Changes

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>

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>

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, albeit in forms in complete emulation of Ming vessels.<ref>Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', 172-173.</ref>

==Trading Vessels==

==Trading Vessels==