Haniji

Haniji ( Japanese 怕 尼 芝 ; † probably 1395 ), sometimes also Haneji , was the founder and first king of the Kingdom of Hokuzan in Okinawa . Historical sources give his reign from 1322 to 1395, which seems unlikely given the length.

At the beginning of the 14th century there was no central political power on Okinawa, only a number of local chiefs who were loosely subordinate to a supreme prince. One of these chiefs was Haniji, who after Tamagusuku took office as the supreme prince, with some loyal followers, broke away from him. In 1322 he proclaimed the Kingdom of Hokuzan from his Nakijin castle and declared himself the first king. Little is known about the further reign of Haniyi, except that Hokuzan managed to be included in the tribute system of the Ming dynasty . It is unclear whether he is the founder of the Haneji Lineage ( 羽 地 ), whose most famous representative was the scribe Shō Shōken in the 17th century.

literature

• George H. Kerr: Okinawa: The History of an Island People . Tuttle Publishing, Boston 2000, ISBN 0-8048-2087-2 .

predecessor	Office	successor
-	King of Hokuzan 1322–1395	Min