenience and simplicity, most sources in English refer to these as "kingdoms" and their leaders as "kings", though most are also keen to point out that the political structures of the time continued to far more closely resemble chiefdoms. Though the Chinese character for "king" (王) is used in both Chinese and Japanese sources of the period, it is perhaps most accurate to not consider these rulers "kings" until sometime around the unification of Okinawa in 1419-1429.</ref>: [[Nanzan]] in the south of the island, [[Hokuzan]] in the north, and [[Chuzan|Chûzan]] in the center.

Prior to [[1314]] or so, the Ryûkyû Islands were controlled by a myriad of small chiefdoms; those on the main island of Okinawa were loosely united under a "king". [[Tamagusuku]], who ascended to this post in 1314, lacked the charisma, leadership qualities, and skills to maintain this unity, and the island fractured into three polities<ref>For the sake of convenience and simplicity, most sources in English refer to these as "kingdoms" and their leaders as "kings", though most are also keen to point out that the political structures of the time continued to far more closely resemble chiefdoms. Though the Chinese character for "king" (王) is used in both Chinese and Japanese sources of the period, it is perhaps most accurate to not consider these rulers "kings" until sometime around the unification of Okinawa in 1419-1429.</ref>: [[Nanzan]] in the south of the island, [[Hokuzan]] in the north, and [[Chuzan|Chûzan]] in the center.

Over the course of the next hundred years, the three polities consolidated their power, build a great many fortresses (''[[gusuku]]''), and expanded through trade. Chûzan entered into tributary relations with Ming China in [[1372]], the other two polities following suit within the next decade, and began to receive royal investiture from China as well. The three polities expanded their territory in this period as well, slowly acquiring the other nearby islands either as tributary states or as outright annexed territories, and entering into diplomatic and trade relations with Japan and Korea, as well as with a number of Southeast Asian polities.<ref name=gunn219>Geoffrey Gunn, ''History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800'', Hong Kong University Press (2011), 219.</ref>

Over the course of the next hundred years, the three polities consolidated their power, build a great many fortresses (''[[gusuku]]''), and expanded through trade. Chûzan entered into tributary relations with Ming China in [[1372]], the other two polities following suit within the next decade, and began to receive royal [[investiture]] from China as well. The three polities expanded their territory in this period as well, slowly acquiring the other nearby islands either as tributary states or as outright annexed territories, and entering into diplomatic and trade relations with Japan and Korea, as well as with a number of Southeast Asian polities.<ref name=gunn219>Geoffrey Gunn, ''History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800'', Hong Kong University Press (2011), 219.</ref>

A local lord (''[[anji]]'') by the name of Hashi rose to power at the beginning of the 15th century, and overthrew the king of Chûzan, [[Bunei]], around 1407. Hashi originally set up his father as king, but continued to wield power behind the scenes, succeeding his father in 1422. The two received formal investiture from the Ming Court, and were granted the surname Shô (尚, "Shang" in Chinese); father and son thus became [[Sho Shisho|Shô Shisho]] and [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]] respectively, marking the beginning of the first [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]]. Under their leadership, Chûzan conquered Hokuzan in 1419 and Nanzan in 1429, uniting the island of Okinawa, establishing the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, and moving the capital from [[Urasoe]] to [[Shuri]].

A local lord (''[[anji]]'') by the name of Hashi rose to power at the beginning of the 15th century, and overthrew the king of Chûzan, [[Bunei]], around 1407. Hashi originally set up his father as king, but continued to wield power behind the scenes, succeeding his father in 1422. The two received formal investiture from the Ming Court, and were granted the surname Shô (尚, "Shang" in Chinese); father and son thus became [[Sho Shisho|Shô Shisho]] and [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]] respectively, marking the beginning of the first [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]]. Under their leadership, Chûzan conquered Hokuzan in 1419 and Nanzan in 1429, uniting the island of Okinawa, establishing the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, and moving the capital from [[Urasoe]] to [[Shuri]].