Kingdom of Ryukyu

Kingdom of Ryūkyū 琉球 王国 (Japanese) 琉球 国 (ryūkyū) 1429–1879
coat of arms Royal seal
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Official language	Ryūkyū languages Kl. Chinese (ceremonial)
Capital	Shuri ( 首 里 )
Form of government	kingdom
Government system	Constitutional monarchy
Head of state	King ( 国王 kokuō )
houses of Parliament	Shuri Ō-fu (首 里 王府 ) Sanshikan (三 司 官 )
Religions	Shinto Buddhism Confucianism Daoism
founding	1429 union
Japanese invasion	April 5, 1609
Reform of the prefectures	1871
Japanese annexation	March 11, 1879
map
Map of Japan, Ryūkyū Islands highlighted

The Kingdom of Ryūkyū ( Japanese 琉球 王国Ryūkyū Ōkoku ; ryūkyū 琉球 国 Ruuchuu-kuku ; Chinese  琉球 國  /  琉球 国 , Pinyin Liúqiú Guó ) was an independent state of the Ryūkyū peoples , who made up the majority between the 15th century and the 19th century ruled the Ryūkyū Islands . The kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa and conquered the Amami Islands in what is now the Japanese prefecture of Kagoshima and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan . Despite its small size (around 3,300 km²), the kingdom played an important role in the East and Southeast Asian sea ​​trade . Since 30 November 2000, the castles (including Gusuku ) and other places of the Kingdom of Ryukyu for World Heritage of UNESCO .

history

Creation of the kingdom

Main island at the time of the three kingdoms

At the beginning of the 14th century, the individual tribal principalities on the island of Okinawa united to form the three kingdoms of Hokuzan ("Northern Mountain (s)"), Chūzan ("Central Mountain (s)") and Nanzan (" Southern Mountain (s) ”), which went down in history as the Time of the Three Kingdoms or Sanzan Period . Hokuzan, which ruled the northern half of the island, was the largest in area and militarily strongest, but economically weakest of the three realms. Nanzan controlled the southern part of the island. Chūzan was in the center of the island and was the economically strongest empire. The capital of Nanzan, Shuri , bordered the major ports of Naha and Kanemura, the centers of traditional Chinese education on the island. These cities and Chūzan were to form the center of the Ryūkyū kingdom until it was abolished.

Many Chinese moved to the Ryūkyū Islands during this period to serve the government or to do business. At the request of the King of Ryūkyū, the Ming Dynasty under Hongwu sent 36 families from Fujian Province in 1392 to support the economy. Many officials in the kingdom were descended from these immigrants, were born in China , or had Chinese grandparents. They supported Ryūkyū in the further development of his technology and diplomatic relations. According to Li Hongzhang , a general and statesman of the Qing Dynasty , at a meeting with US President Ulysses S. Grant , China and Ryūkyū had a special relationship because the kingdom had been tributary to China for centuries and the Chinese were in the kingdom granted special trade privileges to a friendly and advantageous relationship.

These three initial principalities were led by chiefs and fought against each other, from which Chūzan emerged victorious. As a result, the Chūzan princes were officially regarded by the Ming Dynasty as legitimate kings over Nanzan and Hokuzan. The ruler of Chūzan handed the throne over to King Hashi, who conquered Hokuzan in 1416 and Nanzan in 1429, and united Okinawa for the first time and founded the first Shō dynasty. Hashi received the surname “Shō” ( Chinese 尚 , Shang ) from the Ming Emperor in 1421 and was henceforth known as “Shō Hashi” ( Chinese 尚 巴 志 Shang Bazhi ).

Shō Hashi took over the hierarchical court system from China, built the Shuri Palace as well as the capital Shuri and the port of Naha. When King Shō Toku, the grandson of Shō Hashi, died in 1469 without leaving a male heir, a palace servant declared that he was Toku's adopted son and was supported by China. The pretender to the throne took the name Shō En and founded the second Shō dynasty. The kingdom flourished during the reign of the second king of the Shō Shin dynasty between 1478 and 1526.

By the end of the 15th century the kingdom extended its rule to the southernmost islands of the archipelago and in 1571 the Amami and Ōshima islands in the north of Kyūshū were conquered. As the kingdom established its political system and recognized rule over the islands in the north, the Sakishima islands in the south were ruled by tributary liege lords for centuries.

Golden Age of Maritime Trade

The palace of Shuri

For nearly two centuries, the Ryūkyū Kingdom played an important role in East and Southeast Asian sea trade. A central component of the maritime activities was the maintenance of the close relations with China of the Ming Dynasty, which began in 1372 with Chūzan, 1380 with Nanzan and 1383 with Hokuzan, the beginnings of which go back to the three previous kingdoms on Okinawa. China provided ships for the Ryūkyū fleet, allowed a limited number of Ryūkyūans to train at the Imperial Academy in Beijing, and granted the King of Chūzan extensive trading privileges for the ports of the Ming Dynasty. Ryukyuan ships traded with other countries at many ports in the region, including China, Đại Việt ( Vietnam ), Korea , Japan , Java , Malacca , Pattani , Palembang , Siam , Sumatra and India ( Chola ).

Japanese goods such as silver, swords, war fans, lacquer work and folding walls as well as Chinese goods such as medicinal herbs, coins, glazed ceramics, brocade and textiles were traded with South Asian sappan wood, rhinoceros, pewter, sugar, iron, amber, Indian ivory and Arabic incense. A total of 150 trips by Ryūkyūan ships between the kingdom and Southeast Asia are recorded in the Rekidai Hōan , an official directory of diplomatic documents of the kingdom, in the years from 1434 to the 1630s, including 61 to Siam, 10 to Malacca, 10 to Pattani and 8 to Java.

The Chinese policy of limited trade with vassal states ( Hǎijìn , Chinese 海禁 ) and the preference of Ryūkyū by the Ming dynasty led to a flourishing economy in the kingdom for more than 150 years. Nevertheless, Ryūkyū's commercial prosperity declined in the late 16th century. The decline in the wokou (Japanese pirate) threat and other factors led to the gradual loss of Chinese favoritism; the kingdom suffered from increased competition in maritime transport from Portuguese traders.

Japanese invasion and submission

Delegation of the Kingdom to Edo in 1710

Chinese embassy on Ryūkyū

Around 1590, the Japanese general and de facto ruler of Japan, Toyotomi Hideyoshi , asked the Kingdom of Ryūkyū for assistance in conquering Korea . If successful, Hideyoshi then planned an invasion of China. Since Ryūkyū was a vassal of China, the request was rejected. The Tokugawa - Shogunat , which was created after the failure Hideyoshi, allowed the Shimazu , feudal in Satsuma (now Kagoshima Prefecture), an expedition to conquer Ryukyus to send. The invasion took place in 1609 and the islands were quickly occupied without major resistance. King Shō Nei was captured and taken to Satsuma and later to Edo (today's Tokyo ). After he was released two years later, the kingdom regained some autonomy. Nevertheless, Satsuma secured direct control over some areas of the kingdom such as the Amami Ōshima Islands.

The kingdom found itself in a twofold subordination to China and Japan, in which tributary relations were maintained with the Ming dynasty and the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1655 the Shogunate approved tributary relations between the kingdom and the Qing Dynasty , which had replaced the Ming Dynasty in 1644. This was considered to be justified in order not to give the Qing Dynasty a reason for war against Japan.

Since the Ming Dynasty banned trade with Japan, Satsuma, with the support of the Tokugawa Shogunate, used the trade relations of the Ryūkyū Kingdom to indirectly resume trade with China. Since Japan had previously cut off all ties with European countries except the Dutch , these trade relations proved useful for both the Tokugawa shogunate and Satsuma to expand their influence and power and ultimately overthrow the shogunate in the 1860s.

The kings of Ryūkyū were a vassal of the daimyō (prince) of Satsuma, but his land did not belong to any han (fiefdom). Until the final annexation of the islands and the abolition of the kingdom in 1879, the islands were not regarded as part of Japan and the Ryūkyūans were not regarded as Japanese . Although in fact under the control of Satsuma, Ryūkyū was granted a high degree of autonomy in order to optimally protect the trade interests of the daimyō of Satsuma and the shogunate with China. Since Ryūkyū was a vassal state of China and Japan ended diplomatic relations with China, Beijing did not recognize Japanese rule over Ryūkyū. So Satsuma and the Tokugawa shogunate were forced to stay out of the internal affairs of the kingdom and not exercise control over politics and legislation. This kept all three parties involved - the royal government of Ryūkyūs, the daimyō of Satsuma and the Shogunate - the appearance that Ryūkyū was an independent country. Japanese were forbidden to visit the islands without the permission of the shogunate, and ryūkyūans were not allowed to adopt Japanese names, clothes or customs. They were even forbidden to demonstrate any knowledge of the Japanese language they had acquired while in Edo. The Shimazu rose to prominence when they held a parade for the King of Ryūkyū, his officials and other Ryūkyūans visiting Edo. As the only han with a king and an entire kingdom as vassals, Satsuma benefited from the exoticism of Ryūkyū.

In 1872 the administration of the Japanese prefectures was reformed and Ryūkyū was converted into a province. While the Han was abolished in Japan , the Ryūkyū Kingdom was named one. Thus, the semblance of independence was retained for diplomatic reasons.

On March 11, 1879, the Japanese Meiji government abolished the Ryūkyū Kingdom and reorganized the islands as Okinawa Prefecture. Amami -shima Island, which had already been incorporated into Satsuma, became part of Kagoshima Prefecture. The last king of Ryūkyū, Shō Tai , was forced to move to Tokyo and raised to the rank of margrave in the Kazoku nobility as compensation . The main branch of the former royal family now lives in Honshū - Japan. Many other members of the royal family and their supporters fled to China .

List of the kings of Ryūkyū

King Shō Kei (1713–1751)

King Shō Boku (1752–1795)

King Shō Kō (1804-1828)

King Shō Iku (1829–1847)

King Shō Tai (1848–1879)

Kings of Chūzan

Surname	Kanji	Reign	Clan or dynasty	Remarks
Shunting	舜天	1187-1237	Tenson clan	-
Shun Bajunki	舜 馬 順 熈	1238-1248	Tenson clan	-
Gihon	義 本	1249-1259	Tenson clan	-
Eiso	英 祖	1260-1299	Eiso clan	-
Taisei	大成	1300-1308	Eiso clan	-
Eiji	英 慈	1309-1313	Eiso clan	-
Tamagusuku	玉 城	1314-1336	Eiso clan	-
Seii	西威	1337-1354	Eiso clan	-
Satto	察 度	1355-1395	-	-
Bunei	武寧	1396-1405	-	-
Shō Shishō	尚思紹	1405-1421	1st Shō dynasty	-
Shō Hashi	尚 巴 志	1422-1429	1st Shō dynasty	-

Kings of Ryūkyū

Surname	Kanji	Reign	Clan or dynasty	Remarks
Shō Hashi	尚 巴 志	1429-1439	1st Shō dynasty	-
Shō Chū	尚 忠	1440-1442	1st Shō dynasty	-
Shō Shitatsu	尚 思達	1443-1449	1st Shō dynasty	-
Shō Kinpuku	尚金福	1450-1453	1st Shō dynasty	-
Shō Taikyū	尚 泰 久	1454-1460	1st Shō dynasty	-
Shō Toku	尚 徳	1461-1469	1st Shō dynasty	-
Shō En	尚 円	1470-1476	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Kanamaru Uchima
Shō Sen'i	尚宣威	1477	2nd Shō dynasty	-
Shō Shin	尚 真	1477-1526	2nd Shō dynasty	-
Shō Sei	尚 清	1527-1555	2nd Shō dynasty	-
Shō Gen	尚 元	1556-1572	2nd Shō dynasty	-
Shō egg	尚 永	1573-1586	2nd Shō dynasty	-
Shō Nei	尚 寧	1587-1620	2nd Shō dynasty	ruled at the time of the Shimazu clan invasion; first king who was a vassal of Satsuma
Shō Hō	尚 豊	1621-1640	2nd Shō dynasty	-
Shō Ken	尚賢	1641-1647	2nd Shō dynasty	-
Shō Shitsu	尚 質	1648-1668	2nd Shō dynasty	-
Shō Shōken	尚象賢	1666-1673	Sessei (Prime Minister)	-
Shō Tei	尚 貞	1669-1709	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Jing; 1645-1709
Shō Eki	尚 益	1710-1712	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Ben; 1678-1712
Shō kei	尚 敬	1713-1751	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Jing; 1700-1751
Sai On	蔡 温	1751-1752	Kokushi (regent)	famous scholar and historian; 1682-1761
Shō Boku	尚 穆	1752-1795	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Mu; 1739-1795
Sho on	尚 温	1796-1802	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Wen; 1784-1802
Shō Sei	尚 成	1803-1804	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Cheng; 1783-1804
Shō Kō	尚 灝	1804-1828	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Hao; 1787-1839
Shō Iku	尚 育	1829-1847	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Yu; 1813-1847
Sho Tai	尚 泰	1848-1879	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Tai; 1843-1901; last king of Ryūkyū

Ryukyu pretender to the throne

Surname	Kanji	Clan or dynasty	Remarks
Shō Ten	尚 泰	2nd Shō dynasty	also known as Shang Ten; 1879-1920; last crown prince of Ryūkyū

See also

• History of the Ryūkyū Islands

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Edward E. Bollinger. (c. 1965). The Unity of Government and Religion in the Ryukyu Islands to 1,500 AD
2. ↑ Shih-shan Henry Tsai: The eunuchs in the Ming dynasty . Ed .: SUNY Press. 1996, ISBN 0-7914-2687-4 , pp. 145 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - Illustrated).
3. ↑ Angela Schottenhammer: The East Asian maritime world 1400-1800: its fabrics of power and dynamics of exchanges . East Asian economic and socio-cultural studies: East Asian maritime history. Ed .: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. Volume 4, 2007, ISBN 3-447-05474-3 , pp. 13 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - Illustrated).
4. ^ Gang Deng: Maritime sector, institutions, and sea power of premodern China . Contributions in economics and economic history. Ed .: Greenwood Publishing Group. Volume 212, 1999, ISBN 0-313-30712-1 , pp. 125 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - Illustrated).
5. ↑ Katrien Hendrickx: The Origins of Banana-fiber Cloth in the Ryukyus, Japan . Leuven University Press, 2007, ISBN 90-5867-614-5 , pp. 39 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - Illustrated).
6. ↑ Ulysses Simpson Grant, John Y. Simon, Ulysses S. Grant Association: The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant: October 1, 1878 - September 30, 1880 . The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. Ed .: SIU Press - John Y. Simon. Volume 29, 2008, ISBN 0-8093-2775-9 , pp. 165 ( limited preview in Google Book Search - Illustrated).
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Takeshi Hamashita: 沖 縄 入門 (Okinawa Nyūmon) . Chikuma Shobō, Tokyo 2000, p. 207-13 ff .
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Matsuda. P. 16.
9. ↑ Murai. Pp. 4-5.
10. ↑ Hiromichi Okamoto: Foreign Policy and Maritime Trade in the Early Ming Period Focusing on the Ryukyu Kingdom . In: Acta Asiatica . Vol. 95, 2008, pp. 35 .
11. ↑ Hiromichi Okamoto: Foreign Policy and Maritime Trade in the Early Ming Period: Focusing on the Ryukyu Kingdom . In: Acta Asiatica . Vol. 95, 2008, pp. 36 .
12. ↑ Okamoto, p. 36.
13. ↑ ^{a b} Shunzō Sakamaki: Ryukyu and Southeast Asia . In: Journal of Asian Studies . Vol. 23, No. 3 , May 1964, pp. 382-384 .
14. ↑ Murai, Shōsuke. "Introduction." Acta Asiatica vol 95 (2008). Tokyo: The Tōhō Gakkai (The Institute of Eastern Culture), p. 4.
15. ↑ Okamoto, p. 53.
16. ^ David C. Kang: East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute . 2010, p. 81 .
17. ↑ Matsuo, Kanenori Sakon. (2005). The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryukyu, p. 40.
18. ↑ Kerr, George H. (1953). Ryukyu Kingdom and Province before 1945, p. 175.
19. ↑ Lin, Man-houng. "The Ryukyus and Taiwan in the East Asian Seas: A Longue Durée Perspective," Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus. October 27, 2006, translated and abridged from Academia Sinica Weekly, No. 1084. August 24, 2006.
20. ↑ Goodenough, Ward H. Book Review, "George H. Kerr. Okinawa: the History of an Island People ..., " ( Memento December 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , May 1959, Vol. 323, No. 1, p. 165, accessed June 3, 2019
21. ↑ Papinot, Jacques. (2003). Nobiliare du Japon - Sho, p. 56 (PDF @ 60; 634 kB); see also Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). Dictionnaire d'histoire et de geographie du Japon.
22. ↑ Kerr 1953, p. 236.
23. ^ John: The Forgotten Dynasty Of The Ryukyu Islands . In: Tofugu . September 26, 2013 ( tofugu.com [accessed August 17, 2018]).
24. ↑ 论战 后 琉球 独立 运动 及 琉球 归属 问题 _ 百度 文库. Retrieved August 17, 2018 . 

literature

• David C. Kang: East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute. Columbia University Press, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-231-15318-8 and ISBN 978-0-231-52674-6 , OCLC 562768984 .
• George H. Kerr: Ryukyu Kingdom and Province before 1945. National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Washington, DC 1953, OCLC 5455582 .
• George H. Kerr: Okinawa: the History of an Island People. Charles Tuttle Co., Rutland, Vermont 1958, OCLC 722356 .
• Mitsugu Matsuda: The Government of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, 1609–1872. Yui Pub., Okinawa 2001, ISBN 4-946539-16-6 , OCLC 50206194 , p. 283.
• Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum: Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press , Cambridge, Massachusetts 2002, ISBN 0-674-01753-6 , OCLC 48943301 .
• Gregory Smits: Visions of Ryukyu. Identity and Ideology in early-modern thought and politics. University of Hawaii Press , Honolulu 1999, ISBN 0-8248-2037-1 , OCLC 45843031 , p. 213.

Web links

Commons : Kingdom of Ryūkyū  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
• History of Okinawa (English)
• 沖 縄 の 歴 史 情報 (ORJ) - Historical texts on Ryūkyū (Japanese)
• Ryan Masaaki Yokota: A Brief History of the Uchinanchu (Okinawans) , Okinawa Peace Network of Los Angeles, 1994, revised 2001 - Brief History of the Uchinanchu (English)
• National Archives of Japan: Ryukyu Chuzano ryoshisha tojogyoretsu, Hōei 7 (1710) (Japanese)