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The ''Omoro Sôshi'' is a compilation of ancient poems and songs from [[Okinawa]] and the [[Amami Islands]], collected into 22 volumes and written primarily in [[hiragana]] with some simple [[kanji]]. There are 1,553 poems in the collection, but many are repeated; the number of unique pieces is 1,144.<ref>Sakihara, Mitsugu. ''A Brief History of Early Okinawa Based on the Omoro Sōshi.'' Tokyo: Honpo Shoseki Press, 1987. p6.</ref>

The ''Omoro Sôshi'' is a compilation of ancient poems and songs from [[Okinawa]] and the [[Amami Islands]], collected into 22 volumes and written primarily in [[hiragana]] with some simple [[kanji]]. There are 1,553 poems in the collection, but many are repeated; the number of unique pieces is 1,144.<ref>Sakihara, Mitsugu. ''A Brief History of Early Okinawa Based on the Omoro Sōshi.'' Tokyo: Honpo Shoseki Press, 1987. p6.</ref> It is one of the only surviving examples of native Ryukyuan written material dating before the 16th century.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu, 1050-1650'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 2.</ref>  

The hiragana used, however, is a traditional Okinawan orthography which associates different sounds to the characters than their normal Japanese readings. The characters used to write ''omoro'', for example (おもろ), would be written this same way, but pronounced as ''umuru'' in the [[Okinawan language]].

The hiragana used, however, is a traditional Okinawan orthography which associates different sounds to the characters than their normal Japanese readings. The characters used to write ''omoro'', for example (おもろ), would be written this same way, but pronounced as ''umuru'' in the [[Okinawan language]].