385:
980:, then ten years of age. Seii's reign was relatively short, and defined by the interference and political abuses of his mother which led to an erosion of what little support the young king may have had from the territorial lords. It is important to note that the three "kingdoms" were little different from the loosely unified chiefdoms which came before, and the "kings" did not wield considerably greater power, nor were their administrations more organized or more politically stable than what came before. However, this became gradually less true over the generations; the king's power and organization advanced considerably by the time all three kingdoms were unified as the Kingdom of Ryukyu.
141:
1096:, by the name of Hashi, deposed his neighboring lord of Azato in 1402 and seized his territory. Five years later, he led a rebellion and overthrew Bunei, establishing his own father, Shishō, as King of Chūzan. Hashi effectively ruled from the behind the scenes, and led Chūzan's army against the neighboring kingdoms, conquering Hokuzan in 1419 and Nanzan in 1429. In the intervening years, he formally succeeded his father to the throne and received investiture and the dynastic family name "Shang" (
391:
356:
1051:, having sent a mission in 1403. These political advantages, coupled with control of Naha, the most active port on Okinawa, allowed Chūzan to gain significant political and economic superiority over its two neighbors. It also benefited greatly culturally; trade always brings cultural exchange along with it, and many of the states in the region were experiencing great cultural surges as a result. In particular, it is believed that
25:
987:, marked the emergence of Chūzan as a small but not insignificant player in regional trade and politics. A number of domestic policies and foreign relations begun at this time would continue until the end of the kingdom five hundred years later. Satto established diplomatic and trade relations with a number of states in the region, including the
1019:, a community for Chinese immigrants was established; the Chinese living here, and their Ryukyuan descendants, would serve Chūzan (and later the unified kingdom) as diplomats, interpreters, and government officials. Kumemura quickly grew into Ryukyu's cultural capital, something of a complement to the political capital at
1038:
succeeded him in 1395, and oversaw the continuation of the policies and developments of his father's reign. Relations with China grew stronger, and a number of institutions were established to cater to
Chinese envoys to Chūzan. Trade boomed, and relations with other countries likewise continued to be
1011:
with China. From then on, Chūzan (and unified Ryukyu later) would send frequent tribute missions, and would rely upon the
Chinese court to officially recognize each successive Ryukyuan king with a formal statement of investiture. China would have an incredibly strong influence on Ryukyu for the next
1080:
in the
Japanese pronunciation, and continued to be compiled fairly regularly until 1619. However, this increased organization was not accompanied by political stability; the kings of Nanzan and Hokuzan, along with the emperor of China, all died within the span of just a few years (1395–1398). These
1071:
Domestically, Bunei's reign saw significant development in the organization and formalization of the royal administration, and increased literacy and education among the administrative officials. Government documents, particularly those concerning trade and diplomacy, were first compiled in 1403.
1059:
from Japan were first introduced to
Okinawa to a significant extent at this time. Students and other travelers to Korea brought back texts, statues, rituals, and other Buddhist objects and ideas, and in exchange, King Bunei promised to send shipwrecked Koreans, and those who were the victims of
1039:
expanded. Though China accepted tributary missions from
Hokuzan and Nanzan as well at this time, they officially recognized only the King of Chūzan as a head of state in Ryukyu. Chūzan continued to enjoy formal diplomatic relations with Ayutthaya and Korea, and trade relations with
1081:
events heightened tensions between the three kingdoms, all of which sought the favor of the Ming court, which was largely unresponsive; Bunei only received his formal investiture in 1406, ten years after succeeding his father, and less than a year before his own death.
1015:
This period also saw the beginnings of a bureaucracy in the royal government which would later grow to rule in the king's place and in his name, replacing direct monarchical rule.
1031:
in China, and the first
Ryukyuans to study in China's capital did so at this time as well, again establishing precedents for developments which would continue for centuries.
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694:
928:, but would continue to be referred to as "Chūzan" in various official documents of the Ryukyuan royal government, and those of many other states in the region.
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947:
at the age of nineteen, in 1314. However, he lacked the charisma or leadership abilities to command the respect and loyalty of the various territorial lords (
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901:
in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire
1359:
1201:
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1047:, and other states, as did the other two Ryukyuan kingdoms. However, only Chūzan managed to establish formal relations with Japan's
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five hundred years, politically, economically, and culturally, as it did with its numerous other tributary states.
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in
Japanese or Okinawan) from the Ming court. Thus, the three kingdoms were united into the Ryūkyū Kingdom;
839:
1309:
Kerr, George H. (2000). Okinawa: The
History of an Island People. (revised ed.) Boston: Tuttle Publishing.
824:
115:
1090:(local territorial lords) began to seize more power for themselves within their tiny local domains. One
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858:
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continued to be used to refer to the unified kingdom, or its king, up until the late 19th century.
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was king of Chūzan in 1419, and neither was called "Shō" until that name was granted them by the
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905:, split into these three more solidly defined kingdoms within a few years after 1314; the
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Seii was overthrown by the lord of Urasoe around 1349–1355; the reign of the new king,
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thus began, and would end roughly one hundred years later, when Chūzan's King
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114:"Chūzan" is a transliteration of 中山. For other transliterations, see
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Kingdom from 1314 to 1429 on the island of
Okinawa, now part of Japan
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This compilation, the "Treasury of Royal
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fled south and, along with his followers, formed the kingdom of
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envoys arrived in Okinawa in 1372, marking the beginning of
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Tamagusuku died in 1336, and was succeeded by his son
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Eiji is also identified as head chieftain of Okinawa
1084:As a result of these political instabilities, the
953:), and many rebelled soon afterwards. The Lord of
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969:(北山, Northern Mountain). Thus, Tamagusuku, in
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1262:Continued to rule united Ryukyu until 1439.
51:introducing citations to additional sources
961:(南山, Southern Mountain), while the Lord of
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1360:States and territories established in 1314
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1023:and the commercial center at the port of
924:The united Okinawan state was called the
41:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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1331:26.24583°N 127.72194°E
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165:Common languages
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269:• Established
116:中山 (disambiguation)
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36:single source
32:This article
30:
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1076:Rekidai Hōan
1070:
1034:Satto's son
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1005:Ming Dynasty
982:
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917:in 1419 and
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478:Eiso dynasty
408:Palaeolithic
318:Succeeded by
317:
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299:5 April 1609
146:
100:
90:
83:
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69:
57:
33:
1334: /
1322:127°43′19″E
943:as king of
313:Preceded by
1349:Categories
1319:26°14′45″N
1304:References
1286:Ming court
1282:Shō Shishō
1229:Shō Shishō
1149:Tamagusuku
937:Tamagusuku
913:conquered
705:Government
650:Militarism
215:Tamagusuku
187:Government
73:newspapers
1259:First Shō
1256:1422–1429
1249:Shō Hashi
1240:First Shō
1236:1407–1421
1218:1398–1406
1198:1350–1397
1180:1337–1349
1156:1314–1336
921:in 1429.
911:Shō Hashi
735:Koza riot
247:Shō Hashi
179:Religion
134:1314–1429
103:June 2024
43:talk page
1288:in 1421.
1053:Buddhism
1017:Kumemura
993:Thailand
190:Monarchy
169:Ryukyuan
62:"Chūzan"
1164:Son of
1045:Sumatra
967:Hokuzan
963:Nakijin
945:Okinawa
932:History
915:Hokuzan
899:Okinawa
506:Hokuzan
400:Periods
292:•
279:•
256:History
173:Chinese
155:Capital
87:scholar
1143:Notes
1117:Chūzan
1111:Chūzan
1057:Shintō
1029:Fukien
971:Urasoe
959:Nanzan
919:Nanzan
903:island
886:Chūzan
804:Topics
626:Taishō
526:Nanzan
516:Chūzan
492:Sanzan
259:
201:
159:Urasoe
147:Sanzan
89:
82:
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68:
60:
1269:Notes
1221:Satto
1211:Bunei
1202:Satto
1191:Satto
1137:Reign
1133:Kanji
1036:Bunei
1021:Shuri
1001:Korea
985:Satto
955:Ozato
616:Meiji
236:Bunei
225:Satto
94:JSTOR
80:books
1183:Eiso
1173:Seii
1166:Eiji
1160:Eiso
1129:Name
1064:wakō
1041:Java
1025:Naha
995:and
978:Seii
941:Eiji
759:1972
749:1971
739:1970
729:1953
719:1952
663:1945
602:1879
582:1609
286:1429
273:1314
198:(国王)
196:King
66:news
1253:尚巴志
1233:尚思紹
1105:Shō
1093:aji
1087:aji
999:of
991:of
950:aji
49:by
1351::
1215:武寧
1195:察度
1177:西威
1153:玉城
1102:,
1043:,
892:中山
437:AD
414:BC
171:,
128:中山
1099:尚
895:)
889:(
874:e
867:t
860:v
118:.
105:)
101:(
91:·
84:·
77:·
70:·
53:.
39:.
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