contributor
27,126
edits
Changes
From SamuraiWiki
Jump to navigationJump to searchCreated page with " The Ryûkyû Kingdom largely used Chinese-made or Chinese-style ships for its official trading, diplomatic, and military purposes. From roughly the 1380s t..."
The [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] largely used Chinese-made or Chinese-style ships for its official trading, diplomatic, and military purposes. From roughly the 1380s to the 1540s, the kingdom received from the [[Ming dynasty|Ming court]] large, old, junks no longer desired for use by the Ming navy; by around 1550, the kingdom began constructing its own vessels in this style. Some of these vessels, dubbed ''[[ayabune]]'', were used to carry embassies to [[Kagoshima]] in the 15th-16th centuries. Following the [[1609]] [[Shimazu clan]] [[invasion of Ryukyu|invasion of Ryûkyû]], these Ryûkyû-built Chinese-style vessels came to be known as ''[[kaisen]]''. Equipped with cannon and other defensive equipment only when traveling to & from China, these vessels also served as ''shinkôsen'' ([[tribute]] ships) and ''sekkôsen'' (ships dispatched to meet and bring back tribute missions).
==Official Vessels==
The Ming court first granted seagoing vessels to local rulers in Ryûkyû in [[1383]]. For the next 60 years or so, until the 1440s, Ryukyuan kings periodically received used Ming naval vessels for their official use and were also granted the use of Ming shipyards for the purposes of repairs, etc. Many of these were rather large vessels, ranging from over 1150 ''[[koku]]''<ref>That is, a cargo capacity of roughly 1,150 ''koku'' worth of rice.</ref> to even double that size, and manned by crews of as many as 100-300 people.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 171.</ref> These were likely the largest ships the kingdom would ever employ; the typical tribute vessel employed by the kingdom for embassies to Kagoshima and [[Fuzhou]] in the 17th-19th centuries was only as large as the smallest of this era's ships.
From around 1450 until the 1520s, the kingdom continued to receive large vessels from China, but now was obliged to pay for their construction and repairs. Vessels constructed in China (at Ryukyuan expense) were granted single-character Chinese names which denoted concepts such as "courage" or "longevity," but after arriving in Ryûkyû, they were then often given Japanese names ending in "''-maru''" and/or Ryukyuan names ending in "''-tomi''."<ref name=smits172>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 172.</ref>
In the 1520s to 1540s, the kingdom continued to buy vessels from the Ming, but almost exclusively only ships of a smaller size. Shipbuilding shifted to domestic, Ryukyuan, construction beginning around [[1548]]. Scholars remain divided as to the extent to which the kingdom's fleet at this time continued to chiefly include vessels purchased from China, ones built in Ryûkyû specifically for official purposes, or ones purchased or otherwise obtained from private Ryukyuan merchant use.<ref name=smits172/> Whatever the case may have been, by the 1570s, small, locally-built ships known variously as ''shôsen'' ("small ships"), ''tsuchibune'' ("local ships"), and by other terms, played a prominent, perhaps even dominant role. By the end of the 1570s, nearly all ships in the royal navy/fleet were made in Ryûkyû.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 172-173.</ref>
==Trading Vessels==
By the 18th century, a style of vessel known as the ''[[maransen|maaransen]]'', based on Chinese forms, became a standard type used in trading within the kingdom.<ref>Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, Naha, August 2013.; Gallery labels, Oceanic Culture Museum, Ocean Expo Park, Nago, 2014.; "[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42968-storytopic-121.html Maaransen]," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.</ref>
==Villagers' Vessels==
Fishermen and others going out to see from local villages used a wide variety of vessels, including paddled dugout canoes and plank-built boats. One particular style of fishing canoe, maneuvered either with sail or by oars, and still popular today, is known as ''[[sabani]]''.
Many areas within Ryûkyû also maintain a long tradition of [[dragon boats|dragon boat racing]] (''haarii'').
{{stub}}
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Ships]]
