Changes

==Life==

==Life==

According to legend, Amawari was born to a peasant family in Yara, in [[Chatan]] ''[[magiri]]''<ref name=jinmei>"Amawari." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p10.</ref>. Toppling the lord of Katsuren gusuku, Amawari seized his domain<ref name=jinmei/>. Taking advantage of opportunities for maritime trade, he gained a degree of wealth and power, and married [[Momoto Fumiagari]], daughter of King [[Sho Taikyu|Shô Taikyû]], further solidifying his power<ref name=jinmei/><ref>Other sources describe this marriage as an effort by the king to check Amawari's opposition. ("[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-43161-storytopic-121.html Momoto Fumiagari]." ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.)</ref>.

According to legend, Amawari was born to a peasant family in Yara, in [[Chatan]] ''[[magiri]]''<ref name=jinmei>"Amawari." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p10.</ref>. Some historians have suggested that, judging from the political circumstances and from legends/historical context regarding associations between the kings and Katsuren, Amawari may have been a relative or close ally of King [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]].<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 110.</ref> Still, the traditional accounts relate that, after toppling the lord of Katsuren gusuku, Amawari seized his domain<ref name=jinmei/>. Taking advantage of opportunities for maritime trade, he gained a degree of wealth and power, and married [[Momoto Fumiagari]], daughter of King [[Sho Taikyu|Shô Taikyû]], further solidifying his power<ref name=jinmei/><ref>Other sources describe this marriage as an effort by the king to check Amawari's opposition. ("[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-43161-storytopic-121.html Momoto Fumiagari]." ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.)</ref>.

Anxious about Amawari's power, King Shô Taikyû arranged that a new castle be built at Nakagusuku, under the command and supervision of the ''anji'' (aristocrat/lord) Gosamaru, between Katsuren and the royal capital of [[Shuri]]. In 1458, Amawari accused Gosamaru of plotting to overthrow the king, and as a result came to lead the royal armies in an attack on Nakagusuku which ended in Gosamaru's death by suicide. Amawari then plotted to overthrow the king himself, but, his plan discovered by his wife and her attendant [[Oni Ogusuku|Oni Ōgusuku]], he was attacked and defeated by royal forces led by the latter<ref name=jinmei/>, and executed. An alternate theory, however, claims that the entire affair was organized by the royal government, in order to remove both Gosamaru and Amawari as powerful rivals and potential threats to the succession<ref>"Gosamaru-Amawari no hen." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). [http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41393-storytopic-121.html Ryukyu Shimpo] (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 25 July 2009.</ref>.

Anxious about Amawari's power, King Shô Taikyû arranged that a new castle be built at Nakagusuku, under the command and supervision of the ''anji'' (aristocrat/lord) Gosamaru, between Katsuren and the royal capital of [[Shuri]]. In 1458, Amawari accused Gosamaru of plotting to overthrow the king, and as a result came to lead the royal armies in an attack on Nakagusuku which ended in Gosamaru's death by suicide. Amawari then plotted to overthrow the king himself, but, his plan discovered by his wife and her attendant [[Oni Ogusuku|Oni Ōgusuku]], he was attacked and defeated by royal forces led by the latter<ref name=jinmei/>, and executed. An alternate theory, however, claims that the entire affair was organized by the royal government, in order to remove both Gosamaru and Amawari as powerful rivals and potential threats to the succession<ref>"Gosamaru-Amawari no hen." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). [http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41393-storytopic-121.html Ryukyu Shimpo] (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 25 July 2009.</ref>.