Changes

*''Japanese'': 群雄争乱時代 ''(gun'yuu souran jidai)''

*''Japanese'': 群雄争乱時代 ''(gun'yuu souran jidai)''

The Era of Rival Chiefs refers to a period from roughly [[1450]] to [[1500]] during which a number of factions and individuals vied for power in the [[Miyako Islands|Miyako]] and [[Yaeyama Islands]]. The period ended in 1500 with the government of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] (based on [[Okinawa Island]], to the north) extending more direct control over the Miyakos and Yaeyamas than it had in the past, suppressing rebellions and appointing its own officials (often from among the local elites) to administer the islands.

The Era of Rival Chiefs refers to a period from roughly [[1450]] to [[1500]] during which a number of factions and individuals vied for power in the [[Miyako Islands|Miyako]] and [[Yaeyama Islands]]. Though most of these figures are represented in local legends as local heroes, as though they were born into indigenous communities distinctive and characteristic of each separate island, some scholars suggest that many were likely ''[[wako|wakô]]'' leaders, or descendants of ''wakô'' leaders, who made their way into the Ryûkyûs following the fall of the [[Southern Court]] in Japan in the 1390s; without support from the Southern Court and [[Seiseifu]] in Kyushu, and with the [[Joseon dynasty]] in Korea, [[Ming dynasty]] in China, and the [[Northern Court]] and [[Muromachi shogunate]] in Japan stepping up their efforts to suppress ''wakô'' activity, many made their way further south. While there is evidence of ''wakô'' activity in Okinawa and the Miyako Islands earlier, the earliest evidence of ''wakô'' activity in the Yaeyamas is from the 1430s.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 58.</ref>

 

The period ended in 1500 with the government of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] (based on [[Okinawa Island]], to the north) extending more direct control over the Miyakos and Yaeyamas than it had in the past, suppressing rebellions and appointing its own officials (often from among the local elites) to administer the islands.

Perhaps the most famous of the so-called "rival chiefs" who battled at this time was [[Oyake Akahachi]], who rose to power on [[Ishigaki Island]] and then, while extending his power into neighboring islands and even setting his sights on the Miyakos, simultaneously declared "rebellion" against the kingdom, by refusing to pay taxes or [[tribute]]. This famously ended in King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] sending a force of some 3,000 warriors to put an end to Akahachi's rebellion.<ref>"Oyake Akahachi." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p18.; Shinzato Keiji et al. ''Okinawa-ken no rekishi'' (History of Okinawa Prefecture). Tokyo: Yamakawa Publishing, 1996. p57.</ref>

Perhaps the most famous of the so-called "rival chiefs" who battled at this time was [[Oyake Akahachi]], who rose to power on [[Ishigaki Island]] and then, while extending his power into neighboring islands and even setting his sights on the Miyakos, simultaneously declared "rebellion" against the kingdom, by refusing to pay taxes or [[tribute]]. This famously ended in King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] sending a force of some 3,000 warriors to put an end to Akahachi's rebellion.<ref>"Oyake Akahachi." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p18.; Shinzato Keiji et al. ''Okinawa-ken no rekishi'' (History of Okinawa Prefecture). Tokyo: Yamakawa Publishing, 1996. p57.</ref>