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Naata Ufushu was a Ryukyuan local chief who supported the forces of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] in suppressing the rebellion of [[Oyake Akahachi]], another regional chieftain.

Naata Ufushu was a Ryukyuan local chief who supported the forces of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu|Kingdom of Ryûkyû]] in suppressing the rebellion of [[Oyake Akahachi]], another regional chieftain.

Naata<ref>This is the [[Okinawan language]] pronunciation of the name. This would be "Nagata" in [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. ''Ufushu'' (''Ôshu'' or ''Ônushi'' in Japanese) is not a name, but rather means "great leader."</ref> was born on [[Hateruma]] Island and traveled to [[Ishigaki-jima]] at the age of eight<ref name=jinmei/>. According to some accounts, he was a childhood friend of Oyake Akahachi, and they relocated to Ishigaki together.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 57.</ref> Over the years, as Naata grew, he gained power, eventually uniting Ishigaki Village and becoming its head<ref name=jinmei/>.

Naata<ref>This is the [[Okinawan language]] pronunciation of the name. This would be "Nagata" in [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. ''Ufushu'' (''Ôshu'' or ''Ônushi'' in Japanese) is not a name, but rather means "great leader."</ref> was born on [[Hateruma]] Island and traveled to [[Ishigaki-jima]] at the age of eight<ref name=jinmei/>. According to some accounts, he was a childhood friend of Oyake Akahachi, and they relocated to Ishigaki together.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 57.</ref> Over the years, however, as Naata gained power, eventually uniting Ishigaki Village and becoming its head, he became a rival of Akahachi's.<ref name=jinmei/>

He was approached, as were a number of other local chieftains, by Oyake Akahachi, who sought to have them join him in rebellion against the Kingdom of Ryûkyû. Naata is said to have been quite loyal to the king, and sought to appease Akahachi by offering him his younger sister Koitsuba's hand in marriage; this failed, and Akahachi escaped to [[Iriomote-jima]] with Koitsuba and her two younger brothers<ref name=jinmei/>.

According to some accounts, Akahachi approached Naata and a number of other local chieftains seeking to have them join him in rebellion against the Kingdom of Ryûkyû. Naata is said to have been quite loyal to the king, and sought to appease Akahachi by offering him his younger sister Koitsuba's hand in marriage; this failed, and Akahachi escaped to [[Iriomote-jima]] with Koitsuba and her two younger brothers<ref name=jinmei/>. Akahachi was defeated in the end by royal forces, with Naata's support<ref name=jinmei/>. In some such accounts, Naata had two brothers who also died in the fighting before Naata himself escaped to Iriomote, and alerted [[Nakasone Tuyumya]] of [[Miyako Island]] to alert Shuri to send forces to stop Akahachi's "rebellion."<ref name=smits58>Smits, 57-58.</ref>

Akahachi was defeated in the end by royal forces, with Naata's support<ref name=jinmei/>.

Other accounts, however, suggest a less romantic version of events, in which Naata, Akahachi, and others (many of whom may have in fact been ''[[wako|wakô]]'' leaders, and not the indigenous heroes/chieftains legends sometimes present them as) simply vied for power against one another, resulting in a complex multi-directional conflict which ultimately ended in all involved being defeated by forces dispatched from [[Shuri]] (i.e. the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]) to "pacify" or conquer the islands.<ref name=smits58/>

It is sometimes said that Naata was the son of [[Nakasone Toyomiya]], or otherwise descended from him, but this seems unlikely<ref>"Naata Ufushu." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). [http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42351-storytopic-121.html Ryukyu Shimpo] (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 9 September 2009.</ref>, as Nakasone is known to have lived sometime around 1500-1530, which would make him younger or contemporaneous with Naata, not old enough to be his father or other ancestor.

It is sometimes said that Naata was the son of [[Nakasone Toyomiya]], or otherwise descended from him, but this seems unlikely<ref>"Naata Ufushu." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). [http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42351-storytopic-121.html Ryukyu Shimpo] (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 9 September 2009.</ref>, as Nakasone is known to have lived sometime around 1500-1530, which would make him younger or contemporaneous with Naata, not old enough to be his father or other ancestor.