Ryukyu Before 1945

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The document discusses the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom, which governed Okinawa and the surrounding islands prior to its annexation by Japan in 1879. It was originally comprised of three rival states (Sanzan) that unified under the Sho dynasty in the 15th century, reaching a period of cultural and economic prosperity while maintaining tributary relations with China.

The Ryukyu Kingdom, also known as Chuzan, was originally comprised of three rival states or lordships (Sanzan). It unified in the 15th century under the Sho dynasty. The kingdom was governed from the royal capital of Shuri and maintained a tributary relationship with China while engaging in trade with China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia.

The Ryukyu Kingdom maintained tributary relations with China and sent regular trade missions, while also engaging in trade with Japan, Korea and countries as far as Indonesia and India. It acted as an entrepot linking these various regions. However, its relations with Japan became more troubled over time as Japanese influence grew.

Hoo

RYUKYU
KINGDOM AND PROVINCE BEFORE 1945

GEORGE H. KERR
Hoover Institute and Library
Stanford University

Issued by

THE PACIFIC SCIENCE BOARD


National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council

Washington. D. C, U. S. A.
I

This history has been prepared for translation into Japanese at the request of

the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands under the Scientific
Investigations in the Ryukyu Islands (SIRI) Program of the Pacific Science
Board of the National Academy of Sciences —National Research Council under
contract 49-083 OSA 255 with the Department of the Army.

-4
Klngdaa tod Ftorinoe Befor* 1945

George H. Kerr
Hoover Institute and Library
Stanford DnlvwrBltgr

lasued tgr

THE PACIFIC SCIEMCE BOAPD


National Academy of Sciences —^National Research Council
Washington, D. C, U. S. A.

June 15, 1953


TABLE OF CONTEJTS

Acknov.ledg'jents i

Foreword ii

Hote on Chronolcsi" Cc-^. g.rF.tive Pete Liet iii

PART I

THE CHDZAN KINGDOM

Chapter I; THE RFWOTF. PAST 1

1. The Sea Frontier and Ancient Settlements


2. Survivinp Physical Evidence of Prehistoric Life
in Ryvkyu
3. Early Chinese Notices of tlie Eastern Sea Islands
A. Did Ryukyu and Japan Share a Common Prehistoric
Culture?
5. Origin Myths and Safe Havens in the Sea Islands

Chapter II; THE .qnnTHTOM Tsr.ANns 12

1« Chinese and Japanese Notices from the 7th to the


12th Centuries A.D.
2. The Tajnetomo Tradition
3. Legends of Shun ten. First King of Okinawa
4. Traditions of Centralization Dnder King Eiso
and Their Significance
5. The Shimazu Family as "Lords of the Twelve
Southern Islands"

Chapter III; THE THREE KINGDOMS

1. Snnzan.; Three Rival Lords Bid for China's


Recognition
2. External Relations and Okinawa's Position In the
Chinese Tribute System
3» Okinawa; a Trading Base Lipkiflg China, Japan
and Korea with the Fast TndieB
A* The Founding of Kume-mura, a Chinese Immigrant
Community
5. Cultural Relations Tirith China, Korea and Japan
Chapter IV; THE GREAT DAYS OF CHDZAN 32

1. Dnific'itlQn of the Sanzan mder ghr> Hashl


2» Beginning of Troubled Relations v/ith Japan
3« Trading Throuehout Far Eastern Seas, From Japan and
Korea to Sumatra
U» Meeting the Western World; Okinawans and Portuguese
at Malacca in 1511
5. Cultural Prosperity and Political Confusion on Oki-

6. The "Second Sho Dynast^r" Established under Sho Qi


and Shn Shin
7« Sho Shin's Reign and its Aftermath; The Great Days
of aiuzan

Chapter V; THE LAST YEARS OF INDEPEMPB^CE 62

1. Chuzan and the Distant Islenda; Miyako, Yaeyama


and Amami Oshlma
2. Increased Japanese Interest and Activity In the
Nanr.ei Isl.-^nds
3» Chuzan and Bar In Korea and Japan, 1592-1603
4..The Closing Years of Independence; Divided
Counsels and Loyalties at Shuri
5» The Keicho Incident; Satsuaa Invades Chuzan in
1609

PART TI ' . ..
.

DtlAL SHEnPDTNATTOW

Chapter VI; INTERNAL ATJUSUTDITS AFTER THE SATSOMA INVASION 73

1. The King's Pledge, an Economic Surrender to Satsuma



"

''

2. Dual Standards of Subordination


3« A Period of Institutional Adjustment and Japanization

Chapter VII; FOREIGN RELATIONS AND CULTDRAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE


SEVHiTEEMTH CIIiTDRY 87

1. Relations with the Traders and Missionarlea of the


Ttestem World
2. War in China and its Effect in Ryukyu
3» Cultural Developments and Religious Change Dnder
Japanese Influence
U» The Government Increases its Controls Throughout
the Islands
Chapter. VIII t THE EIGHTEENTH CIHTDRY 1Q2

1. Sal On '8 Economic Development Program


2. Cultural Life in Ryukyu in the 18th Century
3« Overseas Relations
U' Education, the Gentry and Government Leadership
A British Shipwreck (1797) .

Chapter IZ: RYUKYD AND THE OPENING OF JAPAN TO THE TOSTERN TORLD. . 120

1. Position and Problems of the Ryukyu Kingdom in


the 19th Century .

2. Disaster Years; Drought, Typhoon, Epidemic and


Eafflinfi
3. Dnsettled Conditions at the Shurl Court
^. Okinawa's Place on Japan's Defense Perimeter
5. Satauma's Ambiguous Position
6. China's At titude tov7ard "VYeatem Barbariana" aa
an Example for Shurl
7. Foreign Visitora before 1844» and the Effect of
the First Anglo-Chinese Bar
8. French Pressure on the Kingdom of Ryukyu, and
Satsuma's Reaction
9. Relations vd.th Groat ^Italn; The Problem of the
Missionary Bettelheim

Chapter X: PERRY'S MISSION AND ITS AFTERMATH. 1853-1872 U3


1. Ryukyu, Perry and the Rise of Natlonaliam in the
19th Century
2. Perry Proposes to Enter Japan via R3rukyu
3. Shurl* B Relations with the European Powers
A. Satsuma and France; the Makishi-Onga Incident ^

5» Economic and Educational Affairs


6. Investiture of the Last King of Ryukyu, 1866
7» The Meljl Restoration in 1868, and the Ryukyu Problem

—J
AGkNOVXESGMBlTS

Materials for this summary of Ryukyuan History have been dravsn principally
from standard vorks by Okinavran scholars, anong whom the names of Majikina Aako,
Iha FuyUy Ota Chofu and Higaonna Kanjun are outstandlDf. The Author is espeoial-
ly inlebtod to Ota's Fifty Ypars of OkirjRv-a Prf fecturei /dmlnirtrrtion (O'-clna-a
Kensei Cio-ju Nen) for information conceniing the aevelopment of tiie Prefecture
after 18?9> He is also indebted to Mr. Yonagunl Zenzo for permission to use (in
manuscript fofii} lengthy <diroDological- tables vhich have since been publiah«d at
Tokyo. Reference eorks for Epecial aubjecte are cited in the footnotes*

The Author aaeuoiea full respooaibility for Interrretationa of faot irhliA) may
be at variance idth traditional or -ebnrant views held aaong students of ItyiikToan
History in Japan or Okinawa*

It is ispossiULe to record the names of all -who contributed In one iray or


another to the preparation of this historical review. The Author tbenKs each in-
dividual who rer'embers the hours 5rent in answering questions, or in field trips
to historic sites throu^out the islands. On Okinawa, for instance, Professor
^inatankero Zempatsa, Mr. Shirona Gholi^ and Mr. Mlnenoto Takeo found tine in
their busy duys to give freely cf their rich store of information. Men of Oni-
versity age who took an interest in local history included Mr. Kulrazu Sunao, Mr.
Nakachi Tetsuo, and uir. Kaaiemura Tcshio, all oi r.ho.n spent many hours translating
ehronologieal tables-, and in making arduous exploratory Journeys from the liahunl
dis+rict in the south to Oku village at the north. Mr. Kabira Chovhln and Mr.
Kabira Chosei vere constantly helpful.

At T6kyo an informal Committee of orominent Qklnawan scholars and r.en of


affairs met from time to time to advise the Author on Bibliography and to dis-
cuss problems of history. This group included Professors Higaonna Kanjun, Naka-
bmm Zcndhm and tskssato Byokun, and Mr. Toflhlda Shien. fo sash of then tlw
Author owes a permanent debt of gratitude.

The- principal burdens of research fell upon Mr. Higa Shuncho and his most
faithfbl aides, Mr. Kuniyoshi Masakane end Mr. Kndek^ Kenji. Mr. Koddcen has
served as "General Secretary" as v.ell as research assistant, in conducting the
long trms-Pacif ic correspondence necesGcry to the task. Dr. Robert J, C. fiutow
has served in the same capacity here at Stanford University.

Preparation of this review of Rjmkjnjan History was proposed by Brigadier


General James M. Levis, Civil Administrator of the Ryukyu IslandSf in January
19^2. Funds for the undertaking were made available liy the Department of the
Anigr 'ttiroue^ the Pacific Science Poard of the National Research Council, TJash-
ington, D. C. The Civil Administrator and his principal aides at Naha nade it
possible, in a most helpful nay, for the Author to spend many weeks in travel
throu^out the Ryukyu Islands, investigating sites whii^ foiv the badcground for
ttam- events narrated here.

Dr. James T. Watidns, IV. , of Stanford University, has added to old debt*
of friendship incurred by the Author, by reading this record of an r^rea and a
people v/ith which he is long and vell-aoquainted, and by. preparing a fbremord
for the Japanese edition. .
. . i ; .
'

Jimm 15, 1953 .


George H. Kerr
Hoover Institute and Library
Stanford University
-i-

Copyrighted material
PiBi m
OKINAWiL PBOyUCE

Cbaptmv Hi TKi^ SITION FBSM KZRGIXXI 10 TWmCE (Hal-hap Chi-k«i.


1B72-1879)

1. Seeurity on the Frontlen


2* The Formosa Incident
3. China Recognizes Japan's Claims, October 31, 1874
4. Adjustment of Administrative Relations Between
Sburl and Tokyo, and the BaaotloQ in Bgpukyv
5. Policies and AotioBS of HoM lOjilster GOcubo
Toshimitsu
6. The First Matsuda Mission to Okinana Presents Tokyo's
Demands, June-September, 1875
7. Crisis at Sburlt Ihe Xing' a Abdication, March 27,
..

1879

Chapter XCI: TIIE "DO NGTHH^G" ERA, 1879-1890 185


1. The "Do-Nothing" Policy
2. Population, Social Change and Leadership
3* Relations BotmMi Old Realdaots and Hevoonera
4..Admin is trative Change
3. Public Health and Welfare Work
6. Economic Change
7« Education and Astdall&ticp PoliciM

Gbi^tar nUt PB00RES8 HI GKIHm, 1090-1940 208

1, War, Peace, and Polities'


2. Administrative Evolution, Land Hafom, and Repre-
sentative Government
3* The Economic Development of Okinawa Province after
1890
4. Developments in Public Health and Welfare
5. School Strikes and the Struggle for Higher Education,
1890-1940
6. Cultural Affairs in Gklnaim after the Sino-
Japanese War

Qiapter ZIV: ASSSlILAnCII PBOBLEMS AND IHE OOMZNG OF WOSLD lAR 11 252
1. ProULeais of National Qnitj
2. Assimilation to the Nati(»al Military Prog T—
3* The Role of State Shinto
4. The Difluence of Mass Coaaunications and Transport
5. Empire Unity after World War I
6. World War II

Copyrighted inaicnal
FOREHURD

This review of Ryukyuan History was prepared at the request of Brigadier


General James M. Lev.i8, Civil Administrator for the Hyukyu Islands, jAio de-
sired e teact suitaUle for transXatloa Into th» J«piam lahguage for um at
tho Qnlvoreltgr of tho RytikyuB*

Many of the details included here aa-e of slight interest to the American
reader, but are easentlal to an account of loeal history, to be read locally
in the Ryukyu Islands. Nevertheless, it must take it? place for the tine be-
ing as the only fuH-leogth account of Byukyuan History available in the
English language.
'
As such it may serve the purposes of the Pacific Science Board and the U.
'

S* CiTll Administration at Haba until a properly prepared Qiglish language edi-


tion nay ba issued*

The "Mote on Chronology" explains some of the complex problems of dating


which risa In. using Japanese and Chinasa souross* The Japanese text viU. ioi-'
elude a coinplete parallel list of all dates appearing In the text, ivitb.tfasir
equivalents in other pertinent dating systems.

There is a voluminous literature concerning Ryukyu, written by Jn-inrese


or Ryukyuan scholeu'S. Individual works tend to be of specialized interest, and
are of course vritten from ei'Uier the Ryukyuan or the Japanese viewpoint. Much
remains to be done in exploring Chinese references to Ryukyu before It
is hoped that the present work will intorudce the Ryukyuan student to the T'est-
ezn literature concerning the Islands, and will cultivate in the reader a sense
of ^e "frontier charaeter" of the ar^pelago, lying as it does between Japan
and Cblna» and beteean Japan and the marltlRe world of the Pacific.
9he Author eondudes bis study in the bAlef that the record riiows ^at
the people of Ryukyu are much more eager to be reoognised and accepted as
"Japanese", tiian the people of Japan are ready or eager to claLm them without
reservation* In the eighty years since Japan deposed the Ryukyu King and as-
serted AsU political control Japan has beeooe vital to Ryukyu in econoade and
cultural matters. On the other hand, I^kyu has had importance for Japan only
as a territorial frontier in a military sense, and ns a quasi-colony the acqui-
sition of which won Japan 19th-century prestige of "face" in her disputes vidth
China* Japan is prepared to use the Byukyus in any nay to gain advantage for
TokjfD) it is ill-prepared to aske saorifices for the island people.

Okinana end its people have sooetimea been likened to Texas and the Tege-
ans. They are proud of their tradition of former independence, and cherish
special cultural characteristics which set them apart and give them self-respect.
But like the Texans whose pride and patriotism as citizens of the United States
should not be ehsllsnged, the people of Bgpukyu consider thenuielvee patriotic
and true citizens of the larger unit, Japan. The attitude of the sophisticated
Japanese of Tokyo toward the farmers and fishermen of Okinawa Province finds
its parallel in the attitude of the native Nev/ Yorker toward the drawling, ranch-
bom oovhand on the aost distent border rsnges. With great reluctance tlte Gkl-
nawan vrill admit that the record shovrs Japan's discrimination in economics,
politics, and social advan^age. Nevertheless, the ties of race, common language,
oducation, political and administrative institutions, and economy were and may
be aaawed to be perosnent.
George H. Kerr
Hoover Institute and Library
June 15, 1953 Stanford University
-11-
Copyrighted matsrial
ffpte on Cbronplogy and Comparative Date List

Prior to 187$ raoords of the Ry^jkyrian Kingdom were dated aeoordiiig to Ghi-
nese usage (nien hag). Japrnftse records for the same period were cus toper ily
dated rdth the reign names ( neiipo of the Japanese Emperors. After 1875 all
)

official Kyukyuan records were expected to conform to Japanese us^^e^ ^althou^


'S v. '

it took some years for old habits to bs abandoned. •


Modem Japanese records are not uniformly dated. For example, the year
19i;6may be referred to aa "Taiaho 15", "Sbowa 1", or "the year 2586", dating
froM lAia traditiooally accapt«d.<jeaer in iMda tba. First B^paror Jimo is sftid .

to hava astaULishad tiia Inparial Housa of J^wb* • '

Iluch work remains to be done to reconcile and adjust the solar end lunar
eileadars Id the naiBiiig of monilisr' Ihere ara other ehronological problans
such as the dating of records at the Ryukyuan Office on the Pukien coast iThich
are too specialized for consideration in this text, In^t must be kent in i^ind by
the careful student of history as be moves from a getierai survey such ae this to
tlia iisa of souroa natarials*

Dae of the Western calendar brings uniformity to the historical record,


and the use of Arabic numerals in Japanese and ChlJaasa tSxts, it ^ould ba
fiisad ifitliottt prajiidioa. .
/V . .

In the Date List, chiph .will appear in the Japanese text, cer-
Coiiq[>arative
tain Bsflws and datas appaar in paraniliasas. Ihasa do not appaar in tha body of
tb*' taoct^ :bBt ara given in the Data List ^as a guida for; rafaronoa In oouparing
Japanesa- asfigj^ itfitik Chinaaa. nian hao. . .

,x ^ . ..>.

1.

-iii-

Copy righted material


PiKT ONE

THE KEHGDOM OF CB02JK

> ...

Copyrighlea inaienal
Chapter X

THE REHOTE PAST

1. Ihe Sea Frontier and Ancient Settle^ientfl

2. Surviving Ffaysieal Bvidano* of Mhistorle Life ilk liyukyu

3. EUlj Chinese Notices of the Eastern Sea Islands

4. « Did flyukyu and Japan Share a Comnn Fraliletcnlo Culture?

5* Origin Myths and Safe Havens in the Sea Islands

Copyrighted material
NOTE

Ryukyuan names , titles and dates are presented In this mimeographed


edition on « tentative basis. Scholars at Tokyo and at Naba and
Shuri have not yet reached full a,]:ree'!^eMt on the nrooer translitera-
tion of names and titles, nor have they established final authority
for aadi of tha dates to fowd In Tarlwt texts* Later editions
of tliis History nay be aoqseoted to Incorporate oorreotions and
ohanges*
Copyrighted material
Chapter I

TH£ REHOIE PAST

The Sea Frontier and ^cirot Settlemen ts

Good maps give tjs our first clue to the ancient past in the is]aiK"'s vhich
we now call the Ryukyu archipalago. Vie can see at once that Uity ere only a
MMtll MgBMDt of an Island chain vhlfih lies like a ourving terrier tetmn the
ride Pacific Ocean a:id the continental land-mass of Asia, 'a s< nse tha ialmis fraln
a pathway linking tropical Malaysia and the Indies v.ith bleak subarctic waste-
lands, far to the north. In prehistoric times all these islands were nmulmwB,
and irare open to anj nignnt poonleB hardy mcn&i to make thalr wjr fton ona
to aao-Qier. (1)

• Vo' one knowe how long ago primltlva man first found his mgr into the sea-
islandSy' but a glance at the map suggests that there were three main routes
along T^hich he may have travelled. A northern element could move :lov^i from
Siberia by way of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kurixes or Saghaiin, and through
the main islands of Japan. A continental alenent could make its waj down the
Korean PenlnsulQ to -the Tsushima Straits, and thence aloni- the isl'uid-dotted
coast of Kyushu toirard the northern Ryukyus. A third elenient could come up from
the tropical and subtropical south, n.oving through the Philippines, and across
the Bashi Quoinal islands to fomoea, or Skirting the south China ooMt before
striking across into the Xaeyana and- Miyako islands.

Bven in primitiTe times aovawnt along this island pathrTay was relativslj
S«^, for our maps show us that these rocky islets are closely placed, that
they are v.ith In sight of one another on clear days, or T?ithin sight at any half—
way point between. It is not possible to be. many, hours oiTahore - .even in a
pvlaitiTe canoe - wlthont sighting the. blue <llne of a distant landfall.

There is one exception to this, TThich har some bearing on history/'. When
passing between the islands of Okinawa and the Miyako group, 200 miles to the
south, it is Imposeible to see land in any dlreotipn at the half-nay point.

Migration soutlnfard to Okinawa from the Korean Peninsula or the Japanese


islands must have been relatively easy even with primitiire rafts and awkward
oanoeSy for the o'wr-water passages are short. But to Bowe southward willingly
from Okinawa toward the empty horizon rrhich must be crossed to reach Iliyako or
Xaeyama, required planning, courage and fairly seaworthy craft. It required
skillfuil navigation, as well, to counter and overepne the strong, northward
sweeping Black Current and to ride but uie heavy stom-seas vhich are ccanon
here thro^C^ut the year.

(1) ^e Ryukyu STCfliipelago includes more than lAO islands and reefs, but
only 36 of these plnr any significa^kt part in local history* The northernmost
islana lies just htr the tip of Kyushu, Japan; the eeuthenunost lies more than
700 miles away, off the tip of Formosa. They are not evenly distributed, but
form eleven clusters, sometiiikes compared to a series of irregular knots in a
UteraUy

CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
This great Black Current runs like a powerful river in the ocean, moving
up past the Philippines, past fonnosa, through the Ryukyu Islands and on past
the islands of Japan. It may pMSumed to have played an important part in
tho distribut j on of primitive man among the Ryukyu iFlards. Man^ unhappy toat-
men from more southern areas irere driven far northward by storm and by the uu-
rolcnting earreot in prehlstorlo eoaturlss. (2)

T;e do not yet know how many successive waves of extensive prehistoric mi-

gration and settlement took place in aacimt Kyukyu. Some prehistoric people
ease nUllngly into the sm islands as roaaing ad^watursrs , seeking nev fannt-
ing or fishing sites or new lands to cultivate. Some communities ncy have
moved en masse from the Continent or the northern islands to make way for hoe-
tile neighbors who pressed them too bard. Ke will never Icnow how many indivi-
duals fled into the islands seeking esoaiw trcm mtml»»f nor how uny saall
groups from the south ^ere shipTTreckad on strange Shores and thouj^ unprepared,
v.'ere forced to make new settlements*

This process of gradual settlement went on for countless centuries. Until


there has been a thorough archeological reconnaissance throughout the islands,
however, we rill not be able to set an outer limit of time upon the pxrehistozy
of nan in Ryukyu; not ean m estaVllsfa its essential details* (3)

The development 01 Chinese colonies and petty local kingdoms on the' Korean
Peninsula and in Western Japan effectively blocked off the migration route to
Rynkyu ttcm the Continent at least teo' thousend years ago. Similarly, betneen
the second and the seventh centuries of the ^^hristisn era, the emergence of a
strong new Yamato State controlling central and western Japan drove many primi-
tive people southward from Kyushu, tti&a. effectively blocked off any further
aaas neveMnts of peoiiles {eapfi as the Ainu) fro* the farthar nortfaland*

me can make several oseflil but tentative aseumpticms concerning the goienl
character of migration and settlsMBt* The ancestors of the Ryukyu people must
have been hardy folk to survive a never-ending battle Kith great typhoons and

: (25 5hese accidents still occur* In May, 187A, three disabled outrigger
oanoes earrylnc sixteen Falan lidanders drifted past Yaeyama and Xonaguni, and
«sre stranded on Northern Formosa after sixty days at sea and a stox>-tosned
journey of 1600 ailes northward from their usual fishing grounds.
(3) Osing recently developed techniques - such as study of radioactivl-ty
of carbon found in ancient hearth-sites - an intensive study of prehistory in
the Ryukyus should tl;row much light upon the migration of southern elements
throurh hroVjv into the islands of Japan proper, and upon the physical or raciau
relations'hiL' of the Eyukyu people and the Japanese. Neglect of Ryukyu archeo-
logical problems before 19^5 v.'as not entirely accident. In the late 19th cen-
tury Japanese scholars were preoccupied with problems rising in the home island
%ere ttere no Ryukyuan sdiolars trained in modem investigative methods. After
1879 it Tras Government policy at Tokyo to hasten assimilation of the old Ryukyu
Kingdom and its people, and lo discourage study of local history and prehistory.
Nationalist policy frowned on research vrhich brought into question officieQ. tra-
ditions associated vith Japan's "A^e of the Gods," the Sun Goddess, her Grandsol
the First Gnperor Jimmu, and his descendants in the Imperial Household.

-2-

^^^(.^ lighted material


the high winter seas Khich ere chera-cteristic of these ivaters. Until the 2iid
or 34Bt eoDturlos B. C. them vas proitataiLy littl* to distinguiA 4h» XtitwH ot .

primitive life throuRho\it the Rjnikjni Islands from the level of neolithic life'
in the islands north and south of the archipelago. About two thousand years
the accelerated introduction of elements of Chinese civilization via Korea
transforoMd daily habits and even the language of tbe Yanato people <» the
Japanese - and created an active and self-conscious political life centered at
the eastern end of the Inland Sea, near present-day Osaka, fiy end of the
6th oentnry A* 0. Japen had emerged as an organised 8tate, ready to estabLieh
foxnal relations trdth the Chinese Empire on the Continent. The Yamato people
were conscious of the Icss-developed corrantmities beyond the bor'^ers of their
authority - the AIqu in Eastern and Northern Japan, the Kumaso and Hayato poo-
pie j» central and eouthem Kyushu, end the meeBtore of the preseDt-dcqr
kyoansy living- in tbe islands to the aovth.

- •*'
The Ryukyu Islands did not share this early transformation of the Yamato
people from a loose association of rival daaB into a formal State with an. es-
tablished governnent. They remained a shadowy and primitive border region ^or
a much lon^^er time,, knowo at tbe Japanese capital simply as Mento* tbe,,,^'S(MiF>
them Islands." .
•. ••
. .

Suryjving Physical Evidence o* Prehistoric Life in Rvukvu


.1 . . -, -

Thus far the only physical evidenoe of ancient settlement in Ryukjpu is,-,
fragmentary material found principally in scatt-^red shell mounds. There is no
certainty that all such mounds and kitchen-middens have been located and mapped;
many were ilestroyed in Vbrld ISear II and its aftnnath. No extensive invest!-^' -

Rations have been made of the great caves found in Ryukyu vMeh, fay immemorial
tradition, have been use.d as i^aces of shelter and safety*

Shell mounds have yielded chippedi arronheads, harpoon points of wild boar
'

"
bene, tdiipoed end polished inqj^ecnents of stone (axes, hoes and hammers), and
shell artifacts rhich are presumed to have served as personal cdomraent. With
these, and r,xth simple decorations applied to their crude pottery, the early
InhAUtants gratified a primitive aesthetic sense*

We do not know rhat articles of wood, fibre or hide they mfiy have had, for
such materials could not survive the ravages of time. Years of slow and care-
ful 'investii^tion most pass before we can establish any basis for relating these
earliest settlers to equally primitive inhabitants —
stone-ape i^on in For- —
mosa to the south, Japan to the north, or to the neolithic settlers on the Ko-
rean Peninsula. The remains of dogs have been found in the refuse heaps of . ..

aneient Byukyuan settlements but no human skeletal remains have been identified
with certainty. Until extensive archaeological 7?ork is done, it is impossiblf
to know whether these settlements were continuous, or T/hether there is any link
iriiatsoever betmeen ancient man in Ryukyu, and the aneestors of the present in-
habitents of the arohipelago.

A careful mc^ping of artifacts, of religious practices, of myths and tra-


ditions, and of loeal' language traits may someday give us a more definite pie<^
ture of ancient life, and of successive over-layers of influence coming into
the islands. Until that is done, it may be fruitful to advance an hypothesis

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that ttie physical distrlbotlon of the islands th«as«lv»8 aada it possiVla for
an extensive and continuous mi prat ion of peoples from the north (from Japan,
Korea and the Continent), and that the relative ease of movement cf family and
co'-v-unity units facilitated the spread of a fairly complex physical culture
frou that direction, tn ooutTmet, aovenent northmrd from more southerly re>
gions into Okiiiav-a end beyjnd, necessarily T;as subject to greater hazards of
ptorm pnd dlf f'Lcultiep of tr&n.sport. It is not unreasoueble to suppose that
iinmigrants from the south came less oftan in organised nu3ibers» and rith less
burden of cultural equipment. This is ST^eoulatlon, but su^ an hypothesis
seems to find Huppcrt, for instnce, in the fan* that the nrt* facts of Jor^on
neolithic cult-jre which are found distributed over much of Jay an, cnn be found
also as far south as Okinawa, but not beyond. Ihere also survive in contempo—
raxy Ryukyu certain culture aleakants irtiitdi tn Japsn or Korea are associated with
the nioimd builders of ancient times. For instance, the use today of the so-
called "curved jewels" (pagataiua) by Hyukyuan priestesses pory) has its ante-t

cedents in widespread use among the sbamgns of South Ifandhuria end Korea, irisars
thei claws of wild beasts ^.-ere believed to hold magic powers. Such laaEatama are
found widely associated with neolithic and early historic culture in Japan,
where indeed they fonr. the sacred "jewels" of the Imperial regalia. Similarly
the sneient "humming-bulb" arrow ( nari-katura,7a , which is of Continental rather
than Oceauic origin, Is knov.n to have been USed widely in the very ear?.y histor-
ic period of Japan. It is known ard used Ocmmcnly trday (in facsimile) as an
ornament in certain traditional Kyukyuan osrsmonles. Ancl&nt arrows of this
"^pe formed the most i^wrtant treasure k^t at the Sogenji temple at Naha be-
fore 1945.
The basic rforra of domestic architecture in Ryukyu today, like that of Japan,
'

is essentially a troolcal Constru :!tion consistinp of mat-covered platforms


,

raised well above the ground, roof ed with thatch. and fairly open on the sides.

Ihese and thatched storehouses for commjunal use have their close counterparts in
the duellings of niountain people in Formosa* In certain vell-dafined areas of
northern Okinawa (and in some other smaller islands) women cai*ry heavy loads by
means of a tumpline, or band which fits across the foreheaa and passes over the
.

shoulders to suptiort treie^ts upon the back.: This is coaaon practice amons the
Tayal people of northern Formosa. By cortrasi. the women of southern Okinawa
ca^^ry heavy loads upon the top cf .the head> as the women of Korea are aceustooied
to do.
Such couuson features of daily life in contemporary F^ikyu, which suggest
early cultural ties with other teorles, are taken at rendom here to hint at the
complex proble.a9 .vhich await st'.jiy by the cu] txiral anthiopologist and prehis-
torian. The^' 3'^gg^Et cleari'y 'hat ther is ^
m
ready sisrsr to the coramcn ques-
tion "Fhere c'id ine arcertors ol the hy-iinya c3ople aome from?" Vie must turn to
early Chinese uid Jaoaneee oources for our first notices of the ardiipelaso*

Early Chi; e'^t.-^'^i-; tlces o f t h^ Et.g t^rn Igla^ics

Certain ancient knife-shaped coins found in a shell-heap at Gusuku-daki, nea


Naha, give aiute evidance that there mty have been sone contact with the Continent
as early as the third century B.C. or shortly thereafter. Coins such as these
were msnufactured in *he Nortn ChJiia Kingdom of Yen, which fell in 165 P.C. Then
may have been brouffht, direc+ly in'o the islands, al^h&Jgh it scor.c mere probable
that thej v.ere traced eicag Iro.u set.^Jeaenc to settlement across Southern
Handniria, into the Korean peninsula, and southward to Okinawa. Taking a

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Copyriytiioa material
preseooe of these coins in the refuse heaps of ancient Ryukyu,
oliie fjrom the
v:emay triefly notio* tbe eharocter of legends and historic notices scattered
throu£^ early Cbineae reaords ihicth ooncem "Islaods In the Eastem Sea."

Aeeordlag to the Chan Hai Ching, the- Kingdom of Ten is said to have had re-
lations v.ith the Wa people or "dwarfs", living in the islands southaest of
Korea, i.e., in the neighborhood of present-day Japan. The Kingdom of Yen i"^
self came to an end in a great revolution v.hich overtook Chinese society in
the seooad century B.C. Chin Shih Boang Ti; First Btaperor of a united China,
(221-210 B.C.), destroyed the feudal T^p-^es, dispersed the ancient heredit"ry
aristocracy, and created an administration which for the firs^ time concentrated
the physical and human resources of the entire nation. He was a luilder, as
irell as a destroyer, and conceived hie projects in a grand nanner. Thou^ he
is famed for his attempt to bum all records of the past ('. hereby he Intended
to "begin history aneW* ) , and for construction work on the Great Wall of Chlnat
we are Interested here because of several missions he sent out to 12>e Eastem
Sea, He wanted the secret of immortality and the recipe for transmuting base
n^etals into pold, and to this end in 219 B.C. sent out a mission said to have
included three thousand young men and women, numerous artisans, and a cargo of
seeds. With these he hoped to win the cooperation of "Rapi^ Imortals" who
lived somewhere in the Eastem Seas, the ships never returned, and in after
years the legend grew that the exoeditlom had sailed over to Japan or to the '

Ryukyu Islands and there made a 3ettler:ent.


Chin Shih Huang Ti's ambitions and projects set in motion a tremendous
revolutionary process in China. Centralisation of resources and authority
made possible the development of the poverful Han Enquire rihich succeeded hin
(210 B.C.-220 A.D.). Han Chinese armies marched to the borders of India on
the West, established outposts in Indo-China, and created important and power-
ful' settlements atr LaUlang, in efaatr is now northern Korea. From Hiese f^ran^
tier posts, Han embaseles and trade missions travelled v;csx.irard all the nay to
the Roman frontiers near the Mediterranean, ar.d pushed east and south thmu;^
Korea to trade rjith representatives of the ?fa people, then in the islands east
and 80uthea!st of Korea.- lie have no evidence that Ran Chinese nissions ever
reached the Ryukyu Islands, but we do know that Jf panese missions reached the
Han capital at Lo-yang, -where notes concerning an emtassy of 57 A.D. refer to
a gencrrvl practice tattooing among the people of tne "hundred kingdoms" in
-Uie eastern islMids. Today tattooing 'survives only anong the primitive Ainu
llvinp In !iokkaido, among the older generation of Ryukyuan vroren and among
,

certain of the mountain communities (notably the Tayal peo|:le} of northern For-
mosa.
•.«'•-. .

The imperial expansion of the Han Chinese disturbed and agitated all the
6o-cal]s'l barbnrian neoplos living beyond Einpire frontiers. Military expedi-
tions, plorad^ic mi'siT-'f. 'irA trading actlvitios cx'eatci a centrifugal pres-
'"
suro v>^/i weaker bor'^er p*< >px s£i. (4)
.
• • •

iu) In the course of the history of Rjrukyu T.hich follows here, we shall
encounter evidence of this process again and again, Statec briefly, it is
thist ihenever a vigorous people reorganizes its political and economic insti-
tutions and achieves fresh centralisation of its resources, foreign relations
— —
especially border relations are examined and Bdjiisted Trith new vigor. Snail
border states cannot escaoe tl.e influeiice of sweeping charge in greater states
nearby. If they accept the dumaiids cf the neighboring Power, they survive as
satellites. They may seek a protective alliance With sno'ti^er str^g state, if
a friendly one lies nearby. ^But even then they Mqr he sealloiied up. The his-
tory of Rvukyu (and of Korea) provides classic denonstratlntt of this comiaa
pattern or hunen h^vlor*
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The Han Chinese Court inherited and developed old Taoist traditions of
magic islands in the Eastern Seas. For a great part of his life the powerful
Han fioDperor fTu Ti persisted in efforts to a«ad Mssengors to the tbrM fabled
iElsr.i;- of P'eng Lai, Faiig Chang, end Ying Chou. At.oh^ the deities v.orshirp?:
at the Court mas a "PrlnceBS of the Spirits" who spoke through the mouth of a
sorceress. It Is said that hsr cult was introducsd at tbs Capital from the
north China Ooastsl froattsqm* This is consistent with othsr evidence T:e havt
that in the general area of Korea and the islands t.omen exercised great influ-
ence as intermedieuries hetvieen the spirit viorld and maokindy and as temporal
rulers or ehieftains, as veil.

Hen records note that the country of Wa —


(i.e. the islands beyond Kore:,
was divided into more than one hundred independent units, of which more thes
tblrly had established relations with the Chinese settlenents In North Korea. (

Later Chinese records (of ths V7ei Dynasty) note that during a period of intensi
civil conflict in the second century A.D.^^ a woman referred to as Pimeku becais
HiswrnnniiT In the islands thrbotfi her Influenoe as a soreeress^ .and that tiba
sent SMbassies to Chinese officials in Korea in the years 238 ,to ?47 seei
ing allies in her local warfare. Piaeku v;as described ac old, and unmarried.
Her death vas followed by civil «ar imich terminated only when a girl pf thir-
teen, a rdatiwe of PisiSku, vas nsde ruler. Japanese traditions preserved In
the Ko.1 iki and Nihongi indicate that female rulers were often encountered in
V.estcm and Southern Japan. Indeed, Chinese icriters frequently alluded to the
'
islands as the "Queen Country." (6) •

• -
' •"»'"* ..!,». r , . •• ;<». • • . -

Did Rywkyu and Japan Share a Common Prehistoric Culture ? }


These accounts suggest, that until the second century A. 0. the inhabitants
of lestem Ji^moi and of Ryul^ li^y have had nich m
odnmon in thellf Iwlitieal

(5) these passages refer to people settlsd In Jlyukyn?


"To the v;est of Ha^BU /on the Korean peninsula_7 is island occupi M
by a Hoo Kingdom. The men are short and small, their heads covered with :

hevelled hair, wearing leather garments, but c^ly on the upper part of the hoc]
Ihey are ,fond of rearing oana and snlttsij ind bgr neans of their vessels thej kei
«p an Intercourse idth Han, lAiere they find a asricet for their goods.* (p« 78)
"i^ore than four thousand south of the Troman-ruled kingdom ^.e.
south of Kyurhu or west Honshu/ one arrived at the Kingdom of the Dsarfs^ cheH
the inhabitants were only three or four feet high" (p. Bl),
Trnnslat^d by i^lexander "i^lie from Book CXV of the Hou Han Shu. ( Hi»
torv of the Latc-r 'i.i n lJ7^;- ;,ty) compiled In the fifth oentury ^•D» by FSn Ye.
"Ethnography of the After Kan D^masty: Hiatory of the Eastern Barbariau."
Bevue de I'Sxtrene-Orient Vol. I, pp. S2-d3t 1882.

This aptly describes the primitive Yami people who survive today on
Eotel Tobago island, approximately tijo hundred miles due south of ZaeyaiMi and
Miyako.

(6) See Sansom, G. B,: Japan. A Short Culture^ qj.ptorv (19^3), p. 29.
the nsBM PimlM mm dsrived froa an ancient Japanese title iiL^ieko or Sun-
daugliter» i.e. "Princess.

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and voolal Inatitutlons. Politics and r«ligloa ^rere cloaely x«lat«d« FXtMi
legendary times until the present day the Moro pirleBtess has exercised a
poT^crful ioflueDce in the K^k]^ coonounity* A daughter of tho Ryukyu
King alv}a3r8 assunad tha rola of tha Chlaf Hi{^ Pzdaataas. vibday tha Mor o in
tha country villages continua 'to function as the guardians of sacrad aad'Mnl-
sacred objects (including the nagct ama) required in local religious ceremonies,
to act as mediums betv.een tl<e spiiit world and the coomon man, and to serve aa
laportant eounaallore la averyday looal affalra.

Thouph the position of the Horo changed gradua].ly, they remained preemin-
ent in tiie local comoiunity for a thousand years. It was their duty in most
ancient timaa to praaarva Hia flra on tha haartii. It ean ba lnai;inad fdth irtiat
difficulty fire nns tr£»nsp)orted from island to Islnnr'! Ir primitive day/s, nnd
T^hat hardship a community suffered if its jreciouE i:res vere extininjished ^/
accident. It r;as a communal treasure. In ancient d£.ys a daughter in each
houaehold aaa aaelgaad tlia tadc of conaarring and faading tha flama upon tha.
hearth. In itself it war a living thing, coming dovni from generation to pen-
aratloQ. Because of the Importance of har duties, a taboo system grew up about
tha office of ihB flra-euatodian. Sba vaa ajqiactad to ranain a virgin and was
thought to be in close communication with Hie ancestors from uhosa eat« tlta
fire descended. Tihen nev; households uare aattblished, fire was transferred
from the family home to the uev dwelling. In this way the continuity of the
flra cana to rapraewt a blood i^ationafaip and coatinvii'^ aa Aa tha
comirunity enlarged, the custodirm of the oldest or original hearth-fire as-
sumed preeminence. This vas the root-deity (ne -ciPni ) in the vil]ape. The
young girls selected to tend the iires in branch households came to be known
as okoda irtio ware aalactad indapandantly irithln tha individual faaiily. The
custodian of thr> f re upon "^he oldest hearth assured nn o'^ficin'', di3tinction«
Her office was hereditarj', passing usually to a female child of tha Norm's
brother, and provided for by a plot of land set aside for this purpose. Thank
offaringa Ivou^t nMobers of the conmuni^ anlargad bar Inoona. Within har
house, or near it, three simple hearthstones served as the center of worship.
Vestments of white cloth ( symbolizing ritual cleahllnaas) and her string of
beads (including the magatama or curved JerTals) hava baan ayabola of lha Moro 'a
office since prehifitorio tinea. Her duties required care of the hearth fire,
worship of the ancestors through ritual devotion, divination to settle upon
auspicious or inauspicious aays for marriage, burial, travel or the simple tasks
of tha agrioultural conounity. (7)
In this we have a form of ancient religious practice ( ^hamanisn;) comnion
to the OraloAltaic people settled acroaa the feuraaian landmaaa, from northam
Europe to the Pacific shores of Siberia, ard dov.n the Korean peninsula. Thus
in the realm of religious life there would seem to be evidence of ancient cul-
tural relationships linking the early settlara of Ryukyu with the early Japanese,

(7) The author is indebted to a study entitled "TJ^e Noro Priestesses of


Loooboo" by Robert Steaard Spencer ( Transactions Asiatic Society of J'ipan . Sec-
ond Series, Vol. VIII, pp. 9^-112, December 1931) for invaluable clues to the
significance of shrinea and rituala obeerved in 1952 in Okinawa , Xhaya, Uiyako
aiid Yaeyama ii:lands. . .
• • • - , •

Copyrighted material
and pwriiaps with th« Coatlaait tfarougli 8outfam8t«ni Japan and Xcira*. /(8)

During the period of great agitation vhlch the Chinese noted among the
Ofumiunitles of Southwaateni Japan ^ one well-organised military group emerged
preeminent in Southern K^tA^shu, subdued a significant number of its neighbors
and gradually pushed e«i8^ward along the Inland Sea to the fertile plain of.
Xaaato. There it found a pemanent baae, and tfaara a new State eaae into
lag. Tradition ascrlhaa leaderrhip in this Inportant noTenent to Jimmiy grand-
son of the Sun <^odde3s, makes him first Qnperori and naoea him direct ancestor
of the Japanese fkperors of ffiQ4ezn times.

y/e are concerned with these events only insofar as they may throw light
on the early history of Japan eae-Ryukyu relations. In Japan. A Short Cultural
History * Sir George Sansom has noted the probability that there vera large num-
bers of people in sou them Xyuahu tftio had coae up into Japan fron aoutheaat
Asia or the southern islands along the Ryukyu chain, and t'nat rome of the flut-
ing forces used, in the victorious migration eastnard tov/ard Yamato, may have been
recruited from this southern eleaent in the Kyushu population, lliere has also
been some speculation that during the local warfare which marked the departure
of the Yamato expedition from Kyushu, a significant number of defeated poQple
may have fled southward into the Ryukyu Islands in defeat.

Be that as it may, there seems to, be considerable evidence that the lan-
guage of the Ryukyu people in historic times most closely resembles that of
the Yamato .people before they became literate, that Is, before they received an
ovwalielBing qoanti-^ ctf Cfiinese l9to their older language- foxns* The language
of the ultra- conservative Imperial Court (and of the Helen period literature
rhich T7C.-. doT^inated by it) contains many rords and terms T.nich have allied forms
kept alive in the everyday language of contemporary Ryukyu. The first approach
.toLittie problens of analysis of tills eazly llaguistlo relationship sas nade bif
*

Basil Hall Chamberlain in 1893, during his tenure as Profersor of Philolo^ in


the Imperial University at Tokyo. In his Essay in Aid of a Grammar end Dic~
ttonarv of the Luehuan Language (1895), Hall suggested tha^ Japanese was the
language of the latest and nost successful of the invaders of Japan, thrusting
back and abscroiag the language of the aborigines. Many Japanese scholars have
addressed tiiiiisselveo to this, linguistic problem in recent years, and find in
the language of the Ryukyu Islands ja useful souths for eonparative analysis*

Origin Myths and Safe Havens i^ the Sea Island^

Havl-ng roTiinded' ourselves of legends of t^e ^\:r. Goddp-f s, tni of the trai-
ditions rii.rr::i.i'r.ing the appearance of her grandnon Jimmu near ths southeast
tip of K;Dshu Talnnd, let -js nolo briefly eo.T3e of tlie so-culled Origin Tales"
'

of Byuky-1. Ihsse are exnnples of the rair material from whi.€iti scholars maj one
day reconstruot a reasonably accurate remqiltulation of pre-hlstozy.

(8) For Chin and Han intorert in the mysterious islands of the Eastern,
Sea, and for Han expansion end it,& repercussions do\.n the Korean peninsula
tonaxd Japan, see Fitagerald, C.P.t China. A l^rt Cultural History . 1938|
for early Chinese and Korean notices of conditions in the Japanese islands,
see Sanson, G.B.t Japan. A Short Cultural History. 2nd ed., 1943, Chapter II.

Copyrighted inaicnal
Two principal origin myths have heen handed down in Byukyu, They were
*'
not reduced to writing until the X7ih century, but the first (prenrved In
the Ryukvu Sh into-k i ca. 1603) is presumably the older. According to this
account, at the beginning of time two Deities ?pere in existence, a male Deity
named Shineriku and a female^ named Amamiicu * In due course they built huts
Bide "by side. Although thejr indulged in no sexual interoourse, the female
Deity Amamiku became pregnant, thanks to the influence of the passing wind.
Three children were bom to her. The ejdest, sea, became the first Ruler
n.

of the islands. The second, ^ girl, b-ac&aie the first Noro or priestess, and
the third, a soa, became the first of the eoanon people* Fire, which was es*
sential for their well-being, was obtained "from the Dragon Palace.* (9)

There is a universal quality here through which the Okintwans, in their


most ancient myths, share beliefs v/ith early man In many ports of the world.
They provide for the virpin birth of fifures v.ho personify, respectively, the
essential social functions cf administration, religion, and economic produc-
tion. The "Cragon Palace" ( rvugu) suggests an association with the open ocean,,
tipon whose bottom the Palace was believed to rest, and hints at an oaoiant men-
ory that fire r as sttccessfully and with religious care brought as a treasure
from, over-seas,

Be that as it may, another version of the Origin_Myth wgs ircorporated in


the first formal History o^ B?nik:/u . prepared by Sho Jo-ken (Hpneji Choshu) in'
1650. This is a more elaborate stoi^y* Chinese and Japanese elenents have
crept in, just as the origin myths of Japan, first recorded simply In ^e Ko-
iki (712 A.D.) were enlarged vith many Caiinese elements in the Nihongi \7ritten
.i

soon thereafter (720 A.D.)- Accordinf» to this second vor^jion, after the ap-
pearance of the Male and Female Dtities, generations ox" jnankind lived in caves
end fields until at last there emerged a Heavenly Grandchild (Ten Tei Shi) who
had three sons and tro daughters. The eldest son becane foJ^der of the Ten-
son Dynai;ty, the first line of Ryukyu Kings; the second wr.s rmccstor of the
Lords (the An^ii) and the third became the first farmer. The eider daughter
became the first High Priestess (Syfigj^-jUSjiii) associated «ith the Royal Family,
and the youngw bjeeame the first conmmity priestess (fifilfi)*

In this unsubstantial but interesting realm of tradition and folktale, ve


must note the existence in the Southern Islands (Nonto) of many stories of the
Sun Goddess Anatora3\j. One repeats the tradition of her descent into a great
cave and of her return to bring light to the world after fearful darkness. In
Japan this legend is associated with a eave near the Ise Grand Shrines on the
Shima Poiinsola; in Ryukyu it is associated nith a deep hillside cavern over-
looking the sea on the eastern shores of Iheya Island. This legend of Aaa no
Iwgj. To. perhaps Introduced from Japan in later years, is still alive; the
place is still held sacred by the local priestesses, an.d the Okinawans have
not lost pride in repeating local beliefs th tt the First Emperor, Jimmu, began
his great north-eastward-moving opnquest of the Japanese islands fro.m this .

minor island in the Byukyus.


- • ••
.

The great cave on Iheya Island is also known as the Kumayaa or "Hiding
Place", end about it cluster legends that su'^ge'^t ^ts early and frequent use
as a refuge in times of great storms or of tiireatening enemies. Hundreds of

(9) The legends ore related by ^Imakura and Hajikinat Okinawa Ia8en->
matllr 1901 ad., pp. 27-28«

Copyrighlea inaicnal
people could shelter in its depths. The small entrance is high and rsfe above
the pounding surf; nearby are springs seeping donn through grassy land toward
th« flboreline midflats, and upon these the outgoing tide each day leaves deleetp
alile ind easily harvested narlne food«

Iheya Island has been held in peculiar reverence in the folklore of Oki-
nana, as if there persisted sons dim cemory of the arrival and rtielter there of
prehistoric ancestral people . It is notevrorthy, for instance, that until
modem times the M9ro priestesses of Okinawa Island gathered auiually at Naki.ii3
in the Motobj Peninsula, on "ttie tenl^ ^qt of the eighth nonlii. At a high point
in the hills overlooking the chann^ tomrd Iheya, they perform a complex and
hallowed ceremony during which they pass around the secred structure of the
hearth gods ( uean^^ u) three times, chanting prayers and making the motions of
rovrfLng over the waters as they go. Slallarly, until the 15th century the Lords
of Nakijin Castle caused a special place to be constructed from .hich they
could worship facing toward Iheya. It has already been noted that Iheya itself
eas governed by priestesses until the 19tb century, longer than in any other
district.

There are other lar^e sheltering caves on the island of Okinav:a j-roper,
(and in Miyako) , each with a legendary or sacred tradition of use concerning
it. All deserve the oost careful archeologie investigation for the li^t they
may throw upon successive waves of inLTif^i-Btion and periods of Fettler^ent. Only
one other sacred cave site need be mentioned here. This is the Seifa Utaki.
en Chiiien Peninsula, a place of worship since Hie most remote legendary period*
Ontil the 18th century, all Kings of Ryukyu Here obliged to visit and worship
at Seifa Utakl and the site wad held in the greatest copular veneration mtil
recent years. The shrine area itself consists of a number of sheltering caves
and overhanging ledges opening to the east shd 'sou'tti among towering ro^ for^
nations. It is located on a high promontory over the sea. All buildings liave
heen destroyed, but the outer and inner inreciacts' can still be traced.

Nearby and below it to the souths ere -ttie twin springs Okin lu-Hain.i u. or
"Qie* T.a+.^r intr P-unning Waters", held sacreJ az the trauiticnal site of the
"first rice plantation" on Okinawa. Tiro small, clear-running sprinps supply
water from unoer the hills to an area of level field land surrounded on three
sides by steep, sheltering bluffs. The fourth (eastern) side opens scaay to
extensive flat*? exposed by low tide. A barrier reef offahore protects lagooo^
like fishing areas.

Are these the points at which prehistoric Immigrants first landed on the
islands? We can permit ourselves to imagine the .loy and relief \rith which
primitive men and women may have come ashore here over the reefs, to find abun-
dant sea-fdod, ft^esh water and good land, and on the hills above a natural
shelter from the fearful typhoons which sweep across these waters every year.
But until archaologic studies provide us with more certain data, we can do no
more than speculate, noting meanwhile on our maps that the pkin^u-Hainju legend
of the "first rice", tlie immemorial shrine of Seifa, the sacred caves of Kin,
and the "Riding Place" of Iheya ai-e all associated t-: th the origin tales and
legends of prehistoric times. Ihsy are all located on the eastern and south-

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eastern shores of the islands, at points most directly washed by the northward-
Bovlng ELack Current. (10)

Thus we may use F'lpp'^Ki ticn and conjecture to relate the sparse evidence
of geography. Incomplete archeologic research, legeiid, and scat tiered early Chi-
nese references to the Islands in the Eastern Sea* It is ooteiiDrthsr that
what appears to he the earliest reoord of a Japanese notice of the Ryukyu
Islands is preserved in Chinese accounts, and concerns the first formal Ekbassy
from the Imperial Court of Japan to the Court of China. In a sense '*pre-
bistorsr" ended iihen the Japenese began to reoord notices of the arohlpelago on
their southern frontier, though for a long time thereafter the people of Hanto
themselves made no records of their om.

(lOj also notice that Japan's official tales of the first Emperor
Jimu and of the Sun Qoddebs AmaterMu have thoir point oif origin at the south-
west tip of K^-iichu, near tropical ioshima, and at l« j i-Yamtida near the tip of
"the Shima peninsula. Aoshimu is noted for its unu. 'jni trccical plant-life r/hicb
appears to have teen washed in from the south and sus^axned by the warming in-
fluence of a strong shoresardHBovlng taranoh of tbm SLacIc Oarrent«

-11-

^L4. flighted material


Ghi^ter IZ

THE 9001HSHH ISCJHD6

C|;iinese and Japanese Notices from the 7th to the 12th Centuries A,D.

The name "Ryukyu" first appears in Chinese anrals for the year 605
ttid introduces an incident involving envoys from the Japanese Court. (11)
The Sui Dynasty had been aatattlished only a few years Mrller (5oX A.D.) lay a
Chinese gMMral named lang Chien. After many generations of turooil China was
unified once again in 589 A.D. Drawing on the wide resources now at his com-
mand, the Sui Qsperor presided over a brilliant court at iK)-yang. Ambassadors,
nlsaioas and expeditions were sent Into the barbarian border oountrles atir-
rounding China. At the Court itself Taoist priests and magicians T'ere in high
favor. The never-endinp search for a secret means of transi^uting base uetals
into gold received royal patronage, ana the Emperor (like many of his prede-
cessors) nas eager to find the greatest seeret of all , the seeret of lamortal-

The tradition of an elusive "Lend of Happy Immortals" in the ^astern Seas


had persisted since the emperors Chin Shih Huang Ti and Kan Wu Ti had sent out
their fruitless expeditions eight centuries earlier. In each instance it had
not been enough for the Qnperor to achieve imperial supremacy, and to nile \i.ith-
oot rivals; tenporal suooess was Inoonplete vlthout Iraortallty, tiie greatest
prise of all. The Taoist priests did not hesitate to assure the &q>eror that
it could be found and to encourage a great search for it*

Orders for an expedition to the "Land of the Happy Xanortals" sere issued
in 605 A.D. A first unsuccessful attempt was made in 607. On the second at-
taapt in the next year, islands referred to as I^yukyu vara found in the £asteni

(11) ^Chinese influences had long since reached the Japanese is.lands in-
directly through Korea. A knowledge of reading, writing, administrative or-
Mniaatlon, ceremonial, and other arts and crafts of Wwtinental origin had
been dowly transforming the living habits of many prlaitlve oowmmities In
Honshu and northern Kyushu. Many Chinese refugees from the war-torn majnlond
are believed to have oeen migrating to the Japniiese islands at this time, by
v;ay of the Korean peninsula. Under the 3eariership of the Suiko '-r;:::Te33 and her
nephew, Prizu:e Eegent ^hotoku Taishi, the vigorous but quarrelsome Yamato Clans
( u.li) vwe being tranafotned from a loose association of rival, seai-autonoBous
Chieftains into a centralized State organization with its headquarters at Nanira
near present-day Osaka. In 604 A.D. Shotoku Taishi isdued a formal code or
series of moral admonitions for the guidance of the ruling classes. Embassies
vrere then sent directly to the Chinese Court to observe the latest -nethods of
administrative organization. By 64.5 A.D. (the TaiJca Reform) the authority of I

a central State had been established, the military and economic resources of
the Yamato people concentrated, and a period of expansion begun rhich was as
signifloant in its day as the Japanese Restoration and expansion of the 19th
|

century. The Ryukyu Islands loy on the frontier bet^^een Japan and China, for-
ever afterward to be subject to intermittent pressures, first from one and then
the other of the tso Inportant neighbors.

-12-

Copyrighted matBrfal
Seas, but they vere not peopled by Happy Immortals, and were not composed prin-
cipally of gold and silver, as legend had promised. Nevertheless the Chinese
Ihvoy who conunanded the expedition advised the isleaders to yield to Sui rul«
and to acknowledge the Chinese Emneror as their 8uzer.n:'n. They refused, a
battle ensued, and many captives - said to have numbered a thousand persons -
ipere taken foroibiLy to China. The Chinese records note that the Iniradera nere
unable to make themselves understood In the islands* for the natives knew no
Chinesa and the Chinese could not eonrpr^end the language of their caotives.
(12)
Vhile the Chine?'c expedition was abroad, Japan's first Amfcarsador to China
(Ono no Imoko) reacned the Court at Lo~yang, bringing with him the first mis-
sion of official students and "national leaders" to leave Japan for study and
observation overseas. In 608 the Chinese explorers returned to the capital
from Ryukyu T.ith their captives. Thou5h they had failed to bring back the se-
cret of imiiK)rtality, they described the distant sea islands, and laid their
scrovottirs of cloth and weapons before the Ikperor* Seeing then» the Japanese
envoy exclaimed at once that they must have come from the Southern Island of
lakushima. This gives us a clue that the Japanese Court at Naniwa was in com-
munication with the islands south of Kyushu. The heart of Kyushu had not yet
been sueoessf^ly brought under control, but the waterways of the Inland Sea
were open. At that time the Yamato Court maintained a suoplemental headquar-
ters (the fiazai-fu) in northern Kyushu (near present-day Hakata) to supervise
tarads and dlploiuitie interoourse trith the Korean paninflula, and to eontrol adp>
minlstrative outposts in tbe unconquwed aountalns of Kyushu*

Japanese records are barren of detailed reference .to the Southern Islands
and the Kyushu people in their early years, but there is little reason to doubt
that the Yamato people adopted the same policies torard frontier peoples to
the south as the records show thera to have been then adopting toward primitive
people - the Ainu - in eastern and northern Honshu. Those who rere rilling to
enter into peaeeAil relations and' to reoelve gifts snd send tribute were re-
warded; those rho refused to accept Tamato rule .were liable to suffer the con-
seqijences of milita'^y expeditions sent af^ainst thera. It is not until 698 A.D.
that we find a clear indication of Japanese tittempts to establish relations r/ith

(12) The records are sparse. Re are not certain if the Sui explorevB
found the Ryukyu Islands of today or whether they had merely crossed the nar^
row straits to Formosa. For centuries the Qiinese referred to ell offshore
islands south of Japan and including Formosa, as "Ryukyu". See: Akiyama Kenzoi
"Review of 'An Account of Ryukyu' in the Zui Dynasty Records" ("Zui-sho Ryu-
kyu Kdctt den no sai ginaii") in LeKi^hi Gniri Vol. 5A, No. 2, pp. 93-126 (1929)*
Haguenauer, C: Cx*itique of the Discussion Tjreating Ryukyu as Taiwan
In the Zui Dynasty Records" ("Zui-sho no Ryukyu o Tairan ni hikaku-sen to suru
lohi shiko ni tai suru hihan") in Bakishi Chiri. Vol. $8, ito. 5, pp. 19-22 (1931).
Haguenauer, C: "Le Lieou-K'ieou Kouo du Souei Chou otait-il Fornose?" In
Bulletin de la Maison Franco-Japonaise Tome II, No. 3-i, pn, 1.5-36 (1930). This
question was raised in Chinese claims to the islands laid before the American
ex-Presidsnt Ulysses 8. Grants 4a 1Q79 during tkiie Sino-Japanese aoverelgnty dis-
pute of 1872»18d2.

•13-

uopy iiyfiioo inaienal


primitive Nr.nix; people. The Chronicles of Japen (Shoku Nihongi) simply state
that in the 4th month of that year (the second year of the ftoperor Mornmi's
reign) a learned courtier named Fuaii no Imiki ites dispatched to the Southen
Islands rrlth seven rinoipal aBeoeiate(9»> The anall expedition vias directed to
claim these Isl-nds and ^^as given arms to carry out its riisrion. "e can arsuine
that the leader had authority to enlist the aid of local goyemiuent officials
•long the nay, for eone sixteen months later it was recorded at Court that
"Men from Tanejioa, lakn^ima^ Amami, Tokunoshin-a rmd others, accompanied ty
court officials, came and presented oroduce from their places. They were given
titles and presoats, varying- in each case. From ohis time on Toicuno&hiaia begt.n
to obey ^e central goveniAant*" (13) ' ' •

the month, the presents thus brought in as tribute were offered at


i.'ithin
the Grand Shrine oi tiie Sun Goddess at Ise and at other shrines, in custooar/
'

tolEcn of this new eztensioa of the Bqaerial authorl^. Four non'tha later Fuul
no Imiko snd his aides retumed to Court, to receive rev/erds ar-i rew ranks for
their achievements. It thus appears that the first Japanese expedition to Ryu-
kyo of rhich we have record had relative success vihere the Chinese invasion,
ninety years earlier, had failed. Ibis was only part of a general campaign' to"
subjugate restless and defiant conanunities (the Heyato people) throughout cen-
tral and southern Kyushu and the smaller adjacent islands. They resisted the
eactonsion of Japanese rule as long as they could, but ultlottt^r were forced
to submit to superior arms and organization. A note Is the Chronicleri IndiCKtM
that the ancient system of female chieftains continued in effect among them,
fgr it is recorded that in 701 A.D. "Ihe female hegd of Satsuma, Kumehadzu ...
/and other chieftaln8_7* * • followed by HI people / inhabitantB of HImb sod
HigoJ^ using arms, threatened the Imperial envoy Csakabe no Maki and his party,
who had come to claim their co\intry. Hereupon the viceroy of Tsukushi ras
given an Imperial order to punisii them according to their misdeeds". (IV

In the following year there is a fuller record that Tanegashima_7


Satsuma, far away from authority, disobeyed orders. £'ln this predicament^
military /^forces^ twre diapatc^ed to:, bring than to order. After that, can-
8Ui^ tiM taken,. officials appointed". (15)

In the Court records ttxereafter there are brief entries noting the.ar-
rirel of SoirUierft Island people bearing tribute ftCB time to tlnei f6r instanea,
pertons rere received at Nara in the year. 720, and were "given rank*. Tha'b
is to say, vtien they had submitted to the Imperial authority, they were as-
signed their proper place in the elaborate hierarchy of titles and social order
by iibi6h the Japanese nation nas thMi organised, and vrith iriiidi tiie Japanese-
Govaraneht -has seriously eonoemed itself throughout history. (16)
- , • - ,
..•
.

(13) Snellen, J. B. • "Shoku Nihongi", Transactions of the'- Aa^tic'flQeie^



Japan. Second Series, Vol. XI, p. 179f 'December 1934.» z .

fff

Snellen, ibid "


(K) . . p. 18^. ..

(15) aaell«i« Ibid;. , p. 202.

(16) shall see in later pages that the question became one of major
T.e

importance when the Meiji Government transformed the independent Kingdom of


Ryukyu into a Province of Japan in the late 19th century.

-14-
The 7th and 8th CMitury chronicles are full of accomts of border vrarfare
and crude diplomacy on the land frontiers, and of the reaction thes^ events
had upon polieiM and eovmuMnt at tba capital. It Has a hard stcvggla irtii^
further drained the Imperial Japanese Treasury, already overburdened rith the
cost of building and maintaining new capital oltiee end great temples at Asuk^f
Fujiwara and Nara.

TJhatever the reasons may have been, it is evident that the period of early^
organized Japanese expansion had run Its course by the 9th century^ vhen the
natural «at«r harrlort north of Bbnihii and south of Kyuidni had Inm raa<ii64*

•I

During these years end in subsequent centuries Japanese influence may have
been slofdy infiltrating communities in the Southern Islands through tno pro-
eassM, ooa tha aovaiiMnt of people tram the Hone PiovlBoee to linde bajrabd the
frontier ae eodlee, and the other ae arrival In the lidande m eiScldental oaet-^
amqrs.

Ve Icndw that ftt» earlleat tinea it nae Japanese ouetod td sand into dis-
tant exile any noble or official though danfrerous near the Court. Rugged iso-
lated peninsulas and small off-shore islands served this purpose well, and
history is toll of the exploits of men who, alone or vrith falthftil reteiners,
nere forced to eatchange the luaturies of Court life for the harddilpB of life
beyond the frontier. Occasionally criminals, deserters from the conscript
'

army, vagrants and. others marked for punishment were transported in fairly
large numbers to border settlements. Xntemarriage-wi'Qi the local- inhabitants
v;as not uncommon, and it must bo presumed that the establishment of each f^on^
tier settlement carried a civilizing and Bodlf^fing Influence into the more'
primitive comaunltles around It*

As for castaways, we know that there was a gradual increase in ocean •'
shipping as the Japanese sought direct intercourse with China. Ships were
primitive, and the art of navigation undeveloped. It was customary to avoid
open etretcttM of natw, to hug the oeeeti/ and to navigate bj al^ttng pro-
nontories and lalande*

The system of official misQions between Japan and China instituted in the
year 607 A.D. 'oontinaed «ltli ecme irregularitgr until 894 A.Di^' ehen Sogenara
Mldiizane recommended that the Court consider the rigors of the jouimey too
great, and disturbed conditions rrlthln China too uncertain, to warrant further
voyages. Some of these missions were on a large scale, .with as nany as five
hundred nen setting out in four ships to make the crossing. Jn- earlier years
the voynge was made by crossing the Straits of Tsushima, coasting up the island-
Studded waters of the Korean Peninsula and then crossing over to ports on the
Shantung Peninsula. In later years the route nas norto southerly^' running <down
jnet vest of the Ryukyu Islands to the mouth of the lengtse River. There are
some hints that ships occasionally touched at one or another island in the Ryu-
kyus} for instance, it is said tiiat while on his second mission to the Chinese
Court (793 A.D.) the grent sdwlar-sdnlnietrator Klbl no liaidbi nd his cagq>anlon8
mnt oabore in the Southem Islands. Gbisfao, a prleet-soholar, enroute to

-05-
China in 853 A.D. was driven ashore. (1?) Disasters rere frequent. It is skid
that not one of the many missions which took the aoutherXy route across the''"
0^ lias aUe' to return nithotft damago 6r loss. Since there are «ell-«8tabli8h6d
records of shipwreck on in'termediiatft islnnds and on the shores of K:)T)shu as f-^r
south as Satsuaa, it must be presumed that some of the castav.ays ra-naired yor-
manently in the outer islands. The Japanese chronicles contain scattered no-
tioee of ])rie8t0» diplonate, students md eraftsoMO irtio never returned troa ttie
joOimey across these stormy waters. The memters of such missions rere chosen
tt^ among the ablest men of the country, h&ace we may hazard a guess that ' '

cMtaways flio eoBtiniMd to live among the Sonthexn Isiiond people may have e»-
erelsed substantiel eultqral inflvence upon than.

!7hen retelling history and traditions in later times, the people of CBctna^
wa refer to these centuries as the period of the Tenson Dynasty and single. ov)t
one line of looal CShleftains as a Rojral House. There are In fact no details
known of the internal affairs of Ryukyu. With due caution T;e can asanne that
there r.'ere many petty chieftains scattered among the islands, often quarreling
among themselves, sometimes fighting,: and oocasionally -joining together in .

loose association under the leadership of a paramount Chief. (18)


t
•' Ryukyu legends and traddtiona do not begin to merge with established his-

tory .in nearby Japan, Ghin^,.. and Korea until the. 12th centux^ of the Christian
,

erav wiien Japan was torn hy the rlwalrleis of the Taira and Uinamoto Familie^^
•jWd -the rise of the Mongols in Inner Asia overthrf^w the Chinese Sung E^asty,
brought, the old Korean Koryo I^asty under '.'ougol dofainution, and threatened
seriously to invade and overwhelm both Japan a;>^..the Ryukyu Islands. Within
Ihis setting of general political and military ^upheaval throughout northern...
Asia, the Ryukyu people find their first great hero, a Swashbuckling adventurer
f;ho is said to have reached pki^^wa fi^pm Jai^ in 1166. .

'
(17) (Slisho report^ that the itfbsnd people were Cannibals. There is no
evidence to Support this; he may have been reporting on the ritual burial pre-
arations T.hich reouired that tne bones of the dead be cleansed and cashed in
iquor during a ti ne of family feasting, or he nay have reached the islands dur-
.,l^g^^ time of famine.
»*' The tradition of the Tenson Dynasty founded by the Gods and conttnu-
(18)
Ingrto rule through thousands of years ie analogous t.o the origin stories of
many nations. It illustrates common attempts to find a basis of royal authori-
ty in "divine right". In Okinawa it was a late invention, an attempt to explain
and rationalize uie unkno\iin past. It contains elements wnich parallel both the
Chinese and Japanese origin stories. From China it draws the moral interpre-
tation of a Heaven-given mandate to rule through succession in one family, only
so long as the Ruler is virtuous. A wicked Ruler deserves to be*ovwthxtmi,:*
and his family loses the right to the succession. Such was the. -explanation of
the fall of the Tenson. -Family and of later Families in the royal succession.
On the other hand, the Japanese have held to tlie idea of art .unbroken institu-
tion of the Kingship rithin one Family, whatever the virtues or faults of
individual members. As profesror Kigaonna Kanjun has win ted out, the Okirmwan
interpretation is a compromise; al though five fa-" i s ruled successively in
l

Oklnavra after the First King, Sbunten., th^ are referred to traditionally as
having maintained one sequence in royal authority. Thus, King Sbo 1iai» fiao ms
forced to abdicate in 1878, was counted the thirty-sixth King of Ryukyu, al-
though he eas only nineteenth in the family of King Sho fin.

-16-
Tha Ta—toao tradition

Detailed traditions of iiii^anioto Tametomo' p arrival in Ryukyii in 1166 were


not recorded tmtil four centuries later by a Japanese Buddhist Priest named
Taichu, from Kyoto. Shortly thereafter (in 1^50) the story w&s inconorated
in Haneji Choshu's History of ^huzan . This became the staiidard for subssquont
accounts. Let us svaamarise and examine briefly the TajTtetouo story end tradi-
tions of the 250 years thereafter.

Minamoto no Teatetofflo^ an exile from Japan* landed at Ontea Harbor


In northern Oklnaim In 1169 or 1166 A.D» Soon thereafter he married
a daughter of the lord of Os&to and became father of a son subse-'
qaantly known aa Shun ten. V.hen Tametomo sought to return to his
native land he was forced to leave this wife and son behind, inhere^
upon they settled at Urasoe just lAlaad from the harbor shere fare-
wdls had been said. (19)
In time Tametomo 's sou displayed the precocious characteristics of
his Father* s faaily (the Minaaoto), eftabLialied hinself in the trust
of the local people^ and v»s ehossa to be U>tA of Urasoe at the age
of 15 years.

It was a time of trouble; local lords ( an.ii ) were in rev<^t against


the t7/enty- fourth and last overlord of the Tenson dynasty. He was
assassinated by one of his retainer ^iyu, \.'ho attempted to usurp,
the siqveme authority, j^omten, the young Lord of Orasoe, rallied
SBooc^ support to dastsoy ^iyu, and was hlas^f admoirledead as
supreme Lord saoBg the aali of Okinam.

He was only 22 years old^ and. destined to rule for 51 years there-
after. Dnder his guidance many advances iMre nade in the political^
eoonoBic and cultural life of thiS people.
<.'•', . .
* ' •

Upon 9hunt«n*s dea-Ui (aged 72» in 1237 A.D.) his eldest son ShuabSf-
Junki became Kinp. Durinfr his reipn of 11 years further advances
were made. A castle was developed at Shuri back of Urasoe, Oh the ,

heights overlooking the sea. The introduction of wxdting (the


Japanese Z7-(dua«oter kana syllabary) is alleged to have tsken plajoe
at this time. Changes were r.ade in annual observances of the Bewv
Xear, and new styles in clothing and hairdress were adopted.

Sfauaba^unki's death in 12A8 a.d. brou^t his eldest son Gihon to


the throne at the age of Again it was a time of disaster; many
typhoons and. a drought caused crops to fail. The next year brought
faalne throughout the isLand, .and in the foUovSng year epidaBle
sickness s;vept the country. Ilore than half of the population are
said to have died.

As King, Qihon -aooapted responsibility for conditions nithln the .

country. A younf^ lord of high rank named Eiso (


aged
25 years), nas appointed Eegent (Sessoi) to take over Gihon 'e duties.
s

Six years later Gihon r.bdlcated, Eiso became King, f^d his nrede-
cessor "ffithdrew into the forest alone." The time and place of his
.. dMth ar» not knoin.

Eiso governed as Jiegent from 1253 to li60, and ae King from 1260
until his death at ttie age of 71 yefurs In 12V9. It was a peiiod
of great iaportanee in foreign relations as well as in local der^^
nent.

JEooncgKLe w6» les restored* nie land nas divided anew. A regolar
taamtion system eas introduced, whereby levies upon rice-fields and
upon households TJere made to ta^ce the place of ti^e. earlier mactice
of levies made as occasioa demanded. Controls were extended to other
ifllinds, .and in the next yiear the off-lying islands of Kvne, Kerana-
and Iliesra began to send in tribute to Okinawa in VZbA, and officials
were sent up to govern Amami Oshima, halfway between Okinawa and Kyu-
shu, in 1266. To handle this expanded administrative %oTk, a govern-
ment office was establltiied at Tanari* at the bead of an Inlet htHom
Sharl Castle.

Sometime between 125^ and a Buddhist priest named Zeukan arrived


as a castaiiaar upon (Hcinana.^ There he settled^ introducing' Buddhist
doctrines and ceremonial for the first time. At the Kini;'s direction
.

he. built a temple called Gokuraku-j i or Temple of 'Paradise.

Late in his life (in 1292) Eiso received a 'message from the Court of
Kublai Khan, demanding thnt Ryukyu subrdt to the Mongol authority
and contribute to the proposed invasion of Japan (via Korea) which
nas then under preparation. The king rejected the-Hongol demands.
Four' years later they were repeated, and vrere again rejected. This
time the envoys from China made a show of force. They were driven
away, but are said to have taken 130 Okinawan captives with them.

Eiso died in 1299 A.D. He was followed in successio.i by his son King
Taisei (1300^1308), and his grandson King Eiji (1309-131?) rhose reigns
appear to haVe been uneventful. When Eiso^s great grtindson Tamagusuku
cane to- the thvonc at the age of 1% ixt -Xdld^r there began again a time
of trout3.e and a new era for fiMnama. • • •

Such is the bare outline of traditional history. V.ithout committing ourselves


to these traditionel dates, we can with considerable profit consider thie era
in Ryiikyij History in the light of eytemal affairs (in China and Japan) for
which verifiable data are available. We can also draw certain tentative con-
clusions concerning the evolution of administrative end cultural aff^rs
within ths isliuds themselves. .
>

With the Tametomo story Okinawa begins to have e history of its own; we
emerge from the legendary period to spmewhat firmer ground. The story forms
ar. important link between Ryukyu and Japan, both in traditional stories and
in raodexTi political disputes T?hich contend that Tametomo was of Imperial Ja-
panese descent throurh the Minamoto Family, and hence established a Japanese
claim upon the Islands. We must turn back for a moment to examine the Japanese
basis for this claim, and to review Japan's developing relationship with the
Southern Islands. Shere is indirect evidence that' the Japanese- Remained

Copyrighted material
tmcertaln of their authority in southern Kyushu lon^ after the Ainu T-ere final-
ly subdued in northern Japan (812 A.D.)« Although ttie garrison at. .the DazeJlfu
^ %M r0doMd to 9000 mm in the 9tii Mntary, no guv
risen raerater on the registeis seens to have been recruited from J^atsumti, Hyuga
or Osumi districts. Development of txirder regions in norti.eartern and south-
western Honshu produced hardy men. often imtx^tient of controls exercised by the
oourtlars of l^to. Ihe eapitSai and the nearby provlncee were rela-
tively overcrowded by the 10th century; the border regions were relatively
unpopulated. Over the years it became common practice for the Court to make .

grants of Ind^tle to Court tvnrttmu, ixho pi turn appointed Resident Ifanar


gars ( .1ito) to oyaraae distant estates. ( aboan> . Similarly, the titles and in-
come of Governors of provinces »ere given to men living at the Court, v/ith the
actual duties of adaiziistration deputized to Acting Governors willlog to live
in the countryside' f«r fron the ooiifortaliite capital city.

Since it t&s the privilege of the Eiuperor to have jnany sons by different-
mothers, the Court at Kyoto was overcrowded v/ith Imperial Princes and Imper-,
ial grandsons, eadi of whom had claim upon the resources of the Govemnent.
To meet oroolenis rising from this difficult economic situation, the Er-.rerors
from time to time decreed Uiat certain younger sons should be reduced to sub-
ject status, and given grants of territory to be managed as private estates*
Thus it was that in the 9th century a grandson of the ^peror Kwammu founded
the Taira Family rdth its estate.' in western Japan, and in the 10 th century a
grandson of the ^peror Seiwa founded the Minanoto family with its estates
In tiie eastern districts. MluBBoto nd Tametonoy the sutijeet of our inquiry,
'

was a nsoiber of ^e fifth gaaeratloo of this Ulnanoto Family.

As the ^aira Family increased its estates and its porer In the outlying
border 'districts, it came to ^lield ever-greater influence at the Kyoto Court.'
The founding ti e great Satsuma estate (to nhich Ryukyu In time became sub-
ordinate) is an excellent example of the process. About 1030 A.D. a member of
the Taira Family was acting as Viceroy in charge of the Govenunent administra-
tive headquarters (Dasaifu) in.northero Kyushu. He sas joined there by a
brother who uas an officer of the powerful Police Commissioners ( Kebiishi-cho) .

a punitive organisation enlisting the services of warriors fit for hardy action
on the frontier.. Together the brothers appear to have developed a huge estate
in southern K3rushu by using forced labor they were in a position to conmand.
These lands in time became the Shimazu domain. In the customs of the time, the
founders of the. estate sought patronage at Court by presenting title to the es-
tate to the Regent at Kyoto, who in turn exercised the rights of omersbip in-
directly throu^ the jito or est&te-nanagers. These managers lived and acted
far from the Court, and as Kyoto grer weaker in authority the local managers
increased their independmce of it. Ultimately the Shimazu domain was ex-
tended into Satsuma and Osumi, and became one of the greatest territorial
manors in Japan. Throughout 'ts viptory Satsuma mso maintained an taooOBKm
degree of independence from central authority.

tiel^neen the years 1156 and 1185 A.D. the Taira family was supreaie in Japan.
Their greatest rivals and most bitter enemies were members of Tametomo's family,
the Mlnamoto Clan. Tametomo was a precocious youth, noted for his tremendous
stature and strength, and especially for his ability as a bowman. It is said
that his poverftil right am eas sevMral inofaes longer than his left« hence he

-19-

Copy righted material


could draw a tow to much greater advarxtage then the nomal man. If the records
•re to be believed^ be wee unruly and turbulent as a aaall boy, and to get rid
of him hie father Taffleyoshi sent him far away into Kyushu at the age of 13 yean
(1152). There he inraediately atirred up trouble, as^ocitting hi'nse'i f "'ith Ata,
the Acting Governor of Kyushu, and arrogating to himself the title of "General
8operintend«nt** ( Sotsui-buahi) . Id time he narried the daughter of the Acting
Governor, bjt almost rmrnediately thereafter left Kyushu to lead in an attack
upon the Taira Family forces at the Capital. He was only seventeen years old
rhen be Joined this dispute concerning the Imperial succession. Tametomo vob
on the losing aide. In puniahnent the alnemi of his great boiMtm were cut,
and he was banished in II56 A.D. tc the distant islands of Izu'. There he is
Mid to have lived imtil the spring of 1165> when (according to one version of
iflie story) he soo^t to escape by making hia way southward by sea to "Onlga-
shima" or "The Islend of Devils" which traditionally has been presumed to be
Okinawa. He is said moreover to have been aided in his escape from Izu by his
father-in-law, Ata, the Acting Governor of Kyushu. Another version says that
idiile sailing anong the Isu Islands he nas blom far to ses; by storm and so by
chance drifted into the Ryukyu Islands. (A liilrd account Bays that he died in
Izu, and makes no ."nention ox Ryukyu.)
The impressive young giant (he was then 28 years old) must have been well
received in Okinam, if indeed he reached there, for according to tradition
'

the Lord of usato in Central Okinawa gave Tametomo his daughter, and hy her
he' had a son within the year. He was eager to get baeic to the wars in Japan,
however, and after one attempt to take his Okinawan wife and sen frith hlBy ha
went alone, back to the small island of Oshima lying in Sagami Bny near Izu.
Using it as a base of operations ageiinst the mainland, he harried the local
lords of Iso. Ihey in turn appealed to the Kyoto Court for aid, and secured an
order to move against the turhnl^rnt g>. lie. In 117C, it is said, the Vice Gover-
nor of Izu attacked Tametomo ?.itn overwhelming forces. Recognizing the hopeless-
nefiB of his situation, Tametomo committed hara-kiri, nhich may be the first oc-
casion in iftiic^ this warriors* practice is recorded in Japanese history.

Although evidence to support the Tametomo legend in Okinawa is yet to be


forthcoming, there is nothing in the details that aria incompatible with the
general conditions of that age. Reduced to its simplest statement, re observe
that Japanese life was in a state of political turmoil; Its repercuseions were
felt 00 the southern frontier. The struggle between the Taira and the llinemoto
dans Barked tlio breakup of an old order Tihich had been established in the 7th
century. The conflict at the Court, heretofore the center of authority, deeply
affected the border regions. Authority itself was shifting to provincial cen-
ters'. TSmet<mo>s nephew Minanoto Toritono destroyed the Tsira power In '1186,
and removed the center of ttilitary government and niniinistration from Kyoto to
Kamakura, in Eastern Japcn. The defeated Taira fled into the remote mountains,
or to offshore islands to escape the ruthless vengeance of the successful
Hinamcto warriors. There i« considerable reason to believe that many Taira ad-
herents fled southvmrd into the Ryukyu Islands. Traditions concerning such a
movement are particularly strong in the island of Amaml Oshlma and in Yaeyama,
and are Uie source of pride there in the 20tfa century.
The circumstances under which this story of Tametomo v;as introduced to
Hie History of Chuzan more than 4OO years eStar the slleged events took place,
leaves it entirely open to suspicion that the much more likely story of Tame-
tomo 's sojourn in Kyushu and his long period of exil? in Izu were dravm upon
thus' late to provide an heroic origin for SIninten, the first King of Ryukyu.

-20-
Shunten's life and the fortunes of his ciyna8t,y are plr.ced by tradition in
a period Id iAii<di we know -tihat nany bad of aobi* linoRge la Japan were extareiaely
active on end beyond the frontiers. They rere faiailiar T.lth the lujcuries of
Kyoto life as v.ell as the hardships of camp and campaign life in the Prcvir.cer.
The occasionel arrival of such men among lees sophisticated coiununities in the
Soutbem Islende eaa be aesmned to have exeroieed a eonsiderable cumulative in-
fluencp upon ther;. Thet the local Lord of Dsato rhould ha\'e honored a new-
comer from Japan by offering him a daughter in nairiage is wholly in keeping
-irlth custom. If the newcomer were a man of prodigious talents such as tradition
ascribes to fametomo, his appearance in a. 12th oaotory Okinawan eommiitgr «ould
Indeed be catise for fable and legend in after-years, '"-e i^A^st vait upon further
evidence to be found la Japanese records to support the details of Tanetomo's
life during the ysafs of t«iishaent«

In the story of Shunten's life vre may have the tradition of an exceptionrl
leader who made substantial progress torrard asserting the authority of one lo-
cal diieftain orer others scattwed through the islands. It is misleading to
attribute full-flecged "kingship" to an Okinawan chief tnin in these early cen-
turies, for it is only by degrees that leadership was instituticnslized. That
is to say, distinctly individual and personal leadership exercised through force
of personality » physical strength and political shrewdness, trns only d.owly re-
placed by formal ir stituticn s of rovemr.ent —
laws and ceremonies —
supported
and strengthened by reveience for the office regardless of the n ?rson holding
it. Tradition has assigned to the 13th century an extraordinary number of ia-
portant Innovatioos and developments in the political and social life of the
Okina\-'ans. The knov.ledge and use of urlting are said to have teen introduced,
and it is noteworthy that this was not the complicated »>iniciged Japanese used
at tJie Kyoto Court nor the pure Chinese introduced at a much later date from
China. It was the relatively simple phonetic syllabary In its earliest fom^
T^bich had been developed in^ Japan at least f^ur hundred years earlier.

It is Interesting -to s];)eeulate upon the facts rhioh may have given rise
to traditions of King Gihon's rillingness to abdicate and place the administra-
tion in the hands of Else. This youth is said to have been a descendant of
the chieftains of the Tenson dynasty \nho had ruled before Gihon's grandfather
Shunts^ hecame iLlng. ,1hu8y he, like Sbuntcn, was provj^dsd with an ianpressive
.

pedigree readi^ng jiaek to divine ancestors. . .» .

I The tradition of a universal time of trouble, of sucqesi^ive years of storm,


drought, poor^ crops md faninsy are curiously supported by extetnal .and Indi-
rect testimony; the Japmese records bear indisputable evidence of a orolonged
period of successive natural calamities at about this time. Terrible earth-
quakes were followed by great fires, "^hoons swept the country, destroying
cities and causing devastating floods. There was famine, followed by epidonic
sickness T.hich took the lives of tens of thousands of undernourished people.
The VTinters T7ere exceptionally harsh. Across the world Medieval Europe suffered
a 9lnilar time of trouble; great stoxns swept the Continent, winters ware' long
and bitter, crops failed, famine hsmted the countryside and the; Black Plague
scourged the walled tor?ns. It appears to have been a period of universal cli-
matic disturbance ana human hardship, shared as much by the Okinawans and Ja-
paneee in the Eastsxn 8eas» as by the inhabitants of EtogLand^ France, D«»axk

^^^(.;y lighted material


or Gttnuoqr, (20)

Tra^ations of Centralization imder King Eiso, end thair PosnibTo SI ttiII J crmce

Ve hrve seen that tradition attributes to Kinf YAso the centralization


and development of an economic order which gave nev. strength to the govemcent
at Drasoe. Gihon's adBliii«t3«tioii had ttot bean prepared to eope idth -ihe de^
mends of a famine year. Here Okinairan traciitional history provi-ies a good eny
ample of Arnold Toynbee's thesis of challenge-and-response. Stirred by the
terrible loss of lifSj Gihon*s succes^drs reorganized and regulariaM land dl»>
tribotions and collection of taxes- iii -kind. That meant reaerves, and raaerves
meant strength. In the villages of ?Oth century R>njkyu one may see a community
storehouse, usually associated with the village shrine, which in zoost details
bears a strong resambLance to the eoammitar storehouses described In tiie earlj
Japanese records iihich i»re established bgr goTemment order in outlying dis-
tricts to provide for emergencies. These repositories of grain and of arms,
enabled the government to organize and support local levies of men needed in
the development of publle aoxks and in the eoctenslbn of authtfxfl-^ on ihe fron-
tiers. It is interesting to note therefore that this extension of Okinawan
authority to Amarri C.~hima at the north and to other nearer islands (Kerama,
Ibeya, Kume) took place during cr shortly after the institution of regular
taatatlon on Okinami island itself* It is testlaisADiir that the govenuMDt at
Qrasoe ma gaining strangth.

yiie Shimasp Ftelly as "Lords of the IVelw Sootfaein lelanda "

'
Tradition says that a Buddhist priest was cast ashore on Okinawa In the
l^ih oentOTy, and ^at be was permitted to eonstnict « place of norship« Iherm '

is a high probability that this tradition in well-i>founded, for these rere years
of extraordinary and far-reaching Buddhist missiorary activity throughout Japan.
Old tanples were rebuilt and new ones founded at Uara. fdany new ones were
bollt at Saaakura, the seaside tarn in Eastern Japan in wfaloh fenetoao's nephew
'

Minamoto Yoritomo established his new Camp Government f^yfrify ^. Aram Kanakura
Buddhist missionaries travelled into every part of Japan to spread neV/ doctrines
of salvation. These priests v/ere V7iiling to undergo hardship and to travel any-
tihere. It is therefbre not surprising to read of 'S priest being shipm^ked on
Okinana in this period* and of bis ailIin0ie0S t6 remain -ttiere.

1!hlle these ^^ts were taking place In Okihatva (according to tradition)


certain others vere taking place in Kyushu vAiich ultimately rare to bear upon
the fate of Ayukyu. This ims'-tbe developaent of the powerftil and semi-indspendeBt

(20) For a study of the evidences of climatic cycles in Japan, see Bishioka
Hideo: Keodan no Rekishi ("History of Temperature") Tokyo, 1949; for a study of
clir.atic changes in relation to rorld history at this time, see Fetters son , Ottot
Climatic Variations in Historic and Prehistoric Times (1912) j Brooks, C. L, p.j
plimate Ihreuafa the Ages . (19A^); Qaraen. Baehel^ ^le Sea Around Pa . (1951)
Great storm damage is recorded in Europe for the periods 1170-117d» 1240-1253t
,
1267-1292, 1374-1377 and 1393-U04, .

' '
• '. . ' • . • •

-22-

Copyrighted inaien,:il
domain of the Shimazu Clan in Satsuma. We have alraady referred to its crea-
tion by t«D toothttra in the Tain Clan a1)out 1030 A.O. Tamatoao'a nephew
Yoriton".o made hir.self rrastex- of Japan, te.kirg the offices and titles of "Super-
intendent of the 66 Provincec" in 1190, c^nd "Bt rbari&n-Cubluing Gen ralissimo"
( Sei-i-Tai-Shoi^) in 1192, One of his niany iiiegitimaue sons, uamed Tedahisa,
vaa adopted into the Korenune Familjr and In tine racei'rad appointment aa Hl^
Constable (Shugo) of Satsuma, Proceeding to his territories in II96 A.D.
Tadahisa soon mleo-ged it by bringing Osumi and pert of Hy>jga under his control.
Re built a castle in Satauma, and adopted the place-name for his oan. His ap-
pointments and titles included a reference to him aa "Lord of the (Twelve)
Southern Islands" though there is nothing in *he trncitional hlatoiy of Qkinaiia
to indicate that be made efforta to govern south of Kyushu.

It was customary throu^out Japanese h: story for such titles and honora to
be handed on from generation to generation vithin a great Family, unless for-
bidden or cancelled \3y the Qnperor'a Court or the Shogun. Often the title con-
tinued to be uaed long after the office for ahieh it iiaa oreated had loet Ita
meaning or substance. In tl-^is instance, the title "Lord uf *he Tv.elve rout".;ern
Islands" when first bestowed (not later than 1]37 for Tadahisa) may ha^e heen
only a reference to the small islands known vaguely to exist southeast of Kyu-
flitan. So apecifie delimitation of territorial aotfiority may have been intended.
But as the title renev.ed again and again '7ith e^xh s'j-iceeding generation
(in 1227, for Shimesu Tadatoki; in 1263 for Shimazu hisataune; in 1325 for
Shimazu Sadahisa, etc.) the development of a government in Ryukyu and the ex-
tension of ita authority ultimately aa far south aa Miyako and Yaeyama, meant
that the traditional claims of the Shimazu Far.ily cair.e to include all of Ryn-
kyu. It was not until after the invasion of the islands in 1609« however,
that the facta matched the title. Ite shall aae in latwr pages hoar the grant
of a 12th oaotury title became the eaccoae for Japanese action at that time.

As for relations with China in the 13th century it should be observed that
ttieearly references to all islands betmen Japan (Kynahu) and the Philippines
as "Ryukyu" continued through this period, hence the story of 130 natives being
carried back to China in 1296 must be received With reserve; they may have been
natives of Formosa. (21)

We may conclude that the traditionally accer + -^i hirtory of the Shiinten and
Eiso dynasties (covering eight reigns in 160 years) contains a mixture of le-
gend based on some fact. Summing up, there appears to have been an increasing
introaion of Japanese influence during the stirring yeara of Taira-Minamoto
rivalry in Japan. Leadership among the petty chieftains or "Kinrs" of the Sou-
thern Island people came to accept the overall leadership of outstanding men
(Shunten and Eiao) and their immediatm deseendants» thus preparing the way for
a developed inetitutioo of kingship. Ihe terrible hardships of famine, storm and
epidemic made it necessary for the people living in the islands to improve their
•conomic life as best they could to meet recurrent crises. This in turn provided
the means- to extend 'mod '-aupjpbrt administration lin the off-lying islands, and to
tncorarage resistance W'(%inmsa (Mongol) demands for submission. It also prob-
ably meant a daw of comparative luxury for the ruling family. Ihe death
*

(21) Note that this is the first instance in which an invasion rf *^he Ko-
rean corridor-peninsula affected the life of the Ryukyu Islands, It was to
occur again in the late 16 th century,, in the late 19th century and in 1950.

-23-
^^^(.;y lighted material
of Xing Bijl in 1314. brougjit to ths throoe his 19 year old soli, namd TBmBf .

gusuku, vHm was not morally strong enough to mGdntaln Intact the heritage of
his ancestors. It is to a consideration of his reign, the break-up of the
kir.jjdoia, and the ddvelopa&nt of foreiga intercourse that we must now turn.

. . • . . t I .
«/..
• . • • .
(22)
:
:

(22) For a collection of excerpts from Qiinese texts (the dynastic ""nTlff
and other sources) concerning the confusion of Ftyukyu r;ith Formosa, and the
general clarification of this problem in Chinese records, see 5chlegel, George:
"FtoULeMs Geogr«pbiqu««| LoB Fooplea Strangors ohes 1m HiatoriflDfl Ghlaoi*
Lieuou-Kleou-Kouo'* in T'oi»g Pao. Vol. VI, pp. 165-2H> 1895* TeirbB In Chi-
neso and Fraioh.

Copyriyi iiu J I ; ;aj^l lai


Gbaptmr III

THE IHREB yBIPiDCMS

1. Sanzan ; Three Rival Lords Bid for China's Recognition

2. External Bfllatioiifl and Q9cliia«a*s Position In the Chinese Mtaate


Systen

'3. Okinawa: A I^lng Base Linking China, Japan and' Korea with the
East Indies

4'* The Founding of Kume-enira, a Chinese iBmigrant Coammity

S» Cultural fiel&tions irlth China, Korea and Japan

Copyrighteu iriaicrial
Chapter III

THie o^iREE KINODGMS

Sfrnni V\T^ Bi^ for Chl^a'p Haaoflmttian

Opon the death of King Eijl (13H)> his nineteen-year old son Tanagusuku
beeane King. He is «aid to havv been dttbaucbed aa a Prince, and as King he
found himself unable to eOB&and the respect and loyalty of hia principal of-
ficers. The administration of local affaira feU. into confusion. Disputes
at Qrasoe eulmlnated in open rebeUlan against the young King's authority.

The Lord of Ozato in the south broke away and called himself King of Nan-
zan. His heaaquarters nere at a castle built on a bluff approximately two
nlles Inland and aootheast of the present-day fishing port of Itoaan, and
about nine miles south of Drasoe. Little remains today at the castle-site
(now occupied by a primary school built ^.'ithin the old wells) , but there is
physical evidence to support local tradition that an inlet from the sea then
reached nearly to the baae of the hLuff • Ibia provided a harbor for trade and
for fishing, while the rolling oountryside to the OMt «nd south supported
food-producing farm villages.

In the north the Lord of Hakijin idlhdrew his allegiance fron TmsgDsnkn
and established himself in the high foothills of the Motobu Peninsula at the
north. Territories under his control were much greater in extent than the
lands left under either King Tomagusuko or tiie Lord of Nensan, but in the teiv
ritory of Hokuzan vald mountainous terrain and the liaited number of faming
and fishing settlements between the hills and the seacoast, offset advantages
of extended territory. There is an accepted popular view that in earlier days
the inhabitants of nor^em QUnaMt were generally a rou^ery less sophistl-'
cated people. To them the somevjhat belittling term "Yambara" has long
been applied. At Nakijin itself a strong castle was erected on an isolated
mountain outcropping. Back of it the land fell away steeply and roughly for
a Shcwt distance, then rose tomrd the eantral inoiintain nass of liotobu. On
the east there is a precipitous drop into a stream-filled gorge. On the north
and northwest the land drops away only a little less steeply toward the shore
and a harbor inlet which at one time reaehed to the mountain foot. Onten
Harbor lies approximately two ri (five and one-half miles) to the east.
Baough reraelnp of the old castle keep and its encirc^inr^ strong defensive walls
to give evidence of a relatively high degree of engineering in that age. The
Lord's reeidenee occupied the innevnost and hi^eet court. Here was a saall
spring of clear T.ater and a park or garden area. Service buildings and resi-
dences for inportant vassals were at a lower level, but v.ithin the walls.
The remains of three shrines (uganiu) stand at the crest of this emin«ice,
overlooking the port-inlet below, and the channel between Hotobo and the
Iheya-Izena islands. Uuch of \he stone-work is solid and aassive, but It
everywhere shows roughness and lack of fine cutting and precision fitting
characteristic of castlewalls and residential building in central and southern
Okinawa. (23)

(23) For notes, ground plans and four sketches of an Okinawan castle,
see Perry's Expedition to Janen . Vol. I, Chap. VIII, pp. 169-171. This Is
at Nakagusuku, the largest surviving castle ruin, but may be taken as repre-
sentative of the giDeral plan of medieval oastle architecture in Okinawa*
-25-

^L.(.> lighted material


-!Eb« dsfeetlon of the Lords of Rokosan eod'Hansan, tnd the loss of rm-
nue from these areas v.ere serious blows to TaiaagviSuku s Chrzan government.
'

Local lords in the outer islands v-ere quick to take advantage of Chuzan's
weakened authority and ceased sending tribute to Urasoe,

Further difficulties rose v-tien King Taxnagusuku died in the third month
of 13364 leaving a child of ten years to succeed him as King Sei-1. Tlien fol-
lowed a eoursa of events which has been coomon to many courts in many parts
of the world; the young King's mother meddled in government affairs^ abased
her privileges and position of autborityy and further alienated popular sup-
port for her son.

About this time (1337), a man named Satto rose to the governorship of .

Drasoe, the local district in vnich the Court of Chuzan was situated. The
King's authority extended very little beyond Urasoe, to embrace only Sburi,
llaha and adjacent villages. Dpon the young Zlng*s death {1%9) Satto nade
hiriself King. Tradition says that he enjoyed widespread popular support. T?o
cnn assume that he was a vif;oro'jg and far-sighted man with a talent for ef-
fective leadership, for by tne time of his death nearly a half-century later,
be had brought about fUndanental changes In the pattern of Okinawan life.

Me now move into consideration of a period of rapid development in the


economic and cultural life of Ryukyu, for it was in King Satto 's reign that
GhUHB asBuned a tributaxy relationship with China that was to endure for
more than five hundred years. For nearly a century Okinawa itself was divided
into three small principalities,, each competing with the others for recogni-
tion by Qilna. The dewelopment of fonual rations frith Korea, China, end
Jmpaa, the Introducti^ of Chinese administrative forms modified to meet Ryu^
kyuan needs, and the expansion of trade as far south as the East Indies (JavEy
Sumatra and Malacca) are perhaps the three most significant features of the
6ira«

IftrtflmUl "tUtions and 0^f.M«^*« ft^aition in the Chinese Tribute Svatan

Conditions of formal subordination to China now developed t^ich were to


liecoaa a baalo eausa of Slao-^ppanese dispute in the 19th century, and to give
rise to both Chinese Nationalist and Chinese Communist claims to Ryukyu in
the years following Vtorld War II. To understand them ne must glance once
again at circumstances in nearby Japan, Korea and Qbina insofar as they ex-
«r^0ed lafloenee upon the history of Okinaiia*
It is a.xpatter of record that after the rigors of the 11th and 12th cen-
turies a period of milder diaate set In everywhere In tlie northern hemisphere*
Records of the 14.th and 15tb centuries bring evidence of more favoraKLe con-
ditions for developnent of seaborne trade and exploration. ?»'ithin Central
Asia the organization of the Mongol Empire broke up, while under the Ming
Dynasty which suceeeded it (1368-16^4) China* s lend treda dwindled over the
long caravan routes through Inner Asia. Transport by sea largely took its
place in foreign commerce, and v/as based principally upon the ports of Kwanp-
tung and Fukien provinces. In these same years the Japanese and the Koreans
bagan to dewalop far-rangiag trade, for they too, of oottrsa* shared in the
henefita of a milder dlinata and oalaex^ seas*

-26-

'^i^i^y 1 iji ui.o i naterial


A shift In the dlstributioa of power in Japan had important i2iou^ indi-
rect oonaequenee. for Rjrukyu. Ashikaga TUconJi (a Mlnoaoto deeeendiint)- re-
moved the seat of militery government from Kamakura to the Muroniachi ward of
Kyoto City in 1336. The Imperial House had been divided by factionalism, and
for nearly 60 years thereafter two lunperors and tvio Imperial Courts existed
In bitter rivalry, eaA flupported }sf a eoalition of quarreling feudal bttroos.
Although the Ashikaga Shogvms maintained a fiction of supremacy at Kyoto for
many years, their scattered family estates were steadily diminished. Other
great barons felt strong enough to take advantage of the weakened central ad-
Biniatration, and often defied It with impunitj. life are interested in teo . .

effects of this process. The Ashikaga Shoc^jns maintaired a shor of authority


by giving or withholding territorial titles among the barons long after Kyoto
loet its pomr to enter upon ,tiia territories of their Ywsala* Jo ereata new
titles ma flattering, but to eanoal or withhold an old title created ill-will.
Thus successive Ashikaga Shoguns renewed the old title "Governor of the Twelve
Southern Islands" by conferring it upon successive generations of the Shimazu
Family^ Zh this way a Shlsani elain to authority in ^yuky^ was kept aliva :

uhich in fact was exercised by neither the Ashikaga Shoguns nor ttie Lords of
Satsuma, The second effect of a diminishing territorial authority at Kyoto-
was to make it impossible for. the Shoguns to control the activities of Japan-:
eee pirates who woiked cut of local ports in southern end westere Japan* Loss
of internal revenues which could not be collected by force caused tli0'8hogUD
to pay more attention to promotion of overseas trade with China*

'
Turning to Hth century Korea for a noment, we disccver tiiat the penlxk-
'

sula 7738 harassed by Jap'inese pirates from the pouth cc\£\ , rnd hy raid-
ing Contiuentel en^^nids from north of the Yalu Tdver. it.va&lDn in I36I
narked the begizmin^ of the Cnd of the old Koryo dyna&ty. In 1392 General -

XI T'aa-Jo established a new govezim^t and a n^w.dynaety with which QkinaMa


was to cany on a luxury .trade for] wy years. '

In Hth century China dianges were taking place that were to effect the
entire Far East and have some reperdussions in tfie T?estem t>orld ^s well*
Cruelty, corruption and extravaf-;ince nt the Mongol Court provoked cdiun try-Td.de
rebellions in 134-3, v.'hicn cpntijr»ued until the last Great Khan had teen driven
out of Peking in 1368.. The lling Dynasty was founidM by a Chinese who had been
bcm a poor oeapant, had become a Buddhist monk, a beggar and e band-'t leader,
by turns. But, as a bandit he v&a shrewdy and held, the cities ..he captured un-
til, in 1356, he took Hanking.

Then follov;ed years of campaigning apninst rival Cl.ineSe rebels, and


against the Kongol government.. The new iimperor ruled for thirty years (I368-
.

1398), during vihich there was a new OentralisdLtion' pt China*! reamirees* Or-
der was restored within the counti% ana all bordering ;*barbarian states*
were eopected to sutanit and acknowledge China's suprenaoy*

As soon as he was firnly on the' H^rone^ ihB. ibng Ehiperor Rung Wu Tl eeiit^
envoys to neighboring states, callj^pg upon them to' submit to hi:n. Ihe first
envoy sent to Hyukyu reached Chuzan in 137;?, to snnouncc Hxif: lb 11's o'cocelon tnj
to invite King Satto. to send a mission in return, signifying Chuzan 's recogni-
tloB of liqperial Chinese isuprstuuqr* This Invitation was acc^ted, and in ^
1574 the Klng*s younger brother. Ttdki went ovfr to .Ranking with suitable
'

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attMdantB and a gift of many kinds of produce. This was a oongratulator/ oo*
casion. Formality required that the Chirese Emperor corfer elaborate gifts
upon the visitors, and upon their return to Okinawa, a high-ranking Chinese
officer aeeompanled then', frith gifts of books, textiles, ceramics and iromeare
for the King and his Court. The envoy from China carried v;ith him doCVBieDta'
and a seal, to be delivered to Kiiig Satto as a symbol investiture, con-
firming him in offices wiiich he had assumed without Chinese help and had long
held' through his o«n abilities. Members of the Chinese envoy's mission sere
allowed to carry nlth thea goods to be disposed of in private trade.

Thus in 1372 there v:as institutea a relationship between the Court of


China and the I^yukyu Isloids iihieh eas both political and econooio in charac-
ter. Within the next ten years King Satto' s brother. Prince Tai!:i, rnat^.e
three further trips to the Chinese capital bearing goods ^'.ribute) vrhich in-
cluded local textiles, sulphur (from Torl-shlma) and JJO horses. These last
were valued so highly that the Chinese (in 1376) sent an important officer for
the special purpose of buying horses and sulphur. The Okinawans were already
engaged in a wide-ranging trade throu^out the Eastern Seas, but from official
eoweree with China they could hope to gain great political prestige as well
as considerable eoonomic profit. This was of course well knovTi to the Lords of
Hokuzan and Nanzan, and they too eouiPht to open relations with the ivlinp Court
by sending tribute gifts across to the continent in 1383* In the political
sense the Kingddai of Chusan took Its place on a basis of equality with nany
other "barbarian countries" willing to send missions to tii'^ i^ing Court on -

Chinese terms. With Ryuky.), Korea, Annam, Champa (Vielnem) ,


Camhodia, vSiam
and Tibet, China's tribute relations remained formal and constant untix the
19th century, but the number of tributary states recorded in (%lnese snnsls
fluctuated accordin,'^ to political ?.nd economic conditions in the Subject COUB-
tries, or along the routes leading from them into China.

^s within the century following Satto^s acceptance of a tributary rela-


tionship on behalf of Chuzan, re learn that more than fifty tributary stntcs
sent missions to the Chinese court over the southern sea-routes alone. Java,
Malacca, Ceylon and Burma continued with some regularity to comply with Chi-
nese formality as "tribute states", but embassies from Persia, the Cormandel
Coaist of India, and other distant points were irregular. {2A)

Cliina*s claims to the Ryukyus in the 20th century are no greater end no
less than her claims to' Korea, Burma, Annam, Cambodia or Siam. They grew OUt
of a traditional Chinese world-view which admitted no other nation or people
to be equal. Ancient China has been called a "cultural island in a sea of
barbarians*, for the Chinese had dev^oped a settled culture of their own in
the Yellow River Basin of North China at least 35'^0 years before the Ming
Emperor Hung Ku sent envoys to King Satto of Chuzan in Okinawa. China was then
surrounded by less cultured people. The barbarians of the north and west were
roving nomads of the steppe teuntry. The barbarians of the south and east
were primitive peoples living in the forests and hills of Yijnsn and Kwangtung.
Any barbarians who wished to become civilized and share the benefits of Chi-
nese eidture could do so by bringing tribute from their Country and paying
ceremonial reverence to the Ehiperor. In Chinese theory he ras the Son of
Heaven, endowed with all the virtues, and burdened T/ith the duty of acting as
mediator between the supernatural forces of the universe and all mankind. If

(2i^) For data on the tributary system (including records of tribute from
Okinawa) and a discussion see Teng, S. X. & J. K. Fairbsnkx "On the Ching Tri-
butary System," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. Vol. 6, Bo. 2, June 194lf
pp. 135-2A6,
-28-
^^^(.;y lighted material
barbarians irould voluntarily subnlt, he would bestow on them rich gifts, repre-
sentative of China's cultural superiority. Ihey could leam frOB China; China
hed little or nothing to learn from them.

The great difference in cultural levels between the Chinese nnd the pao-
ple on China's borders was ii. fact a true difference through the first two
thousand years of Chinese history, for there was no direct intercourse wlta,
or knoiAedtEV of , wsoj of llto other great eultiirttl centarB of tiif vorld^ mcb as
India, Kgypt, Greece or Rone. By the time trade rith t^e Roneai Orient and
T/lth India did beglxi in Han tines (220 B.C. - 221 A.D.) Chinese attitudes
toward QOQ-Ghinose peoples and oultiires vara fairly definite; they have re~
malnad vlrtoaUy imehanged into the 20th omtury.

ilthough the Chinese ^Aiperors could recognise no equals, they v;ere pre- *

pared to reeogniae that evan among the barbariana there were kings, and to tbaaa
kings the Chinese eiuperors condescended to grant patents of authority. These
usually took the foxm of an enpraved seal, bestcned on the king at tlie tir.e of
l^ls first subaission. Thereafter tt^e seal was handed down from genex-ation to
generation. Upon the death of a "barbarian" kiUjg his auceeaAMr ms eaqxicted
to notify the Biperor of China of Hiat faot and to ask €er inveatiture in the
auccessioa.

'Shere were a number of asaoeiated relationahlpa and aotlvitiea^ Qpoa the


death of an linperor of Oiina his successor sent envoys to the Tribute Statea
to notify then* They in turn were expected to send n^isslons to the Chinese
capital to ooitvey expreaaions of epodelancey and at ,th9 aame ttoe to offer .

aieaaagea of oongratulation to t:.e new ruler« Ocseaaionally otlier reaaona were


found for the exchange of official envoys, such as missions to ber.r congratula-
tl(»6 upon the birth oi an heir, or the asstunpticm of office by a, Qx^p^n Prince
or Beir ^parent.

Upon all these occasions it was the duty of Tributary States to send gifts
which the Board of Cereoqales stipulated, mist be the produqe of the Tributary
oountry. In Rjukyu'e eaae, we shall aee, an exoeption aeema to have been made;
since it had no Important resources of its o-.vn, it vras allcv/ed tc niesent
rare goods from otlier lands as well. It was equally the duty of the Chinese
Dnperor to manifest his benevolence and the greatness of Cl-iinese culture by
aending batdc rioh gifta to the King and Court, of the tributary atate, and to
baatow valuable remrda upon the mvay9* .

Rules governing the ibole procedure were moat exact. When a tribute
niaaion reached the bordera of China Proper, it ws entertained at the. Qiineae
Government' s expense while within the country. A special official came down
from the Capital to conduct the visiting envoys to the Court. Conversely,
Tiien (%ina*8 anirtE^a viaited a tributaxy atate to confer InTeetitnre, the
latter bore the expense, end conferred gifts upon the visiting Chinese.
Dsually there vrere two, a Chief &ivoy and a Vice Chief, to suntain the mission
if death or accident overtook the Chief v.hile on his journey. The number of
man in ea<^ adaaion waa preaeribed rigidly by the Chineae Court Regulationa,
which specified how lany visitors fro-r. each tributary state could "idvance to
the Imperial Court and ho^; many must remain at the border place of entry. For
I^kyu It was stipulated that not more than 300 man could come to the border
-29- . .

^^^(.;y lighted material


station, v^ile only 20 could proceed overland to the capital. Since anyxrtiere
tvcm slat noDfhs to im> Tears night elapse In carrying through one of these ar-
duous JdnmiaySy it is obvious that tribute missions were a great burden upon
the treasury of a smfill state unless the value of China's gifts and profit
from the trade carried on at the border stations exceeded the co6t of tribu>
tary gifts and entertaixoMat* (25)

The tribute system regulated both trade and diplonacy. For the one it
provided a minutely regulated hierarchy of relationships between the Chinese
Capital and foreign govemnents and pteple. Oooasions for the exeheoK^ of en-
voys permitted the Cliinese to malce a display of cerenooy on a scale vhich vras
virttJally certain to impress foreign visitors deeply. Linitations placed on
the size of an envoy's suite meant that he and his party were dwarfed ty the
scale of setting in irtkieh eongratulatory missions were received. It is not
difficult to understand the effect upon an Fnvoy from Chuzan in Okirar.a, for
instance, being escorted to the enormous city gates of Nanking and through
vails that stretched for ibore than twenty miles eroimd the new Ming palaces
and city. Out of this relationship the governing class in Ryukyu developed an
arred respect for China's size and power which persisted into the early years
of the 20th century. China's envoys, on the other hand, going out to the
"barbarian states" upon the occasion of investiture of a new ruler» had oppor-
tunities to report on cooditions \7ithin bordering countries and upon the char-
acter of a new ruler or new gcvsnunent.

In tiie section concerning Tribotary Ritual preserved in the Collected


Cerextonies of the V.ir r>','n;.isty (Ta Min?T Chi-li ) v.e discover an indirect COB-
^.r,

mentary upon the position assiRiied to nyulcyu in tha tributary system. Al-
though a ner; edition was prepared in each reign, Chusan's position is found
to have remained constant throu^oot the Ming kid* Ch*ing periods (i.e. flreat
1_?63 onr:ards) vrith only minor changer. It is noteworthy that the Ftyukyuans
were not considered Chinese people and that the management of Ryukyu-Chinese
rftLations did not come under Itee Colonial Affairs Depflortmanty. but under the
Rec#ption Department(tJhu K3'f5ae))f ttie Board of Ceremonies;- TBie list of "un-
conquered barbarirji countries" preserved in the official records included the
following: Korea, Japan, Great and Small Ryukyu (i.e. Chuzan and jorraosa^*
Jsmam, Canbodia, Siam, Champa (Vietnan), Senudra, the nestem Ocean people
(Hsi-jrang), Java, Pahang, Paihua, Palembang and Brunei (in Borneo). The dates
given for the establishment of nominal tributary relationships shor: that Ryj-
kyu was first among these (in 1372), and was expected to send tribute every
two ywrn in addition to the irregular nissions concemad with royal investi-
'
tures and congratulatory occasions* JCoresy Annan and Ghanpa (Vietnam)

(25) The Chinese Court wae prepared to receive gifts from small organisa-
tions such as Tibetan monasteries, Buddhist temples, the hill tribf's of Yunran,
and independent merchant caravans as v/ell as from highly, organized states and
courts. All gifts from non-Chinese barbarians were autonatically accepted as
'

tribute. In Chinese records of later years Ib^and, Holland, Spain, Portugal^


the Papal States at Rome, France and Ryukyu w«re all classified as states tri-
bute to China's Ebperor.

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Copyriytiica material
I

MtaVLiohttd ralatloDs vlth th« Ming Comet in ihm B«st yar» (26)

Only Fyukyu and Korea remained cons^aat iii tiiis relationship throughovt
8ttcce«dixig centurlefl. For E^jrvdeyu 'th^ y«r7 Ufa of a amall kingdoni' cam to de-
pend upon sjccessf'jl managenent.of intenuLtlooal oooHnarce and tha iwintcnamcs
of a nautral trading poaitloa.

If Gtnisan had obsarved the Ming trading regulations to th« latter of Ilia
law, only one mirsicn consisting of three ships should have been sent across
every second year, v.ith certain stipulated exceptions. ..The official records
8ho« a fairly close adherence to this role throu^uot' sucoeading csotorlea.
There is evidence, however, of a vastly greater trade carried on in Chinese
ports in coniiivance with local officials whose indulgence could be bought. Ex-
cuses were found, for instance, to send extra ships to greet Chinese envoys,
.

or to escort them upon their return to China, each ship carrying goods for pri-
' vate tre.ie. The recognized cfficilal. Tri'^ute Missions carried two l(ind8 of
goods vdth them, "tributary gooos" ana "supplementary goods. " The tributary
articles were forwarded to the Chine^ie Coui't in the na^ae of the king of Chuzan,
snd after suitatle presents had been distributed, the goods were offered for
sale at prices stipulated by the Chinese Court. These prices vrere usucOly con-
siderahly higher than prevailing market prices. Horses, sulphur and textiles
(produce of Ryukyu) were normal tribute artic?.es. On these goods the Ryukyu
Court could realize a profit, ("urthernorey the value of the Chinese Ebperor's
gifts to the King of Ryukyu and to his envoys (according to their r-nk) usually
more than, off set the cost of the gifts vAiich the tributary mission was re-
quired to offer to the Chinese.

"Supplementary goods" included the goods which the envoys and members of
their suite were allowed to carry with them for private sale. Theoretically
these, too, vare liiBited in quantity, but in fact the kind and quantity of
Coods seem to have been determined by the Okinar/ar. 's ability to capitalize
the venture, and their opportunity to arrange successfully for its transport
to the Impei'ial City. Goods carried into the Cninese port of entry to be dis-
posed of! to local Chinese, buyers formed the genuine foundation of the "tribu-
tary** system. Upon this foundation ras erected tha structure of elaborate
car^mpnlal visits. to the Emperor's Court.

.According to tha Ming regulations (altered sli^tly from time to.tlBa)^


GbuSaii's three ships ware, each to be nujoned by 90 mora than 100 persons. Opon

(26) The Ming Boaperor sent embcssies inviting Japan to submit to tribo^
tary relationship in 1368. Their road was blocked at Hakata, in Kyushu, by
barons unfriendly to the Adiikaga Shoguns, and four years passed before they
could present their credentials to the Qhogim Yoshisiitsu. An answer was de-
layed for thirty years, when at last (perhaps attracted by the prospect of a
rich overseas trade profit to supplement diminishing local revenues) the Sho-
gon sent a Mir<lhant and a priest of the Tenryuji Tomple to thS new %lnasa
capital at Peking. These envoys accepted condescending letters (addressed to
Xoshil&itsu as "king of Japan") and a succession of rich gifts, ioshimitsu
oonceived an Inmense admiration for Uing China, and upon occasion wore Ming
robes, rode in Ming oalanquins and had Chinese servants about him. This sub-
ordination angered many Japenese. Yoshimitsu's successor Yoshimocbi broke off
the relationship abruptly* and it vae rasumsd years later only qxiradicaUy,
on a oommercial basis*

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Copyrighted inaicnal
arriving at the port of entry (usually Chuang-chow,^ rukien), inventories of
.

goods were (Peeked and preparations .wmre mada^.for tba long overland trip to
^he capital. From H02 untl] 1873 all raissions v.-ent to Pekin';. Since only 20
v.en v,ere allov;ed to go up to the Qnperor' s Court, 2:30 men settled dovm in quar-
ters assigned to them at thj3 port to await the return of the King'e envoys
nany aonths later. Although this large nnmter of eailorB, merchants and clerkB
were restricted to the port-city and its irnnediate suburbs, the importance of
this cultural contact with China cannot be overlooked. It meant that plebian
Old^Mamnfl iMcane tlwrou^y fmiliar idth ever:'-day tom life in a Chinese elty,
and upon their return to Oklaana they were in a position to introduce many
Chinese artifacts, manners and customs to the townsmen of Naha and ShurA. Fur-
thermore, thoy were opt alone among foreigners at the Chinese trading port;
^ere. they apent monthe- in association ivith traders and seaafu trom Korea and
fM iK>rt8 thrpufljhbut SouthoM^ (27) . . .

IDiile the ordinary members of the mission remained under surveiilaiice at


,

the port, the Chief QiToy, the Viceh-Oiief end their eighteen .^eookpraions (sec-
retaries and personal servants) nent over rip^tdly prescribed routes to the
capital, escorted by a large suite of Chinese officials. All exposes of the
rbtJAd-trip were d^rayed by the ^^hlnese Government. At the capital thf» Oki-
namins iiiere lodged in a special Resideiiee set aside for the ent^rtalnmant of
foreiga ambassadors.

Hhe fozpula for 'ImtArteinnent jat the Court required the presentaticD of
gifts (local products of Ryukyu) at the Imperial Audience Hall, at tb» palace
of the Einpress and at the ralace of the Heir- Apparent. These lofty persons
then C€iused banquets to be given in honor of the fiyukyuans at the Tributary
'
llissiob Residence. Valuable gifts eere hestoned on the envoys and -their com-
panions. An opportunity \.as provided for the display and sale of the Tribute
*

gppda. and the supplementary trading articles in their baggage.


In the course of this it was necessary for the Ryukyuan envoys to perform
the ceremcHjial worship of the Einperor (the k'o-t'ou) required of all tributary
rulers and mlnistetfa of the hi|^st rank. %is consisted of an ^borate dt-
oal of boning liiree tloes and prostrating tiie body nine tines in succesaion. (28)

(27) Europeans who first visited Chuang-Chov, in the 19th century noted
the presence oi a large Ryukyuan settlement in the suburbs, noted the ceremon-
ial cooling and goiniK of Ryukyu is emnDys and observed that the reception and
dispatch nf tributary missions ris in the hands of the local Sunerintendent
of River Police. The presence of many Ryukyuan tombs - including the tombs
of. a number, of envoys - was taken to indicate a substantial, permanoat Ryukyuan

(2d) Ettvopeanf.jm'vojrs refused to perfora this oereoionyy and. so made it


extremely difficult tso establish useful ^Testem diplomrtln roldtlons vdth the
Chinese Court in later years. European envoys were personal representatives
-
of their sovereigns, and expected to approach the Chiinese jEkperor as an equal,
nbV as. a eubject. It nas not until 1873 that ai satisfactory compromise nas
reached, T-iien the Emperor held an "informal" reception in a minor building ia
the-^Palace Gardens. (For a summary of 'Chinese and ^^eatern references, see
laiW Jinichit Shina Kindai Gaikoku Kankei Kenkvu. pp. 151-180, Kyoto 1928).

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CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
1
I

To perform correctly, foreign visitors were required to accept instruction In


Palace etiquette, aiid in this tlie Ryukyuan envoys eaxned a high reputation
'

among tii© exactiiig Chinese officials. (29) ' '

Open thoir ithdrar.al from the capital enrcutc to Okinara once az-^ir, •'ihe
• •

envoys were accompanied by a hi^-ranlcing Chinese Court official. Kheo they


had rejoined their large piarty waiting at the port, trading affairs were eon-
eluded, cargoes loaded, and after a last ceremonial leave- taking (the elab-
orate k'o-t'ou performed while facin,^ in the direction of the distent Court) '

the Byukyuao Mission embaiiced for Okinawa. ' '

[.

•It can be seen from this account that vdille the sailors and merchmts id-
lin^ in the pert T?ere learning something of every-day Chinese life, the envoys
themselves were in a position to observe (if not to take part in) the life of
the Chinese Court and its si^endors. The Impressions carried bade to Oklnana
therefore became known and influential at two levels of Ryukyu life - the life
of the p'entry and officials of the Chuzan Court, and the life of the comr.on
people in Naiia and Shuri. When we recall that this formal relationship vjas
aaintelned steadily %hroueth exactly 504. years, ire gain a better understanding
of events in the 19th century, and of the impressions pained by Europeans end
Americans v^ho first attempted to open relations vrith the Ryukyu Kingdom. Tliese
re described at greater length in Ch^>ter IX. (30)
Vihen the Chinese Court sent representatives to R;,i;kjm (or to other foreign
courts) to confer investiture, their itinerary, clothing and conduct were pre-
scribed to minute detail. Korea took precedence over Hyukyu In ceirenonial at
the Chinese Court, and Chinese envoys to Korea Tiere men of the third rank or
higher TThereas envoys to Ryukyu (and to Amiam) vere of the fifth rank or belqVy
chosen from among mem'oers of the Board of Ceremonies, the Censorate or the
Hanlin Aoadeqy. For the porfkoses of thelz' Jourrnqr, however,' they were allowed
an "&3si--nilatcd first rank". That is to say, the Emperor conferred on his en-
voys the robes and equipment appropriate to men of the first rank, and their
ceremonial was of the first order, but upon their return to Peking from Hyukyu
or lamem, they turned in. thsir Munificent robes and reverted to their pexMnent
status.

(29) This vras in marked contrast to the behavior of the Japanese rho upon
occasion were received at the capital; official relations were resumed briefly
in the 15th. century, and tfae diery of Buddhist priest Inho, a tributary envoy
in 14.51, records a serious incident in vrhich Japanese refused to be tutored in
ceremonial, desiring instead to get on directly with the business of trading
for v/hich they had come. See Takekoshi losoburo: The Economic Aspects of the
History of the Civllisatlcn of Janan. Vol. I» pp. 225 £t. jge^.
(30) We TTill mtielpate here cnly to note that, to the Vestemers vho
fir:3t visited OkinaT:a, Shuri and Naha shoired a much r^recter dcrroe f Chinesa
-

influence than other parts of the island, and thi.i j.tid to many confur.ed be-
liefs and reports concerning the origin and al3 et;'. -e of the R^AJkrucon people.
T.'estexners were unanimous, too, in commenting upu;; (^nd suffering irritation
from) the successful manner in which the Okinaran ^cvrt insisted In placing
every foreigner ashore under close surveilllance at lAl times. They did not
know that throughout five hundred years this had been the Okinawcn's own ex-
Srlence v.hen visiting China. To officials in tlie Ryukyu government, it was
e normal and expected treatment of foreign visitors^ both In China end Japan*

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It is oleftr that tiM ChlMse Court developed the eeraatanles and uMgaa of
the trlbutaxy system for political purposes as veil ee for commercial advan-
tage. Ag mediator between Heaven and Earth, the flnperor Tras considered to be
at the apex of human society. In the Chinese rorld-viev. tkie £mperor had no
equal aanDg othaqr rulera, nor jdld Qilna and Ghineaa aoltiira hava equals In
other Itndr. The Tributary systeca war^ devined ttiere^ore ti establish a r.ork-
able formed relationship betveen the Chinese and non-Chlroje people. It If not
difficult to imagine that the envoys irom ftyukyu \.ere impressed by the vast ex-
tant of the Chinese coantrTslda throu^ ahidi tbay passed enreote to Hanking
or Peking, and that they v;ere awed by the grandeur of the capital cities and
the cereaonlal of the great palaces. Confucius had said that a great ruler
(aaning of course a Qiineae ruler) was like the Pole-Star about afaloh all other
stars revolved. This simile. W uaed often in Chinese history, and in refer-
ence to this in later years, the envoys of Ryukyu, Korea, and Annam, (ar rell
as of &igland, Francei Russia and the United States,) irere received in the Tau-
Kuai-.^; or "Bali of th« Effulgent Fole-8tar," iSb» Foreign .Ibwy Audience Gha»-
,har. .

In accepting the tributary relationship, Kin«; Satto brought the Court of


Gfausan - and hance the gentry tikroughoot the island - under direct- -Chinese. oul->
tural influence. 1V,e Chinese did not need to make a show of arras tc secure
acceptance of subordination, ana so long as the Okinawans fulfilled the cere-
monial obligations required of them, there Tras no attempt on China's part to
interfere in any way with Chuaan's internal administration. It \<as to prove a
highly satisfactory relationship for the people of .Chuzan, lasting as it did
for five centuries* It was implied that China would protect them; they re-
oeived'the benefits of a flourishing trade, and the gifts of a highly polished
civilization, and they were (despite all this) free to govern themselves as
they wished. Although the quantity and periodicity of trade nhich floTirished
under this political relationship varied frono[ period to period, the Sormal -..
hands endured tdthout diange*

Turning back to our revietr of Okinawa's internal history, we discover


Hiat the Lord of Sanaan (eho called hiowelf King) fias not etLam to profit by
Chuzan' s example; in 1383 he, too, began to send envoys to the Chinese Court,
and receiTsd ^l^a's permission to send over one .ship in each tolbute period*

As if to remind the Okinaeane of their attachment also to


Japan, a Japanese Buddhist Tii.Tsionary-pric-jt naned Raicho c'cui. IjC? ."ounded
Gokaku Temple on the bluffs (at Naminoue) overlooking the entrance to Tamari
Inlet and Naha Harbor, and the King bestowed his patronage on it«

In 1389 for the first time we find a record of official communication be-
tween the Court of Qiusan (King ^atto) and the Korean Court. Okinauan .mvoys
carried uild^ lliem to Korea presents of rare moods, pepper, and other items
which were not indigenous products of Ryukyu.. These appear to have qQSte from
the East Indies or Indo-China, and rere evidence that Ry^jlcyuan seamen even then
boldly sailed to far distant places in search of a luxury trade. Miyako and
XMMymna beoame m^r-etations} and King 8atto*s prestige mas great enough to

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Copyriytiioa material
cause the local Lords in tl^.ese outlying southern ialands to s«nd op envoys and
tribute to Chuzan (1390) . Other off-lying islands sudb as Kune-Jlaa resuMd -

foroter subordinate relationships. (1391)*

There now began a quarter-century of accelerated change on Okinara, and in


Okinarra's relations rith the outside world. In the absence of specific data
we .oust infer that the Chinese Court wae impressed by the vride-ranging activi-
ttes of Bgrnkyoan aorloers. ilfhou^ tqr this tjjDo Ghineae emllpEtBit ooanuDities
had begun to develop t}:roughout Southeast Asia and the Indies, the Chinese
themselves were not notably active as seafarers; there was a coastal trade in
Chinese junks, but adventurous open-ocean voyaging over long distances T:as not
•OMBiMtt* Fortfigb trade «as tirou^t to (^ilna's ports in foreign 8hlp6, and the
Chinese vers ready to encourage this pattern of economic nctivity. The An-
naaese, tho Koreens, the Japanese and the Okinairans were ti.e only border peo-
ple on the 8M firontiers oonrersaat «ri1li the Chinese language. Neither the
jKmamese nor the Korcms were r/lde-ranging seafarers; the Japanese were pirates
rather than "traders in China waters, and v/ere feared all along the China coast.
Uoreover, with the exception of Ashikaga Xoshimitsu, Japanese barons admitted
no olleglaBCie to Ifte -Qdlnese Court and their nan vere unruly and arrogant ner^
ohSBts at thtf port elides*

CirouBStances surrounding the development of a Chinese trading base on


off-diore Qklnsna suggest that it was not aoelderit but earefully ealeolated
policy. In the Okinawans the Chinese T;ere *>o find excellent middlenen. On
the Okinayan side, Chinese favor arid assistance nas prp-ised, and recorded as
a denonstration of "Imperial Benevolence." Scrutiny of Chinese administrative
records nay show a basis in aore realistic eonsideratlon. (31)

These were the years in fiiich an influential faction at the Ming Court
was pronoting and organizing the first of 'seven great expeditions shich sailed
as far as Arabia. Hundreds of rtilps and many thousands of men were involved;
vast treasure was expended. These provide circumstantial evidence that many
men Xxi the Chinese b^reauiBracy were giving thought to the problems of foreign
trade and to the presence Abroad of permanent overseas Chinese trading ooaanuni'
ties. ...
... .
r
'

-
Qkihava ^iresanted itself as a likely place fbr a profitable trading base.
However condescending the Chinese might be toward these tributcr;,'' barbarians,
they may have x^cognised in Satto's envoys, and in Satto himself, qualities
uorthy of eaqpleltatlcn. Chinese envoys mre instructed to nake reports on la-
^
temsl conditions idthih the Island. '

(31) 8ir Geotge Sanson sunnarises this period of (^ina*s overseas acti-
vities in "The Asiatic Trade" Chap. 7, pp. 13^^-151, The Western World and Japan
noting that the records concerning the origin of Cheng Ho's seven great voyages
(MO5-I433) were suppressed and presumably destroyed. For detailed discussion
of Japan *s tributary end trade relations (alnays tmsatisftotory to the Chinese)
see Takakoshi Yosobjro: The Economic Asrects of the History of ^^he CivilizatiflB
of Japan, Vol. X, Chap, XVII, "foreign Trade in the Ashikaga £ooch," 211-
229.

35-
The Foundipg of Kume-myra, » Chiiieee Lmnigrant GQciiawiity ' _

., , • • * '. '
,

In "1392 the }'inr, Goveriiment sent over a large number of rhi'"epe farr>ilis8
to settle at the trading base on Okinawa. They are referred to in traditional
hieibory as '*The Thirty-six Funilies" but this must not be tak^j as a literal,
mNBarloal dtscrlptloa. lh«7 eaoe tvom the Fukioa eoMttf. r«gl4a, .i«here-.lt is
eustOMry to use the phrese "The Thirty- six Families" in the smse of "represeo-
tetlir* of all the local people." The ii&iDigraatB settled near .

'the chief andiorage for trading shlpa^ The lend a88i£D«d to than HM. tax-
finae. The C^usan Government allotted a rle»-stlpaad foc tha idlola wmmitjf
based on the mimber of adult males fifteen or more years of age. They rere
given social privileges at the Court, and enjoyed great prestige and special po-
sition aiBong th9 JKwni' paopla. From the, QUnasa -point of vlefir It «a« #xpactad
.

they v7ouId "civilize" the Okinavran barbarians. From tha Okinanan p^int of v?.ew
they v;ere looked on rdth admiration; they were the "modem people" of their day
in Okinawa, and represented the great cultural world of which iDsny Ryukyu
laadera irvra aagav to leam. Thaytaun^t Hia Ghlnesa twittao -languaga, and aB->
sumed.many official and quasi-off icipl clericd duties in connection r/ith ex-
change of communication and trade with China. Of the Chinese custors introduced
at this time, many became so assimilated and blended yith local tradition and*
eostoM as to be virtually Indiatlngulahabla today, but the origins of aone ra*
main even nor traditionally associated with the founding of the villa'^e rhich
came to-be kno»n as Kumenaura. One of .these for instance is >the pifiryu-seaa or. )

DragoB Boat llaos.i*il<di Is one 67 tii* graat popular .fastlvtls; of. South China,
aoir bald amroaUy in muoj viilsgas tfaarowi^Mttt Bgnikjn. v

.The 1 oundi ng of KumeHmkra ma^ be said to mark a great tocnent in Ryukyu


history; thanonfortb into modarn timas the -veiy: nana -*Kujbr ^^fflfrra* oarrlad viVti
it connotations of alien blood. It suggested distinction. ?ii scholarship and
association with matters of foreign trade and diplomacy, ^ Jst as "residence"
in Shuri suggested association ?7ith government and with the aristocracy. (32)

• • - «

^ultural B^lations Tdth Cnina. Korea and^Japon


(
,

Ties with China rere strengthened rapidly. In 139? >oth Chuzan jmd Nan-
zan sent scholaiahip students to. China, as Japan hac done s^ven hundred years
earlier. In later yi^ars those nere often eons of the Kume-mura i«muigi*ant8 as

(32) In 1907', C. P. Leavenworth took his Chinese interpreter' into Kume-


mura upon Leij^g assured that he rould find scholarly dasoendants of cho "Ihirty-
six FarailJoa." Ke reports (in his Ki story of Loochoo . p. 1^2) that he found
persons proudly claiming Kumenaura Chinese descoat, but otherwise undistinguish-
abla frofli other Qkinamais ia litarary aecoBpHsfameDts, physical flharactaristles
or sodal life.

One cannot refrain from noting earlier and later parallels in cultural and
political history. Tha Japanasa had raeaifsd alien Korean and Chinasa sattlars
on similar terms In the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries, giving them high
honors, but barring them, as aliens, from certain leveln of the social and of-
ficial hierarchy. The position of the privileged Foreign (£urope.an) Settlements
in 19tfa oentnry Japan offars^etbsTipaiiiliaW^
nail as jomg prinoM adsd son« of tli'a hlgjbtst offleials, 8il«et«d for ^cir
individual capacity as well as for their rank. It was the beginning of a prac-
tice that WS.S to last into the 19th cent^iry. They were the elite of Okinavja,
through whom tho ruling gentry v;ere always Icept aware of China's sise ar;d
stracgthf* and vara ultiaataOLj to provida oppoaitlon to Jiqpan'a asaiiailatlon
poUtfiatf aftar 1B72. (33)

King Satto now strengthened the new relationship vdth China by selecting
an Qklaairan weU-knoim to the Ming Court, to racaive the tltla of O-sho. lit-
erally "King's assistant". Perronal rule was not yet a thing of the past, tut
thia foreshadowed its and, and the substitutioa of the system of King's minl-
atara iho oonld gdfvaiti la tha King' s n«aa» First to fill thla liq)ortai»t nav
post las Iratn> Satto* a anvoj to tfaa Ming Court in tlia'yaara 13B3, 1306» 1391|
139A and 1395.

7h 1392 an Okinaaaa ehlp had baan mrackad on tha Aiina eoaat. Aa a gvatora
of interest in Chuzan's shipping, the Ming Court not only sent back the st-^axj^-ed
mariners but offered the services of a Chinese shipbuilder and navigator to
Instruct Ryukyuans in v.hat the Chinese believed to be the latest and soundest
prinelplae of Shipbuilding,

King Satto died in 1395 at the age of seventy-five years. He was sue-
caeded by his aldaat son ^nei, aged 41< lha developnant of political, eoa-
merclal and intellectual relationa with China did not diminish. Ehvoys and
students rent abroad in that same year, and in the next a special headquarters
for the Qiinese diplomatic and commercial missions vas founded at the port.
Thar^iTsre ttio principal bcildings, tha RaSidMiee ( Tcnshi-ican boilt for tha
)

cereiDonial reception and entertainment of Chinese envoys of high rank, and tha
Trading Center ( Oyamise ) . Special nar^iouaaa vara aatabllahed to handle in-
coming and outgoing trading goods.

Increased prosperity and activity in Chuzan intensified rivalries of tha


northern and southern princes. Tlie old Lord cf Holcuzan died a fev, months
after King Satto, in Chusan. Satto had enjoyed tiie honors of investiture froB
the Uing Court; nov it aaa nacaasery to patitloo for ihB inwaatitsra of a nav
King in Okinawa. In 1396 and 1397 all three principalities sent tribute to
the Ming Court, each vying with iiie other to secure the coveted investiture.
Haniji , the nev lord of Hokuzan, sought to be recognized as King of all tha'
Byukyu Islands. Envoys were aant to Kbx«a for a similar purpose. It was a
situation breeding trouble ae vrell as opportunity, and v.'as further complicated
by the death of the Lord of Nanzan in 139d. He was succeeded by his brother Ya-
l^sa in tha nldst of eonfttslon and rivalrias at tbs Hansan Covrt« Ha too ^p-
paalad to Cbioa for recognition and invastitura.

At Ranking decisions concerning investltiira had to be put off for scBia


yaars, for China itsalf was ton by iiar snd rabaUlcn. Ghnaania trading ra-
'
lations with China, so carefully mirturad by King Satto, vara intarruptad* jE!f
'
'
• • - .

(33) The institution and the curriculum of the Kuo Tzu K»an (Kokushi-
kan) or school at Peking attended by foreign students - including the students
from Ryukyu - may be isorthy of careful study in developing an understanding of
Ban3kyu*s political and social position in Far Sastaxn history.

-37-

Copyrightecl inaicnal
ootneldence, Qiu Yuan-chang, foimder and First Bnperor of th« Ulng djfaMty,
also died in 1398, aft«r a relgja of tiiirty years. China also sufferad froa
succession disputes. Nanking fell (in 1402) » tha 90ung Eteperor Bui Ti flad
before rebels. His uncle made himself Eknperor, knoTO in history as Yung Lo.
Iheo Dyukyu was able to send envoys again, the capital had been removed to Pe-
Idngy and tha vast palacas and govanuumt buildings of tha Inparlal Cltgr vera
undar eonstruotion.

It was not until 1404 that a formal investiture mission V7as received on
ddnam fron tha nair gD^vanvaaat In China, and King Satto*a son Buoai «as oon-
firmed as King of Chuzan. He had meanv.hile sent missions to Koraa and t6
Japan, and trade flouriahed as far south ae Siam and Java.

Desplta tha tansloDS faoilt .up I97 rlmtlry aapng tha thraa Okinanan prlnci'-
palities and by the succession quarrels rithin them, this T.as a period of
active; cultural development for Hyukyu. Okinawa was in. a position to draw
upon her neighbors in periods of great eraetive oultural aotiVll7« A nav
dynasty in Korea (founded in 1392) was just then Moving into a parlod of bril-
liant achievement; nhile the new administration tslS being organized according
to proper Ckmfucian principles, a new capital city (Seoulj was being built, a
n«v phonetic alphabet «aa being perfactad, aowabla natal typa ma being de-
veloped, encyclopedias and histories were being written, and ceramic techniques
of a high order were being perfected. King Bunei ar.u his succensors sent mis-
sions up to Korea to study as v.-ell as to trade, and it is to Korea that Oki-
nana owed certain developnents in Boddhisa. Buddhist texts, eerenonies and
ritual furniture neve introduced and possibly some influence ras felt in
architecture. As a gesture of friendliness, the King of Chuaen ordered that
all shipwrecked or stranded Koreans should be taken bade to Korea, including
1^0 se who escaped fram aervltttde under the Japanese pirates tlien roving In
adjacent seas.

All ^ree Okinanan principalities aent missions to Korea in 1397, but


only Chuzan appears to have had formal relations with the Court of the Ashikaga
Shoguns at Kyoto (1403) • It is said that certain (Japanese) Shinto practices
were introduced to the Southern Islands about this time and that they became
quite popular. In 1409 official enbassy ims dispatched to Sian.

V.'ith the examples of Japan, Korea and China nor so near at hand, v;ith the
elaboration of government offices, and with the spread of literacy, it is not
aurpslsing to discover that tha Byukyu leaders ordered the preparation of their
ovm RojFal Jnnals. "Hie first volume of a "Treasury of the Poyal S'^cceEsion"
( Rekidal Roan) was issued in 1403* This series of records was destined to be
maintained faithfully until 1619.

Meanwhile political changes were underway that were to alter the succec-
sion, unify Okinawa once again, and make of the Byukyu Islands a trading base
knom throug^t aaritlBe Asia,

'wO(.y lighted material


Clu4»t«r ly

THE GREAT DAIS OF CHOZAM

1. OnifleatidD of th«' Sanson under Bbo Rashl '

2. Beginning of Troutled Relations vitb Japan

3* Ti*aidlng Ihtouc^out Fai* EastaTn Sees, from Japan and Koroa to Sumatra

4,, Meeting the Western World; Oklnavans and Portuguese at Malacca in


1511 '
.
'
.
'

-

*

5* Oultural Proaperitsr and Folitleal ConfUaioii on Oklnaia -

6« The "Second Dynasty" Established under Sho £h and Sho Shin

7> Sbb Shin* 8 Ralgn.and ita Aftenutht The Great Daya Of Gbusah

. I-' -/'

CopyriytiiuG material
UeMS. ^ Iradioig acute a in the Qra^t Dgya of CSiu

Trade froa )fodlt«rraaeaa luropc, th« Mlddl« lact, mA India paasad throu^ tlM
Straits of Malacca and northward along tho coast to Canton and Cfaumehov, Gbiaa*
ICaaUa Oallaim trate
nth 9p1lA (Mnt^o) avt^liiMd af tar 1566.

Copyrighted material
Ghi^ptar IV

. • '
1^ ....
isPE&T DAIS Of cmm - . . ,

'
Unification of the Sangan undey Sho Has^^i

ftithin the space of three years the three petty Kings of Okinawa ivwitt
,

dead* .and each of the Hiree, oastle-reourto ims shaken and torn by factional ,\
disputes. Bjnei .STjcceeded his father King Satto in 1395, but eleven years
passed before an investiture mission came from China to confirm him in his
'

t^tle. While be waited at Chu^, an ambitious, shrewd and far-sighted yovmg


nan named Rashi had Mgun to rise In local prontlnence* Taking 'advantage of
the general uneasiness and unrest v*ich marked the change in rulers, Hashi
rallied considerable popular support to himself and in 1102 brought about the
downfall of a local chieftain, the Lord of Ozato District. Five years later
he raised a vlder rebeUion anong llie people^ drove Kin^ f^oi ^^^an Drasoe^
and plaeiBd his am father on the throne at Ghuzan im4k>r .^e name Sho Shl<-idu>«

King Bunei simjily vaiiished from history. Tradition says that no one
knows fAiere he died, but one may speculate that it would be es^remely difficult
for a royal person to survive lor,,-;: T.ithout detection within the -larrov bound-
aries of Chuzan. He may have escaped overseas to so'ne remote island hiding
place, or he may have been done away v;ith by Sho Hashi' s partisans, and the
act concealed. (34)

. Ha^hi had placed hixnse.lf in a delisat^. position vis-a-vis the Chinese


Coprt^ if it took seriously i^s^ovp claims to a»thi»ri'^' among the T^hotary
Stiitss* .Immediately after he received in vectiture Bxmei had been forcibly
overthrown by Hashi. The Chinese envoys had scarcely had time to return to
make a report to the fiaperor Himg Ku. Both Nanzan and Hokuzan had been bidding
for Chinese recognition as overlords in ,Okinawa, and tiieir claims (-as veil as
their tribute gifts) were well known at the Chinese. Court. Since the Chinese
Eknperor himself had only recency seized pov/er by overthrouinj: his predecQsaoTj
he nas not in a position to be critical of Hashi, and Hashi, on his part,
afareedljr did two things well-oaloalated to win spprohatioik in Chlaa.

He (Ud not assume royal authority for himself, but proclaimed his father
.

to 'b^ Iting of Chuzan, and he accompanied this act of filial piety by a wide
reorganisation of the administration after Chinese precedents. Such a. danon-
stration qf filial piety iret the highest standards of the Confucian moral
codfi by which the Chinese professed to live. And since, then as now, ii^iita-
tion nas'the sincerest form of flattery, he appealed strongly to Chinese self-
esteem by adopting as much as he could of China* s political and cultural in-
stitutions. The new King (^ho Shi sho) immediately sent envoys to Peking to
ask for investiture. A second mission was sent in the next year, and at last
the Ming Court responded favorably.

( 34) coincidence the young Chinese ISaperor Hui Tt had been driven
from Nanking two years earlier, and had vanished. He was presuried dead until
he was discovered thirty-six years later, living in disguise as a monk.

. .-39-

^^^(.;y lighted material


Cbineae Court administrative orgfinizatiou had to be severely modified to
nt eondltians on Okinawa, but the essentials of the court hierarchy, rank,
bBdgeB of honor and Boarda of admtDiBtrative supervision won adopted. (35)

The next few years mere full of activity. Shuri Caetle was enlarged and
becene tbe seat of adBinistration. Students irare sent to Korea to' study. It
is said that many places of worship were corstructed in Chuzan, end that botii
Chuzan and its rivals Nanzan and Hokuzan continued to vie v,ith one another
in sending stud^ts to Peking at government expense. Despite the outbreak
of serious qtfarf^lllng over the succession dispute at Hansen, Taroaal, Lord
of HansMi, at'ldsi received the coveted writ of investiture from the Hlng
Court in 1415. E^lAg thus connitted itself to recognitipn of tso Kings on
"

Okinawa. '
'

Hashi wa^ ^.t this ti^..r; or.~rnizing and carryi:;r; through a military cam-
paign against the Lord of Hokuzan. His repeated attacks ucon the fiercely
defended Motobu peninsula stronghold were at last successful. The Lord of
Hokuzan and his principal vassals were killed ted the Hofcusen Castle overvun.
Hashi was aided by the Lords of Orasoe, Goeku, Yontanzan (Gosamaru), Nago,
[

Haneji and Kunigami. The last three of these appear to have been disaffected
.
|

vadsals of IMrosariy ilbse distriets VLoekad off Ifetobu peninsula from the
main land mass of Okinawa. Thus was txrought to an end the Independence of
northern Okinawa after ninety-one years. The region was not easily subdued
nor easily controlled for many years thereafter. Special garrisons had to
'

be stationed at the north; descendants of the Hokussn gentry were not ad-
mitted to residence at Shuri for aany years. The "Tombs of the Hundred
Faithful Retainers" ( Moroojana) arp ;^reserved today on the bluffs overlooking
"

the harbor at Unten, rhile in the Motobu countryside many families cherish
'

traditioniB (and a few pl^'sicaX limmtoea} of "eheir BacwtorB* .giixVLefi Ui


'
and near ihe Horthem Castle. .*J

The Lords of Hokuzan had constituted an ever-present ailitary threat oo


the northern borders of Chusan, but they had not been serious rivals in a
political or cultural sense. Only nine missions made the long journey to
China from Hokuzan Castle in the l^th century as compared to fifty- two frois
Chusan and eighteen from Nanzan in the same period. No students from the
north and only four studants from the sou^ undertook the arduous training
required of them in language and the Classics in China. Chuzan by contrast,
sent twenty young men abroad in what can only be called an early "National
leader" program. On the southern borders '(Qlf '(%nBan - alotost within tfl^t
of Shuri Castle - the Nanzan Court offered 'political rivalry, but apparently
was nrit thought to be a serious military threat to Chuzan' s welfare. For
whatever reason, Hashi did not attempt to overthrow the Kanzan princes until
1429* He applied his energies instead to an Intensive eiiltlvatlon of over-
8W traite and to the develbpmant of both Shuri and Baha.


(35)If we seek a Japanese parallel, v/e find it in the Taika Reforms of
645 A.D. after which the forms, and thd titles, 'though not the substance, per^
,
8lste4 uptil 1868.

Copyrighted inaicnal
Hashi sent missions regularly to China and to Korea in the name of King
£ho Shi-3ho, his father. In 1^9 he dispatched one of nis highest associates
on a mission to the King of Slam, and to Java. There hod been a misunder-
standfng ooneeming trading arrangenoots at Aynthia, the SioiMae capital. The
Oklnev7ans tjanted freedom to sell their goods to private merchantsj officials
of the King of Siam inslBted oa a royal or government oonopoly* Ehvoy Kakino*
hanft iKdartooIc to natora good relations, and the King of Biam in turn sent a
foxnal nlssioa up' to Shuri. (36)

Sho Shi-ElY>j- died in 1^21 at the age of sixty-seven


the nominal King,
3rear8*. •
of age) suoeeeded his father, and in the
Haatal (then fifty-one /years
following year stnt envoys to secure his writ of investiture from the Chinese
Court. His younger brother Sho Chu IAS i^ipointed Viarden of Hokusan, thus en-
suring allegiance in that quarter.

Hashi rss a builder aiid an innoiratoi Dist^jiCG markers were set out on
.

the high roads. (37). Nev; buildings (the Tonshi-kan) T/sre erected at Nsha
for the reception and entertainment of the Chinese envoys. The icm})i Shrine
for tocestors nas erected In KuMuura, the canter for Chinese studies and oere-
TRonial. A nissioa from Japan Is said to have introduced sooe new pints sad
artifacts.

'in 1425, four years after he became King in fact, Hashi reeeived fbcnal-
investiture from the Ming Court, tut in that year both thie Chinese Ftaperor
Xun^ Lo and his successor. Hung Hei, died. A boy of eight, Usuac Te, became
.'Bnpsrdl;. la the following year ftashl sent his expwisnced mvoj Kakinohana
-tv -hefting with the delicate task of carrying thSBlks for his ovm Investiture,
congratulations upon the accession of a nev fiipeior» and oondol«ioes for the
-

deaths of his predecessors. •


.

Apparently the mission v.ap carried off with notable success, for the Em-
peror of China condescended to send back to Hashi a tablet inscribed with the
.(dwraoters for "Gbusan" upon it, and in. t^e nea(t:7ear gifts 9f lacquer and of
embroidered official robes. (38)..

(36) A letter dated (1st year of Hung-^sl, or Oei 32 from Ifaidii to


the King of Siam. referred to trade and tribute exchanged under former kii:f;'3
Satto, Bunei and Sho Shisho. I'his was thou^^t to be the oldest surviving docu-
Biiant in the Ryukyu archives before 194^5.
(37) Since there were no rAieeled. vehicles in use, the roads nere simply
lanes vide snou^ for palaaqvln bearers and oirdinary foot traffic.'
(38) "Dragon robes" used in Ming diplomacy were of two kinds; five
claT7ed dragon designs rere reserved for robes *om by the Emperor and Irajierial
Princes, v/hereas the man dragons, having only four clav?s, were conferred on
nobles and leaser officials. The Mongols had established this usage. Ryukyu
may have been the first of the foreign rulers to receive them from 'Ming, though
suDsecr^ently thev were sent as far ns Jcva (14.52) and Arabia (1513). Bolts of
gang dragon cloth were sent to Holland and Portugal (I7th century) and to the
Pop* at Borne (1725). The last gifts sent abroad vere to Ryukyu. in 1874 (after
Japan had begun to take over), to the King of Annam in 1877 (after the French
had taken over) and to the King of Korea in 1886. Ryukyu ecu Korea are the only
Courts in ^ich Ming robes were actually vom. A Chinese history of Ryukyu vriti*
ten in 177>^ notes that the Kingis of fiyukyu vore the dregon robes only vfacn re-
ceiving envoys from China.
Seei Cnmnm, Sefaujlert China's Dragon Robes pp* 157->158*

^^^(.;y lighted material


The King had been developing the castle at Shuri, on Its conunanding site
o^rorlooking the landing places at Tomari and the harbor of Naha, and here oa
the road leading Into the castle, he erected (In 1428) a great gate in «hlcii
the Emperor's gift, the "Chuzan Tsblet", could be hung. In the next year
(L429) Kasbl turned on his southern riva^, oyerthren the Lord of Nansan (Taro-
1) and eetabliiAed • unified rule ov«r the three dLstricte of Okineiia.
Henceforth the local district names Hokuzan and SflMon eurrived in aooe vaaga,
but the whole kingdom carae to be referred to conanonly as. Chvzan, and was aq !

kno'<m until the middle of the 19th century. In reco^ition and praise of
Haehi^a aefaieveacot In imittag aU. of :Olcinaea voder his nilOf the Chinese
peror conferred on the ruling faally the 8MMI and §^ m
B»M. the title King
of Byukyu CLiu Gh'iu Wang).

...
. . .. . .1 - .

Pie Bae^limlag of Troiihled Relationa eith Japan

In the missions exchanged in this year (1432) Hashl was called upon to
play a delicate role in reeataUUflhlng fonial relationa hetween the Chlneae
Court and the Court of the Japanese Shogtm, Ashlkaga Yoshinori. Conceseions
vere necessary on both sides. Ihe Ashlkaga had made It dear that they did
not consider ISiaiiiBelves vassals of the IBng Etnperor, but they needed the pro*
fits that trade with China would bring, Ihe Gfainese, on the other hand, wers
suffering great Ibss at the hands of Jaoanese piratec ^ho intercepted Chinese
shipping on the hl^ seas and boldly raided Chinese ports and coastal toms.
ita appeal to Yoshlaodltiy the fourth ishlkaga Shogun, had been fruitless; bona
fide Japanese traders Tiho were impatient of the Trit-jtary formalities in China |

had hinted that unless they rere permitted to trade freely, piracy m-'ght in- i

crease. A solution was founa by creating a direct tribute relationship be-


tween tiie Ming Coovt and the great Zsn fta^lM, lanryuji. In Kyoto. The Hing
Court enjoyed the privilege of appointing a Chief Priest for the temple ad-
minlstratlbn (in this instance, Doen, one of Japan's envoys of 1432), v*ile in
turn the Ashlkaga Shogun granted the tesple a virtual monopoly of the legiti-
mate China trade. ThiS trading privilege the temple administration soon bagv
to farm out by selling permits to prosperous merchants, barons and other
temples. Ihus official trade with China was carried in vessels sailing aa
"tribute ships" wider Tsnryujl liesnses. inong the great Itords yAio shared la
these snterprlses was %iriaao> Lord of Satsuaa.

Chuzan seems to have been in fairly regular communication with Kyoto In


these years. Gifts sent up to thsrShogaa eere recorded at his Court as
"tribute" in texBS suggesting vassalage on the part of the King of RyulQru, but
there was not even the nominal ritual of an Investiture nor any Japanese at-
tempt to Interfere vlth the Internal administration of Cfausen. Nevertheless,
generation after generation of the fihlaaso FSnlly continued to reeeiwe frtsi Uis I

Shocun the for::ial title "Lord of the Tivelve Southern Islands." The ShlMaStt-^
]

on their part, did nothing to give substance to the claim. ;

I '

nothing of special note appears in the records of sewsn Qklnasa isaions


sent up to Japan betr/esn I403 and 1448. Messaces for the Ashikaga Shogun's
court were sometimes written in kana. Japan's phonetic system. Medicinal herbs,
lacquer-ware snd coins were nefitioned smbng the. gifts and trading goods sent iip>

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No definite date can be fixed to mark the chanf^e that nov. began to take
place in Ryjkyu-Japanese relatione. It can be attributed, however, to the
change in politleal ood econoale affairs vithln the Japaaeaa isXands ttaeni-
selves. Japan ras approaching a long dark period in Trhich the country bor-
« dered on anarchy. The Impei'lal Court was powerless end poverty-stricken. The
Aahlkaga Shoguns found their authority successfully challenged in all parts
of the country, and their land revenues reduced drastically as a coDSsquence*
Nevertheless the Shogun Yoshiunsa lived in a state of extraordinary luxury^
even through years of terrible and general civil war (the Qnin no ren) «

Because of these internal conditions, the Shogun 's Court became increas-
ingly dependent upon the profits of foreign trade. But bv the same token they
became increasingly unal^e to curb the activities of Japanese pirates, based
in -small ports bslonging to feudal barons irtio hdd the Shogunate and t^e Sho-
gun' s orders in light regard. Japanese pirates ravaged the coasts of Korea
and China, sacked such important cities as Ningpo and Yfingchor, end ultimately
forced the Ming Court to order all Chinese ports closed to Japanese ships.
As legitimate trade dwindled, the Shogun* s government, the Indepeadint bttrbns
and the merchants of Japan tegan to look for alternatives. Tt is I'lere that
Okinawa began to pay the price for neutrality, prosperity and military weak-
ness.

Trouble to come was foreshadowed in 1A50 v-hen the pov;erful baron Hoso-
kawa Katsumoto, Lord of a great part of Shlkoku Island, intercepted and seized
a Ryukyusn vessA bearing cargo into Hyogo for Kyoto. This is an early sign
of rivalry for control of the Ryukyu trade (and ultimately of Ryukyu itself)
vhlch was to eulminate in the Satauma Sxpedititm in 1609.

ScHne Oklnaeans irant up to Japsn as private traders, some as envoys fron


the Chuzan Court. Desoite repeated seisure of cargo enroute to Kyotoy fiyu-
Isyvmissions continued to carry luxury goods to the Ashikaga Court, and in
143d the Shogun loshimasa deigned to grant a personal interview nith envoys
0«nt up by the King of Shiirl.'

In 1471 Yoshimasa ordered subordinate daimyo to send ships to Ryukyti to


take advantage of the lively trade there. Until a careful study is made of
Oil -data relating to thlii ptolod In Japanese-^Tukyu relations, it can be sop-
posed that Yoshimasa had decided to establish a trading monopoly to supple-
ment OF to replace the unsuccessful Tenryuji monopoly of trade with China.
IQiatever the cause may have been, we can sense in the increased formality of
Ryukyu missions sent to Kyoto an Okinawan reaction to increased formality of
interest and pressure. The Okinawan Court seems to have been eager to es-
tablish well-defined diplomatic relations with Japan, possibly with a view to
duplicating Its highly satisfactory and profitablie formal relationiriiip with
the Chinese Conrt* Ve read of an embassy planned for 1476, for instance,
lAiich riRs designed to congratulate the Shogxm Yoshihisa (then 10 years 6ld)-
upOQ his assmaption of the authority abdicated by his father Yoshimasa.
IThis sttbassy had to be abandoned, hoievwr, because of the death of the Xing
(Sho ai) at Shuri.

Four years later the Shogoniate moved further, ordering the Lord of Satsuma
to supervise Ryukyuai^ sblpplngy and directing l^kyu to pay tribute to Kyoto*

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Copy righted material


In rMponte to tbie the King of Ryukyu MBt oii« of his Blnlstcro (Jana) vp to
8at«uma to confer with officials tbara.

These ^vonts aaxk tlic beginning of a long, divided r^atlonahlp vith Ja^ en,
in T.'hich Ryukyu sent missions and paid tribute to the Sho^junate at Kyoto and,
with the Shogun's permission, estftbiished a direct association ^.ith Satsuma.
Shimazu acted (nominally at least) as a^ent for the Shogun. For approximately
one htndred years Japanese-Ryukyuia relations renalned on this basis, rith a
slow penetration of Japan's ciilturel Influence throughout the Southern Islands.
The Kings of R:.TJkyu found it diplomatic as T?ell as profitable to send congratu-
latory envoys to Kagoshima when nets Lords succeeded to the headship of the Shi-
nasu Fanily, or new heirs fiere horn. A sore sohetantial advantage .rested in
the implied obligation of Setsuma to protect Ryukyu from external interference.
This was clearly demonstratod in 1516, \;hen Miyake Kunihide, a feudal beuron of
Bltchu, on the Inland Sea, decided to invade and appropriate Ryukyu for his
oim use, and naa blocked (and killed) by Shimasu Tadaharu. There was occa-
sional correspondence between SairuLa and Ryukyu concerning trade, anr! froB
time to tine messages v;ere transmitted betreoi the Chinese Court and -the .

8bogiin*8 court throu^ the good offices of ihe King of Ryukyu end. his envoTB.-
To serve the Gn tsuma-Ryukyu trade, a halfway station r.'as devdoped on the:- •

small island of Tanegashima, southeast of Kagoshima. This v.'as ana3.og<^us to


the halfv.ay point for trade and diplomacy which was maint^iiied throughout these
years by I^kyu at the Chinese porta (principally at Ghuao-diow In FVdcifln).^ -

Ryukyu itself vias not only a halfway point between China and Japan in matters
of trade, but had become indeed an imoortant entrepot for trrde ihrouphout
Far Eastern waters. It is to a brief consideration of that trade, and its ef-
fects on llie intenal life of the Ryukyu Klogdon, that vie nust now tnm hade.

Trading Throuf^yut far Eastern Seas, ^rom Japan and Korea to Suotatra

Ships ere means of communication rith all nations;


The country is full of rare products and precious treasures

Qy order of Sho Hashi, these r/ords rere inscribed on a bronze bell hung in the
main audience chamber of Shuri Castle. They reflect the vision of this re-
markable King \iho was determined to overcome the natural poverty of local
sources by developing the potential -resources of Intemaidanal comneree*. Onder
his guidance Chuzen became a lively; trading center. The seas about Oklne—.
Here no longer barriers but highways. Slips from Naha began to appear in most
of the important ports of the Far East. Chinese, Japaneae, Koreans, Siamese
and Indonesians travelled aboard Ghusan*s vessels. The ship's holds carried
rich cargoes of luxury goods from port to port. TJhUe the warehouses at Naha
served as a transhipment base for much of the cargo handled, some items from
each nomecoming voyage passed into the storehouses of the Court, and into daily
use SBong the people of ilsha and Shuri. It is evident tiiat the King's agents
scrupulously observed the formalities of polite intercourse in the oorts to
Trtiich they went, with the result that they could continue to perform the duties
of middlemen in commerce between states vhich were not in direct communication.
This was espscially true nheo Japanese pirate raids upon the Chinese coast
cauded relations hetseen JsiMin and Qiina to be broken off.

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Copyrighted inaicnal
rrom Japan Uia Ghusan aardiaiita oanrlad into Chlaaaa porta eareoaa of
'

GTords, lacquerware, folding fans, elegant folding screens, and some textllaa.
From C-iina to Japau y;ent cermnics, certain fine textiles, -nedicinal herbs,
minted coins end the like. To both of these countries (and to Korea), the
shipa tnm Naha eandad rare aeods (aapaoially the hi|^y priaad aattpan dye-
wcod) , peppers and other iipices, Incenpe, rhinoceros horn, iron, tin, ivory,
sugar and curiously manufactured articles nhich they had picked up in the ports
of aoutJiaaat Aaia. To aequira tbaaa things in trade, the Chuaan merchants took
cargoes of Japanese and Chineae goods southward. Chinese interpreters vent
alonp, for much of the exchange was conducted throufl^ local aattlaBaDts of over^
seas Chineae in the southern porta*

The arrival of ships from the. south from time to time must have bem of
holiday interest, for the citizens of Naha could never be sure rhat strange now
bird or animal might be brought off the ship, ?rhat new plants or floners might
be ahoard, idiat new Buaioal Inatrunanta, what oolorftil nev ooatuaes or taactilee«
The returning seamen could tell exciting stcries cf adventure in distant porta»
sing nev; pongt; and demonstrate nev? dances and games. Curios and goods too
damaged for use at the Court might become available throu^ barter and trade.

Trade with Chuzan and througn Chnzar. T/ith other countries became suffi-
ciently interesting to prompt the Chinese Ming Court to establish a special
Ryukyu Trading Depot at Chuang-chow in Fukien Province, in 1^39$ which contin-
ued tn use until 1875.

Between 1432 and 1570 at least forty-four official embassies were dis-
patched \iy Sburi to the south - to AimaBy Slan, Patani^ Kalaeea and the king-
doas in Java. Traders rea<died Luzon, Sunatra, Borneo. Osstomarily each tre^
ing expedition was under command of an envoy comnissioned by the King. Some
of. these men made the long voyages again and again. Sometimes more than one
junk would set out under ooooiend of the King's agent, and there were tines rhen
as many as 300 men rere in the company. It required a minimum of at least five
months to make thr ,*oumey to the Indies. Traders usually set out in the au-
tumn months, crossing to the coastal waters off Fukien, China, and then coast-
ing .aoutheard keeping idthln sight of headlands. Given faworaUe winds, the
outrard voyap:e to Malacca required about fifty days. From there the voyage
could be extended to other ports and islands in Southeast Asia until it was
time to turn baok and ride the winds toward Naha at the end of spring. Trade
irith the south continued through two centuries, but shifted 'fvoa. port to port
with rtianging po}.itical fortunes in the countries visited.

The Qklnauans seem to have estaU-ished and aalntained good relations


everywhere, exhibiting a mild and friendly character. Japanese pirates mo-
lested them in Japanese territorial waters, but seem to have rithheld serious
interference with their trading further south. As relations between China and
Japan grew worse, and Japanese tr^ hooters ravaged the continental ooaatal
districts as far soo^ as Kwangtung Province, it became necessary (after 1509)
for the Ryukyuans to carry certificates knoTO as kuei-choo-. These enabled than
to pass through the protective Chinese cordons guarding porta and estuariea
agcdnst Japanese privateers and raiders* These certificates stated that the
Ryukyuan ships were in search of tribute goods for the Chinese Court. Among
all the tributary states onlv Ryukyu seens to have been privileged to trade at
any season and v/ithout eniorceuent of time limits allotted by government direc-
tiOB.
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Copyrighted inaicnal
Jn a BlBilar aaimer the SIsmm rdjond ovdinarjr r«fltrlctioa« to grant
special trade fa/ors to the merchants from Naha. Chuzan's relations with Slai
persisted longer than with any of the other far distant southern countries.
Only Clam sent a ship of its onn to carry an envoy to ihe King at Shuvl; the
otti«r oountries sent envoys, gifts or letters to CkSjotam aboard Cliussn's ships.

We do not know when the earliest exchange with Siam took place, though
later doeumnts refer to Ryukyu-Sismese trade in. the reigi of Satto (1350^
1^), There is express mention of a mission leaving Shuri for Sian in LUU.
On pace vCl vre noted that ti o oldeat document preserved in the pre-T?ar archives
of Okinawa was a copy of a letter sent by King Sho Haahi to the King of Siaa
j

in 1425* This referred to trade carried on satisfactorily in earlier years |

and then reviewed a problem »diich had risen in 1^0. Siamese officials had |

objected that Ryukyu's tribute gifts were insufficient, and had on these groirndB ;

forced the Ryukyuans to sell their trading articles (aaopan wood) directly to |

the officials of ,Ayuthia. This had nsent heavy loss for the Ryukyuans, idio i

depended upon sales in the open market to realize a profit for the voyage. On j

the next trip they carried a larger gift ("tribute") for the Siamese officials,
but again they met with the same situation and again suffered a loss. The King,
8ho Hashi, now took a hand in tiie natter, and addressed a letter to the King of I

Siam requesting a more liberal trea'cment of his merchant- voyagers . The matter I

was adjusted satisfactorily -vhcn (in 1432) Siam r«PLaaced her oonoply practices
j

and allowed the Okinawans to trade freely. ... , i-.

Hie pre-vpr revives of Okinawa held records of at least fifty-eight trad-


ing missions to Siam over a period of 1^6 years. Qualified estimates have been
Bade that perhaps 100 other voyages vere nade for vrhich no records survive.

In 1-C78 the Ryukyuans at Ayuthia suffered the loss of their ship by fire.
Tf;oyears later the Siamese government generously arranged to send them bac|c
to Naha in a Siaaese diip ascorted by a senior Siamese official.

Relations with Jaim appear to have begun in 1-430 and to have continued
for approximately one hundred years> first with Eastern and then with ffestexn |

Java (Sonda) , as pdlitieal conditions d^etated within the country. Relations


with Sumatra, most distant trading point-' for Ryukyu, djl not long continue. A
ship was sent to Palembang in llZ6y and returned to Naha in the next year with '

a Sumatran envoy aboard. Shuri returned, the courtesy with the customary gifts,
documents and trading articles* This Okinamn nissian renaliiad In Sumatra for |

nearly ten nionthr. There %eve later missicns,: .httt the l«8t fjOT whiA there is I

record took place in 1440.


'
I

Trade with Patani, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, became in* |

creasingly important as that port grew large with refugees crowding from war- j

torn Java and Malacca. There are records twelve Ryukyu missions, but it
is presumed that tlwra. vere nxnre. The last visit was made in 1941*

The pre-war archives of Okinavra Prefecture contained documents covering


trade with Malacca in I463, but these in turn referred to earlier relations.
Malaeea itadf had only recently grown in prominenoe end importance through
the influx of refugees trcn Java and areas being pressed Java. Here the
Okinawans were at the cross->road8 of Southeast Asian trade, about mid-way be-
tween Indo-China and India. Something is known of at least twenty Ryukyu

^46-

Copyrighted inaicnal
missions to Maiaoca (four of them ended in shipfwreck) , but It is the last ono^
in 1511> vhidk is of lnt«M8t and flpaoial signlficne* In Ryukyu History. Bmv
the people of Qmsen first set oith fibropeans*

.'et' lnp the "^.


cjtem 7>'orlri : Oklntiwar.s tdid PortHf^.uese at [ttglacca in 1511

The Portuguese captain Affonso du Albuc^ueixjue arrived in the Straits near


Malacca in eaily s-ummer, 1511« (38a) The city xs&s besieg-^d and occupied in early
autumn, nith considerable bloodshed and buxning. Late in the yealr tno iSdiMf
rran ships arrived in the Straits, anchored at some distance from Malacca and
Tiaited for a sale-conduct. Tihen it had been granted, they entered port» con-
cluded their buslnessy and ealled away, the laet ship from Gtaatm kDom to tIs-
It the Straits. Beesuse of earlier political events the Okinawans had shifted
their trading operations from Sumatra to Java, and from Java to Malacca. Now
they withdrer from trade in the Straits area altogether, and confined themselves
to trade at Patani and with .Slam (Agnithia), u-
this confrontation wi-Qi the Portug^jese and sloxr retreat firm Southeast Asia
provides sn :ntereFting roment in Kyiky^j History, for it 'vap here that Chuzan
reached its most extended limit of direct activity and observation, and its wid-
est area of cultural ecmtact. It is a matter of curious Interest, too, that the
agents of Portugal and the agents of Chuzan should have met briefly at such a
distant place thanks to the vision of two Princes Kho had died haXf a century
earlier. Our attenti(»i is drarm for a moment to the lives of I9i6 'Hashl in Ryukyu
and Prince Henry the Navigator in Portugal in whose imagination and interest lay
the origins of such far-ranging adventure. Tney lived as contemporaries for
fbrty-five years, unknown to etch other on opi^osite sides of the world. Each had
sought the wealth of the Indies, r^d each had consciously directed the energies
of his small state into the exj.anbioa of ocean-borne commerce.
After Albuquerque's encoxir.ter with the Chuzan .'mission, interest in the Ryu-
kyu Islands quickly developed, in Europe. The imagination of the Spanish and
Portuguese conquistadors was stirring with legends of a "Fountain of Youth" and
visions of a land of inexhaustible golden treasure, just as the vision of the
Chinese Einperors, two thousand years earlier, had been stirred by teles of "Is-
lands of the iDHDortals** in the Eastern Seas, fiyukyu appears to have been men-
tioned in Borqpeaii literature by name for the first tiiie by an Ztalisn nbo^
writing in 15H, mentlans Ledil. (59) „ . .

Basing his dccii;ion? upon glov.ing accounts picked up in Chinese settlements


of Southern Asia and the Indies » the captain-explorer Femao Perez d'Andrade in
1517 sent his- subordinate, Jorge Hascarenha8,tt> Cfaueng.-ohou with several junks.
He was directed to gather what information he could on the Fukien Coast concern-
ing the rich country of Lequia, said to lie in the seas east of China. Mendes
Pinto in his renarkatiLe accounts of travel and adventure in the East^ asserts
that in 15^0 he and his companions had encountered sn Dkinaivsn junk' on' tlie^ ooast
of Cambpdiay and claimed that he himself sas one (oontinued on page 48). '.

(38a) Albuquerque anchored off Malacca July 1. 1511 1 with 19 ships axid
1^00 soldiers. The Chuzan ships errived v.ith men aboard called "Gores" by the
Portuguese. It has been suggested that these may have been Koreans travelling
on Ryukyu ships. On the Malacca ineldsnt;^ see Kerr, Robert: A General History
flr>d Collection of Voyages and Travels..../
etc./ Vol. VI. Portup-uese Discovery
.

and Conquest of India. Part II, Book III, Chap. 1, Cection v. (1509-1515;. Lon-
don, 1012. Also Whltevsy, R. S.t Rise of Portuguese Power in India. U97-1550;
Akiyama Kenzo: Gores naru meisho no hassei to sono rekishi-teki batten (Origin
and Historical Development of the name "Gores") Shieaku Zashi Vol. 3m:X. No. 12,
pp. 13ii9-1359. Shosa 3 (1923)
(39) In preparing this text, the author has found listed or used at least
tliirty-six variant European-language spellings of the name Ryukyu, including
such unllkea^ ptaonetio transorlptions as Lukess. y^oueo. |fijSBft» Leuckes. ltagsa»
and Latihi—a.
-47-

Copyrighted inaicnal
of the three Europeans cast up on Tanegushima, in tiie northern Ryukyu Islands,
in th« yMT 1542.

nth this beginning early in thp If^th centUTy, the Port\igiiGse entered F'>r
Eastern waters. They were foon loilcwed by the Spaiiiards, tixe Britith aaa the
Outeh. The RetudsBance in Europe me giring then all ntm nethods and nair in-
str'ijments vvith 7.hich to cElc-.:late distance, tl.e nr-v? ecience of navigation based
on accurate mathematics and astroncray, new ship design, and, above all, fire-
arms. The adventurous sailors from Chusaii conspicuously lacked all these
things, and gradually fell back before 'audi oonpetiUon. By the end of tlie
16 th century they were reduced at last to the- lijnited role of BiddleMO traidk
ing only between Japan, Chusan and China. -.

The noet flourishing days of Okinanen Blatory were at an end. The is-
lands were soon to succumb to a Japanese invasion from the north, ar.d tc Ic^se
autonomy in the management uid profit from their trade. But before we trace
that history, we must rerievi Jnriefly the "Golden ^ge" at Shurl.

Gultxiral Prosperity and Political Confusion on Okinawa

For more than two hundred yecrs Nal.a served as a port for trans-shipments
of precious metals, rare v"^ods, incense <?nJ d^estuffr, fin^ t«='xt''ler, Ivory,
and porcelain. Rare plants, animals and birds were Irougnt in. ?ie read of a
Shipment of parrots r-and peacooks being sent up to the King of Korea, iriio in
return rent back a splendid bronze bell. There '^ere irmy transient foreigners
in Naha port, wearing strange dress and spe.akijig strange languages. There was
a Korean trading settlement siiuilar to, but less important than, the Chinese
settlement at Kume-mura. The ordinaxy Okinar^an seamen as well as the King* a
envoys brought back gifts for their friends and families. Exotic gcods were
available for purchase in the domestic market. The richness and variety of
'
material things brought in from overseas stood in strong oontrast with the
poverty of native fiyukyu reeooroes.

In 1427 a Chinese mission to Okinawa bought lacquer and grindstones


needed in the manufacture of fine swords. These articles of trade had been-.'
brought to. Byukyu from Japan. The Okinawana were producing a fine lacquer of
their own, using distinctive colors and developing special techniques for V
mother-of-pearl inlays, pkinav.an lacquer came to be highly prized as a lux-
ury egqoort item'. Earthenware from iMtcn and from other areas of Southeast
Asia was imported in quantity, some to tc used in Ryukyu and some to be
shipoed on to the Kyoto market vaere it was In greet vogue among the aesthetes -

the cha-.Un - in the Shogun's Court. \.


' *.

In thi5 period the textile '.ndustry of Okinuva began to develop high 9pe-
cieliration. Fine fabrics v.er-o introduced first from China; the heavy bro-
cades were knov.n and usea only at the Shuri Court, and presumably, at the
northern and Southern- Castles during the brief period of the^r independence
from Shuri. The weaving and dyeing of fine gauze fabrics contributed to wider
use. But it was principally from the far islaj^ds of the East Indies that the
Okinawans imported (and developed) the weaving* and dyeing techniques for idilcb
they are most faaous. Qy dyeing the threads approprjiAtely ..before weaving^ and
.t

, - —)48»

Copyrighlea material
then applying each thread to the loom vdth painstaking care, the desired dASl^l
and pattern was brought out. In Olcinawa and Japan this prized variety of
oloth is known as kasijri; in the countries of l^alaya from vheoce it was im-
ported, it is know aa JJg|t. The fiaat Indians laaned the teetalques tron
India, {jjfi^

Metlioda of tieliig»and-d7etng, and of atencil dyeing vere likevlee intro-


duced from Java and 8uinatra» developed in the fii^idCTuSy and applied to local
textUe fibera.i;

CSoBtaoe at the Court and amon^ the gentry of Sburi and Heha underwent a
change.; Certain pioturaa (of a later oate) show that the King and princes of
the Royal House Trore costumes of F.'ing Chinese origin for high ceremonial oc-
casions, cut uf Chiiiese textiles to conform to native Okinanan style* The
distinetive tartan (the hachi-maki) lAiidi aas aom to denote
rank by the color of the textiles used in it, must be presumed to have
been introduced from the far southem islands, where turbans were oonmon*

Ifusie and dancing also draw on aoolhain iaspiratlon. The three-atrlnged


usicel inGtn:ment knovai as the iamisen , certain dance forms, and a style of
individual fighting (toshu style) are said to have been introduced by re-
tumlag trad vc. Bie sotetsu palm ( cycaa) whidfi waa destined later to
play an important part in the Ayukyuan eeonoaj, was brought up from the south,
together with chickens, monkeys, peacocks, and parrots. It can be imagined
with what interest and pleasure the people of Uaha and Shuri awaited the retuni
of eadai f«4vrenging voyage, bringing, In the Xing*8 nana, rare treasures and
pirapioua ohjacta*

The third of King Sho Hashi's southem expeditions returned to .N aha in.
1A39» hut in that year the King died, at the age of slxty-eie^t years. Sho
Chu, second son of Sho Kashi, succeeded to the kii.gship, sent a younger brother
up north to maintain order in the Hokuzan District, and dispatched envoys to
the Ming Court and to Kyoto to bear gifts and to announce the change at the
Gkinatsan Court. In a aensa, the reactions of Peking and l^to ware parallel,
but essentially contradictory. The Ming Emperor three years later confirmed
Sho Chu in his kingship through the usual writ of investiturei the Ashikaga
Shogun, ToahlJMm, renewed the traditional Shlnani Family titLa to the Islands*

Sho Chu lived for only five years after his father's dealth. His son Sho
flhJjtatsusucceeded him (in, 1445), sent tribute (including coins and drugs) to
<U)e Ashikaga Shogona-^, received investiture froB Pddng (144S) and then he,
too, died. The succession now passed to Sho Kimpuku, sixth son of Sho Hashi,
and therefore great-uncle of the deceased Kihg. It was in this year (lii,50)
that the Japanese feudal lord Hosokawa Katsvjmoto interfered with Okinawan trad-
ing nissions passing into the Inland Saa'of Japan« Since ilte Southem Islsnda
were nominally held in fief from the Phofun by the Shlmazu Fanily, such an
action seriously challenged bpth the Shogunate and the lords of Satauoa*

do) For study of the origin, development and distribution of OklnawSD


p.

textiles, see Tanaka Toshio and Xanaka Keikox Textile Fabrics of Qkinc^wa
Tokyo, 1952.

Copyrighted inaicnal
Klapoku** rihort r«i0Ei was iiotaU.« for laport«it foadtntldliig projects
tmdertcken at his order. An ei.bankment and road (known as the Chokotel) were
built across the lowland between the harbor inlets of Npha aii'^ Tomarl. '.^T^en
this was completed a seconi major road was constructed betr.een the ports and
th« eftstla on the hill,

Kimpuku reigned only three years, and upon his death the Court was torn
succession disputes. The Kingthip was still a personal dignity and respon-
sibility. TranfimiBsioo of power and authority was not euily eeeoiqili^edy
'

especially rhen it was not in a direct line of succession. Each succession


period was one of great uncertainty for the officers and meabers of the Court*
It will be reMRbered that two sona of Sho Raehi (Sho Chu and Sho Kimpuku) had
enjoyed the succession. A dispute now developed between the late king's soa
Shiro, and his uncle Furi. Anger led to battle vdthin the Castle, in the
fighting both mea died, and thd palace was destroyed by fire. {1453)

The loss of treasure of every kind was heavy, but to the Sfauri Court the
loss of silver seals of ofrice, conferred by the Ming Snperor as symbols or
patents of royal authority, was the greatest loss of all. Sho Taikyu, seventh
son of Sho Hashi, bow became King, itpplied to the Hing Court for a new seal to
be treasured at 8huri> and for investiture for hiBSelf • these were granted.

Taikyu ruled for six years, during which the Kingdom was troubled by
quarrels aooag certain powerful lords. The classic story of loyalty in Rgrakyv
tradition is drawn from this period. Gosamaru, Lord -^f Nakagiisuku Castle, be-
came suspicious of the conduct of his rival and enemy, Amarari, Lord of Ka^
suren. Nakagusuku lies on the heights midway between the Katsureh Castle and
Shuri. Learning that Amawari was maturing plans for rebellion, Goaaaaru quiet-
ly mobilized his own men and resources to bar the path to Shuri from Katsuren.
But Amawari learned of Gosamaru' s preparations before his own were complete.
Gaining the Ting's ear, he disclosed GosMaru^s warlike preparations and aceusad
him of plotting rebellion. Appearances seemed to sustain the false accusa-
tion, royal troops were sent against the castle, and rather than resist the Klagi
the loyal Gosamaru committed suicide. Too late, the King learned the truth,
and ordwed Oni Ofyagusttku*- to punish Uie traitor loawari, who was thereupon be-
'

sieged end owerthrowD in tfls strbn^ld en the helots of Katsuren Pwiasnla.

'•• Taikyu' 8 reign is remembered principally for royal patronage extended to


Shrines and temples. The King^s predeoessor, Kimpuku, had ordered a shrine to
be built at Wakasa dedicated to certain Japanese Shinto dieties vrhich was
called the Choju-gu, or "Shrine of Longevity." Japanese Buddhist priests in
the Island now received patronage; a priest named Kai-in supervised the build-
ing of three teaqales, TSnryuJi, Kogenji and FtAsonJl. '
'
.

The people of Ryukyu have no tradition of philosophical speculation, and


have produced no notable religious or philosophical leaders. Th^ worship of
ereative natural forces is everywhere evident in phsllic emblems ( Ishiganji)
standing by the roadside, or the three hearth stones of the ptrblic r;l rine
found in every settlement. The sacred groves (utaki) to rhich the noro priest-
esses repair to ask for blessings, or the intercession of the nature gods, art
found near every viliage. ThMe were dedicated to worship of the objects and
forces of nature, ^ike the Greeiks and the fionans, the Japanese and the Okina^
wans shared common deities.

50-
other temples and shrines flooriehed as v/ell \inder^Klng Taikyu; large ^
balls iwre eaat for the tempi* of Goafyiicios (Tmik^B^) «ad for tho Hanja^Ji.
Like the Tenrw-ji, this T.as founded by Jappnere risrior.ari es, priests from
one cf the gre'xt Zen Teraules don.in&ting the conjnercial as v.ell as the intel-
lectual and religious life of Kyoto at that time.

Upon one of the bells the King caused to be inscribed "Ryukyu, Beautiful
Country of the Southern Ocean." This is an interesting reflection of Ryukyu 's
sense of cultural and geographic oriantatian In tbat day, "south of Japan",
and not "east of China".

l^ot only bells out coins, too, were cast in this period (modelled on a
Yuan Chinese eolB, and Imom as Teisei TsUbo, 1458), Indicating a considerable
Ijiport of Betals.

It was possible to make more than one thousand per cent proiit on Eorae
ehipMOts of luxury goods In the l^th and I6th eflBturiee. Even ao, roya);
patronage and large expenditure on temnle-building, metal-castinp;, religious
ceremonial and luxury at the Court began to place a heavy strain on the limited
Ryukyu economy, and in tine this bad eerloue political consequences, ill)

The King's treasurer v:b.b an unusual and able man Tfho had been bom into
a farmer's family on the Iheya Island in the year 1415* Tradition in later
years alleged that be eas distantly descended tram that unhappy King Qihon idio
bad Tranderad Into the wilderness and disappeared during a time of hardship tro
hundred years earlier, but this must be taken as rn attempt in later years to
increase his prestige by providing him v.ith a royal background. Little is
.

knoan omeernlng his youth. Tradition says that he was orphaned and that la
filial piety he undertook to support hie uncle, hie aunt and a brotJier and sis-
ter, and that he married a local ci^"!* He is said to have been an extraordi-
narily skillful farmer, naking a meagre area yield more than his neighbors
eould extract fron better soli and larger landholdine^. He was accused of '

stealing vrater frnn his fellov? villarerr, a capitf^d offense in communities de-
pendent upon communal irrigation systems. To escape the vo'ath of his neighbors
he fled across the channel to Ginama, in northern Okinawa. There he lived for
five or six years, but again came to odds vrith his fellow villagers, and once
e^^in had to flee. TJiia time he made his way dom to the capital, Shuri, and
entered into service in the household of Prince Goeku. Here he attracted at-
tontion. Wbflu Prinoe Qoeiku suooeeded to the throne as King 8ho Taikyu, this
twice-dispossessed retainer ntered the RovaL Household mui in tine became the
King's Treasurer ( Omonogusuku- oz ashinosoba; Through his hands >^a.'=ped the
.

heavy expenditures required to satisfy the King's wide patronage. None in the
kingdoB knee better than he irttat the total resourees «ere and ahat the effect
of ununited ^pending might be.

King Taikyu ruled only seven years, and upon his death (I46O) v.as suc-
eeaded b7 a son, 9io Toku, twenty-one years of age. It must be presumed that
thiB headstrong youth paid little attention to the Treasurer vho had managed
his father's affairs. Life at the Court nov. was luxurious by Okinawan stand-
ards; the island mm unified; trading missions continued to come uid go, and

{O.) One is reminded of the Teiqpyo period in Japan, 7th-dtb centuries,


to v;hich these events are parallel.

'
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I

iSM details of the period suggest that Oktnmnns were becoming increasingly I

mum of •rcnts in Japaa^ tboa dividad aaoiig qtian»aU.ing and aBtxttioua barona.

&i the fifth year of his reigpi King Sho Toku- deeidad to anbark on aa
overseas venture of ais oT^n. He had earlier sent a military force against Hi*
island of Kikai north of Okinavfa; nov- he himself set out at the head of an ex- i

peditionary force, hoisting the banner of Hachifflaa, Japanese God of ^*aT, aa


his patron. (42) |

The invasion of Kikai ras successful; a governor was appointed t'-' cmtroi
it on the King's behalf, and as a signal of gratitude, the Asato Hachiman
Shrlna ma araetad on Okinava.

The young King lost the confidence of his Father's uncompromising old
TJreasurer, «ho rasignad from his office and rdthdreir to hia aetata in tba coud-
try. Other influential officers at the Court frequently consultod frith hia
there. A crisis in Court affairs davalopad, and riots tiroka out anoog parti-
sans at Shuri.

History is discreetly silent concerning ths intrigues leading to conflict


and the death of ihi: younp Ki-p in his tv ent,'-r :nth ysar (in IA69) . His he'ra ^

and his faiu^ly 77r^rc abiue. J\w old Irear- .-.r '^rjue out cf retirement. Ac-
cording to official tradition, ha me nade Kxi'^ •l;Qr:popular acclain, in 1469* '

(43)

HbB: "Saccnd Sho pyuaf.jtj;7 Egtablishad under Sho Sh and Sho Shin

. The new King, She Eq, .was fifty-six years of age. i.iUi hia tborou^'
knovladga of practioal administration, he ass in a position .to aBtrancfa his
Fcmily'o interests sc swcoopcfuD.y that his heirs arid dcaccndants to- the nine-
teenth generation oontinuad to rule in Ojcinaiia (H70t-873).

The deaccmdanta of the lato King Sho Hashi were -sot a;iide,< end forever
disharred fron nold^'nr iiii'^oi'''>ant o-fices in ttie Ryukyri G-^rr fnmon t, thotigh they
continus to bo recognized ainng \hr} loading goiitry cf OKiiia:.a even in the
2Cth century. Investiture from Chjjia was sougnt oy tiie Viox, King, and re-
seiyad in k suitaUy impressiTe toKh «as erected on Isana Islend to
honor the lUng*s father* At sons tljne in his life, as a Court Official Sho fii

(^1 Hachiman A Shinto dfiity, was also rnrrhirped e3 a Buddhist incar-


,

nation, T.hose p*'incipal shrinos v/ere at Usa lK;'.it'!. j) and at KarcaiDira. Hachi-
an was patron of sea-adveclvrorn, end of Mio piretcs (si£lzo) «^o terrorised
the coasts of Korea and %ina« The cx\<6t kncm as mLtsu^jOi-o/^., the i^hol of
fi
ychiman . hereafter ti^carae tht^ crt>at of the P^y^l H i.ce of Fyijk>n,
(43) It must be remem'oored tJ^.at the history of these times ras recorded
during the reigns. of King Sho sn*8 des;.'-.tr»dant.s» The legends, summed up end
stripped of supematurel attributl ns, •-"rrcpt the character of a man vrho was
an exceptional manager of his ov.n econoinic affairs, an uncompromising individ-
ualist, and a man Vihose plebien origin could not deter his bold ambition. The
later enshrinemoit of bis obecure Father as "King of Iheya" and the legend of
descent from an earlier King (Gihon) should not detract from the remax&ble
peraonality of this sc^fHsade nan.

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bad lost the first ivlfe of his youth, •Ither tgr death or divoree, and had
married again, vhen he wns 1^$ or h9 years of age. His ^roung Tdfe (less than
half his age) gave birth to e son and heir when she v&s 21 years old. That
8ha was stroog-wlllsd and purpo8Sftil> bseoass apparsnt In later ysartf.

Sho Qi ruled for on7y seven 7'ears. At his death he left a son She Shin,
a stripling of thirteen years, wno v&a passed over in the succession* The
Throne wmt iDstead to Sho Sent, a younger brother of the late Sho lb. Preee>
dents for this could be found in the 6ucces?ion of Sho Hashi, twenty years
earlier, vhen the Kinfship hed paF!Eed to his bi-others. Put thet had created
great trouble xn the Court at the time. In this insxance i'osoiodon, the
strong^vllled Queen-Jiother, was not satisfied. She escaot- course of events
TThich followed here i.; not clear, but a peaceful co.n;^ro-.isp vrns found within
the Royal Family. Sho En's eldest daughter held the high office of Chief
Priestess ( Kikoe - Ogiai) by virtue of her relationship to the late King. She
no\7 received a "divine oracle" vhiofa bid her mole the nev King Seni to ab-
dicate in favor of her brother, the youth 8bo Shin. This he did after only
six months upon the Throne*

He retired, taking the title "Prince of Goelcu<*. It had been arran ged for
his daughter to marry the ner. boy-King, and presently a son wa? Vym, v;ho was
known as Prince Urasoe. This did not solve the succession problem, however.
If Seni' had abdicated in the belief that through this allienee his grandson
Tould become Heir /^parent, he was dooaed to disappointment. Tlie Queen Mother
Yosoiodon was the most powerful fifure at Court, nnd had her oT.n plans for the
succession. Prince Orasoe was sex aside, and the succession in time (fifty
jears later) passed to another royal son. Xosoiodon dominated the Court and
govenmeat for noay yaars thereafter. (44)

ftv* g'^r^'f ^jgP its Afteiaatfa: The Great Dava- of Chusan

The Chuzan Kingdom reached its maximum extent and its height of cultural
development, coomercial prosperity and Internal administrative order in the
century following Sho Shin's accession. Re rulad from 1^77 until 15<6. After
he had been on the Throne for thirty years a monument (known as the Momoura-
oaoi) BanKan-nnel was erected in the Palace grounds to record what his courtiers
themselves believed to be the "ELevan Distinctions of the Age", thesa mre
indaed notcimorthy, and if bare suamariaad)
' .'
'

• *
1* Buddhism was patronized by the Kiiigj

2* Tsacas vara lifi^taned and Inter-elass strife abated;'

(44) Tosoiodon*s prominence and authority in poblie affairs is deaeribed


in the An nal s of the Korean Court ( Li Cho Jitsu-roku) to -.vhich reports vrere
made by Koreans living on Okinawa at this time. The use of an oracle received
through the Chief Priestess to affect the succession recalls the incident
(769 A.D. ) in Y;hich Dokyo attanpted to be designated Efcperor at Nara through-
an "oracle" of Hachiman Shrine in Osa^ and aftervrards banished Wake no Kiyomaxo
to OsuDi district, southern Kyushu.

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3. Royal control wta assartml and conflnMd in Xa^rm and
Ulyako;

4. Private omaarahip .and usa of axna vara dona aim7 with;

^. Law and order were established thxx>ughout. the country;

6. Shurl waa baautified with parka;

7. Places of amusement and pleasure vere provided at Shurl;

8« ?>orks of art ware introduced at the. Palaeei miaio was


patronized;

9* Balationa vlth China, were atrangthened}

10« Cb.inese utenaila and books «rere introduced;

U. A Gbineae-atyle Pklaoe naa tauilt at Shuri*

This was a record of v.hicb the King could well be proud. His father Sho
Kb had addraasad hlnaelf. to eoonomlo davelopfflent through land-reclaaatioii. Ir-
rigation rorkf^, and road building, but foreign trade continued to be the prin-
cipal source of wealth. These internal developments under Sho merely made
It possible to use more effectively the wealth ishich was accruing from foreign
eonneroe* If judged by the troubled condltlonfl than to be found eXaeidiere in

I

Asia, Okinavra r/as indeed an isli^nd of peace and orosperity. But, -as we shall
see, this prosperity was not based on local resources and productive tecfaniquesi ,

tut on a vulneratle foreign comaeree* I

Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of this time was the thoroughpoinj '

reorganization of administration. Hitherto government had been the personal


rule of one loan and his faithful retainers, predoninant iMt not sure of hln-
salf among potential rivals. Now it was beginning to shift to an institutional
base, in v.'hich the office of the Kingship and the organization of admin is trat loc
became more important than individual persons nho occupied positions of author-
ity at any one tijne. I

It vjill be remembered that the chief officers and nobles at the King's
Court were the Aoji or feudal lords descended from local chieftains of the
13th and 14th centuries. Though some of them li-ved at Shnri^ aany of than coo- |

tinued to maintain castle-strongholds rithin their hereditary estates. Each


maintained his own meD»at-arffl8 and servants, 4ind dr^w his ^onomic support froa ,

the labor of hard-«orklng serfs who cultivated his lands. Every an.ii iriw '

possessed large lands and commanded iroxiy rrtalnars uae a potential antagonist
to the authority of the Court at Shuri. This was especially so during times of
.

stress nhioh attended succession quarrels. Traditional rivalries ran deep


aaong the axlstocrats. The northern landholjlars and. their people .eere a sttiroi
of special conoein to Shuri .even a hundred jears after -the fall of Hakijin
Castle*
••
.

^^ • -.- • - ^' .

King Sho Shin and his advisers proposed to reduce or aliBinate the prote-
billty of amad defiance of Shuri* « authoritgrt and the dangers of divided

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Copyrighted inaicnal
allegiance among subjects when disputes arose in the Court. ST;ords T.ere no
longer to be viom as personal equipment. Lords v.ho maintained personal ai-aed
retainers irare ordered to surrender all neapone at Sburif ichere they vere
placed under control of tfce Govetmcent In a central atorehouse.

The lords (an,1i) themselves rrere ordered to leave their country pieces and
to move into Siiuri for permonent residence. More than fifty did so leaving the
chief vassal (nn ji-okit e) on the estate es su. erv^sor to govern the local di.s-
trlct and to serve as a link between out;lying erees and the capital. In time
the Government was able to seiid its oun representatives Into the country dis-
tsricts to carry out administrative orders. These were kn^v.n as litodai. re-
sponsible to the King' s officials and not to the anil frho had so long exer-
cised hereditcoy rule on a personal basis. (4^)

This was a delicate matter, requiring a firm hand, great tact and consid-
emblo foreripht. To mini-nize t>.e chance of friction and trouble within the
capital, Shuri toi.Ti v;as nov; divided into three wards ( .V.ihira) . ihs an.ii from
flouthem Oklnana (Shinajlri) were aeslgned house-sites in the Hanashi ward;
aristocrat 3 froir. central Okinawa (Nakagami) were given residences in Haye Hard;
people from the northern districts (Hokuzan) v.ere recuired to live in Nishi
ward. This was a move to overco.ie the old divisions of the Three Kingdotis into
atalch the islaxid had so long been divided. An exception seens to have been made
concerning some o." the local lorde of Hokuzan (Kunigami) rho were permitted to.
remain at their homes at Nakijln, in Motobu Peninsula, either through fear of
trouble they might aiake at Shuri, or through inability to insist on an order
iriiich the Central Government mi^t not be able to enforce. The King's third
son was made Ti'erdeo of the ktmigami District, to keep a Mttchf^l eye on the
xu)rthem people.

Such a move into the capital must have worked hardship in some inrtances,
and to have created considerable difficulty, cost and confusion for all con-
ceded, for each anjl took his family, a number of vassals, and servants Tilth
hia to Shuri. Soae of -the vassals themselves had families end servants irtiidk
had to be acooDodated in the town*
These dra.-tic changes required compensation to ba acceptable. This took
raany forrrs. In demar.ding a major break with tradition and preceac-nt, King Sho
Shin offered new activities and created new precedents. In an effort to reduce
the more extreme elements of the older feudal regime end to blur lines iriiieh had
divided important factions in the Court, an attempt vrac -nade to suppress the old
custom of self-sacrifice among retainers upon the death of their Lord. Inter-
marriage among the noble families was encouraged by the King to bring about sn
Intezmingling of ancestral lines and of the .duties appropriate to the rites of
ancestor-worship. A new system uf court ranks and privileges was introduced
which established rigid class distinctions and required a considerable attention
to matters of formal ceremony end costume. As a setting for elaborate corsmoniet
(borrowed and modified from Chinese sources) , a large new oalace in Chinese
style was built vdth^n the castle grounds. To make Shuri itself a desirable
place in nhich to live, the slopes and escarpments below the castle walls were
filled with parks and gardens for the smusement and pleasure of the gentry*

(ii,5) These steps are especially interesting, for they antedate by many
years similar measures put inlo effect in Japan By Toyotomi Hidejroshi, (edicts
of 1586 and 1587) and by Tokugavia Xenitsu (the Sankin-kotai edict of 1634) •
The population cf Shuri grew rapidly after the influx of so many house-
holds from the cpuntry^ and since each of the janjl drew on the resources of
his om eatatM to maintain his sftablishDient at the eapit^i, there was a new
ooncentration of local wealth to supplsttsnt the profits being gained in ovei>
scas conmerce throu^jh Naha port. The lives of individuals at the Court t«ere
oiriched through the encojragement of tjie arts and crafts* "Die use of gold,
Silver, laoqtier and silks becaae codmq for ttie first tine aaong the Court gen-
try, and to supply all these luxuries the Govenunwit sent a mission to China
every year, and gave all the support it could to. trade with Korea, Japan and
Southeast Asia. (^6) ...
The Enkaku-ji, rost splendid of all temples constructed in Ryukyu, wes
built and furnished in 1A92 by a Japanese priest who enjoyed royal patronage.
The Sogen-ji was enlarged and the gieat stone gates constructed before it in
Under the guiding hand of a Japanese priest named Nlsshu Shonin Buddhist
temples on the Noninoue headland were dedicated in 1522 to Amida, "Lord of
Boundless Light", to Kwannon. "Merciful One VJho Surveys the World with Pity",
end to Yakushi. "Lord of Medicine".

Such activities stimulated all the arts and crafts. The te:nple bell of
Ehkaku-Ji was cast in 1496. A great bell which had been received from the King
of Korea, in admowledgmect of a gift of parrots and peacodcs sent up to the
Korean Court hj^ the King of Chuzan, was installed at Gokokuji. Sculptors in
stone and wood were engaged in decorating palaces, temples and bridges, though
they were handicapped lack of suitable materials native to the island. A
flAely sculptured bridge was laid across the pond /before Ehkaku-ji*s .gate In
lA9do Shuri castle was embellished in 150S vlth red-lacquered wooden fencing,
stone embankments and bridges, and with atone dragon-carved pillars. The Royal
Tombs (Tama-udon) were completed in 1^01,, and the superb stonework of the Sono-
fatftt Shrine was completed on the brow of the ces^e, hill neartgr in 1519*
. (47)

The new re gi; let ions ond ceremonials at Court required great attention to
the details of aress and personal ornament. New techniques for the cultivatioo
of the siUmom and new weaving iiBple«ents were introduced from China by Do no
Hya. Ornnmentel halr'-lns cf the finest desipn and worknrtr. ihip became an es-
sential part of every aristocrat's costume alter 1509, for these (and the
color of the turban) becase important symbols of rank within the Court's new
hiererofay*

i ' .

(46) In all these developAiehH^s the QkinaWans passed 'through a period of


creative activity which had its earlier close parallel in the 7th and 8th cen-
turies in Japan, when the Chinese Court system was introduced, the administra-
tion centralized, and great health expended upon mansions for the nobles and
*
patronage for temple buildibg and Buddhist- cerenony.

(47} Many of these architectural monuments were in later years to be


designated "national Treasures" or "IjgD|>ortent Maticoal Art Objects" by the Ja-
panese Government. Many of them displayed influences and details reflecting
the cosmopolitan experience of the Okinawans in that day. The dragon pillars
s^eted b^ore the principal audience hall of the Palace, for Instance, sees
to have had no architectural precedent in either China or Japan, but to have
reflected an outstanding detail of teoiples and palaces of Cambodia and Sian»'-

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Copyrighted inaicnal
nourished in an era dedicated to such expansive liv-
iiuslc aod the dance
ing, there vaa eurplvs neal'tti to be spent, and many i<11e artstoerets
irittm
seekijig eatertainment. Aka Ihako was a master of music whose nane is the first
to become prominent In Ryukyu cultxiral history. There is fir£t r..ention of for-
mal iiistructioQ^ or schools for the children of the gentry, toward the end of
the X5th century*

It was necessary for members of the Royal FRmiij' to tnke the lead in such
innovations and changes. They formed a new dynasty, and x>eeded to comniand the
reepeet and avttorlty of the people by enhancing their prestige in every eagr
roaal'^.'le. This t':;ey did Tilth rjch ffi-Jccess tivit the second Sho Ffijnl.ly line was
broken only rhen the Japanese caused the last King to abdicate, four and one-
half centuries later.

Revorerice for the spirits of deceased ariCestcrs was of supreme importance


In the religious life of the people, and provided a strong element of stability
and continuity in the social life of all claaees. It could be used effectively
in appealing for the preservation of an inherited, eell-established order cf
tilings. In tirae It provided the very essence of conservatism in Governinent, lor
its cardinal virtue consisted in avoiding change, and in doing thing's us nearly
a» poaalble as they had alirays been done" before.

Under the Queen F'other's direction the prestige of the new Dynasty was
increased by attention given to the tombs of the family ancestors. The tomb
o£ Sbo- lb*8 father on' leena Island 'eaa rebuilt 'handsomely, and beeaae a sac-
red place of worship. At Shuri •.e.v rcyal tcrnbs v.ere constructed, a place of
impressive proportions and quiet sinrlicity, in which it was decreed that only
Sho Eii's descendaiits through the Cuoen Mother Yosoioaon could be entombed. (^)
«
.....
•'•••«•« ... ,
. ,j
.

Confucian rituals and the rites of Chinese ancestor-worship were rtudied


and practiced faithfully at the immigrant settlement of Kurr.e-Eura. The Sogen-
ji temple nearby was dedicated to the spirits of all the Kinf^s of Ryukyu, in-
eluding even those of the mythical Ten'son Dynasty. This was noT? enlarged and
enriched, and the tablets represoiting the ajpirit of the late King Sho Eh sere
enshrined with those of his predecessors*

The traditions end forms of aneeator-worship offered one of the most ser-
ious difficulties when the anji were ordered to leave their country estates
and come into Shuri. Each of the lords as a matter of course expected to con-
tinue eorshijp at' his ancestral hearth and tombs'. But this offered a risk that
a lord dissatisfied with Siurl life or disgruntled by Court controls, might
find an occasion to return to his lands on pretext of T.orship Trhile using the
opportunity to create trouble. It was tnerel'ore arranged that each lord vouid
send a represehtatiw annually to perfoni the required eeremoniea at the eoui^
try place, while at the capital itself a place f-^r "vrorship-f rora-afar" ( yohai-
.jo ) was established. One yohai-jc was created in each v.-ard. Here the lord
from the countryside could face toward his distant home and perform the appro-
priate rituals* This was w
ingenious aolution to a delicate protalen for the

(43y In subsequent years this rule was observed until eighteen kings,
their consorts and childron were buried here. The last Croun Prince, Hsrquis
Sbo Sel» uas buried here on September 26, 1920. .

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Gawtmrnt* In time each of these TOhal-49 tec«m« a Mjor 8hriii«t with priest- |

•B86S in oonataat attandaiiM, (^9)

.
67 A teld stroke the Xing moved to omtralise and c<nitTol for the first
tine influential noro priestosses throu^out the CUigdom. Hitherto they biad
lived arid served only in local conmunitier. They rere identified rith house-
holds and inter-related villages, but not with a national cult or orgenizatiou. ,

The Chief Boro in the< King's- otm Household was knnum as the KUcoe-Ogimi rho trt- ;

clitlr n J ly held rank tind prestige very nearly equal to ths of the King himself.
":.

By virtue of the tredition through which she came into office, she was neces-
sarily either :the daughter, sister or aunt pf a reigning monarch. Next to the
Kikoe-Qglini in the King* s Household, ths Ghisf goM of Iheya Island ( Iheja no
Amaf^anushi ) at this time took precedence in the indif^cnous religious systSB
because the first in that office had been an elder sister of King Sho Bi.

King Sho Shin now removed the residence of the Kikoe-Ogiai to a site just
outside the Palace gate arid constructed for her the nandsome Sonohyan Otakl
to enclose the sg^bolic hearth she was epcpected to attend. She was given au-
thority to ooafin in local office the village Noro throughout the Islandsy
issuing oertiflcates from Shuri. Thirty- three noro ^ere appointed by the Xing,
the others uere noi^inated by the District officer:: (jlto). Lends trero set aside
permanently in ehch village to provide an income for the local priestesses. 6e>
tseen the K±kce-i.^xi:.i at Shuri and the ooomnmity prieatesa stood intemediary
noro known as Q-amu shirare or KL^ii-bae . There was no attempt to interfere ;

with or control the fire-custodian in each individual household. Nevertheless, '

there appears to have been some friction betwe^ them aiid the officieU.y desig-
nated Noro of the village. This in turn eneooraged the latter to dsveOUsB a
sense of mutual interest, and ''roa that ti-ie until the present day .the •villagS
fi0ro have dram together in cooaion meetings and cerei&onial occasions* |

The consumption of wealth at Shuri and Naha in the£?e years far outstripped
the deyeloiment of Okinawa's local resources. Maintenance of the relatively
high living standards achieved during Sho Shin*s.i^ign depended up<»i sn ^axpsnd- '.

iag and iw^itable trade. Every excuse had to- bs fpond to ineraasa the flow |

of GOBBsrea and to aaintain fjriendly relations overaaas*

China was not dependent upon hev connerca with Rsrukyo, for it was a luxury j
'

trade, and occasional missions sufficed to maintain the political dignity re-
quired in a tributary relation^ihip. For OVrinawa, trade with China was vital
j

to her well-being, hence we find Shuri aaking repeated petitions to Peking for |

'
an Inereaaed tribute schedule. Thasa ware usually, rejected, though the sched-
ule vras slightly modified from time to tLno. Missions left Shuri (a) to an-
nounce the death of kings, (b) to petition for the investiture of new kings,
(c) to offer thnnks for .the. investiture \Aifm it \:a^ granted, and (d) to offer, |

oongratmatitms or oondolencas vpaa aKpropriiate. oeoaaiooa at the mug Court*.

(>(9)''' The rtu^bs were the flliua-^dMpehl . the InKim-f^r****^ and the Qlha>-

dunchl . The noro or priestesses in attendance were known as the


or ^nayi^shi . For this and other data see spencer » op. cit.

Copyrighted material
Relations with Chins were marred on rare occasions by minor or unusual
tDOidflnts. Id 1471 an mvoy on his vay vp to Peidac mm amstad for VMring
a robe bearing the mang dragon design, reserved (in China) for the use of the
hirhest ofxToeT's rd' state and certain of the nobility. The ervo;' insisted
that he was within the proprieties, because the Chinfcse Eiui^eror had sent this
robe aaong other gifts to the King of Onisan* (fSO) There were oeeaetonal
trading disputer, r.nd frcn time tc tine the CViinese compl "inert of infractions
of the strict rules govemiiig travel from the pox'ts to Pelang. Occasiona;iJ.y
Peking showed a mild intellectual interest in the islands. Upon returring
to the Uing Court in 1531. the orincipal ambaseedor Chen K*an prepared a
Hi:;tor^'' of the Fyukyug ( Shi R;/ukjai I^oku). Okinawa's unfailirc e:TTrt to meet
all the requirements of Chinese propriety in her formal tribute relationship
prompted the Qilneee Itaoeror in 15 3 A to give the King of Cbusan a tablet bear-
ing the Inscription "Country of Courtesy" ( Shurei no Kuni ) , which was hunf^ in
a castle gate especially coostruoxed for it bgr the nest able arebitect of the
day.

The outer islands of the Ryukyu group bejan to cone more firmly under
Shuri's control during Sho Shin's long reign. In 136 there were sf^rious con-
flicts among the local lords of Yaeyama. In i^OJ Uie King sent a xorce under
Osato Sengen to reatsre order and to establish a govenuBant branch office in-
'?i7aico. A liaison office xas set up on Yaeyama in 15?A. There had been fairly
close relations established and naintained v.ith KUine Island, but about 1500
it became necessary x'or the King's men to move against the A^iii. on Kunie, to
reassert royal authority.
1
'

Death came to King Sho Shin in 1526, ending the longest and most prosper-
^

ous reign in Ryukyu history, ^e arts cultivated in this period and the archi-
tectural oouaents erected in Shuri and Naha fomed the essential ciiltoral trsi-
dltion which sets Ryukyu imart in the centuries which followed. The islands-
were never again to enjoy such prosperity and exnansive ince;^endence. The
Court and the townspeople of Shuri and Maha were in constriit communication
With <%lna and Japan, but eere oTemhelned by nei^er* They vere In the happy
position of beir.j able to cl^ooro to ndopt vhat they wanted and needed, and to
remain indifferent or, at best, mildly curious about insitutions as well as
artifacts for v;hich they had no pressing need. The bulk and prestige of China
las enoxnoitSy but In their wide and constant voyaging the Oklnairana vera very
vail avpre of t^e existoioe of other countries and other ciultures*

The influence of neither China nor Japan reached very far down into the
life of the oosanoo peaasnt living In villages far froa the capital* Foreign
cootritautions to Okinamn culture were first implanted at Naha and Shuri, and
from there filtered into the rural districts. This process of ciilt^jr.-il dif-
fusion was accelerated after the feudal lords were required to live at Shuri,
for as eadi lord malntalaed a considerable household staff recruited from hia
own district, young men from the countryside entered service for a period at
Naha or Shuri. Upon returning to marry and settle in the home village, the
youths took with them many things, such as the latest and most popular songs
•ad dances, which cost nothing to learn or to teach*

(50) Cammann, Schuyler: China's Dragon Robes. New Xork, 1952, pp. 157-
158.

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i

Dorlsg the thrM reigns iihloh followed (1526-1589), the peak of prosper-
|

Ity wa:; passed, and the islands fell under Increasini; Japanese pressure* King
Sho Sei succeeded his father in 1527. In that year two st-tne monuments were
erected on- tlie road before tt:e Sogenji gate bearing a ruyal order that all
|

men, great and saall, mist dlsnomt end pass these gates on foot. Vas this a !

carefully oaloulated gesture on the part of the new King's advisers? the ob-
vious purpose was to increase a feeling of awe a:id respect for the Throne. |

So long a time had elapsed since the previovs accession tne King's ministers
had diffioult7 finding doeunsnts uhi^ preecrlbed tite proper eersaonles, in-> !

eluding the ceremonies for petitioning and receivin<^ investiture from the CMf
nese Court. The ner, Klnp; and his adin-soi-s were well eware cf the obscure !

origin oi" the late King's father, bho En. The Sogeaji had been erected not
nereiy to eniliriiie ttie tabiets of the "Seoond Sho<* dynasty, but to honor all
previoi;s kings, i.e., to honor the institution of kingship itself". Personal
Tvile had given way to institutional rule, not seriously to be ohallenged again
for three hundred and fifty years. i

To accomodate new activities at the Court the castle ealls vrere extentod |

and new halls built within tha palace compound, while over a castle gate a
tablet Ipscrlbed "Kei Sei" or "Succeeding Generations" was hung as a reminder
to all of the continuity of the Throne (15«U). The Ufumi Odun, or "Mew
Palace", was erected on the site now ooeupled bgr the Shuri Hic^ School. Ad-
ministrative offices were created. A town govetnorship (tfaha Satoaushi SoJcu)
was established for Naha (1^28) . -
. • ' .

Missionary priests from Jepan were active throughout the l6th century in
Okinav;p, promoting the brllnlnr of temples and the study of the Japanese lan-
guage ana literature. Qcca^ioimlly they served to; agents on business of i

^yvenuBent, as their fellov-prleste nere then doing in Japan. Rlashu fibsttiH


promoted the construction of the Jizo-do in Wakata (Kahci) In 15?9. Tronty years
later, a priest vms appointed by the Court to accompany Yonagusxjku Pyochu on
an official Journey to Satsuma. In 1572 students began to be sent up from
Oklnam to study at the Five Great TeaiaeB of Kyoto.
I

This suggostc that the study of Japanese language was now well advanced
and was accelerating, and Uiere was a fairly substantial interest in Japanese
religloa, literature and cultural traditions. It suggests, too, that in these
years wc might find first evidence of the division of ec'ucated leaders into
two parties, one of .'hich was educated in China and inclined to be pro-Chinese
in outlook, and the otner. educated in Japan, or in Japanese subjects, and in-
clined to adipocate aligpaiaikt with Japan.
• <
. .
, ^

It is in this era that a frenuine local literary tradition befrins to ap-


pear. The Jananepe kan/i syllabary had long been in use. Now for the first
time (1532) the traditional chants, poems and prayers of the High Priestesses
of the .Royal Court were reoordedy .whi<d) became thereafter the noat prised
literary treasures of the I^yukyu Islands - the Oaoro Zoshf .

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Co(,i ij lied material


It is not uBttatnral that la a period ahen Phlnasa md JapanaM atudiaa
TOre competiiig for attention at Shuri, OkinaT/an leadars should become aora
rrflectlve upon their cm CDi'tural achievements aiid should desire to record
and preeerve their sacred songs and prayers. Interest in the indigenous rell«
gioD vas navar ovarelhado^ hj the color and foraal pageantry of Buddhism.
Old legends associating the Sun ^oddess ^materasu Omikami r/ith 'ttie off-lying
islands of Okinawa continued to flourish (the Shotai-jj,. Shrine was erected on
le-Jixaa to do her honor in 1534) and was indeed sufficiently strong to be picked
up and indirectly sKbodled in esrly Portuguese accounts of nlssioes in Japan.
(51)

The importance of an institutional basis for the kingshio eaa underscored


upon -the death of Sho'Sei end the accession of his son Sho Gen» In 1$$6« This
prince was reputedly rauto, and +here ras serious cbj action and dispute as to
his fitness to succeed. A Agency Council of Three (the so-called Sanshiken )
therefore trndertoolp to act on the King's behalf, and allegedly at hie om ra^-
quest. From this time forward vtntll 1878 the SanshUcap 'became gradually the
Boat effective and important institution vlthin the gpTexnoent structure.

Relatioos aith China remained undisturbed^ but the depredationa of Japanese


pirates and grovring Japanese interest in the prosperous little Kingdom of
fiyukyumeant a steady increase of Japanese pressure.

Ryukyu ms doomed as an independent trading base because of its coonercisl


success and because of ite exposed position on the sea-frontiers of China and
Japan, Prom the mocant of cent- ct rith the Portuguese \.ho rere sacking Malacca
In 1511> the Ckinawans slo.d^ but steadily retreated, trading over shorter sea-
routes, and in less varied goods. ^Wiind than, to the north, vere the Japanese^
ratchirig vith deep corcem as Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and F^f^lish ariventur-
ers in turn came up from India throu^^h the Indies, Malaya, the Philippines and
Formosa. No prosperous trading port in Asia was safe from the Japanese ifakp
or the European adTenturers. Ihou^ the swashbuckling Europeans were willing
to trade, they crave no quarter to men unvrilling to accept them on their own
terms. Ihe more prosperous the trading port, the greater the danger that it
aonld be seised, pillaged, and put to the siiord.

(51) Unpublished MS History of the Church of Japan, composed by the Reli-


gieux of the Comoeny pf Jmos who have been resident in that country from the
,

vee r 1575 to the pres ent e ar of 163^ «


^.T In the Library of AJuda, Lisbon, as
quoted by James Murdoch, jjE* ^o^* P* 33-3^9 from Father Cros.

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Copyrighlea inaicnal
(aiapt«r V

1HE LAST YW8 OF IBPBPIHIiENCE

1. Chuzan and the Distant Islands: Ulyako, Yae^'aioa and Amaml Oshima

2« Inoreaeed. Japanese Interest and Aetlvltj In the ManSei Islands

3. Qiuzan aid War lis Korea and Japan, 1592-1603

4,. The Closing Xears of Independence} Divided Ck>unsel8 boA Loyalties


at Shuri .

^« The Kelfibo Xnoidentt Satsuna Invades Cbtusan In 1609

Copyrighted material
Chapter V

THE LAST XEABS


'I Of IND£P£11PE11C£

Chugaa and the Dlatmt Islandss Miyako. Ia«raiMi ^1 ^phfim

During the great days of Chuaaii the people of Mlysko and Taejana (8aki*
shima) were developing a community life and a history of their own on tto
islands far to the soutJi of Okinar-a. Before re review the critical yenrs
which led to the loss of Chus^'s Independence, ve must leave the mainetreaa
of Rarukju history tarieflj to not* 8fauri*8 relations vith the outer islands of
the arehipelago*

Certain characteristics of legendary end early historic accounts in Miyako


and Ta«9«ma are shared with the traditions of aaeisnt Okinana, taut, it is note«
WDrthy that they show a time-?^ag of about two csnturles in their evolution.
That is to say, i^iyako traditionr of first settlement, of the introduction of
various cultural ac«^ievemeiits and or community organization, are analogous with
those of Okinam in the 12th, 13th and 14th eantories of tte Oiristian ma,
but are assigned dates in kiiyako vhich corresr.-ind to the l/^th fmd early 15th
centuries. Similarly, the pattern of administration moving from a period of
intense rivalry among independmt local lords into a period of unified and cen-
tralized government is similar in both island-groups, but took place nearly a
century later in Miyako and Yaeyama than it did on Okinawa. The time-lag grows
less and less v.ith the development in communications betf7een the islands, but
even today (1953) li^e in Idiigaki City in Zaayau nost nearly approxinates the
leisurely eKistenoe of days before the China Incident, a quarter eentury ago*

It is said that Xssyama paid tribute to Cbusan on Okinara as early as


iy)0, but not until tiie reign of King 8ho Shin was there a serious attempt to
establish Shuri's direct representation on the island. In 1^^ Chuzan at-
tempted to intervene and settle local disturbances v<hich continued sporadically
until 150O. Re6istu:ice to OKinawan attempts to bring about centralization
throu^Mut llie islands continued in Taeyama (under Oyake Akahaohi) and in the
neighbouring island of Yanafruni (under Ontura) . Both r:ere finally overwhelmed
\ij an expedition from Miayko, led by Nakazone Toyomioya. He in turn submitted
to Shuri, T,<hereupon the King dispatched Sengen to bring about order and to
set up a local administrative office Ka siura-shoku). This was improved upon in
and in time developed into an orderly arrangement in which the local gen-
try carried on und^r the direction of a Resident Officer from Shuri, assisted
by a secretariat and interpreters*. In tine it became customary for officers
from tb» capital to be assigned for three-year tours of duty, during Trhich
they acquired local Trives and reared local families. Upon their return to the
Court they were required to leave these families behind. Exceptions were some-
times made if there ..was oo heir *t Shuri, but an official could take batik one
son only*

V^ereas Yaeyama has relatively fevr legendary and quasi-historic sites, the
(laty dry coimtxyside of Miyako and its off-lying cluster of small islands are
ridi in traditional sites and ruins dating far beisk before the 17th century and
marlced

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now by eacred vn^ods and gi'oves (otake) . The deep communal mils upon nhich
the island depends for its life are often found in large caves. Near many of
the veils are the ruins of enclosures referred to as "castle sites". These
are little more than rou^ bUmo valla nhieh once auppliad protection about the
residence of a local chieftain and his retainers. Scattered over the rolling
countryside are many tombs, some of them distinctly resembling the dolmen tombs
and sarcophagi of Bronze Age Japan, soire of them enclosures used until historic
tinea for diapositloD of the dead throu^ eoipoaure to the natutisl forces of suni
'

vhkd and rain.

The legends of Miyako are the legends of culture heroes of three principal
types: alien heroes who eaine from overseas introducing new objects and r-ays of
living; local heroes abo have trcvel^ed far end returned with realth and strange
or precious objectsi and heroes of historic times riho were notable reformers^
strlTing to "correct* local ways by reconciling local praetlees with the no^^
soiiilstieated nays of Shuri.

'
It must not be forgotten that in their extreme geographic isolation in
legendalty and hiatorie tinea, Taeyana and UiyalGo have alinjs heen oriented
tonard Okinam, just as Shuri and Naha, on Okinana., have looked throughout
historic timea toward Pacing, Kyoto* and Xedo>

The legendary eaqoloita of haroea on Miayko apysear to heve oonaiderable


basis in fact. The traditions point to a gernrol condition of lavlersness and
continual vjarfare before the l6th century, and to conditions of extre&e and
grinding poverty throughout Jdiyako's history. / .. •

Among the culture heroes vho came from outside, in-producing new objects
and new techniques into daily u6e was the Lord of Oputakl Castle. He is said
to have cone over ttie seaa **about 600 yeara ago" (i.e. aboui tiie'^th omtury),
to have introduced nen faming techhiques to the local people, and to have dug
txio important wellr?, in use today. His castle ras tpken and the villap:er3
around it were massacred shortly after Uputaki An^i s death. The village itself
'

naa later revived by a famer nanied Pigitari Tunun-usu ^o is nolv deified 'antt
is said to be the only fanner rorshipped in f/^iyako. At the Takagoshi Otakl the
people of Miyako worship the Lord of Takagoshi Castle trho also arrived "about
6CX) years ago". He, too, introduced advanced v^iys of rice culture and cattle-
hretding, and in association with the tv7o other An.^i (one of" than a woman) he'
attempted to resist the unification of Uiyako under en ambitious Lord Yonaha»-
barUf of Hirer a. Betrayed, Teka^pshi ^.11 coooltted suicide. On nearby
'

Terann Island, Ongusukn Xanedcnb, is deified for' having instroeted ttia loeal
people In'naklng faming iiqplenaDts.

VAille tradition indicates that most of the culture heroes came down ftoa
north, ene teLls of the arrival of seven Chinese hro there from the neat
who introduced improvements of such an impressive nature they ^ere subsequently
deified at seven different places by the local people. Of the later-day culture
heroes one may cite Nema Ikari, r/ho deplored the local lack of reverence in
worship of ancestors, to improve the standarda of hia fallows, he nent up to
OkinaT;a to study the proper rites, and upon his return ii^troduced nen foms of
burial and worship, and new types of tomb construe tloa.

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Copyrighted inaicnal
Crotlty, revenge and oc»UDt«r-r«v«ng» fon constant themee In traditions of
early Mlyako. It Is not«IOl>tliy how many heroes are men v/ho died in overthela~
ing diaster. Another oft-repeated theme tells of the tragedy of separation and
the fate -U-.at befell women and childroi left behind by aea-faring fathers. loi-
jako Has early a vagr-station fbr OkinaiiBn traders anroute to and from the ports
of South Asia, and of Japanese merchants, adventurers and pirates. Local leg-
ends contribute to an understanding of their influence u} on this distent inland.
There is the legend attached to Kubaka seaside castle ruins which tells of the
datf^ter of the Lord of Xnhaka fAio narrlad an Okinanan named TanagoAUcu. Ihe-
father overheard hie wife address her child as the "son rf a wanderer". In
anger he declared that he was a man of great importance in trade far to the
soiithein islands. Taking the child from its mother he returned to Okinawa,
nhere the child in time grew up to be a great lord. The disconsolate mother
wandered on the shore below the castlo walls, pra^^dn^ for death vhich indeed
overtook her tihen she was S7.'ept to sea by a tidal wave. Trpdition ascribes this
story to the i5th century, as it does the story of Madama '..nka i^a.ii or the
.

TDOng Lord viho vas con of a Japanese father and a Miyako girl, and vjho ras killed
in a cruel fashion by a jealous local roman. The deified ancestor of the la
Family (Xax^-shi) is a culture hero said to have come dora from Kume Island and
tradition sayis that his brother is deified on Taeyasta. A more siibstantial link
with the past is supolied in the legend of w^un-Jcarra Otono deified at tlie I.taenuya
Qtaki because of his j.eadtrshio in introducing; Japanese shipbuilding techniques
in Miyako. Tko villages of onipbuilders live near tlriis sacred grove today.
- . - . ,

re may say that docur.entary history for Saklshitia does not


SurrLminp up,
begin until the opening of the l6th century, but that tradition points to a
primitive society' in the recent past, end to a movement southward into it of
Okinavans and Japiui^se possessed of superior capacities for organization and
leadership, superior tools and better agricultural techniques. It is net iinp>
probalde that- this. took place principally in the 14th. and l^th centuries,
during the general expansion of narltiae activities throughout East Asian •

ooastal TraterSy though there is a proud tradition in Yaeyama that e:d.led mesu-
ters of^tbe .great Talra Clan, settled^ In lahigakl Island in the 12tb ceatuzy* .

The great event^ in Sakishinia history seems to have been the mpedltlon • .'.

led by Nakasone Toyomioya against Akahachi of Yaeyama and Dntura of Yonagimi.


r.^iile the 15th century meant the gro\.^h of trade and cor.munici.tion rdth Oki-
nawa, it also meant the growth of rivalry betT>'een two pov.'erful families cox
Miyako y the Nakasone aid the Kaneshlgaim* The latter cane tvom the Sunakara
shipbuilding area, and are said to have had many ships engaged in profitable-
traffic with liaha* The *5huri government detennined to bring the southern
.

islands under its cca&trol«. but the expedition to Sakishima in. aet with
limited success.; ..Rs^pilltovs loeel leadM'S continued to. refnse .svibaiission.
Akahachi of Yaeya.Tia proposed to invade Uiyako. On Miyako the pov-erful local
leader Nakasone Genga .org^uiized an eaqpeditlonary force^ for counter-attack,
noved suoc^ssfUlly against the neighbouring islands^ sitd took back to. .Miyako
booty and prisoners, including the daughter of tlntura» of Xonagunl ii^land* .

. The government at ^uri had meanwhile organized a


I't punitive ex-
.

pedltiba ef somnt-WOi mm tdio eere sent against Miyako in 1500. Makasooe eoe-
cesafully negotiated Vvith the King's forces and averted disaster for the peo-
ple of Miyako,' and for this he was subsequently vor shipped at the principal
Miyako Shrine. Then followed the development of Shuri's controls, step by

Copyrighted inaicnal
step, thou^ not without ssrious opposition. In recognition of hXa preeaiaMit
position Nakasone was given the title of Miyako-.iima Ktxshira or "Chieftain
,
,.

of Uiyako Island" in 1^00, but in 1504. be toolcadvantage of his powerful po-


sition to levy a private poll tax upon Hm- Mtysko peopla. Shuri on its part
used a systeir of rewards and punirhmrnts; for those local Jords v.-hoBc author-
ity it did not want to challenge openly, titles and honors were devised to
"confirm" them in landholdings they already possessec'. This in fact was merely
extending to Miyako the practioas of the Japanese snd the Chlnase #10 under- .

took from time to time to confirni the Shuri kirgs and the Shtmazu clan lords
In rights and titles over which neither Peking nor Kyoto exercised a real coa-

A system of merit awards ^vas developed, which enabled Shuri' s representa-


,

tives' to divide and counter local opposition which cduXjdf not be nut down by
direct action. Resistance to centralization was punished* An instance com-
memorated in local stories today involved Mahomari, e beautiful daughter of
rebellious Nakaya Kanemaru. Because cf her father's actions she was forced
to go up to Shuri to become a royal concubine. Hhen she had becone preea.ant
b:r the King (Sho Shin), she war sent back to Miyako because of Jealousy among'
the other Court ladies. Ehroiite the was shipwrecked on Terana Island^ and
.there she was .oishrined at lutatsu Se Qtcki .

As part of the centralization project roads were built in ?'iyako to ex-


pedite the gathering of taxes, ^or example, ^lakasone Genga ordered Kawamitso
Odon.to construct the Shimoji Bridge Road in I5O6. A stone direction iiiax4c«r
was constructed on the top cf the Karimata Tfatch Hill, a. lookout site frdtt
Reports we^
'

irtiich all the Mlyako Islands could be kept under surveillance.


made from there to the Shuri officials, giving note of all passing ships and .

thfir direction.
It required many years for Shuri to establish unchallenged conLrol in -

iteki^iiBa. The powerful local leadership of Nidcame Gehga'eks- replaced bj"*


that of Meguro Kori ToyoBioym who fought his way to control of all Miyako * '

about 1530. h': in turn was overthrown by a 'youth ncjned Yonaha Sedo Toyomioya,'
who founded ]fo! ajna Village snd is today enshrined (with Nakasone) in Miyako 's
principal lAirlre. Grndnslly l!he- arts,- crafts siid liihUig'8tttl'<Ud>ds*bf (Hclna^
penetrated Sakirhlmn. Bud^^irisn is seid to have been introduced about 1513
by one of the Kmeshifrawa r,r:>d^-ng family. The Shuri f^overnraait assumed direct
-'
control in 153^:. A3 the ycivs oassed, opposition 10 ^^huri subsided, public
'
order was establi^ed, and tsiB Halted' natural resources of the island were
made to yield Th&t they could for taxes. Because of the infertility of the '
Isnd, and extremely hard work required to make it yield enough food- for local
use, the men of Miyako took to the sea as fishefiBflir' snd as hardy crewDen- -

needed on far-ranging trading ventures. Many local' legoids tell of tiie ad^ '•

'
ventures of Miyako fishermen driven by storm' to distant and sometimes savag^
"'
islands. In 1^67, for instance, a. Miyako craft was stranded at Kaseta in
'
Satoona and there repaired and sent bade to the islands by by the fibinssD
COLaa govemMnt.
Ihlle the nen mat to sea, the umbso of Miyako stayed at hoae to fan m&
to weave. Sometime in the 15th or l6th centuries new techniques in aaavlng
were introduced, and developed into highly specialized Miyako jpfU . most noted
product of these islands. About 158^, it is said, a woman of Shimoji perfected

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^^^(.;y lighted material


cloth of such quality that It nae sent up to Shuri as a present for the King.
.

1h« textiles of Uyako continued to be a najor tax item thereafter until the
opening of the 20th century. As an eyport item they were rivaled only by
sup:ar cane 7;hich la saii to have been introduced fror-i China about 1597 by a
man named Oruku Pechin Uma/a. T»ithin a fev years' time both sugar cane and
taoctilea vere being eent up fron Sekiablu through Mah« to Sateum, for use
and diatrlbutloo ia'Ji^m.

fihile Shuri was thus extending its authority in Saicishiraa there w&s com-
f>arable interest, thou^ leas aetion, In the lalanda to the north* It will
be refaembere^* that in IA65 ^he a^prersive young Kin;; Sho Toku in perron had
led a military foray intc the isluids north of Okinawa, along the sea road to
Japan y and had there succeeded in establisiiing control over Kikai island. hoYi,
three quarters of a eeotury later, there uaa an attempt;, to' push the northetn
frontier of th» Chuzan Kingdom on to Amami Oshlma. Ij\ exoendltionary force
under Nasashlppu Oya^ta established a teoporary hold in 1^37 » but three de-
eadaa later a new foree'^ad to be dispatched to reassert control (1^71) •
Ealatlvely little waa done to develop an admlniatration in Ansai and it was
dooned soon to fall permanently under tb« control of SatsOoa,

tieraaaed JaBaaaae latereat and Aetivltv in the Hansel lalanda

*
Upon the death of the iLute King Sho Gen in 1572, his second son, Sho Eij
took the Throne. There were few noteeorthy cheagea in'adnlBlstrRtion beyood
the addition of en o^'fice in Gov-^mr.er.t to supervise tile manufacture (the
Kavrara Bu£jo) This in tinie was zo become a floiarishing business as tiles be-
.

came popular substitutes for thatch for the roofs of official dwellings.

Sho Ei r:is the last King of a fully independent Chuzan. His reign ended
in 1588, a year of ominous portent for iiyukyu. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had made
bla—If^aaater of Japan, and in 1589 aent naming that he expected oooperatlon
fraa-Uia Nanaei Islands in his projected coaqueat of- China. Here indeed was
a dilem'na for a srn&ll trading Kingdom T7ho6e commercial life and liell<>>being
depended wholly on the goodi:ill of its powerful neighbors*
•; . .:.>: ..

RaiatiePB 'Vlth Japan had not run a smooth course for some time. There had
been some losses nt sea in the l6th century »?hen tribute and tracing ships fell _

victims of the waloot the dreaded Japanese sea-rovers. Now they began to raid
the ahorea*of^ Okinawa its^f and to threaten the port of Naha with the fate that
had overtaken large trading, settlements on the China coast and along the Yangtae
River. There t,es a serioup descent on the island in 13?7. In l^^^l the Shuri
government ordered ccnstruction of two forts (laraza and Mie) flanking the en-
tranee to llaha harbor* Theae were, completed in 1553 (the yeer of the greateat
xtnko raid in Chint, carried to the walls of Nanking), and by 1556 Okinawa was
able to defend itself successfully against further raids, attempted from time
to time.

There were relations trith Japan on a more formal basis, both with the Shi-
mazu Family in Satsuma and with the central government at Kyoto. Shuri was 00-
eaalonally adced to act as lataniadlaary between tiia Aahlkaga Shogunate and ^a
Chinese Court, but it waa with the diisMini Clan of Satauna that relatioaa iiip-
craaaad ateadlly* .. .

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The interests of both SatBuma and Okinawa irere affected in 1542 vhen a
ChixMse Junk carrylag three Fottngoese «as dbrivn to Tmegufaina bgr eton.
This small islnnd, hitherto notable only as a tra(?ing exchange post for 01:i-
nava and Satsuma, now became the site of C(»i8iderable activity, for here the
EuMpeens first introduced fireame to Japan and instructed the men of Tanega^
ahijiia In their manofacture. Future studies may disclose records of Satsuma's
reaction to the Chuzan errooditions against Amami Oshima in 1537 and in 1371p
for these were intrusions upon territory close to the Shloazu dooaln.

Japanese priests were active in the Ryulqrus in this agSf not only as mis-
sionaries but as diplomatic and commercial agents. This was a normal activity
of the tijnes; priests of tne five Great Temples of Kyoto were the Shogun's
priaeipal agents for many years, and berons tSiroufthout Japsn used priests aa
their renresentatives in carrying through many secular missions requiring edu-
cation and diplomacy. It rrac not uncommon, indeed, for a ran to enter and
leave the priesthood more than once during his life time and priests themselves
were not above Serving as secret nilitary agmta beyaiid the bmcders of their
home feudatory.

Chance evwts drew Satsuma*s attention nore and nore to the south. In
1567 a daradced craft from •.iiyoko drifted ashore at Kasada in Sat;iuma. The Clan
Government ordered it repaired and then sent back the crew and tJ;eir craft to
Miyako. four years later came the second invasion of Anami Oshima by forces
sent up trcm Sfanri. Ihe Ctausan priests and stodsnts on their miselflBS to Kyoto
passed through Kagoshima. In 1573 officers of the nev, King Sho Ei (a youth of
fifteen years) took obcasion to send piTts up to Shimazu Yoshihisa, Lord of
Satsuma, announcing the accession and asking for friendly relations.

Satsuma at this tine was deeply embroiled in the wars from T.hich Hideyoshi
emerged as master of Japan. Otomo loshishige, one of the pd^erful daimyo of
Western Japan. &pent the last ten years of his life in deadly war with Shima-
'
lu- Yoshihisa, and attempted to rouse all the allies he could bring to 'bear
against Satsuma. It is probable that a mission sent to Ryukyu by Otomo In
1577 had something to do i^itb this* The Ayukyu govemmoit, bowevery in that
year sent a priest-envoy (Shu On 0^)
to Ibshihisa to congratulate him upon
his victorious conquest of three provlncas in Kjrushu. Be are not concerned
here further with this incident, except to note that Yoshihisa ras forced to
give up his new territory on the northern borders of Satsuma by order of Hide-
yoshi, who had sided with Otomo. It is not isqavhable that Otomo* s Dissloa to
Ryukyu may have alerted Shimazu to the dsnger of a flanking attack based on
Pyukyu. (52) The Chinese envoys who performed the traditional investiture
ceremony for the young King Sho £i in 1579 returned to Peking with reports that
• more than one' hundred Japanasa soldiers tiare atatLonad in I^y^Eyu, and tliat they
were p. formidable and rough company. This In fMt* ^Eiily foreshadouad tiia snd
of independence for Cbuzan.

Chuzan and V'ar in Korea and Japan, I592-I6O3 .


In the reigp of King Sbo Nei (1539-1620) the Chuzan Kingdom fell victim to
« . !

(52) In the course of these campaigns in Kyushu, Hideyo^i had Hhm coop- |

peration of priests of the Chin Sect of Buddhism, r;ho acted as spies and agents
on his behalf. As a consequence, T<hen this was proved, the Satsuma Government
suppressed the Shin sect uithin the Shimam domain. This had latar Iffportanoe 1

in i^jnikyu. |

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economic and political forces gerei'eted far from Shurl, To undtrstand these we
nust turn our attention briej'ly to events in Japan and China, and In Korea, the
natural corridor between them. Ihls pattern of Korean involvement hae been re-
pMitcd sinea than, la tbe jBan InnttdiBteLy after the Japanese Reatoratioa of
1?68, and in 1950, follo^:lng the uniflcatiou of C'lina under a Communist adnin-
ietration. Iii all three instances ambitiouc tailitaiy expansion programs fol-
lowed upon unification of political cc»:trola over national resources. Border
eoontriea - Bgnikyu and Korea - mm
inerltAbily and profoundly affected the
oottsequencea.

During the "Golden Age" of Ryukyu (the reigna of Sho Shin and Sho Sel)
Japan passed throui^h the anarchy and the gwapolcu period. Ihe central govani-
nent could coutrol neither pirates vho rarged throughout Far Er stem v aters,
nor ambitious feudal lords itho fought ceaselessly among the&iselves throughout
Japan. In 1566 one of these barons (Oda Vobunaga) more poeerful than his ri-
vals, made himself de facto Shofun, and began a moveraent toward unification*
One of his principal lieutenants was Toyotont Hideyoshi, Viho, in 1577, con-
ducted a cainpaigii a^^ainst the great lords of westem and southern Japan. As i7e
have seen, the actions of this fomidable opponent hei^tened Satsuna* s sense
of danger from flanking attacks from the south, through the Southern Islands.
Hideyoshi succeeded Notauaa^a in 1582: and began soon after ambitiously to plan
invasion of Chimi vie the Korean Peninsula. Both the Kingdons of Ryukyu and
Korea eere oalled upon to contrifante in aid of this oontinental enterprise.

Hideyoshi entertained other ambitioaa, hardly less great, to move south-


ward overseas, taking fomoae and the Philippines. Tbe Spanish Qovemor at
Manila in turn proposed to move northward into Formosa to forestall Japan. We
know that a Jr.panese force of more th!in a hundred fighting men were living on
Okinawa. (33) Geography had placed Okinawa on this political and military
frontier in tho path of eny advwturers going out from, or approadilng, the
shores of Japan. Vihen the conflict betv/eer. China end Jaj sn canf; to open war*
fare in Korea, the leaders at ShMri were kept acquainted with military acti-
vities based on Kyushu. • . .

The Shuri Court had neglected to send g5 f ts to the Shogun'b court at Kyoto
during the years of confusion before iiobunaga and Hideyoshi came to power.
Hideyoshi now renlnded [v,ajkyu of this, and ordered Shiiiafni Yoshifairo to levy
a tribute from Ryukyu in support of the Korean invasion plans. The Government
.

of the nev/ King, Sho I^ei, sent apologies and gifts, and in midsumner- of 1539
a priest from S^uri was received in audience by Hideyoshi. . .i .

It was shortly after this that Hideyoshi is said to have made a gift of
Ryukyu to one of his lieutenants (Kamei Korenori) in a rather offhand ^ay. Dur-
ing a conversation one day ne picked up a folding fan, took his brush, and in-
scribed on the fen ^Kemei, Lord of Byulejru", bending it then to Korenori. In
1591 Kanei proposed to invnde his nevi territory, but r;aj blocked by vShimazu,
obviously edert to the danger of having one of Hideyoshi' s close lieutenants
in control of the Southern Islands. This story seems to have been confirmed
later from Korean sources, for ^en the Japanese were forced to retreat on one
occasion, this trearured fan v.a? picked up among personal effects found In the
officers' quarters of an abandoned Japanese ship.

(59) iSee above, page 67.

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The incident must also be seen in a larger context. Hldeyoshi ms con-
vinced of his ability to conquer Cblna, and it is a matter of record that be
bad decided upon the distribution of Chinese territories to his llMtenaiits,
naming them to fiefs according to their valour, faithfulness VDd iaportenee.
Kamei vna a minor lieutensnt (only 13,000 k ^pjj^ hncd Ayulqra 1?M A BlAor gift,
jft

easily bestowed, but eagerly received.

In all things Shuri sought to remain friendly v/ith both sides, but rhm
Kideyoshi's first invasion of Korea failed the Chuzan officials ceera to have
believed that they could be firm in refusing to aid Japem in attacks on China.
If idbey had any eatpectation that Hia Ming Gov^munent would give then aid Is
resisting Japanese pressrre, they v;ere suffering from an illusion of Chinese
• strength and Chinese interoL t in their \7elfare. Ihe Ming Government vas oo
the eve of defeat and collapse. •

• •

Kideyoshi's death (1598) put an end to the secrind Ja^-anese Expedition into
Korea. The Dainyo rho v;ere ato^sad hastoied home to take sides in disputes con-
eeming the succession to power in Japan, these culminated in tha Battle of
-• 8akigahara (1600) nhere TokugaT.a lyeyasu emerged as preeminent mlar. He took
careful note of those rho had fought for him and those vrho were ranped against
him. Shlmazu loshihiro, Lord of Satsuma, Osumi and part of Hyuga, i.&s among th«
lattar, and thovi^ ha obtained lysyasa's pardon^ ha «aa foread to retire, giv-
ing ovar hla dosiaina to his adn. (54.$ for this footnote- see botton of |ia^a 70.)

With great skill Tokugawa lyeyasu redistributed feudal territory. The


barons idio had supported hia before the Battle of -addBahara aumbarad 176, and
to these he gave the r.arae •^'j dal -dal-nyc renervirif; t-^ t»-'e- nlme hip^ offices
in his government. The barons v.ho reluctantly submitted to him only after the
Battle of Sekigahara were named to&ama daimyy - the "outside Lords" . These
nonbarad 86. Although the most powerAil aaong them rare given hi|^ Court -honon
and rrere treated ns guests when they visited the Shopun's Court at Edo, they
ftere in practice excluded from important posts in the adoiinistratioa. To make
doubly sure of their reluctant submiaaion, and to prevent offaotlwa coalitions
of anti-Tokugav.a forces, Tokugawa' s vaaaala (tfaa fudai daimyo) vera givsn tar-
• ritories nhich in effect iaolated 'liirffffllt jft^^rilTT ^^oa anotbar and trca Bdo
the capital. • . :

The Shiraazu of Satsuma were' among the most po:?erful and wealthy of the
. "outside Lords". After the rodititribution of fiefs, they found themselves
Isolated and confined to territories in southern Kyushu. There could be no
further thought of expanaion to north or east. The bordara ware doady aatdiid
on both sides. Althou;^ the ShoroJii's government care^'ully supervised relation*
among the individual daimyo . it made virtually no attempt to interfere in ad^
ministration v/ithin the territories of such por/erful Lords. If we are to
nndaratand Satauaa-Barukyu ralationa ttid 8i.tmaa'a role aa intaniadiary bataaea
Shuri and Yedo, rre must understand how Shimazu chafed under ToVi - ara restrednt
upon Satsuma' 8 relations rdth othar barons^ and how jealously the Satsima Clan
maintained an independent rule vrithln Clan' territories.

The Satsuma expedition against Ryukyu in I609 served as a safety-valve


for the ambitions and war-like energies- of the clansmen. For centuries they
had enjoyed fraadon to make war on their nai^bora. After 1600 they vera af-
factivaly blodcad on the land frontier^ and ao tumad aoutfanardy feeding their

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prldtt ilirooeh the aobjogatloii of the iseople and liLendB of Rgrukyii. Htm Sho->
gun's Govern. nent conld f-elcome tj:is expansion of Jaran's frontier Wld the •
estahlishfflent of defensive outpoets in the lelands to the south*

We have traced the history of a nominal title "Lord of the Southern Is-
lands" granted first to Shimazu Tadahisa in 1206 and renerred again and again
upon each appropriate ocoaeioo. Thus far it never given substance thrpugh
any aetlon initiated by Sateuna. Hhe Kings of Ryukyu had eeat messengers,
9awojB end gifts to tho Shlmazu Princes as they would to any other pcT.erful and
respected neir^hbor. Now all this was about to change; for tv;o hundred sixty
years (1603-1S72) the Shimazu were to exercise an effective control over the
foralgn affairs and iotanial admiDistratlon of Ryukyu, laoivins to tha Kin^^ and
the GovenuMnt at Shuri only nominal bqnors and an appasrenea of Indapeodanea.

Ihe dosing laara of Indapandaneai Dividad Counsels and Lmwltias at giuri

IViese years betvjeen Hideyoshi's first demands upon Ryukyu (1^83) and the
ovamhalming Satsuma Expedition (1609) afforded the last interlude of paaos-
ful indcpenderce for the tmgll Kin(jdoi.i. The King extended his patronage to
Buddhist temple-building (the Futemaia God gen-do was built in 1590) « and to road
and Inddge construction (the Taihei- Kyo or Taira-bashi vaa biilt of stona
at Shuri, 1597). In 1606 an event of revolutionary! Ijnpor tan ce in local econo-
mics took place. Cultivation of the sweet potato was introduced from ?ukien
Province, Qiina, by Noguni Sokan. Cultural ties with. Japan were being streng-
thaoed by the arrival of missionaries from time to tine. A priest nsaed TU-
chu bei^an preaching a popular evangelical form of Buddhism at Shuri in 1603*
He introduced the Nembutsu ritual ^nd preached the possibility of salvation
through the repetition of Amida' s name in a simple formula. The poorest and
oat illlterata believsr oould hope for etamal bliss in 'Amida* s beautiful
^.'estem Paradise. Another Japanese missionary priest named iGiyu founded a
Buddhist temple, the Sen Ko-in on Naminoue Headland. The Okinawnns as a f:hole
.

seem to have been tolerant of all organized- religions, if not indiffermt to


them. Tlie Confucian temple at Kume village was the center of foiaal literary
studien and of rituals honoring tlie Sages of China. By their very nature Con-
fucianism could appeal oalj to a minority of the upper classes whose studies

(54) Shiinazu Yoshihisa had been defeated by Hideyoshi and i'oroed to turn
over his domains to his brother Yoshihiro in 1587. Nevertheless he remained
in the background, directing many important affairs for his fsiriily. In 1600
Yoshihiro enterpd the battle of Sekigahara against lyeyasu. V.hen Iveyasu
emerged the viptor, Xoshihirp hastened back to Satsuma. His brother undertook
to mediate fdlh lyeyasu, and won a pardon for Yoshihiro In 1602 on condition
the latter vould b^cone a priept, and hand over control of the Shimezu domain
to his son Tadatsune. In the next year Xadatsune went up to pay his respects
end aaqxress his appreolatlcn to Xysyasu at Aisbimi Castle (Kyoto).
As a mack of honor rithout mHitary or political substance, lyeyaao eon*
ferred one syllable of his name on Tadatsune v/ho was thenceforth knoim as
lyehisa. It is reasonable to assume that Ryukyu-Satsuma relations were dis*
cussed during the ccxiversations held at this time.

.70-
had included cln-rical Chinese, nnd preeminent ar.nnp tlMM, of OOOrMf W&t %
Btudents nho returned after years of study at Pekiag.

Buddhist temples and rituals had a 'nore popular appeal in the Naha-Shuri
area, and were associated with Japan and v/ith Japanese missionary endoavor In
the popular mind. Only two of the many Japanese sects were well-established
tn Ryukyu - the Rinsal Zcn-shu and the Shingon-shu. Oklnavan converts and
studoits ivent up through Satsuma from tine to tine as pUgrlas to feaous teap-
les and sacred spots in Japan.

But the influence of neither Confucian studies nor of Buddhist doctrine


was felt deeply in the countryside beyond the Shuri-Naha area. Throughout the
islands the indigenous cult flourished under the hierarchy of the Moro . Its
treditioaB and pracUces were sufficiently dose to the Shinto practices and
beliefs of Japan to attract the close attention of the Japanese priest, Tnidiu,
vjho compiled the first formal account of religious practices in Ryukyu (the
Ryukvu Shinto-kl) about l608.Thla Is not surprising, for Ryobu-Shinto (a mix-
ture of Shinto and Buddhist belief and ritusl) was than In imietiee throuf^iotit
J^pan.

Reverence for ancestors was a common element in Qiinese, Japanese, und


I^^ukyuan emotional and religious life, and far outveiihed either Coofuclan or
Buddhist forrnalities in everyday affairs. The comTnon people of the Ryukyu Is-
lands cannot have been very deeply aware of any doctrinal or political competi-
tion for the attention, interest and support of their rulers at Shuri and Naba.

At Court, however, the competition amonp: Okinawans rho vrere "pro-Chinese"


or "pro-Japanese" was keen and open, and found expression in political conflict
as well as cultural prefereneea. We- do not Itnow what heated arguncnts nay havn
been carried on aaoDg the King's councillors, but nhen Japanese demands wem
made upon Chuzan to support Hideyoshi's campaign to invade China through Korea,
the Shurl Government decided not to comply, and an excuse was found to sus-
pend -ttie eustonary nissions to Kyoto* '
' •

This decision seems to have been made by King Sho Nei principally upon
the advice of a Councillor named Teido Jana Qyakata vho was a man of the
Kuoe-aura Innigrent village, educated at Peking, strongly pro-Qiinese in
his views on the conflict in Korea. T?hen Srtsuraa sent an envoy dom to Shuri
to inquire into the break in relations v.'ith the Shogunate, Jana O^^akata is said
to have caused him to be treated rudely. Tnis Satsuma could not ignore.

In 1603 Shiraazu Yoshihlsa sent another envoy to Shuri, this tir-^.e strongly-
advising the King to submit to the nev; order in Japan, and to pay his respects
to Tokugawa lyeyasu, the new Shogim. Again ^ho Hel declined to renew rele^
tions with the Bakufu. It is probable that he end his Council did not fully
appreciate the significance of lycyasu's victory in 1600, and the fundamental
changes \;^ich came with a new centralization of povfer and authority in Toku^
gawa hands • 9iuri*ri reply to Satsuna referred to ocnditicns in Japan as thay
had been before 1600, not as they wm in faet thereafter*

Upon receipt of this second refusal, %inas» ivpealad to Tokugsna lyeyasu


for peraission to obnstise canisan for its rudeness and failure to pay due re-

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SpMt to tfa« ll«w gov«nuDtnt in Japan. lyeyasu by that time had left Edo and
was living in nominal retiromeiit at Sumpu (Shizuoka) . In 1606 he granted per-
mission tu Siiimazu to bring about the subjugation of Ryukyu. It is probable
that l^reyasu was glad to find nilltary divaralon for restless Satsuna at no
cost to the Shogunate. He was at the time deeply concei-ned with problers of
European pressure upon Jnpen. Il-ie Satruma Clan must be barred in any a*:tempta
to enlarge its territories r:ithin Japan r'roper, but it would be to Japan's
Interest to extend garrison forces Into the Southern lalands viilch forned the
sea frontiers through Fhich Europeans nuct pass to approach the Shogun's port
of Nagasaki. Satsum, on its part, was ready to give its samurai their proper
employment after three years of unaccustomed tranquility, and was not aware
of the wealth which had aceumlated at 3hurl and Hafaa«

King Sho Nel received the writ of investiture from the lllng Emperor in
1606, viaware that Xokugawa lyeyaao at the SMe time had cleared the way for
a Satauna immalfMi of the Ryukyu Islards. Three years passed by, however^ be-
fore the aouthexn aoqMdltim could be fullj organised and got under way.

"Tit ^tnr ^~ilTff Qrw to

In 1609 a force of 3000 Satsuna warriors set sail from Tanakawa, in Kago-
shima Bay, under the coanand of Kabayama Hisataka. (55) The Japanese forces
set out in a fleet of more than one hundred Tiarships, moved dorn throu^ the
Amami Islands, past Tokunojima md Kikaijima, and put in at Unten Harbor on the
Motobu Penlnaula. There they had to overcone aharp reaietsnee on Oshima and
TokunosbiJiia enroutt, but ret nith almost no resistance on Okinawa. (56) The
ine^qjerienced and ill-equipped Okinawans Tell .away before the seasoned Satnuma
irarriors, who hast^ed on to Shuri and Naha. Shurl Palace was looted, and the
King, together with more than one hundred of hla courtiers and Councillora^
was forced to go up to Kagpshlma to answer for their defiant conduct. (57)

(55) See Itihon Melaho Chlahl Vol. X» p. ASl, Kabayana Hisataka wae an
ancestor of Knbayar.a Sukenori, sent by Tokyo to Formosa in 1873 to observe con-
ditions there before the Expedition of 1874, described hereafter in Chapter XX.

(56) Satsuna nan vho died at Qntsn were entombed in the cliff below the
tombs of the "Hundred Faithful Vassals" ( Moroo.jana ) .±0 had died T^ien Hokuzan
Castle fell to Sho Hashi in 1416. A large monumental ^ave in Okinawan style
was sobseouently erected to honor the site, while on the aunmit of the dlffs
above Admiral (then Captain) Togo Heihachiro, a Satsuma man, erected a monu-
nent in 1892 to call attention to the tradition (treated as fnct) of Tametono's
arrival at this spot in 1165. Upon this tradition Japan's claims to Okinawa
were based, and were taken to Justify the inwasion of I609.

(57) Binkensteln, R: "Die Ryukyu Expedition unter ^inasu I^isa*


Monumeota Mipponica Vol. IV, No. 2, 19a, PP. 296-302.

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PART TfflO

DUAL SUfiOBDINATION

Ryukvu, Japan and Carina. 1609-1878


Chapter VI

ZMTEIIHAL ADJOSnUBTS AFTER IHE SATSDMA mVASIOB

1« The King's Pledge, an Eoonondo Surrender to Satema

2. Dual Standards of SubordlnatloD

3« A Period of Inetitntlonal AdJuetoMot and Japanlsatioii

Copyriyi ucj i ; ;a,ul lai


Chapter VI

INTLBNAL ADJUSII{£»TS AFTER IU£ SAISUliA i:iVASIO]!i

King Sho Hei was held in exile for three years, during nhich his self-
possesBlon, dignity and conduct earned the adulratioa of hie captors. He nas
required to travel up from Kagoshima to pay his respects to the retired Sho-
gun lyeyasu at Suapu, and to go on to ledo to be presented at the ruling Sho-
gun'8 Court. In these Joumeye be and hie attendants ivere ostentaelously
ade a part of the entourage of the daimvo Shimazu lyehisa, who travelled in
great state througji the Inland S*5a and along the Tokaido into Eastern Honshui,
For the first time in history the ruler of a foreign territory was seen in
Japan. His position was indeed ambiguous, for althou^ he nas treated with
courtesy and ceremony, he was nevertheless a prisoaer. Not even the Taiko
Hideyoshi had enjoyed the satisfaction of bringing a foreign king to his Court,
and we shell see that in subsequent years the Satsunia daiayo used this rela-
tloD^p to political advantage eithin Japan.

In 1611 it was apreed that She Nei could return to Ryuk^n; and resume his
position as King of Chuzan, provided he and his chief Councillors r.ould give
urittan pledges to aoeept certain stipulatiois goveznine the econonqr of the
Fouthem Islands. The pledges takdn and th^ ruls!0 to be Inposed and oiforced
by Satsuma were as follows: - •

I.

The Islands of Riu Kiu have from ancient times been a feudal dependency
of Satsuma; and we have for ages observed the custom of sending thither,
at stated times f junks bearing products of these islands,, and- ne
have always sent messengers to earvy our oongnttulatiotts to a new Prince
of Satsuma on his accession.

Such has been cor custom; but in the tine of His Highness Toyotomi Hide-
yoshi, re, inhabitants of this fnr-off southern land, had failed fully
to comply v.ith the requisitions made upon us for supplies and services;
therein we were remiss in our duty, and were very guilty; thus did we
bring trouble to our shore. Tou, our Lord, Shinaiu lyehisa sent an azay
against us to chastize us; I was dismayed. I ras carried off frcra ray
home and became a prisoner in your mi^ty land; I, like to an unmated
bird afant up in a* cage, had lost all hope of returning to my home.

But our merciful Prince has shovn hi? loving kindness; and taking pity
on master and servants vdiose country seemed all lost to them, gave them
his leave to return to their hones; not only so, but also allovad. then
thenselves to govern some of their country's islands.

-73-
Thin is a toon indeed; "^e ^mo^ not how to show our thPnkfulness. So
rill we forever be the humble servants oi Satsuma, and obedient to all
ccMBmands^ and never rill be traitors to our Lord.

II.

A vrltlng Gopy^of this Oatb I iiyB«lf nUl 3nap and will hand it
Ham to ay postori^ tbftt tbay may otaerva and kaap it.

m.
Beiehand evary article of the ordinanoes already made and of tiioee tibidi
shall hereafter be made by Satsuma for our observance shall be faithfully
obeyed by ua; and herein if 17a fail^ may Heaven visit our sin upon our
.heads. . • r

I.

The islands of Riu Kiu have from ancient times been a feudal dependency
of Satsuma; therefore we vould have obeyed and carried out an order of
an^ kiad ifcmtever given to us upon any mmtter* Tet now but little time
ago, neglecting our duty, /we/fell into the sin of disloyalty. ?ie, master
alike and men, T;ere carried away captive and v/ere in despair of returning
.even nith our lives. How great then T/as our joy :.hea you, Gread Lord^ bad
compassion vpaa us and not only allowed us to retara but also gmtad ss
unlooked-for emolmwDts. We knovr not hov/ to shor our thankftitoess. Bter
'
heireafter v;ill re remain the loyal suhjeots of Satsuma.
'

II.

If, peradventure, any man of Riu Kiu, fornetful of this preat-hearted deed*
ever in times to come, plans a revolt against you, yea, if it were our
Chieftain himself nho iriiould be dratn to Join revolt, yet we neverthelesa
'

obedient to the corarpands of our Great Lord, T/ill never be fSlse to out
Oath by abetting a rebel, be he lord or churl.

ni.
*

A iriting of this oath ^.e. a copy^ ve each and all of us i:rill keep
that our bobs may know forevto and' obamrvB lAat we have vowed and therein
may never fail.

9*^-^ nance of Shlmaau lyehiaa /Frince of SatauaaZ

Art. 1 . - Bo merdisndise shsll be imported from Chinm without leave first


obtained of the Piiinee of Satsuma.

Art. 2 « - No emoluments shall be given to any meiDber of any family, how-


ever lllustrioiis, on account of disttngnished origtm alone, but only to
those capable of public service.

-7^

CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
iiSixJl* " So «aoliMmt« .of office dull bo gim to a mistress of the
Ghieftsla.

Art, /t. - Ko kind oi" private servitude ia alioKed. ,

Art. 5 . - The anmber of shrines or tenples to he erected shall not


be excessive* . . •

Art> 6. - Mo aerofaants shall be allowed -to sngsge in external trade


to or fron Rio Kiu without a written peniission from Satsuna.

Art. 7 . - Mo Inhabitant of Rio Kia shall be sent to the mainland as a


slsTe«

Art. 8.^ - All taxes or other isposts of a similar kind shall be levied
only in accordsnee witti the rules and regulations laid down bgr tha ao-*
thori*^ fttn the nainland*

Art. 9 . It is prohibited ^to the Chieftaln_7 to entrust the conduct


of public ^airs in the islsnds to sny persons other than San-shi-
.(Council).

Art. IQ . - No persons shalx be compelled to buy or soil against his


will.

Aft. 11^ - Quarrols and personal encounters are prohibitedt

Art. 12 . > Reports shall be nade to the authorities in KagDahlna, the .

castle-toTO of Satsuma, in case of any official making any claim ex-


ceed^g the amount of taxes and duties properly to. be levied according
to law upon nerchants and fanrars or others.

Art. 13 . - No merchant ship is allowed to go to anj foreign country


from Hiu Kiu.

Art. IZ . - Mo meaaore of capacity /~value_7 other than the Govem^t


standajnl neasnre known as the Kiohan is allowed to be used.

Art. 15. - Gobbling and all other vicious habits of a like nature are
prohibited.

Strictly observe each one of the foregoing articles i Those who vio-
.•late the same shall be liable to severe punishmentL (58)

The first of these measures very effectively put economic fetters upon the
Ryukyu Isl^ds. Overseas trade with China was the. very substance of livelihood
Shnrl end Maha^ and the source of the modest prosperity idii<di the old King^
don had enjojed. Henceforth Satsnna was to be in a position to exorcise complete

(58) This somewhat stilted fiigllsh version is the official Japanese Gov-
at translation placed in evidence before foreign representatives during
the Sino-Japanese sovereignty disnute, 1872-1382. Quoted in the Japan Weeio&r
Mail. October 8, 1879., Vol, III, No. 42, p. 1383.

t75-

'^i^i^y 1 iji ui.o i naterial


eontrol over trade and the profits aecruing from It. Artielea 1, 6 and 13, if
enforced, meant that every ship entering or leaving the islands rould do so in
the interest of Satsiima. Articles 2, 3, ^, 12 and lA had to do rith related
natters such es taxation, staiidards of value end meesure to govern economic
activity and bribwy of officials. Article 5 nay have been written with fore-
thought to prevent the developOiOnt of large religious foundations in Okinawa
to T/hich wealth might be di'verted from tax chemnels end accinnulated under pre-
texts of piety. Articles U» 7 and 10 represented a fairly liberal protection
of the ric^ts of .^e individnal, iMle Articles 11 and 15 were intended to pro-
mote public peace 'md order.

It is noteworthy that only one - Article 9 - is concerned exdueively with


intemel adnixiistratlooy Uniting the delegatioB of Royal avtiionty to the
Sanshikan alone. Nothing '•as set forth to define the authority or position of
the representatives throur^h Tvhom Satsuaa proposed to maintain influence with
the members of the Sanshikan .

The excuse for the punitive expedition ostensibly hfid been SatFuma's de-
sire to punish King Sho Nei and his Councillors for failure to ahov respect to
the Shogun's Government, but although the Oaths required them to adaMnrle^ge
failure end fault in these matters, the Articles to T7hich they rere told 'to pot
their seals made no mention of formal ceremonial obligations. Satsuroa was more
interested in commercial profits than in cereaonial flattery for the Tokugava
Bakufu .

With the exception of Jana Teido Oyalcata, the King and his Councillors
signed the covenants at Kagoahima. For his stubborn refusal to agree to his
country* s' loss of independence, Jana was taken to one side and b^ead^d*

Sadly the King returned to Shuri in the autuen of l6ll, to a changed


government and a changed national life. (^9)

,
i>iAl Standards of Subordination

Coring the King's absence the adninistration of tb^* islands had been left
in the hands of a Satsuma snmi-rai nenied Honda Chikamasa, fictlnr as depntv for
Kabayama Hisataka. The invasion had caused little physical damage at Shurl
01- iiaha, but the institutional changes brought about were' -revolutionary.

Amami Oshima, Kikai, Erabu, Toku tind Yoron islands, lying between Okixiawa
and Kyushu, were removed from ^hurl's control and attached to Satauma, to be
adninietered from Kagoshlma thereafter. Satsuha'is nevr borders were now
within slc^t of the northern tip of Okinaan.

On behalf of Satsuma fourteen High Cominissioners ( bugvo) with 168 aides

(59) The Kian Diary ( Kian Mlkki) survives as the most important source
of first-hand observation of the tovaslcn, reorgsniaatlon and change.
(60} Thus although Oshima people recognised close cultural ties with
Okinamiy th^ were in fact under Okinawa's organised eontrol for less than
three quarters of a century.

-76-

Copyrighteu lal
mat dam to make the first complete survey of the administration and economio
potential of Ryukyu. Their activities extended as far sooth as Mlyako &nd Yae-
yaraa. After checkinf^, revising and adjusting rfiport? brought in from off-lyijijf **
islands, it \.as decided by them that the Ryukyu revenues stood at the equiva-.
lent of 91,220 koku of rice, and that upon this basis," the CSiusan go\raniBent-
should be required to pay over to Satsuraa, as tribute, an annual equivalent cf
11,935 koku Satsuma v,d.£ thereby able substantially to incraass its OTO total
.

revenues, but fiyukyu suffered a disastrous blow*

An economic and administrative pattern was ncr set which was to endure
T.lth little change until the end of the i9th century. To meet the Setstiraa levy,
two new taxes were laid on. To the HpndeHn&i, the existing Baric Rice Tax, were
added the Bu^Mai. a Military or DefensS'Tax, and the Cytibal»tsii'4hi . a LiTa»
stock Tax. The old admin is tration nad carried on principally through deputies
of the Anji^, governing for them in tiieir hereditary districts. This loose ar-
rangement was now replaced by a syet«n of Jito or District Chiefs appointed
Sron Shuri* in agent of Satsuma was' astablished in Naha to supervise .and re-
port on the conduct of the Government, Trhile a Ryukjoi Office (Ryukjw Kan) VUM
'

set up at Kagoshima to serve as point of liaison in Ryukyu affairs (l6l2).


Satsuna theneeforth required the Ryukyu Court to apply to its agents for ap-
proval of heirs designated for the Throne at Sburi, for the appointnent and .

disniseal of principal officials, and of course for the cor.duct of foroifTi


relations. Between 1611 and 1850 eighteen embassies were .sent up through Sat-
sma to TadOy the Shogun*e Capital, thus maintalnittg a noadnal appeaxHance of i-:
sol^aetiail to the Takugawa Gk^vemment. In actual practice, however, Satsxana .

stood tetreen Shuri and Yedo, and Ryukyu policies Here determined principally- '
in the Shimazu headquarters at Kagoshima. (61) ^ <

This relationship of dependence upon Satsuma' s, will represents a strong


contrapt with the old tributary relationship -•'ith China, in v/hich ex post fagtg .•

confirmation of nev. Kings sufficed to satisfy the formalities demanded by the


Chln'eae- Oourt. flelatifms vd'tti Japan henoaforth vere close, and perhaps nor»
;

eagerly sought for on the Okinawan side than the Japanece.


"tr,'- The execution
of Teido J ana Qyakata , the ardent pro^Chinese adviser to the King, seems not ,

greatly to have strained relations established during the King's exile. In i

1612 tfaa Japanasa Talaasad and Mnt bade tp Shuri tw> notdas' iriio- had hean; lield
as hostages. One ?:as the Lord of Katsuren, concurrently Abbot of the EnkakiJ^H •

T^ple. The other was the Lord of Ozato. A third notable hostage, Kunjan Anj^f
chose to stay in Kagoshima, assumed a Japanese name, and in 1614. Joined Shi-
aw :Ey«biw uhan he wmt up to assist Tokugawa iTayasu in an attack upon Osaka-
Oaatla and destmotion^ of the ToyDtoai loyalists*
' . ...

Jana Qyakata' stubboni refusal to surrandar <Mcinaiia*s independsBCey and -

Jmjan jte|i*a action are sometimes cited ae evidMiea ih&t the 15th and l6th
century Ryukyuan spirit of boldness and adventure was not dead. Between the
l6th and 19th centuries, however, a great change was wrought, for early Western
accounts unifoxAy das<a>iba the nildness, the yielding end paseiva diaractar
of the Okinawans, and the Japanese of the '19th and early 20th century took fev?
pains to conceal a lic^t opinion of. Okinaaa Prefecture and its unwarlike people.

(6l)
"
On Satsuma' s administrative control organization at Shuri, see: -.

Kuroiia Katsumi: Kokushi no Kenkvu ( Study of Japanese History) rev. ed. 1937,
Tel. m*
p. 582.

-77-

Copyriytiioa material
The Keicho Invasion forced the people of Ryukyu into a strange and dif-
ficult position in which they could develop no fixed and final standards of
tbelr om ia politics > •oonomios, or social orgaaiiaticii* The situation was
one to rainimiae tnd discoura^re any eense of strong individuality either for
the nation as a vvhole, or for thie individual merbers of society. Although a
nomijaal appearance of sovereign independence was msiJitained in foimal matters
of national interest, the eo-veraing gentry eisra required to eei^ official
words rind actions carefully, lest they come into conflict -.'ith either of the
tvjo pov/erful nations to which they were subordinate. The educated individual
of the privileged classes was under no less a psychological stress in his
perecnal life. Leaders at Court lAio were adBlnistrators were called upon mat
day to adjust decisions to external pressures, reear^^less of their own serise
of loyalty to. the King ai;id to the local countxyside. Standards of education
and of social life and coimBon oustons were also under strain. A Qilnese clas-
sical education remained the highest ideal and accomplishment for those vho
had leisure to study, and since the Tray remained open for students to go to
Peking as & climax to their training, end provided a sure road to the highfst
offices in local Govemnent, the "Oilnese standard* ens strong and constant*
Dress, food, and ceremonial, no less than ethical precepta and forms of ad^
alnistratioo^ sere constantly under direct Chinese influance*

At "Uie- sane tine the "Japanese stsndsrd" was ever-present* A Japanese


version of Chinese classical education and ths opportunity to study at Ka^o-
shima or at Kyoto competed r;ith the "Chinese standard". Basic elements of
race, religious practice and language formed natural ties with Japaxi. The ioode
of living for the gsnwel populace (outside the Court) eas noch doser to the
Japanese mode of life than it rras to Chinese custom. Such natural inclination
tov/erd identification v?ith Japan ras reinforced by expedXeacy in the face of
military and economic pressure from Satsuma.

As an example, Satsuma extended to the Ryukyu Islands the strict prohibi-


tion laid on the Shin Sect of Buddhism, whose priests had served as Hideyoshi's
agents in campaigns against Shinasu Yoshihisa. Only the Zen and the Shingon
sects eere permitted to be active » the one- centering at Bakokuji, the other at
Gokoku;}!. The Shin Sect was rigorously repressed} there were no tenples^ no *

priesthood and no. missionary activity.

For two and a half centuries the people of Rjoikju ere required to neoQW
v.

modate themselves to two conflicting standards of behaviour dictated by Sat-


suma. f/hile ccnforming to Satsuma* s orders, they had to pretend to be inde-
pendent of Japan and all things Japanese ehsn they «ere in oonMixileatlon iiith
the Chinese.

Ihe key to tl\i8 unnatural situation is easily discovered. Satsuma wanted


the advantages of Ryukyu trade with China. The Chinese Govemnant had from tlse
to tiTTje forbidden all Chinese intercourse vrith Japan. Satsuma \7as determined,
if at all possible, to give Peking no technical reason for laying an embargo on
trade with the tributary state of Ryukyu. Thus, wtien Chinese mvoya and mer-
<disnts csne to Ryukyu on their periodic missicms, all Japanese living at
Naha withdrew into the comtryside. The Ryukyu people had to conceal all
Japanese objects. Officials were directed to feign ignorance of tJbe Japanese

-78-

CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
language, although a form of Japanese, and not Chljiese, was the usual language
of the educated man. A handbook of directions for Okinavrans travelling iz^
China UBS prepared^ giving a varletj of probatla qQestlons and a list of ansiera
-hich it was thought vould sultaliljr oobcmI Ghuri'a iamo auterdinate relatlolib-
«hip to Japan*

It oannot'^te Mrioualj lialiewd tiiat tha Ghlnaae 'irarcl leapt -In Igaoranoa ,

by these pretensions and deceptions tbroughcut two hundred and fifty years, for
even the most casual European visitor^ writing of the islands from Nagasaki,
Wia or the China porta after Ji600y reoorda the fact of Satauna's dominaticm.
Ibis tias an alaborata naka-ballava eooAeloualy wdartalEaa on both aidaa.

This situation undermined the values of indepoidence and of self-respect


end prlda. Indlvidualiam and aelf-aaaartlon fadad; the arta of compronlae and
adjustment became eeaontial to aurvlval among the leaders. Boldness gave way
to timidity. The necessity to accept external controls became a habit of mind*
Two and a half coaturies of dual subordination left a deep imprint upon the
diaracter-traita of tlie Ryukyuan paopla*

China's indifference to the changes on Okinav:a ras noteworthy. Peking's


failure to make any defense of her Tributary State in the 17th Century seri-
oualy^ mdemlnad Ghineaa daima to aevareiffitgr in Idia Rsniksro ZaXetoda -in later
years. Bi^t at that tinae events rr *he distant islands v:ere of little conse-
quence to a continental power. Overseas trade through Naha was useful but not
vital in any nay to China's economic well-being. By contrast with Hideyoshi'a
earlier inwaalon of Xb» KOTean panlnauLa, the Jlaptaese invasion of Rgpukyu in
1609 pareaantad no thriaat to thd -aeeurlty of the qprawling Qilneae Biplre*

China' a inanlfeBt lack of oonceni for the Internal ftdministration or wel*


fare of its tributary states did not in any way diminish fiyuk^an* respect for
Chinese culture. China's vast area, the overwhelmingly great numbers of her
people, ,and the size of the Ifancfau and Chinese armies were all well-kjiown facts
to the ialand people, anct wava held In reepeet and ana* <;•

Since the Chinese were satisfied with fom, with ceremonious acknowledge-
ment of Peking's cultural greatness, the Japanese were free to act as l^ey
ll^t ebooae In eontrolllng tlie Intexnal affaire of i^kyu and in directing
foreign relations, ""hey could aajby these opportunities so long as they did
not disturb the ceremonial embassies between Shuri and Peking. In point of
fact China made no serious objection to the Japanese position in Ryukyu until
Ibkyo forced the OlcinaiMUEis to break off ttie tri^tary inlsalona to -Paking in

A Period of Inetitotional Adjuataent and Jaoanlaation .

The adjustment of relations with Japan after l6ll proceeded smoothly and
with mpgmrmLt aatiafaetion to both Satauma and Shuri* King Sho Hel'a death
teoika an iinportant link vrith the past in 1621. Hia latter daya were embittered
by memories of exile in Satsuma, and the hard necessity to accept a formal sub-
ordination which meant poverty for ^is small Kingdom. In remorse, before death
be ordarad that hie body ^vQ4 not lie with thoae' of his| aneeatora in the Royal
HanaoleaB (the Tuna Qdim) at Shuri. Ihatead It vaa buried In the hlll-eavea bade

-7^

uopy iiyfiioo inaienal


of tlrasoe, some ttv miles to the. north of tih«, Palace. Furthetawe It la said
.
I

that *ha ordered a naak to he placed over hia face in death» to al0iif^ his ho* .

mlliation and reluctance to enter the presence, of his anceators. His si'cces-
8or» Sbo ii9$ CQvld not merely aBsume the powers of office and annoince the fact
to J^an fihUe requesting conflnKitioa from China (the writ of inveatltore) a« ;

hia aneeatora had done. No\. the succession had firat to be apcr: ed by Sat- .

Buma's representative at Shuri. Application for recognition by Q4na oould not


be made until after. ccmsent had been secured from Kagoahlma*

By the tine. King Sho Ho cme to .the throxM, Satsuma had returned to Shuri
the power to organize offices and to administer punishments at the King's will,
thou^ always vlth the eye of the Japanese Kesident officer upon his actions.
'
(62)

The adminietrniive structvire vae gradually enlnrged. Primary functions of


Government at this time rere the collection of taxes in kind, and supervlsl<»
of the putlio peace. Ftron the nature of aoae of the offlcea, aoleonly eatab-
li'^hrd and staffed, one suspects that a secondary function of Government nt
Shuri was to provide officss, titles, and income for relatives of tlie Royal
Family, for descendants of the An.1i and for the gentry of Shuri and Naba cities.
AH GovanuMnt organization was held together by the elaborate network of
.

oareoonlal relationships prescribed by Confucian standards cf good ^vemnient.


Aa -new economic problems rose, or old economic activities developed new ia-
.portance, offleea of Goyemment Here created to aanage ttiSM* (63)

By this time the administration had become thorou^ly institutionalized.


It was no longer dependent upon the personality or ability of the King, who
reigned only by hereditary right altboagh idth great prestige as a eoraBonial
Chief of State. Sbo Nei nas the }«at King to EkLay m
iaportant paraooal role
in national affairaw •

(62) Note that this sytem of "Residents" was followed in Korea (190A-
1910) and in Mandlndcuo (1932^949) » and was atteipted at FiklBg and NsKOciiig
after 1937.
(63) Among the more important offices were the follovlng, in order of
their appearance or majoi^ aevelopir.ent in tlie Government after l621x
'
Financial iiffairs ( Sanya Bugyo) I62.5
'
Forest Affairs t Soaan Bagrol .1028 '

^ ''
Board of Estimate
GoTemorahip of Haha (Naha Satonushi ) 1638
Sugar Management (Sato Bugyo) IhbZ
Religious Affairs It^
Documents Office 1668
Transportation Office 1680
Supervision cf Foreigners 1653
Horse Breeding and Uanagement Affairs I656
Tribute-ship Constnictlw and Supervision I663
Sugar Production and llCBiagaiMot I Sato Bu^o) I66S
Tte .Managaaent ( Cfta Bafoml'- Ibth • .
-

- • , • . .

Sbrlne and Temple Magistracy ( Jisha Bu^yo) l6SJi


[
Lineage Record Office (Peerape OlTice) Keizu Nakadorl) 1689
(

Court Library and Archives (Sho-in Bugyo) 1689


. Irlting Uateriala ProdnctlottOffice (Z6hiteu»yaku ) 1695

Copyrighteu in agonal
The Administration lay In the bauds of the Prime Minister ( Sesgei) as-
sisted loy & Council of Sbate :uini8ters (the ^apshi)cyi) ^lao abated bis respon-
sibilitieB. A Court (the Ki ra.io) coneisting of a Chief Judge, flfteon
sociate Judges of different ranks, a Secretariat and a clerical staff, con-
stituted the only legal organization of its kind in the Kingdom, though special
panels were appointed to consider special cases front time to tine. The Prime
mnister and the Sanshikan (CouneSX of Ministers) were aaslsted tjr ihB heeds' of
Administrative DepartnnntSy collectively knom as the Council of Fifteen ( O|BOt0
Jugo-nin ) vcho advised on policy and nominated the Lsembers of the Ssn shikon;
Ihe Ad m i n i 8 tra tive Depai tments ( Bugyo) and Bureaus had their appropriate repre-
sentatives. Sh»rl*s rspresentatives sent Into Has eoimtry districts { iBa.1iri) «
These originally coincided with the domains of the Lords (anji ) . vAiose desceo-
denty no?/ forL:.ed the nobility and gentry at Shuri. At this level of local
govei-nxnent (Uie maiiri ) > Sb^ri's representatives dealt vith local persons put
fomard ligr Hie eonmnsl village organisations* ELlgibllltgr for office in the^
higher levels of Govemnient Tras deterr. in ed 'generally by family rank plus merit.
The office of the Prime wSinister (Sessei) was reserved for members of the Sho •

Family. (64) Of all the Princes v<ho became Sessei, two nere outstanding ad-
ministrators. Prlxiee-Gushileaini Choei (or Sho Ko) held office from to
1666. He was succeeded by Haneji Choshu (or Sho &iO-ken), v.-ho v?as Prime Mini-
ster from 1666 to I675. Prince Gushikawa led the Byukyu Ehbessy to Yedo in 16^9,
nd to him nay be attritaoted many pro-Japanese policies earrisd en sod enlarged
bgr^his 8ttoosssor« , v ^

The choice of men for the Prime Minister's office was limited. These two
princes sere most exoeptlonsl. It is not surprising that after tliem tbe Segsel
faded in importance v^ile the officers of the gsnahikHn rose as a group to
preeminence in administrative affairs, for there was a much wider choice of -

talent from which to choose memberabip. . .. :

Candidates for membership in the Sanshikan had to be of acceptable lineage,


they miust have passed the local literary examination successfully, and they had
to be residents of Shuri. There were occasional exceptions when talented men
of K«w village were allowed to transfer their residences to Sbnri and so be-
cone eligitla for nemtership In the supma council.

Members of the gentry \7ho took the qualifying examinations and failed, or
thosf -lAiose performance in office was judged to be \insatisfactory, found thoa^
reives transferi-ed to. off ices 1/iriG ^^-^ from t^e capital and sometimes were re-
duced in rank. Their children's children gradually sank back into the local
gentry as petty village officials. Some became farmers. On this preeminence
of Shuri families and the automatic prlyil;dges wliich residence at Shuri con-
ferred, is based a unique social prestige which persists into the second half
of the. 2 0th century. (65) •
. : -.

'*
(64) Members of the Boyal Family v;ho were not rulers or sons of the
reigning king distinguished th«nselves by writing the character for the suiv..
.

name with tvro less strokes. Members of the g«itry who trace- a direct connec-
tion TTith the Sho Family usually, if not invariably, includSi''the disa^acter Cho
in their personal names.
(65) Whenever Okinawans assemble lor the first time, in Ryukyu, in To-
kyo, or in Okinawan communities overseas, it is quickly established whether a
man has been bom in Shuri, educated in Shuri or has married a woman of Shuri,
in that order of Important precedence.

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Copyrighted material
During th^ period under consideration here the old feudal basis of adminiA-
tratlTo land (divisions began to toeak up imder pressure of economic need' and
shifting popuKation. The special watch office lAich had been astaULished in
the Motobu area of Rokuzan district in 14I6, was at last 7:ithdrarn in 1663-
Three years later new districts were created on the Motcbu Peninsula. Popula-
tion preasura brought abmt the creation- of Glnowan majl ri (1671) , to take ita
place near Nakagusuku, Oraaoe, and Qiatan aa.liris lying on the outskirts of
Shuri and Naha. Two years later the ma.ilri of Onna, Kushi, Oroku and Ogimi tow
estahlishedji and Yonagusuku majiri came into bein^ soon after. There was soae
• oooflolidatioii; IknmFhi ooaaod to bo e separate ma.,iri , while Sunagaea and GaidK
Here oombinedy in I6d9« Additional adainistratlve officers were appointed
wherever they were deemed necessary. Organizational activity of this sort
reached its peak under the Princes Sho Ko and Sho Sho-ken. It must be assumed
that tfaejr eere iaeplred bgr patterns of edMtnlBtratloa evolved bgr the Tokugna
Government at that time in its effort to cope tdth economic problems and pres^
sures which Yedo itself did not fully understand. Instead of freeing the
economy so that individual initiative and private enterprise couid raise procvic-
tion and taring forth the best talent of the daj, regardleee of eooial etatoe,
econonio and eooial life ens subjeeted to Snoreaeingly reetriotlve eontitole*

The area around Shuri and Naha was beginning to be overcrowded. It was
natural that young mm brou|^t in to anploanMUt at the capital or 'at the port
city preferred not to return to their quiet home villages or remote farmhouses.
The ffloveoent from rural to urban settlement accelerated as the ever-growing
towe offered more varied opportunities for livelihood. Taxation fell heavi-
est on the farmer, TThereas the resident in Shuri -or KuBe-mira was tax free. 1^
1653 the situation had grcm seriot::: enoup-h to prompt :;:ovemment action. Orders
were issued that nea could not transfer their registration nor bring their fami-
lies in to be registered at Shuri^ Maha, KumaDunra'-br Tomarl. Sumptuary 'laws
b'Bcan to be issuori. "H.^ro T/ert- regiulations governing the kind and quantilgr of
offerings allowable in fun rnl ceremonier. Ttiere was'an attempt to establish
controls of open market barter transactions (l687)\ To meet demuids upon the
limited supplies of copper cash available, the minting of nev and smaller coins
im8,-entroeted to the Voaa Family. (66)

In the old days of free foreign trade there had been a supply of Imported
eoppar sufficient to allow the casting of large baUs', and oHier flAe objeets,
and to make pc edible the dispatch of large sums of copper cash as gifts for the
Japanese Shogxin at Kyoto. Mow Ryukyu found Itself dependent upon Satsuaa for
metals needed to capitalise the China trade.

The Government did little to expand production, but administrative orpani-


zation at this time worked fairly efficiently to extract taxes in kind from the
peasant. The village was the tax unit. Each village had an assigned quota of
tax to pcovide throof^ the. Dtstrict Chief to the Central Govemnsnt. Cert^

(66) Wiese v.'ere called "Dove'p Eye" coins (Hatome Sen) being so much
smaller and lighter than the traditional coins of China and Ryukyu. As the
Tears paaeed, the "Dove's ISye" ooine were recast many tinea^ in progroasively
smaller size until they became little more. Hiaxk voMnd iiakes of vetil carried
in strings of a certain pvuber and weight* . . %

<, ,
.
'
. . . '

r • •
. V
,..»..
, .
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Copyriyi iiu J I ; ;aj^l lai


land areas were assigned for the support of the licensed noro or comniimity
priestess and her establishment. Other land areas were held privately In the
name of 'ttie Lord ( an .11 ) 1^0 lived at Shurl. The great«r part of the land araa^
however, was held as common property divided aiaong community households for
cultivation. The allotments were changed porlodicelly, thoi-gh the length of
time that one household vras assigned one specific land-area varied from village
to tdllago. If an Individual household las .unaVLe to produce Its share of tiie
.

village tax assepsinent, the other villa^^'^ra necessarily had to rrake up th~ r'-';"-
ference. Lack of sl:ill, shiftlos.snesi-, poverty of the assigned soil, or natur-
al calamity, could each affect the capacity of the individual household to meet
its quota*- But the oangranitgr as a irtkole accepted the oVLigatioo to meet the
dwrtoomings of its Individual Moibers.

Ihis system aay have had much to do with the development of notable social
efaaracteristics in Ryukyu. The peasant \3ho could not enjoy exclusive owner-
ship of land, could develop little pride in doing more than the minimum of uork
necessary to meet his assessments. He had no hope of acquiring land which he
ootfLd pass on to his children and their heirs* Be nas rarely called upon to
exsri initiative or imagination In his work. But, although it may have dis-
.

couraged individual initinti^e, the system of community (rather than individual)


responsibility to the government seoas to have promoted a str(»ig sense of inter-
dependence and cooperation Smong leaders^ the gntry at Sfauri» and minor offi«
clals and village headmen in each district. Though the Okinawan peasant could
develop no large sense of individual rights or "natural privileges", he was
obliged and conditioned to work in the community interest. From birth imtil
death his tasks iwre eUoted him. He had few worldly goods; In a idld dlmate
and in a static agricultural society he needed few; hard work benefitted the coo^
Dunity, not the indAviaual. i-breigners who visited Okinawa after the l6th cen-
tury were uniform in describing the exceptional docility, frleodliness and
courts^ of the OicinaManB of evexy class.

On the whole, relations between the classes. seem never to have undergone
"sarioos strain, despite the barriers of privilege and the gulf of poverty ibidk
separated aristocrat from peasant throu|^ut history. No exact figures .

availa''7le for the 17th century, but the proportion of city-dwelling, non-pro-
ductive gentry- .was very high in relation to the food-producing peasantry. This
was not too serioirs in the early days of independence, for ffhile tiie famers ,

produced basic foodstuffs, the luxury trade in the hands of the Naha-Shuri mep
produced surpiusep needed to sustain the gentry. Subordination to Satsumn
meant that this surplus earned in trade v/as drained off to meet the tribute
levies, ^timated at more than one-tenth the total revenues of the little King-
dom*

It was an economic accident of good fortune for the people of the islands
that the sweet potato «as introduced to Okinawa Just before the heavy new de-
mands of Satsuma had to be met. Tl^iis hardy tuberous plant jdelded a cheap but
nourishing food for mankind and substantial fodder for livestock. A heady al-
coholic drlidc could be distilled from it. It stored end could be trans-
ported easily. Above ell, it grew well throughout tiie Islands, even in soil
too poor or badly situated to be irrigated for rice or made to grow other grains
or sugar. Its introduction to Byukyu added a major basic element to the eco-
nomic structure of the Kingdom* Ihis importance sas accorded early recognitioi

-83-

Copyrighted inaieiial
and today the Oklna^ans keep alive and vorshlp the neoory of NogUDl Sokan ufao
introduced the sweet potato from China in 1606.

Noguni Sokan was a minor officiel stationed for a time at the Ryijkyu trad-
ing post at Fukioa. To ivhile away the tedium of his assignment he experimented
with plants, and conceived the idea that if the sweet potato were cultivated In
Okinawa, it might relieve or prevent famine conditions which so often affected
his native countryside. Upon retuminf^ to Okinawa in I6O6 ( Keicho 12) Noguni
tried planting sweet potato seedlings at several places. Gima Shinjo, an of-
ficial of nuoh hlg^ar rank, took siotlee and eneowragad the agqMriBHKital wofki
Within fifteen years it vas being cultivated sucoaaafully throughout Okinawa.
In Ryuk3ru it was known as the -imq " or "Chinese potato"; in Satsiima it ras
known as the Rvukyu-lmo as well; elseidiere in Japan it came to be knoRn as the
Satsuma-imo . (67)

(67) The 8\«eet potato becaue subsequently of such major iinportance in the
loeal eooooBj that it deserves further note here. The plant is of Central
Anerican or South American origin; the na.me b^^tata may have come from Haiti.
Spaniards took the poltato to Europe between 1^92 and 1500. It was knov<n in £hg-
land by 156O. It seems to have reached the Spanish settlement on Luzon, in
the Philippines, sonetime after 1570, end to have been carried secretly front-
there to the Chinese coast, rhere Noguni Sokan observed it about I6OO. The
ptajy of Richard Gocks, an £hgli8h trader at Hlrado, has these entries: "June
19 » 1615. I took a garden this day end planted it vitb potatoes termght trm
the Liquea £Ryukyu_7» & thing not yvt planted in Japan" and "Jnly 29, l6ld.
I set 500 small potato roots in a garden. iSr. Eaton sent me th^ from Liquea
'^Byukyu_7* ^ must pay five shillings per annum for the garden.** According
to tiie Okinawa Shi (prepared by Ijichi Sadaka, 1878), a Japanese naaed RolSMi
carried the sweet potato from Ryukyu to lanakawa in Satsuma about I665 or 1675*
After his death in 1705 (Hoei 2) his tomb v.*as worshipped as the Kara-imo-don
or "Master of the Chinese Potato". About the same time (K'ang Hsi 39 or 1700)
a stone altar iras Built at- the toah of Mogupl Sokan near Hoguni Village, Ghatin
Majiri, Nakagami, Okinawa; in order more properly to v/orship the spirit of so
great a benefactor of Ryukyu. A stone monument erected in Ch'ien Lung 16 (1751)
recorded Noguni' s history at his grave-site, while in Japan Proper the scholar
Aoki Konyo (1698-1769) spread the knowledge of ^e eoltiiwtioo of the sneet po-
tato throughout Japan, and for this wa? honored by a monument erected at his
grave in Shimo-Meguro in Tokyo. So late 1937 the local government created a
haiiu^ome shrine in r public g'irden at Naha to honor Noguni Sokan and his patroii,
Glno. Sbinjo.

fiiga Jutoko:, Nakagaml-gun Shi (Hiy^yy ^K^ffS^'fm) Qklnawa Kvoiku.


Sos. A5, AOf
»

Ichiji Sadakas Okinamn'Shi ^Hlfftm ft^ 9iFt'f"i;Tffi^ Ueiji IX) (1877)

SInon, Ednund: "The Introduction of the Seeet Potato into the fisr
East", Transactions of the Asiatic Society o^ Janftn.
Vol. 42, Pt. 2, pp. 711-724, 19U.

Copyriytiioa material
The a FT i cultural economy absorbed a new and stimulating social element,
as vcell, at tiiis tiae. A f;ubrtantial number of Satsu-oa :aen who came dofjn
during, or Just after, the Keloho Invwlon, decided to- settle In Ryukyu, took-
up l^r.ds assi^.ed to them by the Shuri govenurent, rnd acquired vdves from
among the local gentry. The Japanese nev/comers shared in the liirited privilege
of private land ownership and in some cases were assigned a share in the reve-
nues of frtiole villages as veil* (66)

Sugar cultivation was Introduced from China in 1623 by the envoy Ein
Kblni-<7ounder the patronage of Gtaa Shin jo, vfao had eaeouraged the wide dls*
tribution of the sweet potato. Miereas the potato had provided new basic
foodstuffs for the local people, su^ar provided them with a new locally—{xro—
duced luxury item eagerly sought after by Satsuma for trade in Japan.

For two hundred years before the Keicho Invasion the government had been
dependent upon overseas trade of principal concern to a liTiited area around the
Naha port, There was a shift nov* from dependence on far-running and varied
oversMts activities. For the next two hundred jrears Rgrulcyu t.ould depend open
deveXopoent of liT.iteri trarie between China and ?atruma, the rm'^cction of sugar
for export to Japan, and the gror/ing of sweet ootatoea as the staple foodstuff
for home consumption. The gentry at Shuri lost some of their independence, but
the hinterlands becane nore lAportant and were stlnulated to greater produetloii.
CofuntryMm and olt^Dsn alllce were suhjeoted to pressures from without.

A ooMparisoo of income suggests the overpowering weight of resources nbieh


Japan could hring to bear on I^yiikyu. Satsosa's representatives had estiirated the
total production of F.yukyu to be approximately 90,000 koku in l6ll, and
had set 11,934- koku as a proper tribute figure to be levied on the small Kin?-
doB« The Lord of Satsuma at this tSae enjoyed a revenue exceeding 700,000 koku
per ys«r; the Ibkogawa revsnues were calculated at above 3,000»000 koku .

A Shimazu Family document dated 14 January 1635 noted that among the major
holdings ( chi-eyo) of the fief was an iten of 123,700 koku and a fraction, oobf-
ing up from Ryukyu. Income from trade and the Inoone fro tribute levies were
not shorn as separate iteoui. (69)

From the very beginning Sateuna was eager to exploit the favorable trading
position -md reputation of the Okinawans. Funds vrero advanced to the Ryukyu
Government to finance the regular Tribute MiBsion to China in l6ll« Ihereafter

(66) Some of these early Japanese land-holdings are intact today, and re-
aain within Hie faallies established in the ITtfa cflotmy. Though descendants
of these early Japanese immigrants have become indistinpi:ishable in dialect,
living habits and customs from their fellow villagers (thanks to intermarriage
With (McinaKans in each succeeding generation), there is today (1953) a lively
recollection of special positlmi and privilege, and wanifest pride in this an^
eestral distinction.
(69) Total Shimazu revenue, levied from Satsuma, Osumi, Hyuga and the f^-
kyus was estimated to be 732.616 koku . A document prepared five years there-
after noted that income for the "Governor of Ryukyu" (R>'ukyu Koku Shi) stood then
at 90,884 koku . See: Asakarra Kanlcbi: Documents of Irikl. pp. 3^7, 358 # 363.
(One aiodem koku s 5.11 bu.)

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both the Ciovemfflent of Satsuma and the merchanta of Kagoehima provided capital
to Sfaurl and M«ha middleoeD. In 1631 Satsuna In particularly urgent need
of Ainds* When the Ryukyu traders went over to FukieD that year one of the
Ehimazu's retainers (a member of the Ichiki Family charged with supervision of
Byukyu affairs) nent along in disguise* His close watch on Satsuma's interests
nsoltod la saclk profit that It booanio oustoaary thMroaftor to ineliidie a Satran
agmt in all Byulqro trading nissiona. ( 7C9
At Sburi the cost of local administration grew rith the elaboration of of>
fioas. Soma iNnra "indeed nacaasaxy to managa affairs of genvina' aoonoBle and
social Luportance, tut a significant number of them can only be classified as
nominal titles created for offices which were filled by idle, unproductive sods
and grandsons of the Shuri gentry. The margin of surplus above subsistence
ninifflUBS grew staadily snallar. Tha linltad total ioeoma of all aetlwitlea In
the Ryukyu Islands had to be divided and subdivided into ever-decreasing portion!
Satsuma's claims came first and had to bo met in full. Claims of tlie Shuri
Government and gentry came next. The burden of production to meet them all fell
Upon tha ^mar and ilitf sanlal laborar in tha'tonns and villagaa*

I ' .• I.

i t \ •- v:'i'

(td) For diaeuaaiana of Rya1qF«*8 trading poaitimi and data on trading paro-
cedures, Satsuma's participation, etc., see TakrJcoshi Yosaburo: The FcnnosAfe:
Aanecta of the Hiatorv of tha Civilization of Janan. Vol. Ill, p. 22^ £j(

Copyriytiioa material
Ghaptar VII

FOREIGN RELATIONS AND CULTURAL DKV£rX)PMi^T

IN IHE SEVINTEENTH CEUIDRX

Xm BelatloDB ritfa the T)radm*8 and Miaaioiiarlafl of tha Wastisn Itorld


<
.

2. ISar in China and its Effect in Ryukyu

3. Cultural Oevalopneota and RaligleuB Clianga Undar Japaaaaa jbifluflnea

4. The Government Increases its Controls Throughout the Islanda .


Chapter VH

FOREtGR BBLATIONS AND CDLTDRAL DEmOFUENT


, lit THE S£VE»T££^XH C£»TOifX

Hfllatlona with th> Tradaye and MlaalonarlaB of the Haatem Korld

I^kyu lay naar BMi-lan/M trsTallad by Wafrtern dilps approaditng JajMD


"ttia
from the south. The Portagueee had begun to arrive after 1542; the Spanish
from Manila end Mexico began to arrive about 1580; the Dutch established them-
aelvea at Hirado In 1611, and the British opened a trading depot there in 1613.

At lyeyasu's direction the Shogunate granted a liberal trading charter to


the British, through Master Pilot T.lll Adams end his associates. This opened
all ports of Japan to their trade and granted use of any harbor to ships dis-
abled by stoni, Haha eana irndar these goneral parovlsioinB end was used ss a
port of refuge and ney-station on the ran betnssn Japsn, the Philippines end
Slam, in)

In a letter dated December 23, l6tU» a British representatl^ at Vaha


(Richard ^idduoi) reported to his Chief at Hirado (Captain Richard Codes) that

The people /"of "Liquea"^ much resemble the Chinese, yet speak
the Japan tongue, althoo^ lAth difficulty to be understood of
the Japans, they wear /_ their_/ hair long bounrl up like the Chi-
nese, vith a bodkin thrust through, but it is cade up ^on the^
ri(^t aids of their heads; they are a very gentle and eoorteoiis
pe^e« (7S^

While this letter was being written, the famed Mil Adams was on his way
toward Maha port* Be and several oolleagoes had sailed on 28 Novenber for
Siam. On 22 December a gale sprang up, and a bad leak in the junk (the Sea
Adventure) forced them inshore at Araami Oshima. Finding no suitable anchorage,
they took the damaged craft on dov.n to Naha, putting in on 27 December. There
fiere api«oxiaately 125 passengers and seaman afcoatd, a rough erew, nnmliering
among them British, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese adventurers. The Shuri
Government gave them permission to land their stores and to begin repair work.
"We found marvellous great friendahip" wrote Adams. But after thirty days the
Ryukyu officials bepn to urge them anxiously to hasten their depax^re, for
Jimks from China were expected momentarily, and according to the Okinav;ans,
the Chinese, angry if they found rival traders there, might break off trade re-
lations.

(71) Dutch fleets ssre in connand of the seas at ttds tirie. British trad-
ers unable to make safe voyages to Europe undertook a carrying trade between
poi^ in East Asia. This proved unprofitable for the British, who closed their
base at Hirado in 1623. Ihe Dutch reaained until Japan vas oponed to general
foreigiii lateroottrse sad trade after 1858.

(72) Oq<±«s Disrv. Vol. Z, p. 1, ft. A* Bdllted by "C. St. P."

Gopy righted inaiei ial


Thsre may hwn liMa other reason s, too, for the Idle crew were making
trouble, quarrelling anoiig themselves and making demands opon. .Short-tempered
V.ill Adams. A mutinous quarrel broke out in rliicli a Japanese named Shobei,
rj.tn a score cf armed nen was pitted agaijcjst^, about forty boisteroiis seamen.
The Chief lyiegistrftte of flhnrl wae called down to interfere* He succeeded In
naking peace (on March 15) » though ten days later Shobei found ocoasicQ to kill
the ringleader among his opponmts. Adams mado himsolf personally welcome,
hosev^r* His log or diary includes words and phruses r/hich he transcribed in
order to be polite to the Ryukyu officials, end he was Invited by the King to
v!-:'^ and inspect Sy/dri. It is probable thc^t ).-'s ^riendphip vrith lyeyasu was
weii-kncvn to the Ji^piincse agents on Okinawa euid to the Klnj^-'s official:^. Vfhile
the ship's repairs v^ent forward slowly, he bought a cargo of grain and ambergris
£Mi scoe junks which bed cone in fron J^iyako. At last, hawing giwao up.^e.
vojrago to Tiain as an unseasonable venture, he sailed for Kawachi in JapoB.joii
22 Uay. On,.^0 June he made port« carrying w4txi him the sweet potato plabts .Sor
Captain Code's garden.

The record of his eaqwnditures during this long so.lourn at Naha demonstrates
the cheapness of goods and the low evaluation placed on the currenQy of Byukyu.
(73)

Cock's Diary records that on Z June 1615 his subordinate Richard Wickhan
took a gift of two pieces of byukyu cloth and a "dish of pottatos" to tlie
La^..yo of Bungo. other entries for 1615 and 1616 note the desertion of a J»«
panese employee in the ^yukyus, a sum assigned for investment in ambergris at
Neha, and that "13 barkes laden vith souldiers" had left, ostensibly for For-
mosa. He vras of the opinion, hov.ever, that they were searching through the
soutfaem (Ryokyu) islands for refugees scattered after tfae.fsll of Hideyosbl's
forces at the Battle of Osaka Castle in the previous year. Dnder date of 28.
July, 1618, Cocks notes that he had received letters "from Antony the Nepro"
end tv/Q others th^n stationed at Naha. In that year Viiill Ad^:]3kS .:.ade his sec-
ond .wisit to Ryokyu rliile enroute to Indoi-GhjUia. Neither b^^nor his eoeipany
had tmy doubts as to Khere the real authority lay In "OkinaTva, for Captain Cocks
at Hirado was on most friendly terns vith the Daimyo of Satsuma.
^
Cocks reports
on letters he had received from William Eaton, then at Itaha, in irtiich Eaton com-
aented on the cordial assistance he received from the Okinawans. beeauBe the Lord
of Satsuoa had ordered then to be heipfyi tq the fi^itiah.' .(74)

Ednuod Sayers, a British trade repressntatlwe often at Ka£;oshima, recorded


that "goysmn Dono told me that the King of ShMroa /"Paijnyo of Satsuma_/ did
3!uch esteem our Enf^lish nation and T;ould suffer ug to trade into the Liqueas
./"i^yukyus_/ or any other parts of his. dominjjO^."(75) Within six years after these
«-.?•••
(73) Pumell, J.C.: of Will Adams 161A-1619 and Related Docu-
" The* Bofeboolc
Sffits" Tfansaetione Japsn Soei-ety.' London . Vol, 13, pp. 169-170, One of Adams*
conpanions, Edirrrd Saver, of the British d-^pot at Kirado, mentions ttiis inci-
dent. Purchas His Pil CTi ja's in Japan edited fcy Cyril Wild," p. 217.
,

(74) "the King of Xaxma, ^atsuma,^ v/hose vassall the King of the
Liqueas is..." Cocks Diary . Vol. II, pp. 58-59.
'

(75) Paske-Smith, M.: Western Barbariana in Japan and Poraoaa In


lokueawa Davs. 1603-1868. Kobe, n.d. p. 32.

-8d-

'^i^i^y 1 iji ui.o i naterial


notioaB of fi*iendliiies8 and cooperation were written, ai.l foreigners were for-
biddon to mthw the I^kyu Zelanda, end tHora nbo' did thoMfter ridted amdt,
torture and execution. Thenceforth for nearly two and a half centuries the
rlvcd of Europeans upon the shores of Ryukyu, either by accident or by desigp,
gaire rise to acute distress among the officials at Shuri and their agents.

This wa;? not a change in charecter among the F.ynkyu people, but a change

in poii(^ among the Japanese In Japan proper, extended and enforced bfy Sat^suma
In the Ryukyu KlngdoiD. Ih latei^ years it l&flvsnead all ^ibrppMU attenpta to
enter ir^j^' throiiih tiie fioutfaexn Islands* .1
" ^

It will be reii;embered that the three great lords - Nobunaga, Hideyoshl,


and Tfvjm '•i'lreleoaed foreign anfaassadbrs and traders- in the late 16th and
early 17th centuries. They found reason to grow proi^rersively distrustful of
Portuguese and Spanish missionaries whose aggressive activities vera believed
to threaten the Internal safety, stability and security of Japan. Too many
nisalonarias praa<fliad disobedience to the Shogun's govemaent and sowed ais-
trust End dissension betreen Christian converts and the general populace. The
Portuguese and Spanish Catholic missionaries v.ere at last expelled fror. Japan,
and the activities of the Dutch and Ehglish traders (who were indifferent to
religious interests, if not antagonistic), vere gradually restricted until at
last they were allowed to trade only through Deshima at Nagasaki. Th3 n.is~
sionaries refused to obey the Govemfflent's strict orders to give up preaching.
Sana aant into' hiding in Japan, others departed openly, only to nake thair nay
batik to the islands as secretly as they could, entering hy Kaatam trading
^pa, and Qhlneae junJca*
1V)lcugatia lye^asii had been fairly tolerant, bui after his
. ^th
(1616) hib
anecessore Hidet^da and lyemitsu instituted a hiarsh repression. Wherever they
could be found, the foreign missionaries were seized, tortured ahd executed.
Any Japanese known to have, sheltered or aided a foreign missionary was sub-
^ae^fed to fciroclblis' paniiduMhts, togetbMr with nenbers of bis faadly, hoveve^
'-'lian'oeiBnt'they might be.

Anyone thought to show undue f riendlinesa toward a European in Japan in


'
thblie days antonitl'(fi«lly diisv siiqE^lclon on himself ; Pmacniilon'a and nartyr-
doms reached their peak jln the y»ara 1617 to 1636, a^'-nere of course well '

known in the Hyukyus.


.. -. .!. •
,
. •. .
^V
It was in these years that Buropean missionaries "began to appear tram
time to time in the Nanaei islands, seeking to make their way up to Japan. It
is recorded that In 1622 two converts were discovered in laeyama, and were con-
demned to deatii by burning. In 1624 all foreign immigration was prohibited.
In 16?6 Juan de Rueda (or Juan de los Angelos) , a Spanish Comtnican priest,'
made his Tray from Manila up through the Ryukyu Islands. He had lived in Japan
from 1604 until I6I9, when he went to Manila. There he prepared some books In
Japanese, and then, aided by his knonledge of tiie Japanese language, and In de-
fiance of the Shogun's orders, he passed through Ryukyu, reentered Japan, nan
arrested, condeoned to 'death and thrown into the sea.

Xa 1631 the Lord of Htsiaa issued a pr^bitlon agalnat all Gtarietian be-
liefs and aetlvitlesi and- it nay be that special concern for the ncst distant
* . , « •
'

Copy riyt Ilea material


Islands under bis control prootpted efforts to develop aximlnistration in Yae-
ymui, and th0 eroatlon of a speelftl Taajruia Offie« at Kagoshlna. That thara
ras very real reason for concern was demonstrated in 1636, rhcn ti.o Eor-inican
Eissionaries (Miguel ae 07are2a, a Speninru, and V'il].iejn Cour':et^ a Fricciimau)
landed in Kyukyu. Tne first was arrested and held prisoner on Okinawa for a
fidl year. Both were takan through Kagoahima to Nagaaald, and thare tortured
end killed. In 1639 a Western ship put in at Yaeyania bricifly, then sailed apain
taking a young girl captive with them. SatsxJiaa hastened to send dovn its ovm
agent knom as the yamato Bugyo . or Japanese Commissioner, to keep permanent
vatch in thia outpoat. The exanples of harsh and meroilaas pimlL^hments noted
out to any sian (and his family) nho shared friendly interest in Europeans stood
before the <^yukyu people through the years and, as v/e shaUi see, profoundly
affeeted their ralatioaa eltfa the Vast In the 19Ui eantory.

Tiiar in China end its Effect in Rvukvy

Relations rrith China after l609 ware antlraly overahadoTrad by the Luport-
•nce of relations rith Japan. The explanation is not complex. China's formu-
lary for relations with tribute states did not involve any concept of rcutuaJL
otflLigatloa. To the Chlneae the opportunitgr to pay tribute to China eaa a
privilege extended to barbarians, not a right T:hich they could claim. In the
Chinese vierr the Celestial Ep-iperor at Peking ras under no obligation to come to
the aid of any non-Chinese state or people. The Court at Peking vould protest
only if China heraelf - continental China "rithin the paaaea" - suffered .aeriooa
loaa of revenues, trade or prestige. Althou'n Eyu^cj'u wts cne of the most faith-
ful of the Tributary States, it .vas ne'/ertheless one of the least in size and
Importance. The value of the stated tribute of horses, sulphur and other native
RyuJiyuan produce eaa traditionally leaa than the coat of entertainoent and gifts
rhich the Court ust:ally bestoTred ^huri's envoys or sent rith its ovm envoys
T.hen the Tjrit of investiture 7/as conferred on the King at Shuri. Trade items
brought into Chinese ports l:^' Ryukyuan ships were essentially luxury items, and
these bad- bean dlfldnisbing in variety, quantity and quality after the Okinaeans
uithdranv their shipa irooi Southeast Asian ueters.

Dhile Ryukyu persistently sought to Inereaae opportunitlea for profitable


trade and tribute enbassles, the Chinese Court sou^t to reduce them in siae
and frequency rhenever it could. Peking was weakened by corruption and the in-
capacity of eunuch rule at Court in the early 17th century. Taxation was grow-
ing intalerfllULy heavy, for the Ming Govextueent had to neet -tiie eoata of an
elaborate Court life and to support an increasing number of military undMV
takings. The invasions of Korea to expel Hideyoshi's forces had been coPtly.
On the northeastern borders a new threat was rising. The Manchus were being
organised and ware destined aoon to Invade China throu^ the Great liall.

Under these circumstances the affairs of Ryukyu could be of only minor im-
portance to the Chinese Court. It is in. fact doubtful if the Peking officials
had knowledge of Japan's Invasiflo of Okinam, Xing Sfao Nei*s exile and the re-
or^Aisation of adsinistration In iiyukTU until l^e events had takan place.

Despite the invasion of I609, the Shuri Court managed to send its regular
tribute nission to China in I6II9 financing It throu^ tan jsmtt silver and

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CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
10^000 kin of copper advanced by Satsxuna. Iihen the altered circumstances on
OkJjaam and Hba gen«ral i^jenrerlsfaneiit of Ryuk3ni ware «gQ)3 aii)6d to th« ChiaoM,
Pekinf^ hastened to find in them an excuse to reduce the nunber of tributary
lesions, and decreed that Shuri need send only one luiaslou in each decade
7Ti

thereafter. •
'

Ten years later the next mission wait to Peking. By this time the enonony
v.asbeginning to recover from the shock of the Keicho Ircit^ent. Both Satsuma
and fiyukyu were anxious to increase trade. The i!«ibassy from ^huri to Peking
0OU|^t for and eeoured a revision of tiie agreeneDt of 1611; a new Mhedule ma
established by rhlch the Chinese agreed to accept one tribute ship in five
years. Since direct trade betv.'een China and Japan v.as forbidden, because of the
depredations of Japanese pirates along the China Coast, the Satsuma Government
ordered ^e Oklnamna to eooeeal their true relationsfaip with Japan at all oosta*
They were forbidden to wear Japanese clothes, to speck Jaoanese, or to have any
Japanese objects in sight upon the occasions of the visits' of the Qiineee envoys
bringing the writ of Investiture to Shuri.

Here vras subordination to China in form, and subordination to Japrn in


fact. This Kas the beginning of that "dual subordination" vhich is the most
distinotlve feature of Ryukyuan hiatory In nodem tiinea.

China's troubles were increasing swiftly. In 1637 a squadron of five armed


British Vessels proceeded to Canton, .and forced the Chinese to accept their car-
goes. This was an ijaportant event, for it Clearly defined^ the European eonee^
of a right to trade coming into head-on collision rith the Chinese concept of
"Superior State" granting or vithholding the privilege of trade and accepting
,

or rejecting barbarian requests for formal diplomatic relations, rhlch in Chi-


nese terns could only be tributary status.

The Chinese Government was hard-pressed. Russians had begun to appear


along the northein borders and were soon to seek a treaty. (76) By 16aA Peking
had fallen to rebels and the Ming Etaperor hanged himself in the Palace. The
Manchus established themselves in the northern capital, giving their dynasty
the name Ch'ing, tut it was not until 1662 that the last of the Ming claimants
to the Throne had disappeared.

These events posed a problem for the Ry-jkyuan Government. In 16 16 they


had secured a second revision of the tribute schedule, making it poasible to
send: Biasions in alternate years. But so long-as'tiiere were' riral elalaahte
'

to au-Qiority in China, the envc^ thought it wise to oarry credentials vhich


could be used with either the Ming or the Ch'ing representatives. In this the
Okinawans appear to have bem more persistent in maintaining relations with
Peking than otiiar tributary states) wharaaa Shuri sent fiftesn enbassieff' in the
period 1600 to 1643* Sian and Tibet had sent only nine, and Annan only aevan.

In I64i6 Shuri sent Ueii^u Uyekata to Japan to report on the doToifall of


the mng Ck)vamn«nt, and in the next year Htke death of' the King- (Sho^K«n)?^pre^
vided occasion for a nerr mission to China, and a report to Shuri on the organi-
sation of the new Ch'ing Government. Questions were raised in Japan concerning
> • • •
'
..'»••'•
The Treaty of Nerchinsk. China's first treaty with the Rest, was
(76)
signed vith Russia in 1689f to <nd a period of Sino-Bussian amad conflict in
tha Jsmr Biwar valley.

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CopyriytiioG material
Byukyu's relations with Peking, but the Bakufu left it with Satsuaa to decida
lAAt adJustaMBtB lOKNild tm nade. 1h« Gb* lug dyaaatgr Statataa rs^rd th« «n«»
irair*

Ih the ^4la«t acn of th« King of Liu Ch*lii» flhang Ghlh haiidad
In the patent and SMl of the late Ming period ^ irhereupon an Snqper- *

ial /ch'ing_7 commard appointed hir. King of Chung-shan. This coun-


try is in the great southeastern sea to the east of Fukien. (77)

Babaesies to ^hina were perilous adventures dinMng the years of rabeXlioO


and lawless confusion on the mainland. A crossing one may might require any-
i^ere from three days to three weeks at sea. Pirates attacked the tribute
ahlp in 1665 • In the neleo a lEorder naa ooonitted and valuable artlolea mire
stolen. Subsequently the envoys Chatan Chocho and Sso pvekata were held re-
sponsible by Satsuma, and were tried, sentenced and executed. Seven years
later an embassy was waylaid by bandits on the road from the port to ^'eking,
la its anecaaaf^ defaose Hirata Tantau eaned a bero'a place in fiyiilcyu annala.

There were other troubles. Ryukyu lay near 'Taiwan (Formosa), which formed
one major base of a triple revolt ag&inst the new Menc^u Go'vemment. Cheng
Ch'eng-knng (known to the West as "Koxinga the Pirate") di'ove the Dutch out
of Taivfan. His son Cheng Ching coronanded large fleets vrhich ranged along the
coasts in attacks upon the Manchu forces, who in turn were aided by Dutch ships
and abldiera. Ftar a tiae these forces ravaged the ^ukiaa coast with such
ferocity that the Peking Government in 1662 ordered all seaside inhabitants to
abandon their ville.i^es and move inland. This n^easure created great hardships
all along the coastal area through which the Ryukyuans expected to trade, and
was not abandoned as a policy until 1681. (78)

Meanwhile two high-ranking Chinese who had deserted the Miiig cause and
fought for the Hanchus, now deserted the Uanchus and attempted to carve out
new Kingdoms for themselves. ^
San-kuei revolted in 1673, set himself up in
H-jnan and called himself King of Chieo. Keng Ching-chung revolted in Chekiang
in 167^, end in t^e course of the struggle at one time sought to establish co-
operatioB with Cheng Gh'ing on Taiwan. It was reported in Byukyu that the
Ch'lng Govemment might fall as a consequence of these vddespread rebellions.
To learn the true state of affairs Shuri determined to send an Inspector or
Commissioner (Tanaoo Shogi Tsifu) to the continent, oitrusting to him letters
addressed to Keng Ghing^cfaimg as well as to the Gh*ing finperor. Takers Uyekata
embarked on this delicate mission in 1676, but on November 9 of that year Keng
surrendered and 7/ent over once more to the Manchu side. Pekini^ ras so preoc-
cupied with these internal affairs that nearly thirteen years elapsed between
Sho 1isi*e aeeession to the Thxone on Gklnma (in 1669) and his cersponial eon-
finuttion as King by Chinese envoys in 1682*

(77) Chia Ch'ini^ hui-tien 31. 2-^, quoted by Fairbank and Teng: "On the
Ch*lng Tlributary System".- fiarvard Journal of Aeiatio Studies. ^Tune 194X^' Vol.
6, So. 2f p. 183; r

(78) Horses had been part of the required formal tribute for more than
three hundred years, but in 1682 they were removed from the tribute lists.
Itarethey too difficult to transport or did Faking now control a sufficient
Bopply on the {dains of Manchuria and Mongoliat

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Copyrighteu n lal
llMniiliil* tiw natiiTM of fSxmm Tlllaf*, nter Halia, irar» faced' ulth a pro-
blem. They rere of Chinese and not of Manchu descent. Their ancestors had
been sent over from Fukien (Min-hsien) to 8ett?.e on Ryukyu in 139^^:. For tv.o
hundred and fifty years they had retained the customs and dress of their an-
castral homeland. Now came orders from the HanchuB that all Chinese must adopt
the queue and make other si^ns of lojralty to the nev dyiiRsty. The Kiime vil-
lagers refused to do so^ and from this period began to wear Okinanan clothing
BtyXas end diatiiietLva haaddrtM (tfae katalraahlra). Ihia may be taJcMi as In-
dieative of looBenlDg ties with the Contlnenty but is also tastinooy of the
•xtrfloa oontarvatin of CbitMaa tradltioo. -

Difficulties and undertaJntles beset 8fauri*s relations with «ar-tom


China for over half a century. The Ryukyuans by no means turned their backs
on Peking, but from the reign of King Sho Ho onward - that is to say, after
1621 - there was a steady development of Japanese Influence in the island king-
dom, iipon its InstltutlflBS, its eostoM, its arts and its crafts.

Culturel Developments and Religious Change Under Japanese Influence

Ner cultural contributions rere made tc the islands through broadened and
quickened intercourse with J&pan. A new type of drama is said to have been in-
troduced at this time. In 1613 a second collection of the Ontoro Soshi ras
edited. A doctor aas welcomed from Satsuoa, bringing in knowledge of medicine
new to the Okinawans. Temple-building stimulated t^e arts and crafts as v.-ell
as the religious life of the people. On Okinawa the Gongen-do and the Kannon-do
wars built in 1619 and respectively, and the Tbrin-Jl was ooatflruetad la
TaayaoMi under the dtrection of a 'ijirlest named Kan 0. (79)

One of the most important cultural events of this era was the arrival in
1617 of three Korean potters, Cho Ken-ko, Hdcoi and 8aa Kan'tMio were sent do«n
from Satsuma to introduce new cerair.ic techniques. These men v;ere members of
ttie large Korean community taken to Satsuma by the Japanese upon their retreat
from Uideyoshi's invasion of the *^ontinent. Their skills and craftemanship be-
came kndwn in many parts of Japan Proper, but their cooBunity remained a 'dis-
tinct settlement near Kagoshiraa. Of the three who taught in Okinav;a, tv7o re-
"

turned in time to Satsuma, but one (Cho Ken-ko) settled at Tsubo-^ya, near Naha,
and th^ceforth counted himself a subject of the %ukyu King.

Scarcely a year passed without the initiation of some important building


program vfaich stimulated the artists and craftsmen of (Okinawa. The Ben ten-do
had been constructed to House a 'superbly printed Korean edition of a Buddhist '

text, the Dai Zo-Kyo . It had -been destroyed dllrtng the Japanese occupation of
Sburi in I609. King Sho Ho noTr caused it to be reconstructed (I62l) .A neW
building, the South Hall ( Nfindoi) was erected within the Palace enclosure

(79) Of the entire fibddhist architectural and sculptural heritage In the


central and southern Rjnjkyus, this small temple, in Ishigaki City, alone re-
mains intact, under conditions approximating those of pre-war days. The Shoun-
Ji, at Hirara City, Mlyako, is also still standing, but has undergone much
ofaangfr and lotos of bharaotsr in reeent years.

-^3-

Copyriyi iic J I i ;a>ui lai


(1628) and a hardsome reridfince for the King's son nas constructed within the
nasslve Biount«.ln>top enclosure oi Nakagueuku Palace at Shurl (1628-1639) • The
Shrine on la^oue he&dlaad ms
destroyed bv fire (1633) and had to be reboilt
and redocrated. A great bell vas hung at the V^ater-clock Gate of the Palace,
t:. tell the hours of the day (1658). In 1660 c rreat fire destroyed the Kind's
Palace, Although losses in sjch circumstances were heavy, the demands laid
upon eraftemen end artists to meet the needs of retfonstruetion were etlimilatijig
opportunitier t'cr creative tori: ai:fl the expression -if ner ide^s Rr.d t-ilentE.
In 1671 rork was begun upon a new Confucian temple in Kume-mura, an undertaking
phich required four years of labor. This project was not yet cocipieted v.hen
the removal and reeonstructlwi of the Ankoku teaple nas undertaken (1674)*
Shuri Palace wc? swept by fire in the n^nth month of the year I69O forcing the
Court to use tiie Kanegusuku Shrine ae a temporary residence. The new Palace
survived less than twmty years. It buiued again in 1709 y and the damage nas
so extensive it required three years of effort before It vAs ready again for
full cerenonial use. "

In developing tiles used as structural naterlal, the arehiteets and builders


of Hyukyu gradually evolted a distinctive and colorful contribution to the na-
tional life. (Sa) ^
"
••' *i.

We have 'already noted that the ceramics industiy received an impoi'taBt


stimulus during tlie reign of King Sho Nei, when Korean potters cane to Ryukyu
by V7ay of Satsuri^a. Now b6gnn c general use of tile to replace earlier roofing
of thatch or wood. In the year that the Nuninoue shrines and temples were
burned, tiles were first used on fire-natch tofrers uhich began to be built at
Shuri and Naha. Ney; glazing and firing techniques were introtiuced from Japan
about 16?0, and tiles beca.ie available in sufficient quantity;- for {general use.
Repairs at the Royal Palace at tnis time included the addition of a tiled roof
to the Vain Hall (Kokuden). Within a fev years tine, the Oki Shrine, the
Rinkai-ji teraple, the Chuzar^ p;f.te and the Soper.Ji temple vrere f^iven tiled roofs
(I68I-I682). Multi-colored glazed tiles were used at the Palace buildings.
Ihen the official granaries (Sanzo) were replaced after they had been burned in
Hiyakd in 1682 tiles were used to roof then. In laeyama the government store-
houses ( Kuramoto ) and the Torinji were given new roofs in 1675 and 169A respeCn
tively. By 1702 tiles were being used in Kumeojima. It \;as from this time
lhat the Tsuboya kilns estabHShed their preeminence. Tiles, no longer a lux-
ury, cane into common use on govemoent buildings.

(30) Jn earlier parallel may be found in 'Japanese cultural history. In


the Kamakura period the use of tiles was a luxury reserved for only the great-
est palaces and temples. But as the Incidence of natural calamity, riot and
civil nar increased after the 12th century, the use of tiles, of well-insulated
stonrilOUSes ( do 20) and of fire watch towers became cotamon. Tiles themselves
were considered valuable and luxurious articles in the early days of fiyukyu
history.

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Copyriyi ucj 1 ; ;a.ul lai


other crafts, too, began to develop spoclal characteristics T<hich dleplajr
thi taste and ingenuity of Ryukyu patztnB* So KunlTodil first used a Cblneaa
method to apply mother-of-pearl as an inlay upon laccuerware about l£iXf after
r>5ich Ei^iikyi-an teste, skill and great patience laid fotnida-Lions Tor an art-
craft in nhich today Ryukyu maintains premnioence. About 1659 weaving
teclmiqiies were broog|ht over from China thmii^ ehleh local eraftamen leamad
to produce raised figures (uki-ori) in fine fabrics. Tha next tribute laissiao
(166a) had among its members Taketomi Uyekata to rhom is ascribed patronage for
an extraordinary number of nevr techniques, including aevt methods of gilding and
laequerlBf , as iNfll as l^parared methods of soger manufacture. In tiie hands of
local craftsiren each of these special techniques tindenrant creative development.
About 1670, for instance, Tomoyose Kelju of Kumsojima introduced a textile vari-
ation knoT.n as Kuroe-.iima kasuri *

fainting and sculpture rere not neglected by the Court and aristocracy
but contributions in this field never achieved the vol'jne, variety, or dis-
tinction that was achieved in music and drama. A Department of Painting (bugyo)
mais totabllsfaed In tha Court in 1667. Tao sonlptmres la stone ware erected at
the gate of the Gokoku Temple in I696. In the follorinp year figures of the
Sixteen i^isclples (fiakan) were installed in the great gate of ^kakuji, and
ftrescoas were oomplated to serve as altar pieces in one of its chapels. A
Kmnnoh ^apel (SSnnon-do) r&s built in liiyalco (I699) end installation of a sta^
tue of Fudo Myo-o in the Shintoku-ji took place at Shuri in 1701. Hiese sca^
tered notices indicate that artists and architects yere employed with fair
regularity through these years*

The craftsmen of Ryukyu proliably reached their highest degree of design


and skill in stone masonry. The forests of Ayukyu produced no fine building
tlBbar. in axeeptlanally aolat ^Inate and the Are^eD<^ of fierce storms
stimulated the development of a style in masonry design trhich is peculiar to
the Ryukyu Islands, but worthy of consideration ainonp; the best to be found
any\;-here in the T/orld. massive castle-building had been an expression of
tte mddle Ages In Oklnaiia» now tarldge-buUdlng absorbed the talents of the -

masons and the natronage of the Government to a remarkable decree. The roads
were designed essentially for foot- traffic, not for vheeled vehicles, but the
number of massive stone bridges, and their location, sometimes far from the
capital^ make them i^tamorthy. It is probaULa thai; th» patrons and bulldws
were inspired by the bridges of ^ukian Province, v.tiich they closely rese-nble.
The country-side around ^huang-chow, the trading port, was especially noted
throughout China for its numerous fine stone bridges. Structures such as these
were latknom .In JBptn, ihere highway bridge-building was dlscooragod
*
^
the
Tolcugaia go^Mviment 'as a matter of Intsxnal defense policy.' -

It was <tditotiaty to perform cereoonles in reverence for 'the spirit of


a stream wHdpievar a bridge was thro r-n across it and completed. Monuments Mrs <

erected to conmenorate the bridge-building itself. Local tales cluster around


them; traditions of superhuman forces aiding or interfering with the construe^
tioB mork, and of personal sacrifices roqolred by the builders to propltlata :

tha disturbed rlvar-splrlts*

The intellectual life of the gentry found its principal and happiest ex-
pression In poetry, drama and music. The sons of the gentry Isaxned to raad

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Copyrighteu uiaional
and write in the Japan««« phonetic syllabcizy (kana) before they took up th*
study of formel Chinese with Kume-ciura tutors. Students selected to go to
Peicir.g for study returned to rejoin the social, intellectual ard officiel aiis-
toeraey tn nhleh they bad be«i roared* Thera naa a gradual laereaaa In the
nujTiber of 5versons going up to Japan to study or to -.ake a pilp;rimage among
famous shrines and teaples. Literary T.'orks circulated in manuscript or in books
imported from Japan or China. There was no publishing done in Ryukyu.

The Omoro Zoshl received a final revision end editing in 1623. Taichu's
tiork on R^-ukyu Shinto (Ryukyu ShlntQ^kj, ) which had been wrlttoi in I604, w&0
finally published at Kyoto in 164B« T«d yaara. later tfae first eompilatioa of
Ryukyu history, the Chuzan Se^kap * mta undertaken fegr Sbo Jo-ken (Haneji Cho-
shu) . On the King's order it was compiled in Japanese ( wa-bun ) rather than in
formal Chinese. This is an interesting reflection of the times, for Sho Jo-
.

kon was ^ut ^ief Minlater jSestei) , who aotively pursued a tiroi^apanese policy
in State AoininiBtration. Under his direction the third formal embassy pro-
ceeded to Yedo (in 164^9} to thank the ShoguD for pexBltting King Sho ^tau to
'
succeed to the throne at Shuri. (8I) -

Fifty years later (in I697) the annals of the fioyal Court (the
Rekidai Hoan vere edited by Sal Taku. The Traditions of .iliyako wer^ preioarod
)

fffflltT9^T m
in 1705 and soon thereafter a dictionary of the old Ryukyuan language
oonpiled (1711).

These inquiries concerning local history and language Indicate that the
educated MO and iomh of Shuri ivere conscloua of tiieir cm heritage as coe
distinct liDth from China to the ^est, or Japan to the north. The movement la
Ryukyu nevertheless may be taken to reflect the intellectual climate of Japan
at that time. Comparatively large missions from Ryukyu visited Japan during
years of ooneiderable Intellectual ferment at Tedo and Kyoto, and at the local
castle towns. Kaibara Ekken (1630-171A) was writing eseays on education and
morality, addressed to the general public; A^iamDri Hoshu (1611-1703) was in-
terpreting Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism as three aspects of one truth. .

TaaasiJfi iasal (1616-1682) aought some cc^vomise betiveea the strict Gbinese.
Confucian doctrines of the orthodox Chu Hsi school and the interests and de- ,
mands of nationalism, and in a sense prepared the way for later intensive
studies of the ancient Japanese language and literature, and for a revival of
pure Shinto practice. Aral Hakusi^ (1656-1726) was a preeminent scholar^
statesman in Japan whose interest in strict etiquette and formality in the con-
duct of Government did not by any means limit a v;ide-ranging intellectual curi-
osity. It is interesting that in.l^> the year after the largest of the Ryii-i
kfu missions was in ledo, Arai cdmpieted his Brief Notes on the Rvukvue f PvukfU
Koku Jiryaku) , to be followed aooa y«ars later togr his p^-atopr fff the Southern
Islands (Nan to Sjj^, 1719)

(81) The first mission had gone up in 163A^. These missions ivere conducted
from Kagoshima to Xado by Satsuma officials, and the whole party was lodged in
the Satsuma headquarters at the ^ogun's capital. %e numhee of men in the mis-
sion varied, but averaged betv/een seventy and one hundred. Prince Oushikawais
mission of 164-9 numbered only fifty, but in 1710 as many as one hundred and .

aixty-eight were in the embassy.

Copyrighteu ial
the Ryukyuan spirit finds its nost unrsstraiasd sqpression in nisie and
dittoing. Dance-forme introduced from Southeast Asia, from China and fiom Japan
in the early yearn of national life were ootitinuou sly modified under the in-
spiration of fine Ryukyu performers. Love of music and dancing - and profi-
eieney 1» it - ssaa to hnvo be«n ctmaaa to oil elosses throughout history. Mo
Commxmity gathering seems to have been overlooked as an occasion for singing
md story-telling. Farmers and fishermen of the meanest villages delighted to
dance on the beach or in any appropriate open area in the fields. Poems in
local dialect oelobrate the special beantios or noted features of local dis-
triots* A foreigaer iiho lived at Hsgasaki in the yMrs I69O to I692 wrote that

The inhabitants /~of Kyjlcyu_7 ^ioh are for the nost part either
husbandmen or firtioraen, are a good-natured, merry sort of people,
. leading ar af^eeable, contented life, diverting thenisclves after'
their vrork is done, with a glass of rice beer, and playing upon
their misical inatrunents iriiioh they for this purpose carry out irith
then iato the fields. (82)

At the Court accomplished dancers were found among the highest dignitaries.
Ifaus m
read that in 16S9 Prince Osato, Esu S atonush i. and Onaga S atonushi wen
invited to dance before the Shogun Tokvigawa lyemitsu, performing for him a spe-
cial dance known as tho Gozanfu. normally reserved for performance before the
King of Shuri on most auspicious occasions.

During the administration of She Jo-ken, Shuri eiopted the ceremonies of


the Five Annual Festivals of Jap£Ji, and introduced the custom of hpving music
performed in the castle gard«is throu^ the first fifteen days of the New Year.
, • - .1

The llterarj' hlstcry of Ryukyu in many rays presents itself as a *inlature


review of the literary history of Japan insofar as the early editing of the tra-
ditional liturgies, diants and poems of the Court (in the Omoro Zoghl ) may be
likened to the 3th century collection of early verses in the jjanypghu and the .

Norito edited in the Enri^hiki Chinese was the official lanpjage of Court
.

record and usage in State affairs, and a knowledge of the Classics was essen-
tially the nark of t learned man and an aristocrat, as it had been in the Nara
and early Heian periods in Japan* The Annals of the Ryukyu Kingdom vrere re-
corded both in classical Chinese and in Japanese. Tvoraen first distinguished
themselves as poets in Japan and the first notable literature of entertainment
were the tales and diaries of the Court ladies of the Fojiimra period. In Oki-
nawa the first notable literature for entertainment was a Tale of Court Ladies
( Nyokan Soshi ) rjroduced about 1706. (ft?) Fine arts, craft?, the literary ac-
complishments affected the lives of the gentry, the minority principally resi-
-
dent in tlie Nah»-Shori aro«. '

(82) Kaempfer, Engelbert: The History of Japan, together rith a Descrip-


tion of the Kinpdom of Slam. 1690-1692 3 vols. Glasgov? I906. Vol. I., p. 62.
.

Among the noted persons of this era were the rural poets Nakashiaa
(83)
Yoshiya (a lady who died in I668) , and Onna Mate, Sokel Chugi and Toyokava
8ei-ei« Others were -Shikina Seimei (1651-1716) noted for studies in Byukyuan
literature, and Kohatsu Dfushu (1662-1753), outstanding matheneticlan. Yare
Seneki, Aniya Kenson, Sokei Chujitsu, Heshikiya Chobln and Ishimine Shinnin
distinguished themselves as scholars in tho litsratoro of Japan.

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In his efforta to refora and raox-ganlM • poaaibly with a viaw to brings
ing his peoDle rore strongly under Japaiiese influence the Prime Minister
She Jo-ken did not shrink fro- touching on the most Pensitive and c^nservativ*
areas cf co.TJiaunit^ intoreft. He ctt about to reduce the icportance end au-
thority 9f the Moto . %» do not kno* how much of hia offort waa of hia om
inspiration rnd hor much T.a^ hr.ve be^n -roHf^t'^d by Satsuma. On the one hond
Sho Jo-ken was one of the best educated men of his country's long history. It
has been suggested that perbapa the leading men of the tinies Tsere generally
akapitiealt iBflnmead bjr itha rational Ghioaaa scholar's attituda toward r^igious
forms and practices, and that they heel j^roTO less ant. lers interested in the
nojcp system, to Khicn women (unlettered^ anu conservative by neture; generally
eontinvad to ding. (84) On the other hand (Spencer suggests), the Satsuma
Government nay have prooptad Sho Jo-ken to attack the noyo system in an effort
to break up an ultra-conservative, an ti- foreign (I.e. anti-Ja- anoge) hierarchy
nhich reached from the King's Court to the meanest household in the isisnds.

Be that as it may, it was suc'denly announced that the office of the of-
ficial Diviner ( Toki no Oya-ko and assistrnt to the Kikoe-C^imi ) ivould be
,

abandoned, and that the rank of the Klkoe-Ofiiai vould henceforth be considerably
reduced, placing her at a level below that of the Quean and the Priiiia Minister
(1667) . Ten years later it became possible for the office itself to be invested
in the Queen after her consort's dealjh.

Bven aore startling to the public was the decision to abandon the Royal
Progress ishlch the King traditionally made, once in every two years, in order
to T?orship at important shrines in Chinen and Tamaguruku, and on Kudaka Island.
(85) This nas one of the aost impressive of all Px>yal ceremonies, for the King
travelled «lth the Kikoe-^gimi * the highest State officials, nany nobles and
a multitude cf attendante. From this date (1674) the King contented himself
with '^rorship from afar** and with the dispatch of a Master of Ceremonies (Stil ta-
.

gorlatari) . aa hia deputy.

The established and indigenous religious organization vas beinc; «5haken by


innovations directly concerning it. Tae Oovemm^it extended patronage to Con-
fVioian studies and cereoonial ri-Ui hew interest. A Japanese from Satsuma was
brought into the Palace to instruct the young King^ (Sho tai) in Confucian doc-
trinep. One of the Court members ( Gusukuma Uyekata ) cai:sed a ner Confucian
Temple to be built at Kume Village, and v.hen it was completed (1679) the King
himself proceeded to worship there, accompanied by a conoourae of nobles. Ihere-
after the King's son was ordered to make an offering of iaoanse before the tal^
lets of Confucius on the second day of each New Xear.

(84) Spencer, Pobert Stewart: "The Noro Priestesses of Loochoo" in


Tran sactions of t;ie Asiatic Society of Japan . Vol. VIII, Second Seriea, 1932,
pp. 94-1^^.

(85) The Chinen Shrine was Seifa Utaki; Tanagusuku nearby overlooks the
site of bkinzu-Halnzu; it is treuiitlonally said that rice ras first introduced
to Okinawa throng Kudaka, about two miles offshore, east of Chinen. The pos-
sible sirnlficance of these most revered sites has been surs^^'^ted in Chanter
One. Seventeen chanta (Qmoro) aiing during these services have been preserved
and abould be worthy of dose analysis in this oooteoct*

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While the edneated gentry were thus deferring to Conftoeiaan inraetiee alid
interests, a form of (Chinese)' Tfcoist ritual and divination vas introduced
which appeeled widely to the common people. Soon the fortune-tellers ( :^njtn )
\:eTe challenging the noro in popularity, especially in the towns and larger
villages* E^' 1698 the Itoist "Lord of the Earth" i^i iwn) had beea en->
Sfarlned irith cerenony at Oaine Village.

In 1685 orders were issued further regularizing the Buddhist clergy by


eet&bliBhlag a three>7ear term of serviee for the priests serving at Shoun>ji
in Miyeko and at Torin-Ji in Yaeyama. All this meent that by the end of the
firet century of Japanese- control traditional religious prp.ctices and beliefs
native to the Ryukyu Islands T<ere being hard pressed, giving cause for uneasi-
ness and dissfttisfaetlon saong the noro. tAwae prerogatives were being reduced.

The Goverpment Increases its Controls Throughout the Islands

If we sumTiarize the first centvry of Rjoiicjnj Zife under Japai^.esc control Tre
sense that broad administrative and social changes in Japan were refelcted in
Okinara. Though Shtiri 'had lost Osblna and the other islands to the north, and
vaa veakened in autonomy vis-a-vis Japan, it had been greatly strenerthened In
relation *o the islands rear Oliinawa and in the south, Thnnic^ to the reorgani-
sation imposed by the Japanese, government at Shuri rorked more efficiently.
Land neasureoMnt and tax refoT* neent a substantial Inormse in reventies
Court and for individual land-holding aristocrats. But the increase in Govern-
m Hie

ment activities meant likevxise a greater cost, which was -massed along to the
farmer and fisherman viierever possible. Efficiency in government meant harder
and harder work for the ta3c-produc;lng peasant. The tax-free toansman and of-
fleial had more to spend.

Tokugawa policies were follovred to a significant degree in that the Shuri


gentry (like the saj^uraj in, Japan) were encouraged to cultivate the arts and
letters, and to be eonoemed with etiquette, oostume, rank and genealogy* ehila.
tlic eTcctive rovem'iient itself was directed by Satsvimi'r agents. The Gcvem-/
mnr.t :.t Yedo often addressed itself to morals and manners rather than tc pro-
blems of economic management; the peasantry had to maintain an idle, easy-going
and unproductive sristoenu^.

Much the same thing seems to have happened at 9iuri, though on a pmallar
scale. The Prime-Ministers - especially Sho Jo-ken - resorted tc elaborate
regulation, repression and llBitation of action as economic difficulties in^
ereased. For the nell-bom there ware strict regulations of rank end etiquette,
dress and ceremony. Orders were issued one after another in an attempt to
"correct" and regulate society according to the stilted and often unnatural
Confucian canons. Mourning ceremonies i»ere carefully regulated In 1665 > for
instance, and the size, quality and number of funeral offerings rere strictly
prescribed. A "Proclamation tc Encourage Art and Learning" was issued in
1667. (86; In 1658 the highest ranking subjects - the hereditary lords
( anJi) - Here ordered to waav gold hairpins as a narfc of rank. The aamMrai,

(86) c.f* Ibe pii|dce Hatto issued at Xedo in 1615*

.J99-

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descendants and vassaXs of the apJ^. were allowed to wear silver hairpins in
1666, and ntv r^golations wm
aatabLiAttd gowsming the attendant of offlelalc
at the castle to pay formal Taspects to the King. Regulations were issued
fovpming th e^ect dates u^xjn which su-omer clothes mvst be exchaiiped for inter v.

costumes (166^) . The iiiieage of s amurai families was scrutinized and recorded
for tb» KiAgis oonsldmratioii (I68I) and the gentry irer« ordered to mar their
appropriate and dietlnctiwe colored of rank (bachiaakl).

•ihile the governing elders at Shuri enacted one restrictive n^ea^sure after
another, life in the port-ci'ty of Haaia b^ir them «ent on with hig^ apirlt. Aa
in Yedo, Osaka, end Nagoye in Jppan, the liceissed quarters becajre cciit-rs of
fashion, good food, and enterta:nrapnt. The women of the Tsuji and Nakashima
diatricta (set aside for them in 1672} earned l.igh reputations for their wit
and literary ftceomplishaent. Here les the fiaeet dancing and singing in the
PyuVyu Islands, in all of lahlch aen as «^1 as wcnea vied for distinction and
popularity.

As long as men of Ryukyu were f^ee to trawd. in Japan, and Japanese mer-
chants- and mariners visited Kaha, there t-as an inflow of the latest Japanese
forms of popular entertainment. There is evidence, too, that the popular
artists and musicians of Osaka and Tedo adapted Qkinaman teactile designs and
sere inflneneed hy the lacquer techniques and the music of the Seuthezn Is-
lands, .
.*

Beeauee they were in a position to see snd enjoy innovations from Japan
snd China, the tov.-nE:nen of Nana and Shuri developed a pleasure-loving urban
life which w£s in strong contrast to the poverty and drabness of life in the
country villages. The Government becamti dxsturbed by the ever-growing number
of persons atteiiq>ting to leave the .countryside, snd in time found it necessary
to proscribe migration into Naha, TonLri and Shuri. In doing po they antici-
pated similar measures which were imposed am its people by the Government in
Japan in 1712.

The governing officers were served ty an elaborate meteuke system of in-


foiTners,intelligence af^ents and ;^pies preren* ever^t-.'hero and et all times
among the common people. They appear to have operated ^ath little effort at
concealment, and judging trom accounts tjritic. by foreigners in later years^
they were held more in fear than in respeei;.

Japanese precedents in sumptuary laT.s and social regulations did little


to solve the growing economic problems of the Byvikya Islands or to chedc a
sense of uneasiness in political and social life which was soon to bo mani-
fest.

Tho<]^ the emphasis was 00 regimentation and restriction, the latter


half of the 17th century ras not without some effort to Improve and promote
economic production. The Government exhorted itc subjects to te frugal. The
importance of better toolo v.as recognized, and to provide them the Govem-
mant established a bladcsmithy in each distidct, in 1667.. lifith Satsuma's ap-
proval net: land areas were opened for clearer: ce and cultivation in 1669 . A
man named Makiya Jissai developed an improved cane-crushing apparatus in 1671*

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lea cultivation became important enough to require eetabliehment of a Coia-
issioaer'e Office ( Oe>db»d>o . 1676). Ibrest •dnlnlstnitloD offioM vera e«-
tablished for the central and northern districts of Okinawa, vhile a tirogt'sn
of afforestation ¥,as sponsored under direction of Shimoji byekatb. Palt
evaporating basins by the seaside were established about 1694 at Katabaru hj
a Bum namd ShiotuuBA. These were all galne iihitih iieeiit iaereeeod prodoetlon
of foodstuffs tnd rm aaterlsls.

By this time the peasants had discovered that it iras more profitable to
produce sugar for eaqjort than to cultivate seeet potatoes for local food sup-
ply. In 1693> just seventy years after cane cultivation had been introduced,
the Government found it necessary to limit crop areas to 1(500 choou (ly675
acres using contemporary values for the chobu). There is reason to believe that
tbls directive was not vrLllingly orafd-ied withy for new restrictive orders sere
issued again five years later,

BoonoQic gains were offset somethat by natural disasters. There was the
annual loss from storm damage. A terrible earthquake, tidal rave and typhoon
struck Tcrishima in 166^, "-hich killed hundreds, destroyed homes and wrecked
fishing craft. Ftunine conditions followed T;hic:i had to be relieved in subse-
quent years by food shiparants fron Naha. Severe earthquakes were experienced
on Okinaaa and Miyako occasiontiliy, taid in Ifa?^ £ great t^TJhoon did heavy
damage to seavallSf dykes, roads and bridges for miles about the capitel.

Satsuma eas prepared to take no risks on Oklnaiaa. In 1669 the Govem-


ment's ev.ord- smithy had beon abolivShed; thirty years Ister a hepaquar-^ers for
the Police Inspectorate ( Yokome Kanja ) and a garrison post ( Ashiparu-Kan.ia )
vere established in the eastern quarter of Naha. Id 1699 Hyukyu was forbidden
SatsuM to allow the iinsort of weapons of any kind.

'
1 •

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Ghftp-tor VIXI

IBS EIGHTEENTH CEHTQBZ

1. Sal Ob* 8 Eoonomie DwidLopaifliit Program

2. Cultural Life in A^ulcyu In ihm 18th Cecxtursr

3. Overseas Relations

J^, Education, the GeatXT and GoTemment Leadership

5* A Bntlsb Shlperetik (1797)

{...

Copyrighted material
Gbapter VIII

THE ilGKTSaiTH CiHTORI

Sal fti's Economic Developmeat Program

HbB Byulcyu Kingdom entered a saeond century of Japanese domination throu^


a series of nationeil disasters. Failure of the street potato crop in 1706 brou^i
famine. An earthquake klLLed many persons in Mlyako. More than 3000 persons
diad In 1709 when faaina caua again in tha naka of a graat typhoon* Auri ea»«
tla aaa daatrc^ad by flra.

At this time an unusual young man named Sai On was acting as Chief Offi>
oar in Kuma Vlllaga. Ha had been bom in 1682, aon of a diatinguiatiad iMrabar
of the Chinese connunity. The father had been alaroad as bd envoy for Shuri on
several occasions, and the son had spent some time as an interpreter at the
Ryukyu trading establishment in Fukien. While in China he studied diligently.
Implying hine^Lf to tha voxka of eartain Ghinaaa acholara vbo rare practloaX
adidniatratora conoatnad with econonlc davalofnant proUaaB.

In 1711 Sai On was appointed tutor to the young heir to the throne, Sho
Kai, then a boy of alavan yaara. lhay vara to remain In doaa aaaociatlon for
forty years thereafter. Sai On covld not hold the title of Prime Minister
( Sessei) . for this was reserved to a Prince of the Royal House, but in fact he
became and remained in effect the Chief Minister and most important figure in
Ryukyu for half a century. Hia ralatlontfhip with Sho Kai frilled the high-
aat Confucian requirements of an ideal government. This meant continuity of
policies, a miniaum of conflict at the Court, and great public prestige for the
Xing* a Hiniatar.

In his thirteenth year Sho Kei succeeded to the Throne, and in his four-
te«ath year performed the formal cerosonies admitting him to adulthood. Sai On
WBB raiaad in Court rank, and given a raaidanoa in Shnri ahich made bin aligibla
for appointment to the Couneil of Ministers, the Sanshlkan . at the highest level
to yrhich a non-royal subject could aspire. The duties of the Council menjbers
vere reassigned in this year. In 1716 he vas appointed envoy to Peking to seek
tha formal arlt of Invaatitura for hia young protaga. Va nay sumlaa with what
pride this descendant of Chinese iiranigrants went to the Court of Peking to rep-
resent his King. Kis ancestry, his training in Chinese scholarship, his life
in Fukien as interpreter and student, and now his opportunity to see at first
hand tha aztant and peaar of China, form an intaraating contraat to tha badfc-
ground, training and inclinations of his predecessor, the Prine ?*^inister Sho
Jo-ken, whose inclinations, interests and outlook had been favorable to Japan.

Sho Jo-kan had had tha taak of raocneiling tha Ryukjro paopla to a posi-
tion of subordination; Sai On faoad tha tadc of ensuring aocnoaio aurvivalf and
of maintaining neutrality.

Ythatever pro-Chinese inclinations he may have had by nature or training^


Sal On ratuznad to I^yukyu to face tha raalltiaa of Japanaaa trlbuta demands

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laid upon a small Kingdom, poor in resources, and often scourged by stonu. On-
dsr his direetioD the QoveRmient mt&fA upon « laag period of inteOBlve 900-
nomic development v/ork. Okinawa's situation on the sea frontier, under oblij^a-
tion to both China and Japen, had to be faced with more .X3sitive measures than
SUBptuary laws and piohibitions. Confucian traditions which atteaipted to gov-
em through moral suasion and sententious edict were not gl'vien up, but T^ere
supplemented by constnjctive and practical action. T.ithin a fev; years tiie if^-
lands were producing more than they had aver done before, and life for the
Sfauri gentry (if not for the peuwit) assumed an even tenor ehlch vas not inter*
rupted seriously until late in tl^e CMtury^ vhen a nen series of natural calanl-
ties befell the Kingdom. , ,

Sai On and his associates at Shuri governed through officers dispatched


from Shuri to the thirty- five Districts (ma.jiri ) into idiich Okinawa was then
divided. Of these, fourteen were in Nakagami, the region adjacent to Shuri *

irtilcii had onee> fmed the old Qioaan prlnelpellty. Teelve ivere In Shinajlrl
(formerly Nanzan) ar.d nine were in the rurged Juniram^, (Hokvzan) ;irea. Fech
District had further subdivisions of viiLage anc hi.-nlet, in rhich there was
virtuctlly autcoiomous community organization v.hoge leaders were responsible to
the aaiiri officers appointed f^rai Shuri*

Fortunately ve have a varied record of condltlonB In Hyukyu at this time .

in Chou Huang's Prief History of the Rvutam Kingdom ( Rvukvu-koku Shirvaloi) . In-
troducing his report to the Chinese Rr^peror v.ith a simple map, this observant
Chinese envoy recounts the traditional history of Chuzan, describes at length
its tribute relationship with China, the nature of the tribute and the edicts
ihich had been issued concerning it, and then proceeds to a description of the
administration. His description of the nanners and customs of the people,
their physical characteristics and what he believed to be the influence of di-
late upon then is en interesting doouDent. Huoh of It appeers to be a record of
hearsay, of things reported to the envoy tut not observe:' him. Nevertheless,
it If! fin important contenpcrary notice, for we see Rwk^AJ through Chinese eyes.
Chou nuang felt that the Okinawans were barbarians xn that they sometlnies used .

kttiVM for self-destruction in the Japanese nanner (i.e., practiced hara-4Eiri> .


In reporting on puVLic buildings which he observed, and upon Shuri* s literary
institutions, the envoy felt that these, too, were inferior. This is not sur-
prising from a Chinese scholar, steeped in China's literary traditions and
faailiar rith the magnificence of Peking's palace architecture. The report .

covered temples and their services, and other remarkable buildings, places
and objects. The Staxe Aitual is deacribed, and there is a record of titles,
ranks and offices enong the ruling claM« In describing the taxes and the tax-
gathering systaa Chou notes thKt in hi^ iopinian Bgndgru «m the poorest, of all
countries surrounding China.

In a section devoted to Military Affairs and nodes of punlshnent eostbnaxy


Okinawa, it is recorded that the Government imposed three types of. capital
<ltk

pbnishment and five of less severity* All of these were common in both China
ad Japan, and all (except banishment) were cruel and extreme by modem penal
standards. TYie ]"tter sections of Chou Huang's record dealt with tne civil and
social relatioaablpe to be observed in i)yukyu, listed local products of interest,
and ooneluded elth « catalogue of notsiiorthy people, from illustrious Kln^ to'
notorious vagrants* (87) •
* • . •

(87)Shu Ko /"chou Huang_7i Ryukyu-koku Shirvaku ( Brief History of the


Riukvu Klnsdon) 16 vols* ed* Tenpo 2 (18^), in Bue-lden Kinrei-ban, Shoehi-bu*
"Chow Hwang's History of Ifeeeheii* Chinese Renositonr Vol. VI, Bo. 3, July
1837, pp. U3-11B.
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. This «as Chusan's gov^mpient and people, seen by a Chinese official dur-
ing Sal Ob's llfetine. Fbllcmiag tbm preoedont set tqr Sbo Jo-ken » Sal On pre-
pared a HHpffljyntf Cor Administrative Officers and ntharn (Yomui Hen) . Some of his
success as an adcinistrativo officer may Vf- attributed to realistic attitude
toward the necessity to adjust social class preferences to economic need. In
this he provided rdftreahlng eozit^rast to both Chlneee pretenslone and Japanese
praotioe*

In China it iras imDemorial tradition that the scholar and the aristocrat
should appear to be above commerce and manual labor of any kind. To admit an
interest in painful commercial emplo3mient was demeaning, and involved loss of
"face" or prestige. As a matter of fact few Chinese offlciala were pgt inter-
eeted In personal and family gain in offlee. Ihe bvoye froat Peking to JShuri
affected a ttiedain for commerce, but fevr, if any, came to Shuri without prepiK.
rations for private trade, responsibility for rrhich waa deputised to tbelr
secretaries and agoits in the diplomatic missions.

The Japanese on the other hand took more seriously the anci^t Confucian
doctrir.e of £-ocial distinction baaed on occupation. Early in the Tokugawa
Period the distinctions botv/e^ scholar, warrior, farmer and merchant were very
<jsrefiill7 drain.•
It ivas- assuaied that eonoem tvlth auney- and coaaieroe ooold be
no part of a v.'arrior's life. B\:t v.hiZc honoriii[; the fanner (in theory) and
the artisan and craftsman, the feudal aristocrats of Japan scorned the merchant
( chonJ^n) and in doing so got themselves into serious economic difficulties.
The hi^ei' ranking' sawrel and daimyo ultimately found it he<»esSary to borrow
heavily from the merchant money-lenders; lor-ranking sanurai r/ere forced to
be<iome f axmera, to take up productive craf ts> or to quit tlaeir rank and enter
ooAiseroe.

Sal On and his contemporaries in Ryukyu inherited traditions which dif-


fered from these. In the great days of Ayukyuan independence, princes and
llifl^<-«ian^ing gentry directed th^ far^roving coirigiercliCL voyages end liM tared-
Ing canters at Nah* and on the Fuki«i coast. The whole fabric of l^niikyi] eul-'
'

ture had depended upon a profitable commerce. Agriculture took second place
in the economy, and agricultural families had been free to engage in productive
nanofaetiirliig. Sal Oh now aitanqited to linlt the craift a(Hilvlties of the fSrs-
ing class, reserving them to the tovmsraen of Shuri, Nahe, Toraari and Kume. At
the same time he made it possible for the younger sons of the gentry to leave
Shuri and settle in other places as artisans (172^). A mutual-aid lund was
estabHShea in 1733 for Hm b^ineflt of umh^tB of the gantry «ho found them-
selves in financial difficult. Mm were honored who distinguished thcnselves'
by .aiding others. ... ... .

Broadly speaking, the Government's acts and orders f^il into three general
categories during this century. Tlie first had to do vritH restraint end pun-
Isbment, the. second established privileges and offices foi^ .the gentry who ruled
.tiie cqimtry. ilhe thlr4 iwre constructilve end often far-reSChin^ maasuree dir
rected to liirprovenent of the eoonony.-

Traditional moralistic admonitions were given point by a short-lived edict,


fortatddiog tlie. distilletlon of sake,. OffIcits .were iqqpointed to eKtend.wfktdi
CO' the people* 8 aorals (^o Yokomey l6yft and Sho Iokoneyl721). Orders iie^.4.9saed

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raptrieting expenditures and elabonia fonw of ritual aDtartainttant eoatoMry
In connection with funeral aarvices (1729) • 1730 it ma- fbrlAdden there>
after to organiae dancinp and feasting parties upon the ava of a jjrojected trip.
The police organization was enlarged and strengthened during Sai On 'a adadnistra-
tlon. ih 1752 criminal leva ivere extended to Yaeyama. Late In the century a
Criminal Code v/as compiled (1732), and its general provlaion'a nada kBoan to tlia-
public through local governors and magistrates (1786)*

Sal On 'faced only one aeriova diallenge to hia authority^ and net it irith
severity. A party formed in opposition to his policies, led by Ilesh^kyf^ Cho-
bin and Tomoyose Anjo. Seeking to bring about Sai On's dorafall they drew up
a statement of accusations against him and delivered it to one of the Satsuma
agents eat to keep aati^ en lijnikyu. Hien the affair oane to light, HeabiJcya

and fourteen of hia associates vara seised and put to death. (1734)*

In the category of Govemment acts essentially favorable to the gentry


were changes, made in 17S3» which shifted the income bases for tiie higher rank--
ing Lords. These men rho had lived hitherto on the income from their heredi- •

tary lands - a form of private taxation - trere now granted regular rice stipends
froB the Gotrermnaat treaaury. &ii On himself aaa made nominal Chief of Qushi-
kana iHetrict though he T;as in fact the principal Minister of State* It has
been noted that samurai families (in 1724.) ere permitted to become artisans in
\

Shurl without losing their status. Ten years later the tax on tor.n artisans was
abolished. '
Artists or craftsmen ware honored uril^ titiea bearing privilege
md stipend. Famed sanisen players, outstanding taoars and makers of aocoap- -

tionally fine combs were given government recognition. There were new honors
for the Ministers of State, and decrees granting privileges and honors to the
ag^ tbrou0iout the country.
The third catepory of administrative o-^ders and Government actions deservea
dose attention, for it was in these economic development measures that the na*
ticinSl leaders tried to meat and '^ovarcona the dhallanga of natural poverty and
repeated natural disaster.

. Sai On* 8 name is best known for his study of Irrigation and conservation
prohlaBW, and for the generally practical application of his Judgments. The "
aost noted projects were along the loza River (in 1726) and in the Haneji Riwar
valley (1734), where eifforestation and conservation were linked with river
dyking, and. the opening of irrigation caiMla. There was a long debate as to the
faaalbility of digging a canal across the neck of the Motobu Peninsula, and of
transfering the seat of government to Nago. After hesitancy, Sai On decided
against the project. He conceived the question to be of such lasting inportance,
howawwr, that in 1750, ioiard the 'close of his long adtainiatration, ha eansad a
Bonvment of stone to be erected midtray between Nago and Kaneji, upon irtiioh
inscribed a statenent of both aides of the arguB«it| and the reasons for thia
decision. * "
' '
. \.

Okinawa 7,as without fine tirber or stands of large trees sufficient in


nuT.ber, girth or height to provide heavy building material. Conditions of cli-
mate on the islands are not favorable to wooden construction, chich must be re-
pairad and replaoad constantly.. There haa always been a hi^ rata of atom
denaga to atsnding timber in the forest ae mil as to aan-4Bada buildings. Sai

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On caused a thorough study of forest growth, forest use and methods of refores-
tation and forest contxx>l to be made. Farmere and fishermen were restrained in
VBsteAil U0e of tlaber. The eoostruetloo of dugout eanooB vaa prohibited, for
insttncG, in an effort to conserve trees of large girth for other use* ViX->
lagers were shown hov to plant windbreaks along the sea, and the mountain
ridges and roadbanks were planted skillfully in an effort to prevent soil- e^-
•ioa. Housing lots and grave sites were liaited ty order, to make roon f<^ a
MOCiinutn use of arable land. Sandy flats lying betreen Naha and Tonari were
re^iLaimed for building purposes. Irrigation and drainage projects were carried
out in many other parts of the Kingdom. A regular system of Inspection tms
instituced (17?6). Sal On's written plane, fpx; agricultural extension (1734)
and for afforestation (1736, 17^^.7, 1751) were related to practical proldems and
embodiefi careful observation and experience, set forth as jQovenuaent poli<qr.

The total production of malth increased* To handle it, the Administration


promoted a grent varifjxy of measvres. A new coinage was issued in 1712. A
market w&$ open^id in Shuri, to promote local exchange of goods. In 1729 en at-
teapt nfts made to standardise wei^ts and measures* Offices vers set up to
plan end supervise the drodi^ing of Naha harbor, and port officers were sta-
tioned at ever/ important landuig pltice. Agricultural Inspection Supervisors
were appo.intc'u to. er*c»t Distrxct uifice. There was an ef for L bo promote de-
velopment of metai-caatine and of smithies needed for tool-mAking. Line-kilns
were introduced (1730). Tea plan trtions were opened and the country people
were encouraged to plant banana proves a? a source of textile fibre. T>ie man'j-
facture of ink sticks, of- paper, ai^d of objects made cf paper (such as lanterns
and ttntarellM) became jjiportant to the Igcal economy. New production methods
- .-

and new styles in lacqueiyware, tiles and. textiles continued to be developed*

To. meet some of the problems of an increased population and unemployment


orders were issued forbidding funers to move into town (1728) , and new vil~
lages were sot up as part of the general development program. (8S) Sal OnVs ..

Interest extended to all the islands, and bis forestry and agricultural poll-,
cles left their permanent mark in Yaeyama and WLyako as well as in Okinawa. .

In anticipation famine years, the Government undertook to establish


grain storage warehouses. Ttie importance of a neiv method to plant and harvest
tfSQ crops of sweet potatoes in etaidi year was recognized by honors for the nan
who did- jaostto pronote its dev«a.opBieat*

The King, She Kei, died in 1751, in the fifty-second year of his age. Sai.
On retired from his post in the Council of State in the next year,, though be
remained an important figure in state affairs until his death in 1761, in his .

seventy-ninth year. Much of his success may have been rooted in the full con- .

fidence which appears to have been established between Sai On and his King.
The State Hlnistere who followed bin continued his policies for some years.
A program desi^^ned to bring land registry records into order ran carried
through in 1759, followed by a creation of a Land Magistracy Office, Denchi
ftj pyp. in 1766. ;

(88) From incoAplets records it tqppears that an average of at least com


'
new village was set Up or recognised every four years in this country*

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Copyrighteu lo/Drial
Superb old pine trees growing along the roads and along tbe creats of
omtaln ridges throughout Ryukyu in th» 20th o«otury «re ll'vlng nonumants to
Sal On* a far-seeing 18th centuiy policies. A cj-o-'^e planted according to Sal
Ct.'s nr^j^r^ri^^ion on distant Taraina lelar.d in I.liyako still serves as a wodel
lor Tillagers estab.lishing windbreaks to protect Uieir precious soil. The
Japanese Govenfnent sTx>n sored construetioa of a new shrine at Maha to hcmor Sal
On in 1937. In 195i his crincipal essays in forest ncnageraent pc^oy were
translated into English and distributed abroad becp;jse of their SKCeptloQal
interest as documents in forest conservation history.

It has been remarked that Sai On and b- s associates approaciied economic


prohlens v.lth considerable success in view of the formidable limitations which
Nature had placed on natural resources at their coiKoand. Vie may assume that

tfasy were stroagly influenced by the eon'Jhiet of contemporary admlnlatration at


Yedo where a reaction had set in -co the excesses of luxury in the Genroku peiN*
iod (1678-1704), and the extravagance of the Shogun ?okugav,a Tsuneyoshi, The
Shogun's Treasury was nearly emptj, (toder the Shoguns lyenobu, Xyeteugu and
there were serious efforts to reform economic administration at Yedo*
Todiifliune
Sai On himself did not visit Japan, but other prominent contemporary leaders
(ost notably ^1 Jun^oku) had cotne into direct intercourse with some of the most
Influsntial Oonfoeien s^olars, noralists and adainlstrators in Yedo and Kyoto.
Aral Bakuseki, for instance, became chief adviser to the Shogun lyenobu in 1709
and applied himself dili«:ently to serious economic problems confronting the
Government of Japan, he had more than a casual interest in his acquaintance
with viaitors from l^kyu, denonstrated in Ihe hooks he subsequently wrote oca*
earning Ayukyu history and institutions. Tei Junsoku also held conversations
with, and came under direct influence of, the utilitarian moralist and scholar,
Ogyu Sorai. DazAi Shundai( 1630-1 74.7) , one of Ogyu's outstanding pupils, took note
of Ryukyu *s eeonondo impo!^tance to Japan in his essay Keiaei Roku , in iihieh he
observed thrt the DaLnyo of Tsushima traded profitably with Korea, and the Daiinyo
of Katsumre traded in products from Yezo (Hokkaido), but that Satsuma's "in-
cooparabla wealth is due to its monopolistic sale of goods imported from Ryukyu".
tnm tiiee eireunstances it nay he eurnised that Ryukyu leaders uho visited Jupm
found orportDnity tc discuss Shuri's problems v.ith "'ell-informed men who could
direct their attention to Japanese government precedents. Many 18th century
economc policy developments in Ryukyu seem to reflect theories and policies be-
ing tr ed at ledo, or being advocated there i Thesis men all tended to move ana^
frcE tie Tokugawa Bekufu concept of civil government totard a bureaucratic or-'
ganiz'tlon which was an ideal of the Confucian merit systSB. This fostered
groupmorality, and laid great eagphasia upon group responaibility, but the In-
divid a 1 faded Into the eoMtlttee or council of which he aas a nember. Individ-
ualin in Government maa disoouragedi group aietlon became a fine art of conpnx*
aise ind adjustment.

The governing classes of R>-jkyj reached their v idest and most penetrating
conttct -:ith the Japanese ruling classes ani Intel] ect^ials during the early
yeaB of Sai Qn's predominant influence, rrxnce L4izato and Prince Tomigusuku
It^a miasioii to Tedo in 1710 which consiated of no leas than 168 persons, idilla
succeedinp: mission (in 171/^, under Prince Yono<^usuku and Prince Kin) numbered
13 m«i and included Tei Junsoku. Yedo was one of the viorld's larpest cities
atthat time. The men from Sliuri were privileged to stay at the residence of

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Shiaazu, Prince of Satsuma, and to meet and talk witii outstanding Japanese scho-
lars and eovenmant iMdara* Ihey retained to Sbnri with great preatlfB as laU
ae tilth Bany nev ideaa in publio adBinlstration.

A comparison of relative success for tlie administrators at Shorl with tht


adalniatratorB at Tedb may not be wbolly fair nor reasonable, for the Shogimtt
had a vastly larger problem to cor.front, a formidable feudal tradition to ow-
come, dee, divisions v/ithin +he country and a massive population. Nevertheless
J

the fundamental problem was the same, for it was one of meagre resoorees poorly
dlBtrlhuted, and heavy population pressure. Ryukyu was favored by a degree r:
unity throughout the Kingdom, and tH population «as relaUvely smaU. (89)

Cultural Life In tontoro in the Iflth Caoai'^nry

For nearly a century the gentry of Cftcinawa enjoyed a mild, and pleasurable
exletenee, xmrely disturbed by affairs ofviarge importance. Bie HeAlkiya Itt-
cident suggests that there were divisions ah^ rivalries Einong the aristocrats,
end the tenor of some of Sai On's ad^nonitionXhint at an undercurrent oi dis-
content with Satsuma' s orders and rigorous reqbtj^ments. Few tilings oecomd
tp interrupt the flow o^ everyday life, and in re^^et the wa appeus to
have been a peaceful interlude betnesn tto centurlesVof recurrent crises.

We may guess tiiat the energetic, purposeful Sa tsuma yaraurc 1 Statloaed St


,

local Japsneae offices at llaha», sometimes grew impatient ll^ththe easy-going


island people. There was great courtesy in human relations^^ Rj^ltTu, b^t lit^
tie of the exacting and tense formality ifhich made life in Je^^ a burden of
minute rules and regulations. Foreign observers in later yeai-e^^**""^
If happiness consists in few wants and thos^ easily gratified, tlh^-^ P^^?'^'^
of Ryukyu must indeed have been happy. This at .least would have bei(P ^® "i
the gentry, if not of the drudging peasant. •
V

The days of a gsntleman of Shuri were taken up vrlih long oonversal^°°^


among friends, frequent picnics in the countryside, the composition cf
Chinese and Japanese styles, and music, singing and dancing on every po&'^^
occasion. Weddings, excprsioos to noted scwle spots and local shrines,
monies at the .Buddhist and Confucian tes^Lss and town and wlllage festlv^ ^
their proper time, filled the day. to day round of the seasons. \:

Ho msnber of the g«itry would venture far abroad without the service
an attendant carrying a lacquered lunch-box. Food and drink were importai '

represented in variety a blend of Chinese and Japanepe tastes. The use ol*^
such as pork and fowls, and rich sauces to appeax to the tongue, represent
Chinese influence; laviab care in arranging foods to appeal to the eye as
represented a distinctive Japanese touch.

fThile the educated aristocrats of Shuri and Naha composed verse prii
after Chinese and Ji^panese models., liie use of the vexnaeular by country ver

(89) Japan's population stood c:omev.-here near 30,000,000. There are no


1
early figures available for Ryukyu, though S. Wells Williams baaarded an est
mate of "less than 200,000" after his visit of 18J7.

loe-

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Bakers everyiriiere produced a form peculiar to the Islands, consisting of stansas
iB four lines, three of uhleh have el|^t flyllataes, with the last a line of six* •

Music sni danclnp; were preeminent as entertninment among all clas.pes. ?.'ork-»
men carried their musical instruments with them into the fields or to the soa-
elde, 00 that during-' a pause for rbst they could find entertalxment vherever they
chanced to be. A visit to pop;ular horEeracinp gro'jnds offered opportunities; to
combine picnicking, verse-making, singing and dancing. £ven funerals were made
occasions for excursions and banquets in the countryside.

Musicians were piven high honors in the Government. An office for a


"Chief Saaisen Director" (Samisen Mishitori-vaku) was established in 1710.

Svwyone enjoyed the dance-drama in which theiMB drarm from legend and
history were treated with a light touch. There were some tragic stories re-
counted, but for the most part a rollicking and lusty atmosphere made dancing
a popular inetitutloD in which all olaaMS dwred. In this it had many d^ar-
acteristics in common with the contemporary kabuki of Japan, and the Eliza-
bethan theatre of Shakespeare in England. Thiough itinerant street-players and
professional actors T.ere technically classed among the loreat in the social
Older, thej Hera popular. Jn 1718 a oooeiii of the fbyal tail7 (Taoagumiku
Ghokia^) 'iirote'a drttia iriiicb m« parforned at the Palaea*

Fkdavers, painters, potters, sculptors and lacquerers vfere held in high es-
teea* Ihe ekllla of local eraftemen wnv dnran upon whenever a new building
was'constructed R.t the Palace, ~:t repairs, reconstruction or additions vrere made
at Buddhist temples, and Confucian study-halls, or in the reception halls for
Chinese and Japanese envoys. (90)
• • • • • . . .
.
,

Indigenous religious rites received little encouragement from the scholars


in Government, but patronage was extended to ceremonies introduced from China
nd Japan. Some Chinese Taoist praetieea (Dokyo) were absorbed Into the
strict Confucian rituals.- For instance, on the Ring's order paper prayers were
burned during ceremonials at temples and shrines. Much attention was given to
the reform and regulations of ceremonies performed at funerals and in commenoreH'
ancestor worship. Most particular attention was dewoted< to the preparation
of rituals suitable for use before the tombs of the Kings. An established form was
settled upon in 1768. Ihe Govenuaent fromed on the medium (Tuifii who offered to serve

(90) The only surviving significant v/ooden sculptures cf this period are
jie two Nio-o or Guardian Deva Kings installed in the gateway of Torinji, Ishi-
gski City, taeyama, in 1737.

The Chuzan Den shin Roku ("Report made by an Envoy to Chuzan") prepared ty
Jo Ho-ko (Hsu Fao-kwan) after his visit to Skoiri in 1719 forms one of the most
detailed and iaportant descrlptlmis of Court and town life in this period. Of
several editions the first in Japan appeared in 1721, the last in 1940 (Sbom
IS), translated and edited by Kuwae Katsubide.

-109-

L
uopy iiyfiioo inaienal
Ml IntMBtdiary betumii the dead and the Ilvliig, or to aet as a diviner of for- >

tune, and as exorcist of sickness and evil spirits. The yuta. v.ere represent**-,
tive of the grossest superstition prevalent among the uneducated masses in
Ina and in Japan. In Ryukyu they were not members of an institutional orga..-
isation as the nortf were. Popular eupport for the Vuta wbb to be found pria- -.

cipaUy, though' not exclusively, among the uneducated women of the communities
in T7hlch they lived. In 1736 they were forbidden to practice as bealere of the
siok.
/• • - •
; <
There was some reflect! nn in Ryukyu of contemporary Chinese and Japanese
interest' in Western science. At Peking during these years the Jesuit priests
imre undf& 'Qie High patronage of the. K-*ang Hsi and ChUeh Lung Dnperors.
Father Rieci was the principal figure, assisted and folloned by men like the
astronomer Father de Drsis, the cartographers Regis and de katlla. They were
so successful in correcting the calendar and in revising astronomical and oathe-
atieal vorlr in China that their woxics, in Qjineae, penetrated Japan and ati^ted
importai^t attention. The Shogun Yoshimtune prided himself as an amateur astrono-
mer and had an observatory set up in his palace at Yedo in 1718. In 1720 he is-
sued an edict easing the ban on Vl'estem books and on Chinese vforks concerning
veatenai ^ecienee. A bond of hard-working Japaneae (the Ranwakurtwi or jXiteh
Scholars) undertook the arducus task of learning I\:tch and of translating sci-
entific books from Eutch into Japanese. Iheir work centered at Nagasaki in: .

Kyushu, and it is beyond question that the men of Satsuma kept themselves fair-
ly^ v^-infoxined oonenning the aubjeota atudied and the progreea aade«

Through Satsvmia, and through the envoys salt up to Yedo, the influence of
the Dutch scholars indirectly filtered down to Byukyu. Sai On ordered the dis-
tlnguidied Baradqjru acholar and aathenatician Kohat^ Rlko to oonatroct a tele-
scope and observatory in 1739 » and on the basis of observations made in the years
1740 and 17419 certain corrections were made in the local method of computing
tlM. Itohatau had many stud«Dt-follo«era aaoag the gentry. (91)
'

Medical studies in Ryukyu vere stimulated by the dispatch of doctors to


Xaeyaaa and liiyako to serve three-year terms. They were ordered to look after :

the umlfare' of the looal people and to -take vcre of peraona «aat aahore in tita
shipwrecks so frequoit In theae lalanfdi. in 1742 six doetors imre a|)pointed in
>

attendfiaee at the Sfauri caatle.


-
' . « '

(91) Map-making was a function of mathematics entrusted to the Jesuit


priests by llie Ghineae Cwrt, aho apont ten ywre preparing a complete map of
the Bnpire for the Bnperor K*aiig Utfi. (1708-1718). Taiwan's nest coast ^as in-
cluded but Ryukyu does not appear, nor is it mentioned in the detailed accounts
of the project Dubltshed in 1737. DuHalde, P.J.B.: A Description of the Bn-
pire of China /etcJ 2 vola. London, 1738, pp. vii-x.

Dutch scholars and scientists stationed at Nagasaki included fhglebert


Kaempfer (1690-1692) Mio wrote exteihai^elif of Japan and of ^ukyuj the hotMiiat
'

C. P. Ihimberg (1775-17tl^) and •laaac Titaingh' (1779-1785) •

CopyriytiicG material
Education itself began to take on a more form&l aspect, reflecting accur-
ately in Byukyu the development of private and public schools in Japan at that
tiM. As Sal On stood preenjnant in administration » so Tei Jimsplcuy his senior
c-ntempcrary, stood preeminent in Ryul:\nj history as scholar and teacher. He,
like Sai On, ^aa a child of Kurae Village who early distirgolshod himself as a
scholar in the Chinese Classics. His learning attracted attention both in Japan
end in China. For yaars hs aaintalnsd a corrsspondencs with Hsd Fao-)EiMiig» mvoy
ftoB dina in 1719. At his own expen^ie he caused a notea volume of Chinese
BoiU. «ax^s. to be reprinted, which he presented to the Shogun Xoshimune through
i3b» Ldird of Satsuaia. YoslilBUtio sas Ijiipressed with it, and at bis order the
s^Milar Ogyu Sorai prspared an annotated text, vihich in turn was translated into
Japanese by Muro Kjnjso, chief adviser to the Shogun in administrative matters.
Itmo reprinted again and again, and remained an important practical textbook
in cdroulation among ths Japanese for nearly three hundred years. (92)

Because he ;:7as honored ..ith the title "Governor of Nago" and the stipend
appropriate to that office Tei Junsoku was known popularly in Hyukyu history as
the "Sage of Nagoi*.

The past was not neglected. Sai On fo'jnd time to edit the Chuzan Chron-
ology i Chuzan Seifu) • Uonuments were erectt^d to mark historic spots, and Sai
Qb himself in word and deed repeatsdly underlined the fact of ^yukam^s satiooal
lod cultural Indivldnality vis-<»-wis hoih China and Japan.

Professor liigaonna has noted a most important diiference in tho careers


of Sho Jo-kan and Sai On. The fomer pursued policies designed to meet all ob-
ligations toward Japan and to encoi:rage the introduction of Japanese learning
md an appreciation of Japanese culture. The anti-Japanese policies of the
State Minister Jana Oyakata had led King Sho Nei into the disastrous
.

Kaifllio affair from which Bgrukyu -ewild never quite recover. Sho Jo-4cen attributed
his country's difficulties to its relations with Chinese learning and Chinese
institutions. These he aou^t to counter tay promoting the introduction of Japanese
arte, crafts and customs, snd in the first history of Ryukyu (the Chuzan Selkan)
he attempted to establish evidence of a common origi-n for Ryukyu and Jl^MD. But
the benefits of his interest in Japanese culture. Professor Higaonna observeS|
vent principally to the Japanised ui^r classes.

By contrast Tdtb the polleias of Sho Jo-ken the innovations and advances
made under Sai On went deeper, directly affecting the everyday life of the coomon
Ban in the fields and woods. In the tools he used, and the crafts he lived by,
Ibe State oreanisaticn snd the educated man were coneemed with aeoommodatlon to
the demands of both Japan and Qiina. To this policy of Sal On and his successors^
Professor Higaonna suggests, we may trace the quality of neutrality and accom*
Dodation which is so marked in the character of contemporary men of Ryukyu.

Although Sai On 7;as a rr.an with a distinctly Chinese orientation in his per-
sonal life and training, his policies consistently attempted to strike a median^

( 9^ The people of Ryukyu boast that Japan received three great gifts f^co
Ryukyu, namely the sweet potato, the sugar cane, and the "Six Courses in Morals"
(Rikuvu ftjgj) or as Professor Higaonna says, "Food for the mind as well as the
body,

•411^-

CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
to preserve a neutral position between Japan and China. This attitude was em*
Uxllad in the Advice for Travellers (Ryolcaaip Kokoroe) prepared for Ryukyuans
Oflnt on missions to China. It appwts in fact to hsro bMU a nodol of •vaslvo-
neas, aartfully elothad in polita language*

-Ihe atory i» told tbat a coDsidaraULe dlaputa arose on one occasion idMO
the Qdneaa-iUaaion (in 1719) objected to the fact that J^jrokyu was unable to
buy more than one fourth of the total goods the Chinese envoys had brou^t with
•them. There was threat of a serious riot by the Chinese merchant-envoys; Sai
On naa called upon to nediate the dispute and eueceeded In raising a snail ad-
ditional sum for purchase money, curbing the wrath of the Chinese, but sending
then a-.vay dispnjntled, with more than half of the goods unsold which they had
brought over to Naha. (93) ' • •
..

* '

* " •

Though Sai On prided himself upon a show of neutrality for R;,njky\5, the ad-
ministrative record reflects how closoly the Shuri Government T.-atched and at-
tempted to follow precedents of Government In Xedo. Administrators in both
c^)ital8 were Conflic^an aoralists» aonetiDeB inclined to be aantantioua» and
often quite unrealistic in attempting to apply ancient Chinese theories snd
forms of govemmoit to urgent contemporary probleas. But taking his record as
a idiole, ve find that Sal On atands precnlnent in Ryukyu history as a nan of
-Uiouglbtfiil deeision and far reaehihg action.
. - .

Overseas heiations

Relations with Japan throughout the 18th century were close, if not cordial.
The customary missions were soit up to Kagoahima and ledo to congratulate new
daimyo and nev fliiogans upon their aeoession^ Ryukyuans were present at the en-
thronement ceremonies of the Emperor ?Jakamikado. TJhen the Royal Palace at Shurl
burned in 1709 Satsuma generously sent down a gift of 19,500 timbers to aid in
its reconstruction. A mission of thanks was sent from Shuri to acknowledge the
shipnent.

During the reipn of the boy Shogun Tokugawa lyetcugu (1713-1716) there was
a general increase in security measures affecting Kyushu. This may have been
Inspired Iqr knowledge of Jesuit nap-nsking expeditions cowering sll of naifiland
China, Taiwan and the northern borders of Korea at the time. The daiayo of
Kyushu were ordered to seise and bum any European vessel which might appear on
the southern coasts, and to eiBoqts any Eoropeans tak«n prisoner. The Satsuna
govcm.T.ent became suspicious of-Qklnawan priests coming up from RyukjW to study
'at Kyoto or tour the shrines and temples of Honshu, v.d placed a ban on travel
by Ryukyuans beyond the borders of Satsima. At the samo time the Satsuma Govem-
ent sas ordered by Tedo to prepare .arStndy of I^yukyu history, adnlnistratlony
the land system, costume, official ranks and insigpiay ^e clothing of thn com-
on people and so forth. *r

(93) The details of the incident reflect what an extremely narrow margin
of aureus there saa in Ryokyu, for ^e total sum which Ryakyv could offer in
purchasing funds could be increased by only one fifth, and that only by using ..

the gold and silver hair ornaments collected from among the wonen of Naha anji
'
Shuri.

*•
'

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Copyriytiica material
Between 1716 and 17A5 Japan was ruled by Tokugawa Yoshimune, one of the
most enlightened Tokugawa Shogvins. The Influence of his frugal govemmen'^ made
itself strongly felt in Ryukyu, vfaers 8ai On was kept w^-lnformed of msasures
dlr^ctet^ f p-a^nst ercessive luxury, and of patrouafa for solantiflo studlaa, and
practical experliuentatioa. (94)

lha edict Uniting Rjnikyu trav<d in Japan narronad tile area of contact ba^'
tTveen the tv.o peoples and mipht be suspected of retarding the rete of cultural
assimilation vrhich V7as taking place through thase centuries. Setsuina continued
to make it a practice to Tjelcome high bom Okiuawan envoys, giving them an op- '

pcrtunity to aaa Uia axtant, raoourcaa and strength of the ftiijoaao principality.
Thus, for instance, the young Prince Sho Tetau toured Bouthetto Kynahu (in I7S6)
~
before he become King. *
' .

The stipend lAiich had been traditionally set aside for promising youths in
K.:r.e Village was cancelled at last in 1729, but the Government continued to send

outstanding young men to Peking to study. Each usually stayed about three years.
Sone upon their retwm served as teacdiers, som becane administrators and soma
served in the diplomatic service, handling nissions and correspondenca having to
do with the China trade and tribute missions. In 17^2 a Commissioner of Chinese
Cofflpositifm was appointed to the high ranks of Govenmeot. Sal On and Tel
Jimsoku sere the most outstanding examples of the "ratusced Student* of Kuna Vil*
lege origin to rise to hi^i govetnnant office*

A noteworthy eveiit in relations with China in this century Tjas publication.


In China, of an account of Ryukyu History and of tlM tributary relationship pre-
pared by Hsu Pao-ktirnfj, a .-nei^iber of the Chinese einbasr-^ of 171^. Hoi) is said
to have felt some ill-will toward Sal On, inho bested Ihs Ci,:.ncce in an argument
over the valuo and amount of trade to be concludea by iho mission, but on the
other hand he is said to have established a life-Ion <^ friendly correspondence
vith Tei Junsoku, then Magistrate of Kiaw Village* (95)

(94.) There a] pears to be opportunity lor an import.; ".t st*'dy to be made of


the reflection in Ryukyu of the progress of adminiBtx'atitj.i in Jaoan at this time.
One suspects that Sai On depended more heavily upon inspiration from ledo Uian
he or his associates admitted in their records.
(95) A frenah translation by Pare Gauldl of the Ch'ung shan ch' jan-hsin lu
cr Chuzan Tgnshin Kc\v a^opears in the Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses Tome xxiiJi,
Peris, 1781 and an abstract in English in M'Leod, Jotm: Voyape of hia I'dajegty'g
oniu Alceste. along the Coast of Core a to the Island of Levchev?; with an account
~
Of her Subseouant aiipiigeck. London ISia -p. "
7»^. i !
'.

In his work entitled China* s Drapon Robes , Dr. Schuyler Cammann notes that
in the Ch'ing sketches used to illustrate Hsu's Chung shao ch'uan-hsin lu the
King of Ryukyu wears 4 robe of Ming style, presumably used only on occasions of
high ceremony (op. cit pp. 157-15o)
. ^r. Cammann further coraments on a late

17th century Ryukyu porwait (reproduced in the HYa}fic a Jitten. Tokyo, 193Aj
fig. 1, facing page 241) noting that "The Prince irears a Liu Ch'iu hat, and his
attendants carry Japanese pikes as symbols of power, while a pair of Japanese
curtains sets off the picture. In short, the portrait gives an excellent exam-
pile of tha synthesis of eultures in this snail Island kingdom under, the Inflqeooe
of tab povarfal nei^bors*" Og. cit. pp« 157-159*
'

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Copyrighted material
fiy 1728 Shurl bad secured permission frcHB Peking to add a second tribute
efalp for the regular trade, and to eand a trading ahlp aeross to aeet and ee-
oort the tritaite alaalfloa upon their retim trtm the GhSnA Coaat.

Upon the occasion of the formal investiture of King Sho Boku in 1756y China
ant over the anvoya Gbou Huang and Gh*iian K'ueiy with a diatlngulahed eallig-
repher and poet Wang Wen-chih as secretary. Chou, the Chief of the Mission,
prepared a sixteen volume topographical study of the Rjrukyu Islands entitled
Liu-ch'iu Kuo chih-lueh (Ryukyu Koku Shl«ryaku)and a tiriu^ wlwe of personal
rioilnlscifiee irtileb he preaantad to llie Baperor at Peking. (96)

China continued to pay the e:qp^8e8 of embassies coming up to Feking frcp


ttie Eaetem Sea Islands, and to subsidise 'ttie training and indoctrination pro-
gram ahich brought promising young atudents over from Okinawa. In an account
written by one of tne Europeans received a hundred years later by the Chinese
Court, we find a description of- the Tzu Kuang Ko, a Hall in the imperial Palace
in abldi the Ryukyu an envoys reeeived. em .

. • •

In this Hall, 7?hich is hung v/ith pictures of combats and of •• .


.

oainent Chinese Generals, many of them painted ay the JesuitSf


it ia the habit to entertain the envoys fron tribiiteiy or de-
pendent states, such as Mongolia, or Korea, and in former r

days also the Liu Ch'iu Islands^ Nepal an<^ Annam^ at the festi-
val of the New Xear. (97)

. . . . • • •

Only members of official missions reached Peking. Meny more had opportimity to
go over to the Ryukyu trading center in Fukien* Some went as attaches of the
trading station (Huitung-Kan) ; som wmt as' artists end eraftntn.

HmM^ly^i the Gentry and Government Leadership .

The accession of a talented young Prince, ftill of a youth's eagerness for


.
learning, brought to maturity and positive action an interest in the probHeBlS of
educatiao which had been stirring at Shuri for some years. .

(96) For an abridged English version, see Bridgeman, E. C: "Lewkew Kwo


Che les; a brief history of Lewchew..." China Reuositoyy. Vol. VX, July 1837
pp. 113-113. A Chinese Supplement to the gasetteer (Han Liu-ch*iu Kuo Aib-
liiah) contains 1809 as the latest date in the taoct^ (l^rbank and Teng, o£i. cit.)
and was published about 1813 tgr teo Qilnese anvoys lis an official report of tiieir
fflisslon to Shuri.

'
(97) Curzon, George N.: Problems of the Far East London, 1894 • p. 291.

For an Ehglish translation (vith notes) of sections of the Ta Ts'ing Huj^


'
Tiwi regulations governing embassies to Peking, see Chinese Repository Vol.
HV. Mo. A, AprU, 1845, pp. 153-156. • •

-114^

Copyrighted material
The short reign of .the young King Sho On was perhaps the last period of
happy national achievement, peculiarly their own, vhich can be recorde4 in the
Bistoxy oC the Byukyu people.

The young prince wes only tv/elve years of age v;hen he succeeded liis father^
but he appears soon to have achieved a maturity of thought and conduct which
gave great promise. A note of something more than the conventional praise of
a King creeps into the eecounts mitten of hln hgr hie oen people, and the Chi-
nese envoys who observed bin in bia sevanteanth year (1800) oomneDted on hia
fine f eaturesy hla dignity and hia learning*

Eienkentary schools for the gentry rere establiehed in the vards of Shuri,
and-an Aqademy eaa founded within the Palace preclneta. It iraa traditi<»)al in
China and Japan tc hang a large tablet over the rrain approach to any school,
teaple or palace bearing lofty and inspiring sentiments for those rho pass in
and out on their daily tasks. For this purpose at the new Academy the young
Ung hinaeU wrote "Cultivate Men of Ability in tiie Sea Country* (Xaiho XSahll)
ar.d the tablet was placed vrrth great ceremony over the 8<^ool gate to aerve aa.
an ideal in education for the gttitry of.fijivkyu.

It Mia also decided to inereaae the number of atudenta going abroad to


Peking to school and to alter the basis for their selection. This precipitated
riots which were unique in R^'ukyu annals. Normally four students and four as-
sistants were selected from among Kuroe Village youths T.ho successfully passed
tao rlgoroua exaHSsiationa. ^Daually a perM
of tiiree yaara eaa apant in Faking
pursuing a forr.al curriculum. This included political philosophy, literature
and medicine or the Chinese almanac (the regulation of human affairs according
to the season?) . In exceptional cases students remained in China for as long
aa eight yeara. Opoi) their retpm-to.Okiaaim they became govemaant officiala
or teachers, given preferment in appointments because cf their status as "re~
turned students". It was proposed now to send students from Shuri as well aa
from Kume, thus breaking precedents so. dear to Confucian traditionalisms, and
affecting the monopoly of aeadanic priTilegea enjoyed by the Kome Village peo-*
pie. J. „ .

The whole organization of Hyukyu society and government at this time


raated on the foundation of an allte educated in theae adioola. Ihe popula<-
tion in all thd islands probably numbered between 150^000 and 200,000 of which
fav more than 125,000 were living on Qkinawe. (98)

(98) Population figures estimated from census figures shorino; the rate
of increase between 1875 and 1890, before the economic system was greatly
iltM*ed under J^^Moeae direetiooa, and compared with eatlaiatea made by fore-
'
i0i obaeryara between 1800 and 1875*

-U5-

CopyriytiiuG material
The social hierarchy may be summarized briefly as (1) royalty, (2) the
privileged classes ( shizoku) and (3) common man ( helmtn ) . The King stood
,

aupreme. Next came members of the Royal Household, the brothers and sons of
the King. lh« Royal eonsorta and notherfl of prlnoes had to be <di68aii fron
among members of a few distint^ished noble houses which were themselves re-
lated rith the Royal House through raeny generations of intennerriape. It has
been noted earlier that the grandsons of Kings were privileged to retain the
8bo Fttnlly nmm, but wtm required to use a modified kan.1i (Chinese .charaeterl
in vritlng it. . -
*

Among the preeminent noble Houses rere the 0, Ba, and Mo Families, all
cousins of the Royal Family in sooe degree. Kezt in the hereditary ranks of
the shizoku were the an.H descended from th"? territorial lords who had moved
.

into Shuri during the reign of King Sho Shin. A lesser 4@gree of nobility
bore the titles liekata or Oyakata . These families irere fpunded by men nho'had
earned pernMuent rank and distinction through meritorious service to the 8te)tet
or hgr men aho nere the younger ^ons of hereditary afiij| and r^yal princes.
.

Balov the nobles stood a gentry class divided by a systen of titles into
three principal grades, each T.ith a junior and a senior rating. These were
the Pechin, Satonu shi and ^hiJiudun, descendants of the King's soldiers end re-
tainers, the soldiers and vassals of the anji. scholars, priests and commoners
sho had earned gentry status in recognitioiEi of outstanding serrioes. irsthia
the three ranks of the gentry a Man mig^t rise and fall according to his abili-
"
ties and desserts.

'
'the nasses ( heimin) were the oobbiod faiin^fr,- 'fisheram -and' 'laborer > "but
'
in the Byukyus even the farmer was given cpbrtesy titles at /times in 'ordiitary
usage.

Itinerant players (vansal) . pig^tiit^ierS f wnsa) . ^ggars


'
(aunukuva) snd
pvostitutes, sere at the bottom of -Oie social order.

In addition to these social ranks there T^ere the official ranks associated
with service in the Government. The principal one's' have been described earlier
in this text. The title and office of Prime Minister or Regent ( Sessei) xtslb
reserved to a member of the Royal Family. The effective governing organ was the
fan^ikan. or Council of State, Tihose members en joyed prestige e<{ual to that of
'
the highest members of the hereditary nobility. The men vho held offices •

throughout the administrative sturctuxie below them enjoyed social rankS^and


titles appropriate to their responsibilities. .. '
'

It H&B through the Council of State that the ^IS^iZSL 0^ Satsuma and his
agents brought their influence and authority to bear upon the Ryukyu Government.
The agencies and offices vhich Shuri maintained in the .principal cwters on
Okinawa, on the outer islands (Ibae, Uijrako, Taeyama),- and at tfae.TTr«dlng Center
on the China Coast, 'served the Satsuma Government well-as eyes and ears noting '

all that haiq^ed in the waters south of Kyushu;

Bach class and grade of society was distinguished by special foxms and
colors of dress, "^c- colors and folds of the turbans ( hachi-maki ) distinguished
grades amor.f^ officers, and the quality and style of hairpins gave public indi-
cation of a man's basic social status. The higher nobles wore gold hairpins;

-116»

CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
ALASU acd tk«
Aleutian lalaadt

(Sold bjr Rusala to


th*. V.2.A.,1867)

BDSSlA

(to Japan; Sus^lea


cli»ltB« r«io*mc*d by
Treaty, 187£)

Basaia In Tailen.I

Britain in ffe

Oemay in
to J^an; dlaputed
bjr Britain and
U.S.A. until 1875)

IlnfrfoB abolished
Rjnilcy^J
OkloAwa PrefectTira
•stabllsh^'d by JiipMi,1879

FMlippinea ItlarCa
^arA (Transferred to L'.P.A, Spain.

Xndoaesla'
^ (Fo ^and and
Portugal}
(Bolland)

UOOLJ^ PML-jPikPLljlandi. on 19th-SentuiT yolitioal Try ntt^Tt


lesser nobles wore silver hairpins bearing a golden flomri the gentxy wed
silver halrplDB and the common man wore brass. ' '.

That he ^aa allowed to wear any pin at all may aetm remailcable In view of
a multitude of rules which forbade him such things as use of an unibrella in the
hot sm (though he might do so in il\e rain) or the use of cert&in patterns of
eloth, or the privilege of Hearing wooden eloge ( geta) .

Since the nobility and the gentry numbered nearly one-third of the total
population - a high proportion - it might be supposed tnat there was one drone
far evexy active Hoiker in the iedandSy and that an oppresaive burden eeli^ied
upon a sullen and diecontented people. Such was not the case. The peasants
produced foodstuffs and textiles - the taxes - and did the heavy manual woxic
required In town and country 8ervice« but the gentry were the eurtisans and
craftaaen «ho produced a large proportion of the airtifacta required for daily
living among all classes. After "l^he mir'dle of the eijrhteenth cen^urv an-lhcreaB'-
ing number of toimsjien leit Shuri -and Nahia lor viiiage anc. farm iiie.-
It nay even be" mrepeeted that' this is a key to the rewarkahle reputation
which the Ifyukyu Kingdom bore as a land of politeness | for bere- nearly every
third nan counted himself a member of a privileged olaaa, with « formal code
of manners by irtiich to live.

More than half the population of Okinawa lived in the four toims of Shurl,
Naha, Tomari and Kume, and here the gentry T?redominated. The peasp.ntry lived
in utmost poverty, and suffered many strict social regulations, but there were
no aata enea of eealth anong the gentry* Life at all levels was governed ly
classic rules of conduct. Basil Hall Chanbterlaln , «,r:<ting leas than a tasaidred
years after the Acadaoy fkokuraku) was founded at Shuri, observed that
• • •• . .

In some most tmportaat 're^eettf the country really deserved


the title bestowed upon it by « Chinese Emperor in 1579, and
still proudly inscribed on the gate of its capital city, the
title of "The Land of Propriety*^, There Here no lethal neaF-
pons in Luchu, no feudal factJaana, few if any crimes of vio-
lence.... Confucius' ideal was carried out —
a government
purely civil, at once absolute and patriarchal, resting no lb
on any anied force, but on the tiieory that subjects owe un-
qualified obedience to their rulers, the monarchy surrounded '

by a large cultured class of men of birth, and the- whole


supported by an industrious peasantry. (99)

This description of Rjoikyu as it was in the 18th centurj' ocits notice that
a society such as this, so delicately balanced in population versus poor nar-
tural resources, and in gentry versus commoner, could continue to survive only
la SKtreM isolation. Ror does it note the degree of nltiaate political de-
pcndence upon the will and polieies of Satsuoia.

(99) ^amberlain. B. H.: "The Luchu Islands and Their Inhabitants" The
Geographical Journal (London) Vol. V, No. A April 1895 pp. 310-311. As TCTiEaU
see in the next Chapter, Chamberlain's grandfather. Captain Basil Hally Spent
forty days in Okinsiia just 18 years after the Academy mas founded.

'^i^i^y 1 iji ui.o i naterial


stripped of the pretense oJT political autonomy, the. Byukyu people were
(by modem standards) in the position of indoitured servantsy emploTed through
the ageocy of the Shurl GksTemmait. Shuri was under obligation to abide tgr
Satsuma's will in the conduct of foreign affairsj it had to meet strict re-
quirements in forwarding the annual tax-levy to Kagoshima; it had to yield the
better part of its imoflts from the China tred**

The hard-pressed peasantry had to produce enough foodstuffs and simple


cirtifacts for themselves, for the townsmen and for the tax<-i)a~kind sent up to
Kagoehlna. The tomsoMD made aoaw oontrlbutlan of artlfkets, Iwt in a nore Ibh
portent measure they served as middlemoi responsible for the conduct of Sat-
sums' s trade with China. Satsuma's agents kept close watch on all commerce,
\*hich was a government monopoly, frequently going along in disguise with the
I^yulqru nerchenta wiio eroased to do tuaineaa at the trading station on the Fuiden
Coa^t.
Under these circumstances Lhere could be no significant accumulation of
capital resources at Shuri and i'iaha; the small surplusses of one year were quick>
ooBsumd Iv dearth in anothar. Kaithar iSbm aeonaile fabric nor tha political
structure of the small Kingdom of Ryukyu could T.ithstand a serious interruption
of normal activity. Relations witii Japan end Trith China were so. neatly yet so
precariously balanced that a major change in either, was oertalii to have aerious
affaet upon tha fiyulcyu aoonoqr.

A British Shipwreck (1797) . . .. ..


...

TOiile the gentry at Shuri and Naha v/ere discussing the nen Academy and •

settling the dispute over a choice cf students for study abroad great events
vara about to ovartake them. European powers uara asqpanding into tiia Paeifie
Ooaan north of tha Equator, and were beginning to challenge both Japan and China
to open their doors to Western trade and diplomacy. Russian and Japanese inter-
ests were coming into armed conflict on the northern frontiers of Japan. British
aaa-poaer, too, mas advancing into tha norttiaxn Pacific to confront Ruaala there.
The Russians had early moved over the vast Asiatic continent throu^ Siberia
to Kamchatka and were now moving aerosa Alaska and doioi along aastaxn Morth Aaar-
ican to the California coast.

Of all these things the people of Ryukyu were unaware, although they r/ere
soon to be profoundly affected by them. The Ryukyu Kingdom was so small that it
naa almost lost on any map of this huge area of East-West conflict. Shurl had .

no sprawling land area, as China did, to use In tarritorial bargaining with


foreign Powers, nor did it have hundreds of thousands of vigorous, determined
armed warriors to defend its coasts, as Japan did. A society which could afford
cnly to riot ovar tha nonlnatlan of tao atodsnts fcr foreign aarviea aaa not in
a poaitlon to defend itself against tha navias of 19tb-centttX7 Europe.

In 1797 a British naval vessel, the Providence, was wrecked on the reefs
of Uiyako, while returning from a nautical survey of the waters north of Japan. (9;
,
Captain Broughton and his men were rescued by the people of Miyako, entertained
ost heritably there and at..Nahai^ and sent on thair waj homeward to &igland in
... •. • •

~
(99a) Broughtony V* R.s Vovaaa of MacovTV to tha Pacific Ocam> Loadcn.
1804. pp. 84^-109. -

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Copyrighteu lal
a lost friendly fashion. The favorable impression made upon the ship's com-
pany during this incident was reported to London, and roused the interest of
British naval authoritlM In islands so strategieally plased in tiia China Sea.
After "U".e Kapcleonic Wars were ended, a decade later, Ryukyu was not forgottenj
an exploration aiid Burvay of the Byukyu {urchlpalago waa propoaed at Londonj

and carried out.

r:ieprofound consequences of this accir'tnt shipTzrcck, ch-anca cbsarva^


tioD« and continuing interaat, will concern us in our next Chapter.

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1 iicd material
Chapter IX

Rnmo m ihe qpihing of JUPia

TO THE TTESTETiN KOPLD

1« Position 6ad Problems of the Ryukyu Kingdom in the 19th Century

2. DlaaBter Tears: Xtawught, typfaooa» ^itdeale and FaalM

3* Unsettled Conditions at the Shuri Court

4< Oklnaiia** VImob on Japan's Osfensa PsciMtar

5* Satsuma's Ambiguous Position

6« Chira'a attitude toimrd "Westom Ba-^V.arlaaa" as an ES]Ean|ila for


Shuri

?• Foreien Visitors before ISMy and the Effect of the First ia^Lo-
Chinese War

fi. French Pressure on the Kingdom of Hyukyu, and Satsuma's Reaction

9« Relation? .-ith Great Brltalni Ihe Problem of the lUssionazy


Bettelheim

Copyriyi ucj i ; la.ul la


Gb^ter IZ

HXOKXa AND THE OPENING OF JAPAN

10 TH£ V/£3T£aN yK)BLO

Pttaitian and Problama of the Barukyu Kingdom in the 19th Century

Captain Brougbton's aceidiotal sojooxv in WjiBjao and Oklnaiia nay be taken


as a turning point in the history of Ryukyu. The Governnonts of the Western
Korld looked to Ryukyu as a possible door through which they could penetrate Japan*
Western merchant ships and aen-of-war began to visit the islands with increasing
fteqmney. Kttvml dlpLoMte* traders and niseianaries began to write of the op-
portunities they believed they might find at Naha. None clearly understood the
•mbiguous state of "dual subordlr>ation" . Greduslly it ccme to be thoun;ht that
Byukyu might be userul as a base from which to bring pressure to bear upon the
Shogim*0 govemmeDt at Tedo* Misaioaarlee believed they oould Introdnoe Ghrl0>
*ian p'jblications to Japan throiigh Kyushu. Naval diplomats profose:! to vse the
islands for rendezvous, supply and repair while cruising in Chinese and Japanese
vaters. Merchants planned to trade vith Japan through Satsuma and Naha.

The Japanese watched the develcpnient of Eurorean interest in Ryukyu with


great alarm, and a majority of Japanese leaders were long determined to resist
estam pareaaiire at any cost. Ryukyu nae on -ttie fkvntier, cau^t batMiKi tba
pressures of the West and the resistance of Japan. "Hitbin the cantury the Ryn-
kyu KingdoB Has extinguished. .

MsastT Taarai Drought. Trohoen. HoM^iii* «m f—tn«


The opening years of the 19th century f.ere disastrous. By the time Euro-
peans began to visit tba iid.ands with sona regularity, the looal economy bad bean
shattered by a series of storms, tidal rraves, and long droughts. Epider.jic di-
sease and repeated famines had weakened the Kingdom. By the niddle of the cen-
tny > liieB OoiHBodore Ferry arrived - the Ryukyu people had reached a common
•tata of aoononic and political aodiaaastioii.

Many European accounts of Ryukyu written in the early 19th century note hov
ofton^ tfae OUnsPKis described themselves as an Impoverished people, unable to
eat the demands for supply and for trade v;hich the foreign visitors put upon
theo. It was generally interpreted to be a form of deception, an attempt to obf^y
Japanese orders to circumvent foreign demands, and to keep the islands closed to
foreign Interooursa. A partial record of the natural disasters rihi<4i ovartoofc
Ryukyu between 1800 and indicates that there was no prateosa iB the QlcilMnMD
claim that Ryukyu aas a Kingdom of "desolate islands".

Spldemics 425 dead, including the young King, Sho On (aged


oi^i bis baby son and sucoesaor, Sei*

•120-

CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
1824) Two typboooe
1825) ' FanlJAtt 3,355

1826. Famine 2,260 died


Typhoon 30 dledi 116 Alps lost; 16,500 bouses destragred

1832 Drought
Typhoon and
tidal mves H dead; 99 sMps lost; 3|293 houses destroyed

1835 Drought
Epidemic 663 dead in Yaeyama
Typhoon

1839 Drought

'
1842 ^i'demic
Earthquake In Mlyako

1844 "^hoon in
Mlyako 5 dead; 2,2^0 liDii^oa eredced

1847 Mid-winter typhoon in Miyako

1850 Long drought - '

1852 Typhus epideniic ' •


' * -.\"> ' •

'

' t > Typhoon and tidal miTe; - » :? " -^

famine in Miyako... nore than 3>000 dead •

1853 Epidemic in Yaeyama


(? eholera) 1,843 died

1854 Drought on Okinawa


Epidende on Mlyako 6c0 dead
Tyjihoon Ml Okinaaa

The Govenraent at Shuri became inereasirgly dependent upon loan's ttam Kagp-
ehlma to enable it to cany on its fonral rola^-ions with China. All villages
subordinr'.^e to Shuri V7ere pressed too' h^ird- By mid-century the exhaustion of
local economy was marked by unrest; protest here and there grew Into riotous
action.
Famine deaths and epidemic sickness undermined the productive strength of
the farming ooosnmity. The cost of r^air and rebuilding after disastrooB
storms consumed material reserves. Lo^g of snaU craft affected Tillages en*
gaged ilk fishiag and in coastal tren sport,
Ti ci;unter these repeated b].o-.y r.ho Government continued its effcrts to
stiirulatB production and undertook ad:r.:ir.istrative economies. A strict auper-
vision of the forests was instituted by the Forest Magistracy between 1806 and
1821. Watsr oonserwation tanks were built here and there. Sugar extraction

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Copyrighteu manorial
achinery was improved.' In anticipation of famine year?, the sotetsu palm was
planted everyi^ere through the islands, so that its unpalatable but nutritious
seed muld be available in tinea of drou^t* Zaa Pechin of Tomigusuku M^J tri
is £^id to have organlied a eoapetitive exhibit of farmers* produeta as early
as 1814- in order to enooura^ greater effort in the countxyaide.

ttaaetUed Condltlona at the 9mr± Court


The Government itsielf was faced with serious shortages. Each natural dis-
aster added a burden to tiie nodest budget. Eacdi ialting foreign ship had to
be entertained and supplied. Shrri '-ad to ncet the cost of increased personnel
in all ranks required to look after foreign visitors. The tnissions to China •

and increasingly frequent missions to and from Kagoshima to report on these


vialte were In tbenael^e a heavy financial burden. (iflO^

In the face of serious shortages in 1819 Sburl decided to reduce the stl-
psnds whidk hod been amiXable to Hie Kune Village eoomunl'ty,^' 'Although liie
Kume Village people represented an elite of clerks and administrators important
to the education of the gentry, the management of trade with China and with
Satsuma, and the routine operations of government, the ^uri Administration
adced then to eat less lell end to pay over nore to the Qovenuhent tn tsadea.
fm ypara later an order remitted and cancelled certain typ^s of debts. This
last ^as a drastic Tneafnjre, but a precedent could be fqi^^ in' the Adodnistration
of Matsudaira Sadanobu, lately Regent at Yedo. (101) .,
*.
- ., ..

In the midst of uncertainty, hardship, and confusion, the development of


schools supported by the GoveiTxrcnt provides a brlrht relief in the records of
the period. The National Academy ( Kokugaku) founded in 1798 was given appro-
priate bnlldinga on the castle gmunda in 1800 and 1801. SLaMntary s«diodlfl fpr
the gentry rere established in the several quarters of Shuri and Naha, and of-
ficials were appointed to supervise' tliem. A "Hall of Lenming" ( Gakudo-kan )
as established under the patronage of Ovjen Pechin in Ii,umiztLki-mura, Naha in
1324.. A Cor. ruciaii Serine rns ostahlishod in tho grounds of the National Acad-,
any (1837) and n^w textbooks in Confucian morals - the Domo Suchi - were is-
sued for use in the schools. Schools weru er'scted in Yaoyama (1344) and in
Hljako (1846).
.The trouVLea of the Court and the Administmtlan were ihcjreased by an ill-
neaa of the K^ng» Sbo Ko, idiose behaviour became eo atrang^ inapredictahle

(loo) On Tosses and dangers enroute see: "Death of an Jbvoy from Lewchew**
Chinese Repository Vol. X No. 12, Dec. 1841, p. 688
..

Q-Ol) Sadanobu' 8 success in meeting famine conditions in his own fief of


Shirakawa in 1784 had created a reputation sufficiently great to carry hln to
the tallest administrative office in the country before he was 30 years old.
He resigned in 1793, but his firm policies in meeting internal economic crises'
and disasters* and his attitude toward the importance of Japan's coastal de-
fviss nay be presiaied to have been «ell-]aaown and ^:^Bflmbered in Ka^dhim and
Sfanrl in the early 19tli oentury.

-122-

'^i^i^y 1 iji ui.o i naterial


that the Oovemzaent found it necessary to remove him frou .the Throne. iVhen in
1827 a sptcial amlMUiqr retuxnad trcm. Kagpahiaa with Sataiua* 8 ^ppvoiral of on
ahdir^atioay (the Boeoad In J^yokya's long hi8tor7) 6bo Ko rotired to the coun-
tryside.

Such an unusual change in the Boyal Houertiold brought one more burden up-
on the Govemaient treapury, for new miEsions had to be dippatched to Chira to
announce the change and to ask for the traditional writ of investiture for a
new aoveralgp. The aoeaaslon rltuali and e'eraaonlea vara costly, ind the ei&-
King*0 Housrttold In the eountrysida had to be audutained*

-:The King's abdication contributed to public uneasiness, already great .in


the face of natural calami^ and the threat of a foreign invasion. It aaa not
possible to keep the former King from the public eye. He is said to have
wendered about on the public roods in strange dreas, and to have insisted upon
sending produce frou his private gardens up to ^uri to the public markets.

The Royal Castle and the person of the King had become the must endurlrg
syTnbol3 of F.ynkyu nationhood. They were the outward and visible expression of
national seli-esteem and soxf-respect. They formed an identity vis-a-vis .

China, Japan and the Weateni World. The fate of gentry and ccmbboo people alike
was toui.d up in the Kinp's ru]T.'oi one with faese external forces. The whole re-
lationship of Ibfukyu to Qiin« waa founded on the King's foraaJL relationship to
-ttie Oourt of P«dng, and it had been in the King* s name that the countrsr was oca-
nitted to Satsuma in 1609*' It -as felt that so long" as the Court could prevent
T7e8tem envoys from penetrcdtlng to the King's presence in Shuri, the dangers of
an ontang^aaiciitw nnding oonaltnants to then adglit be avoided.

-.These iwre -Royal. matters concealing only officers of Government. In the


ayes of the common people the King' £ Minister? of State derived their authori-
ty from. hiiDy hence the necessity to remove a King irom public office implied a
neakneas or -question of d^egated iauthority. HoreoTer, the King's behaviour.-
in theory ct leart - was expected tc fulfill at all t^rr.er the hi^est tradi-
tional standards of vihat was considered right and proper. (102) It v.as there-
fore a serious challenge to fundamental beliefs and standards when the King's.,
behaviour nade his raaoval neoaaaary.

k certain mystery attached, to the name of King Sho Ko and to th^. cIccuia-
staneea surrounding his abdication. .A Testament attributed to him rMi. now
as a penetrating though veiled eriticism of his tiires, a protest again'st 'the'
role irtiich be and his people sere being forced to play by Satsuna..
Darkness prevails; nobody av.-akens, while the bell vrill coon
announce the arrival of daisn. It is hard to rule shen both

•(10<9 'Xn nestern Europe the idea that "Ine King can do no wrong'* represented
a modification of the idea of the "Divine Rirnt cf Kings". In Okinawa tne tra-
dition and usages of royalty lay midway betveen tl:ose of China and Japan, being
neither the Japanese doctrine of "One line of 5inperors, unbroken for Ages Fter-
nal" nor of the discontinuous succession of dynasties, alien and native, phich
ruled China. As Professor Higacnna Kanjun has pointed out, the Ryukyu people
conceived of the institution and office as an unbcoken lineage nOr divine ri|^t
for the families or persons of the Kings.

-023-

Copyriytiioa material
the ruler end the people are hard^preseed, and are robbed .

b7 those among them TThose godovnns are filled v;ith spoils.


Any blame will I take on myself. Only relieve the people
of their privations; quench their thirst by opening the-
fountain. After all, mm live but ooee* (103)

It was therefore in an atmosphere of imiveraal imeasiness and i^certalnty


that the gentry and officials of Hyukyu ware ealled upofi. to muit tha preaeure
of for^Lfft Fovere*

Okinawa's Place on Japan's Defense Perimeter

To understand the development of Japanese policy iii Ryukyu, re must turn


bade for moment to review conditions and evoits in Japan which had a profound
tearing on the fate of thevRyulcTU Xlngdoa. Shurl*8 r^ationahip filth Satauoa
at this time was conditioned by the mounting economic and political crises rith-
itt Japan itself. The Tokugawa Government at ledo did not fully '^rasp the sifT-
oificance of econo^aic change which had rendered early feudal institutions obso-
lete bgr the late 18th eantury. The impoweriflhnent of the aaaurai elaaa brought
about a decar'- in its standards The idl e hereditary soldier had to swallow
.

his pride and becor.e a craftsman or merchant, to sell his rank to a commoner,
or to link hie family to a source of piebian income throu^ marriage. Infanti-
cide beeaae a coMwa praetica resorted to tiy the hau^ty aaaurai as well as bgr
the hungry farmer whon both baoania owaroroiidad ud hardpressed in their indl-
Titkial households*

Hunger drove men to desperation. Famine years were followed by epideMio*


Faroers rioted to protest the heavy burden of taxes to v?hich the daimyo resorted
in an effqrt^to improve conditions among the samurai. Townsmen rioted again
and again td^get at the rice stores of rloh merohanta or of the feudal lords*
The Tokugaira GQyexmMnt ealled agaia and again on its samurai to put doan these
doponstratioi^ft •

Such were the econosiie oonditicms which the feudal govennant .

had to face in the first decades of the 19th century: and .


.

there is no doubt that they were ill at easo. The strongest


rivals of the Shogunate, the great tozaaa or Outside Lords,.
like Satsuona, Choshu <liori), Ibsa and Hisen, had always held
••
.
• aloof from the Tokugawa. They had governed their fiefs in '. [.','{
their own way, kept clear of most of the finaccial embarrass- ' \' '

fliSDts whi^ were iMdMning the Shogunate, encouraged industry


and -eonBerce in their donaina without falling into the clutches ^ .

of usurers, and, perhaps most important of all, had preserved


among their people the old feudal virtues of discipline and
frugality. The Bekufu , even in its nost enlightened phases*
had always governed in the interest of the Tokugawa farcily and
their close adherents. Consequently there was little in the
Tokugawa policy, or its execution, to command the allegiance
_ .' .1'

0-03) Quoted, rrith slight grammatical oorreetioDy fron Hi^cnna KanjwCr^'


?^ Qkfnc^wan History. (1951) p. 49*

-12^-

Copyriyiiiuj
of thdto groat tercns or of the dlBoaotentad Baiir>i--oot
only raasterless men but also retainers of the Shogun and

his hereditary vassals whose numbers 7/ere constantly swollen
by financial distress, and t^ose loyalty ras breaking undtr
the strain of misrule. The country was full of restless qii-
rits, dissatisfied with their condition and thirsting for ac-
tivity. Ibere were nobles who wanted independence and foreign
trede» to develop the reeoureea of their domalJis; saaur&i iho
mated opportualtlee to use their talents, v/hether aa soldiers
or es officials; merchants who wanted to break the monopolies
of the guilds; scholea-s who wanted to draw knowledge from new
epringsj huobie peasants and townanen irtio wanted 5vst a little
freedom from tax and ^;,Tr:nny. Every force but conEervatism
was pressing from within at the closed doors; so that when a
*'
sumffione came from without they were flung wide open, and all
-
these laipTisoned energies eere reiLeased. (L04.)

Thanks to the accidents of geografdij^.-itlie Ryukyu Kingdom formed the outer


line of defenses hefore these *'gates of Jspip*^ lestetn gDvernaiepts f^t that

;

if they oould gain a. foothold in the Ryukyus^ the penetration of Japan vjould
follow with greater ease. The Tokugawa Government felt vulnerable in Ryukyu
as it did in Yeao (Hokkaido) and the Kurile Islands to the norths It was. torn
with indecision^ 'but mui required by circumstanees to leave ttie Ryukyu problea
in the hands of the Satsuna clansmen. Here, too, there was indecision and con<-
flicting policy. Some leaders felt that the islands should be closed tightly
and defended from all ^i^estem attempts to enter. Others advocated the opening
of a trade depot In the Ryukyus nhifdt ad^t satisfy the Vestexn Povers idiil« at
the saihe tine keeping then at am*M length*

Xedo, the Shogxm's capital, lay about midway between the Kurile Islands
end Teio at the north', and the Hyukyu Islands at .the south. In 1786 a party
sent to explore the northern frontier, and maipB of the Ryukyu Islands,
drafted by Tukahara Pec]-. in were sent up to Yedo through Satsuma in 1797-
Afflong the prominent iHO deeply eoneeraed with Japan position end vulnerabilily
was thS'^lcholar Hayashi Shlhci- His home was t.t Sondai, in northern Japan, where
the menace of Russian encroachment was felt most keedy. He made three visits
to Nagasaki, where he learned something of the pressures from the Viest, end of
the stirring odlonial spirit of the Bnropean powers ih thtee days . Uhile hm
recognized the threat of Russian expansion, he was anare ^at ^apan must becoaie
better informed concerning territories adjacent to it on the -west and south as
well. In 1786 - the year that a Russian man-of-war came coaating along the main
island - H&jpashi publlishdr! a book cello<i Senf^kn Tsuran or "i^-Studyof Three
-

Countries" in which he discussed Yezo (Hokkaido), Korea and Ryukyu. 0.05) In


1789 he bad an interview with Uatsudaira Sadanobu, then Begeatr>at Xedo, during

CLOi^) Sansoo,' G. C.j Japan, A Short Cultural Hlsto'rr. 19^43 adi, p. 524*

(L05)The S^poku Tsuran was translated from Japanese ^^ jJ. Klaproth and
pubLiahed is 'Paris and London In 1832 under the title flan Kokf ^aoo Ran to Sets.
911 apercu general des Trois RoyauTties. thus providing the llestexn' world with one
of its. earliest accounts of Ryukyu.
;

-125-
villch he emphasised his concern for the coastal defenses of Jtpon. On this
subject, too, he published a later work, the Kaikoku Heldan, or "Military talks
cooceroing the Coastal Provinces". Although Sadanobu later treated Rin Shlhei
^Ith eonsiderabla injuatiee ha did act upon tha matter of coastal dafanaas naar
the capital.

In 1797 the first American ship - the Ejliaf - put in at Nagasaki carrying
a cargo for the Dutch oarcdianta of Vagaaakl. (106) For six years thereafter
the annual Dutch trr.de caire aboard an American shjp. The Japanese at Nagasaki
became alarmed when an American brig arrived In Ndfasaki in 1800 attenipting tO
open trade which would not pass through the authorized JJutch station. The
Britiah Captain Brougbton had already surveyad the ooasta of Sagbelln at the
north, and h:id stayed in the %ukyuB to- the aouth. The authorities in Japan
began to feel heavy pressure.

Buropeans and Anerieaaa coning from the south and aaat msn principally in-
tareated in trade and in establishing diplomatic relations to cover and ref:ulate
it. A more sinister tJireat vas felt from the north, for the Russians coming
overland acroak Siberia had reached the Paclfie as early as 1639. In 1795 the
Japanese had discovered a Russian rettlerr'ent on the nearby islend of Crup*
Little by little the Russiaris had enleurged their interept:j, until a grandiose
scheme had taken form which projected an empire embracing the shores and ls~
landa of the nortiiexn end eaatem Pacific. A Buaaian B«n-of-«ar anchoring In
Nagasaki Harbor in 1804. carried an envoy whose plans for a Russian empire ul-
timately embraced California, Canada, Alaska, the Kuril'? Islands and Yezo (Hok-
kaido). Ihege threats to Japan's security created consternation at the capital.
An examlnatioo of coaatal deffnaaa fkom Yaso to Kyuabu and of conditiooa in ad-
jacent countries made it L^eem dear that AynlEyu was a weak point, not flxmly
enough under Xedo'a control.

Satauma'a Amhlguoua Poaiticn.

Satsuma's position nas ambiguous. Ihe Shlaasiu Clap had no love nor strong
loyalty for the Tokugava Bakufu. There was growing evidence that Ryukyu's
trading station in China was i=atsuma's source for large-scale smuggling into
Japan. In 1802 , for Instance, certain articles of European origin ?.ere un-
oovagad In- a ahipment of .Itetauna gooda to Kyoto. Kago^ina na^ called upon 'to i

aaplaln the matter, but tha Zado authoritiaa could do little to check or puniah
tha poaerful Satauna Clan.

(106) Holland was losing its position as a preeminent trading nation. Iter
uith England, Prusair^n intervention, French invasion ana the confusion of the
Napoleonic era cut tlie Dutch traders off from their far Eastern stations. Amer-
ican flhipa ware chartered by th» Outcfa to carry gooda to and from Japan. Thna
A-ierican attention was drarm directly to tlie potentials of Japanese trade, if
only the Ck)vemment at Xedo could be persuaded - or forced - to abandon its se~
cluaioQ policies.

-126.

Copyriytiioa material
Satsuma maintained about fifteen ships in the Ryukyu trade, ©adi makiJlg .•

about tno round trips to Naha per year. In an effort to attract the direct -

(%ina trade frait •the Tolcugawa port of Nagaaaki, %l]iiani establiehed GhtneM
language schools and information centers conceminf Chiiia at several small
ports along the Osurai and Satpuma coasts of Fouthwestcrn Kyushu. Those v/ere
intended to rival in influence the Chinese refugee settlements at Nagasaki,
n^cMf ih% preaeace of Ghinese-languafe interpratmra nada it r«Iativ«}y muf
for; GbiDW«nd;.1lMt«m tradsre coBlng over fron tb» China eoaat.

ShijDazu Shigehide of Satsuma was in close and friendly association with


the offleera of the Dutch trading atatioa at Hagaaakl, Ha aaa .a nan.-of bold^
ness ar.d ina^ination, but also a man of extravagance. The income from the
Ryukyu trade v&s the principal single source of revenue for Satsuma at that
time, but it was not enoufrh. (At one tina he fall under heavy obligation to cer-
tain Oaeka merchants, and pledged the revoDuaa of the Ryukyu trade in retum
for a credit of five million koban ). It appears that Shigehide reached a secret
understanding with the Dutchman Hemmij, Chief of tl:ie Deshima trading depot, in
tAii<4i it was proposed to aend ona forei^i ship per yaar saoretly to Sateuaa.

This was in direct contravention of the Exclusion Edicts and of the Tola*-
gawa monopoly of foreign trade through Magaeaki. Under other circumstances
thia disdoaura night have led to aar upon Satauna, but ainca Shlnasu Shiga-
hida was the Shogun*s father-in-law, the case was treated li^tly. It meant
howevar- .that Satsuoa's interest in direct foreign trade vas taaporarily ebackad.

pi37) -

The use of the Ryukyu Inlrnds as a base for trade Trhich could circumvent
the laws of the Central Govemraent sharpened Yedo's sense of vulnerability
economic vulnerability - in that quarter. While the Tokugava regime was
stranding Itaalf eoonomically by refuaing to trada anyrttiare aave throu^ its
Nagasaki agents, the Satsuma officials vere accuraulating wealth. Indeed, it
has been said that the coalition of western clans (Satsuma, Choshu, Hizen^, and
Toaa) ahioh finally aneeaadad in ovarthroaixig the Ibkugawa Govamnent, derivad
,a Major part of its atrangUi ftofli-8atauiia*a profita in tha Bynkgni trade*

Satsuma began to e3q)loit its relationship with the Ryukyu. Kingdom in an


effort to. Ineraaae Ita political atrangtii and prastige.; \IHjring tha revival- of
nationalism in Japan, and the davelopnent of an anti-Tokugawa royalist senti-
ment, the matter of Imperial Court rank gained an importance it had lost hun-
dreds of years before. The Lords of Satsuma desired to rise in the Imperial
Court hierardiy. Looking hade over their fanily history they aaw that the Kei-
cho Invasion of the Ryukyu Islands in 1609 had earned for Shimazu lyehisa the
Junior Third Grade of Court Rank and the title or nominal office of Chun agon .

Shimazu Nariaki already had access to the highest circles at the Shoguu's Court
«t Xedo (his aiater -waa the wife of the Shogun, Ibkugaaa lyanari). He now set
about gaining for hinpelf and his heirs a retum to that exalted rank at Kyoto*
This v;ouj.d make him. technically eligible for the highest councils of the Im-
perial Court. •• •
.

(ICT) Ku^per, J. Feanatra: "Some Motes on the fbreiffi Ealetlons of Japan


in the Early Napoleonic Period (1798-1805)" in Transaetiona ef tha Aaifttle
^cietv of Japan. Second Series, Vol. I, pp. ^5-^3*

-127-

CopyriyiiiCJ i;;a.uliai
Be proposed to fltreas the laportanoe of SatsixMi aa the 0DI7 Japanese
feudatory which had an "independent" Kingdom subordinate to it. The Yedo Gov-
ernment claimed to receive tribJte from the King of Korea {xiho also oaid tri-
bute to Peking), but Shim&zu alone among the daimyo could claim to receive
tribute from abroad*

It 'becane policy therefore to underscore every evidence thet the Ryvkyu


Kingdom was a foreign state. The Ryu^cyums themselves were under a strict ob-
ligation to cooperate, for an important fvle laid donn by Satusuma long before
had 2tipulr.ted tliat in its official intercourse rith China, F'-y^ik:,nj rri-jl'l m-ke
every effort to conceal its true relationship ?dth Japan. The envoys comiiig
up from Ryukyu to Kagoshiraa in the early 19th century travelled overland through
Japan to Tedo vith a great display of Ryidcyo oostime, manners end language.
The Satrums Government encouraged the publication and wide dissemination of v-ood-
block prints illustrating processions of embassies from Shuri carefully 8hov«n
to be foreign to Japeoi. In 1^36 strict orders irent doim to Okinav/a renewing pro-
hibitions upon the use of the Japanese language, songs and artifacts in any elr-
eomstance in which they mould be recognised by the (Mnese or other foreign
peoples la Byukyu*

In ld/,1 and 19^2 the negotiations to advance Shimazu's court rank v:ent
forward. The King of Ryijk;;'u was required to sij^i a petition prepared Sat-
b;,-^

suma and addressed to Shimazu in which it is said that Shuri might e^erience
diffieultiss in Government if precedents mere not obeyed and the Lord of 8at-
suma did not receive promoticm to the distinguished rank once held by his pre~
decessor. This v&a hollow nonsense, of course, for Shimazu' s court rank meant
nothing to the Ryukyu people In fact. Shimazu lodhibaka and his successor Nar-
iaki did receive promotiona to grades not usual for the military lords, but
lliey failed to reabh the high rank for ahiob they nere intriguing. (KX9

While at home the Okinawans were ejected to dany any subordination to


Japan and to conceal their true relatidiahlpi irtsile in Japan, thia aubordlna* •

tion was emphasized and ostentatiously displayed. These v^ere ^he years in
i^ch Western visitors were coming to Hyukyuan shores and attempting to per-
aaade tiw Kyukyu Govamment to 'opan Hie islahds to intamatlonal ooniNinioatiQas*
It is little wonder that foreigners mere baffled by the air of mystery which
lay ovier Shuri' s relations with Japan, and by the occasional inadvertent dis-
closure of the hidden relationship. Nor is it sui'prislrig that Ftestem observers
gained an- iiqiression -Quit the Okinaman people - otherwise so .refreshingly dl*
rect and ftiendly - were devious and full of duplicity, vacillating and mittar '

'

oat the pover of initiative or decision In their official undertakings.

Poverty, famine, epldemio sickness and great Storms - even the political
intrigue and hard mercantile bargaining of the Satsuma Government - were hard-
ships grown familiar through long acquaintmice. The coming of the foreign
ships, however, created fear and uncertainty. There were no firm precedents
to guide the Shuri Qovemment in its conduct, fbrmal rituals and customary
procedures traditionally associated T/ith the dispatch and rerGr ticn cf embassies
were unknown to the Europeans, ^hitxa. and Japan proved to be uncertain guides
In this crisis.

0.0$) For its services to the Imperial Restoration the Shimazu Family was
ultimately granted hUfix hooors; numbering among its members tmo PrlnosSf one
Count and ei^t Barons*
*

-128-

uopy iiyfiioo iiiaienal


flMm'fT AWtudfl Toward "Waatem BMrbarima" mm m Knmriln for fihiirl

Ihe GhineM themflelvea ware bafflod by tb« insistent Approach of the


l/estern peoples. Hitherto the successful alien invaders of China - the Mon-
gols and the Monchus - had coire overland into Chinn find had accep'-ed Chinese
civilization and adapted themseives to it. The idea of a sovereign equality
among nations was .ineonprehensihla to tha Chinase, nbo eixpactad the British,
the French, the Dutch and the Aricricans autoBatiCGlly to accept posit: :3n? of
subordinate trimitary states. If they wanted trade, they were expected to
perform the rituals of subordination to the Chinese rinperor (the k'o-t'ou) and
to accapt tba privilagas. axtendad to then hgr Faking* This had baen the eos-
tomary form with which the Chinese dealt vdth barbErians through two thousand
years, and they could see no sufficient reason to alter it when the "Redhairs"
]>egan to approach China by sea. The Chinese clung stubbornly to the idea that
international intercourse and trada were privileges v.hich they could axtand
or withhold at will; the Europeans as stubhoxnly insisted that there was a.
.universal right to trade in peace.

Tne Ryukyu Court was ell avara of China's attitude toward foreign "bar-
v.

barians". Lord McCartjiey's embassy from the British King to the Chinese Eia-
peror in 1793 had been procialmed a tribute mission by the Chinese authori-
ties, and it had been refused privileges of trade on the grounds iliat Obinm
had everything it needed v/ithin its own borders. An embassy from Holland had
been treated rudely and turned away in 1795. A Russian ambassador refused to
perform the jc'o-t'QU in -i806, and was not allowed to approach Peking. Lord
Aiiiierst*s eabass^ of 1016 was dismissed abruptly without an audianee wltb the
Chinese Ebperor because the British would not k'o-t'ou slid accept the status ,

of a tributary state*

The Sfanrl Court had to be windftil of Qiina's attitude, and with these ex*
amples before them they had reason to believe that Ryuk;nj rauld incur China's
great displeasure if the King at Shuri should show any friendly willingness to •

receive and treat with the foreigners vho came to Okinav^a. They kne?/ that
Peking was ready to send inillteiry forces Into her weak border states to secure
order and obedience. The Imperial armies had put dorm a revolt among the tri-
butary Mongols in 17^7, and Chinese colonists ware sent in to occupy the area.
Manchu armies were sent into the tributazy towns of the Tarlm Basin in 1759.
Tibet was invaded and disciplined about tne same time. An Imperial army had
crossed the Himalayas into Nepal and forced that kint^don to accept Chinese
cuzcrtiL-ty in 1792. Peking sent armies into Burma (176')-1769) and into Annas*
Ondar the Bnperor Ghla Ch'ing CX796-1820) there was a pessecutlon of fionazx
Catliolloa in Cbina and voder his suooessor Imperial forces bad to be sent to
quell rebellions on Formosa*
China was so much larger ai)d overr-helmin^ly stronger than Ryukyu that the
Ryukyuans had no choice but to attempt to avoid any cause for Peking's displear> •

sure. Sburi was indeed faced wltii a dilemma when Qiina suffered a serious de-.
feat at the hands of Great Britalii in the first Anglo-Chinese V.ar, 1839-18i^.
Biis was an unmistakable demonstration that the western nations were prepared
to use force to gain their ends. 11 Shuri opened, the country to foreign Inter-
course, it Timlsed reprlssls f^ China; if it refused to. accede to Certain,
demands, it might suffer attack and occupation. As we shall see^ thsjr had no
flm assurance of support from Japan in either case. .. .

-129-

Copyriytiioa material
Hmm
tms floddiii preswire now aft«r tno faimdred years of isolatioo from tha
Vertern World. European and Air.erican shi-is -out in ibora than thirty ti-en in
f-f :y years. So:.ie ceme singly, some came in equadrons, Soi;e 'vere more it-nt.atn
aod aoaie irere heavily armed men-of-irar. Some were driven in by storm and wrecked
or danagad on the reefs end rocks of Okinawa. Otheiti came for the apaeifle pur-
poaa of opMklAg tha Byukgru lalanda^to trada* Oo$

(109) Official reports, diaries and published travel accounts covering these
voyages provide invaluable commentary on conaitions in l^th century Ryukyu. It
is not poaaltiLa to Idantify all of the laatani ahipe reported la the Ryvdcyo la*
lands in this period, nor is it certain that all arrivals vrere recorded. Each er-
rival, whether for the first time or on a repeated visit, caused exciteinent ammg
the common people, and foreboding among the government officials. Brou^toa
(British; H.M.S. Frorldence) had arriiwd is 1797* to Inconplate record of later
vlalts must include:
Unidentified
180^.

18U
Unidentified
1816 H.H.S. Alceste (Capt. MaxMU.) and H.11.8. Lvra (Capt. fiasil-'Itall)
reraained 40 days
1821 Dutch ship drifted ia
1822 Dutch ship in again
1824. Britiah weaael at Takara-diima; -violent olaah idth local authorities
•"
'
1827 H.M.S. Blossom (Capt. Beechey) tT.o wiflita
^ 1831 British vessel H.M.S. Lord Amherst -J

1832 Inree British vessels H.m.S. Partridge (Capt. Stevens)


1837 Jaieriean afaip Morrlaont ftritiah aloop-of*^war Raleigh
"
1840 Five British snips includinf^ Indian Oak (nradced) and *ft^
"

1842 British ships, unidentified ' •

1843 H.M.S. Samarang (Capt. Belcher) -

1844 French ship Alcemne (Crommander Duplan) left miaaionariea Foreade and Ho
*— ««—
1845 British shina Samarang and Loyalist
1845 French ship
1846 French ships in twice
I846 H.M.S. Sterling left missionary Bettelheim end family in May
I846 BritlA Bhlpe Daedelus. st',iri :r.- ami Vestal (Admiral Ihomaa Cochrane)
,

in October
I846 French men-of-war Sabine. Cleopatra. Victorleupe. under Admiral
Gecille, commanding
18A7 Three French ships
1848 French ships la Bayonriaise (Adm. Jurien de la Graviere) British shipa
'
American ship at Kume Island, seeking supplies, The Preble (Capt. Glynn)
British ships H.M.S* y^ff^^yfT (Capt. Matbeaon) H.M.S. ^ancy Dawyon
(Capt. Sheddon) , « »
1850 British ship, H.tt.S. flwnard- (Capt. Oraeroft) bringing Lord Palnerston'a
demands
1851 British request repeated; British vessel at Taeyama, seeking supplies
1852 British reneat request for hotter treatment of Bettelheim, H.M.S.
Sphinx (Capt. Shadwell)
1853- tJommo'dore Perry insists on a formal Compact of Friendship &nd Commerce
I854 while wintering in Okinawan waters. Squadron includes K^cgdoniaft.
Susquehanna . Vandalia . Southampton. Lexington. Supply .
1854 French arrive, demanding Treaty following Ferrj*a
1858 Dutch arrive, demanding Ireatgr

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CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
Mtb few «aceeption8 relatione betweon ihm Tlsitore and the Ryiikyu pecfilbe
were conducted on a remarkably friendly basis. The annals of world-wide voyaging
and discovexy contaia fen comparable records of such consistent goodwill, praise
eiid appreciation. The innate quality of .nlldoeee and courtesy t.hich had oaueed
the Chinese Emperor to dub Ryukyu the VOountry of Propriety" ( Shurei ng, Kml )
recommended itself no less to Western mariners of all ranks. Official reports of
these visits, private journals and popular, published narratives eure filled T:ith
eonunt fawrahle to the people of Ryukyu, whose bdiaviour stood in eootrast to
the mdeness encountered In Chinese ports and the extreme unfriaidliness of the
Japanese. Captain Brou^ton's reports to the Admiralty of London v?ere the first
of a long series which rousod end sustained considerable interest in the Ayukyus.
Ihe Britiflh Admiralty detendned to sand a aissioo to survey the ardtipelaeo.i Sn
1816 the presence of H.M.S. Alceste and Lyra on the North China Coast (while wait-
ing for Lord Arjhorst to complete his mission to Peking) seemed +o offer the firet
good opportunity lor an extended inquiry. The tvo chips made a leisurely run
dom the ooast of Korea and over to aha. Captain Basil Eall*s aeeeent tetitled
Voyag'e tr. the LooChocs nnd the West Coast of Corea became n claEsic record, r. ell-
illustrated, combining accurate and methodical investigation with a warm apprec-
iation of life in this small Kingdom, hitherto scarcely known in the Fest. Dr.
John McLeod, Surgeon aboard the Alceste. pubilisfaed a sinilar account of the wo^
age ^Thich, like Captain Hall's book, painted a picture of idyllic happiness and
eantentmeat, appealing to the romantic spirit of that age in IiAirope and the
United States.

These two accounts assumed considerable importance in the 19th century, for
anyone who proposed to visit i^yukyu (Commodore Perry and his aides, for instance)
turned to then for information. TtM romantio picture of life at Shurl and Bsha
in 18l6 created expectations rhich were not fulfilled vheii the naval-diplaaats
and missionaries of France, England and the Dnited States began tn arrive in nva^
bers some thirty years later. Political and economic conditions vdthin the is-
lands had greatly dianged; tlie Japanese' had- developed and stiffened their policies
toward Ryukyu, and the island people themselves had become r^idly more imptywrnt^
lahed throu^ a continuing series of aatupal disasters.

Ryukyu eas introduced to the lestem Vorld Hirou^ these narratiwes and jour-^
nals vrritten by men viho T7ere familiar rith' life along the China coast, ard were
eagerly attempting to enter and observe Japan. It is interestir.g therefore to
note that although cbaracterlKations of the Ryukyuan people varied in detail they
uere virtually unanimous in noting two contradictory aspects of life in OkinsNim.
The casual observer was invariably struck by the absence of violence among the
people;^ by the unfailing co.urtesy of the officers of the State, the good behaviour
of tfebS ccHBmon peasant, the absfnce of thievery and the gentle, jrielding quality
of "Uie Ryukyu personality. These sere all in favorable contrast to common exper*
ience and observation at Chinese coastal ports and at Nagasaki in Japan. Foreign
visitors found these favorable things therefore had to reconcile with the systea
of spies and agents ffhich set to watcA ^bm day and nig|it. Airl^eimore, they
could not understand the hospitality extended to casual visitors, and the harsh-
ness with which the first unwelcome missionaries vers treated when they atteaiitad
to establish themselves as pemanoit residents.

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The nature of "dual subordtaatiOB" was not understood. The diverse staikk
ards by which the Ryukyu officials were attempting to conduct their foreign re-
lations rere confusing to ell concerned. Chinese standards required a strict
oeranooial, and great formality, fw more than 500 yaure the en'voys from Ryukyu
had travelled from Fvkiea ^^orts to Peking under strictest surveillance by Chi-
nese officers and agents. Furthenore, envoys of high rank v-ere expected to
have suitable attendants always at their side, ready for instant service. But
«b«n Shmri ettenpted to Mpply ettendanta and to keep mtdh on the roaaing
forelfners, they met with rebuff. In fact the foreigners rare as ignorant of
Chinese ceremonial as the Okinanana were ignorant of the forms and customs of
international intercourse in the Hestexn world. The confusion and misunderstand-
ing iM.oh resulted were greatly ccmiid.icated by ttie spying and prying of the coo-
on agent ( metsuke) who served the Japanese representatives maintained by Satsuma
on Okinawa. These petsuke vera held in little respect by the general public, but
13iej war* feared. It waa eommonlj obaarvad onong foraignera that the Okinamoa
their own local standards ware greatly disposed to catablieh vam and fritodSy
relationships. If the metguke were not present, there was a ready exchange of
information, books and other gifta, and many Oklnawana eagerly attempted to learn
a fecr words of fiigllah or French. Under -the eyea of metsuk e. who nalntalned
Japanese authority in public places, gifts were rejected, conversation became
stiff and csutiour. The presence of the Japanese ras felt but rarely seen by the
foreigners, and was never clearly understood. On the whole, a visit to the Byu-
kyu I^jnda waa antloipated with intereat and uaually reoordad as an aiverienoa
of eocoeptioiial pleasure. (]]})

There was one important exception in tne nistory of friendly relations with
fastem wiaitors durinif the 19th century, end this was to hate aerloiis and en-
during effect. In 182^ a British ship dropped anchor at Tokarajiina, a small is-
land betv.een Oshima and Kyushu used by the Okinawans as a port of transshipment
on ttM nay to Kagoahima. Ihe ship's orew seised and killed cattle, and took
ihat supplies they wanted. Jngry willageira tried to drive then off the island^
and in the melee several persons were killed on both sides. T»hen this rras re-
ported to Xedo, the Government issued a new Expulsion Decree. (182^), which by
oastoai was expeoted to apply in Ryukyuv

As to the mode of proceeding on the anrival of foreign vessels


many proclamations have formerly been iaaued, end one waa ex-
pressly issued in 1006 with respeet to Ausslan shipa. ^ao
several years ago an £hglish vessel committed outrages at Naga-
saki /^"the Phaet-on in 1808_7 and in later years the Qaglish have
, . •

visited the various ports In boats, demanding fire-wood, water


and prowlalona. In tha past year« they landed forciUy, end
seised rice and grain in the junka end oattla on the ialanda. Ihe

(DC^ Gutzlaff, Charles: The Journal of Tno Voyages along the Coast of
Chjin^ in 1831 and 1832. .. .T.'ith notices of Siam. Corea and the Loo-choo Islands...
I.T. 2 Vbla. 1835. Vol. I, Chap. 1, pp. 288-290. ^
~^ *

Ifilliaffls, "Narrative of a Voyage of the ship Morriaon, Captain


S. Wella:
D. Ingersollt to Lewchew and Japan in the months of July and August, 1837."
flljr^ff* ^n?^±taTV Vol. VXy ilay 1837-^April 1B38. pp. 208-229^

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CopyriytiiuG material
continuation of vooii. insolent proceedings, as also the intentioii
of introducing the Christian religion having come to our know-
ledge, it is impossible to look on v.ith indifference. Not only
Ebglfosd, but alao tfa« Southern Barbarian* and Waatern Cowtriea
are of the Christian religion which is prohibited among us.
Therefore, if in future foreign vesnelc should come near any oort
irtiataoever, the local inhabitants shall conjointly drive them a-
mqr; bat ahould tbay go anagr (paaoaably) it ia not naoaaaary to
pursue them. Should any foreigners land anywhere, they must be
arrested or killed, and If the abip apprpaches the ahore it must
be destroyed, (m)

On August li, 18^0, the transport Indian Oak was wrecked on the coast of
Okinawa T^lla engaged In operations supporting the first ^glo-Chinese iar. in
official raport on tha affair bagan with tha obaervmtlon that: *'^or its kind-
ness/ the traatmant of har cracr vas extraordinary in the annala of shipwrecks..."
(332) The local people - commonerF and officials alike - lent every aid pcssibla
to the work of salvaging cargo and supplies and In the .construction of a craft
vhidi aiglit ba aailed o^r to Maeao on tha a^oth (Ailaa epaat. Hie taalc reqoirad
forty-three days. In ihe midst of this work the Oklnawans were suddenly throim
into confusion by the arrival of a party of 270 heavily armed Japanese, pert of
the Satsuma garrison normally kept out of sight and contact with foreign visitors
to the ialand. At ilieir dlreetioo the nervooa Byvkjn official^ raqolriad the Aip-
wrecked European seamen to remein strictly within certsin bounds near the wreck
and under constant though raild surveillance. In every other ray the castaways
were treated cordially, givoi abundant xood and good quarters. Hamaliiga P,echin
ivaB 4papatchedi to Xwto to eaqpQLain the incident and Shuri' a position. .

China's defeat by Great Britain was followed hy the Treaty of Nanking (Aug-
ust- 29, 18A2) Trhlch opened five Chinese ports to British residence and trade,
ceded Hongkong to Britain aa a eaaatercial and naval base, permitted Christian
Blaaion aoltlvity within a day' s journey of an opan port, and attpolated condi-
tions and term?' under which China yould be opened to foreign Intercourse. In the
next year a supplementary treaty provided for. further trade regulations and pro-
laed "noat-favored nation" treatawnt* that la to aay, China proadaed to extend
to tha British any privllagea iriiich aha might extend to other foreiffi natlois
thereafter. This of course opened the way for other foreign powers to seek trad-
ing privileges and concessions along the China coast, and soon the United States,
Jhranoe, Belgium, Saedan and Homey had fUrtl**' traatlea apd there ware new Chi-
aeae treaties with Ruaala. In the year* 104?-18A4 BritUh ships conducted a
series of marine surveys, checking those made earlier near Okinawa and charting
new channels and reefs in the Miyako and Xaeyama Islands. (113)
• •
•{ .
• - . , .

Cm} Quoted by Murdoch, Jaaeat History of Janap. Vol. Ill, p. 528.


'

' • J* . . . . "
i<

(U^ "Lpifr of tha ItttiqpOKt -Indian dak^ Obtain Gralngart.an LawdMW«


August Uth, Ift40." 'rll^iyft" "*»POfj^torr Artidia IV,. pp. 78-86, Vol, SI Mo*
Feb. 18-43. * .... •
.
.
2,

(UjJ "Notes on the Bntanes Madjcosima Islands" Chinese and Japanese


Repoaltory July 1| 1865, Vol. Ill, i^o. 2A, pp. 313-326. Captain Belcher and
bis men spent 21 dagra ashore, Deeanber, 18^3.

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The nearby- Okinawane iper^s alaned and ao m»o tiie Japanese. If China nade
any formal claim to the Ryukyus, the terms of these treaties alght be extended
to apply at Naha. It was becoming clear that the old arrangement of "dual buI>-
ordiiiation" Would be challeni^cd, and the old pretoises of suzerainty would
'

bave to be given up, either by Japan or China.

fr enci. F rer p"^r>^ '


T. the K ing dorri ol P>"jk:,^j
'

, and Satoui, '


:iea ction

In March, 1844, the French warship Alcnene put in at Naha, demanding trad-
ing privileges nUaivh the Shuri Cioveniinait steadfastly refused to grant. {IIA)
The French told the GOclBairans that the British were planning to attack .Japan,
using the Kyjkyus as a base of operations. They proposed therefore that Shuri
should place itself under French protection. Ihls, too, the Okinawana re-
.

fused to consider, but to their great oonsieTnatlon the officers of the French
nen-of-war insisted on putting ashore a French Catholic mlssionary, named
Forcade, and his Chinese assistant, Augustin Ho. These men, the French said,
lould remain to study the local language in order to act as interpreters v.aen
a large French nawal force returned to press again for formal agreements betaiaen
France and the Kingdom of Ryukyu. The strangers were given lodging in the »

Affieku Seigenji, a snail Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Naha, but they were •

Bost untielcome. The Okinairan officials were profoundly disturbed. They rare
ready to asslat ahlparedfied foreigners and to weleoma courteously all temporaxy
visitors who conducted themselves well; they were not prepared, to welcome perm-
anent residents from abroad, and .nost certainly not prepared to welcome Chris-
tian missionaries. Japan had been closed to the Western world for two hundred
years because of the misbehaviour and political meddling of the -Spanish and
.

Portuguese Catholic missionaries. The Okinarans remembered the martyrdoms of


Christian converts, and knew r-ell what terrible fate? befell any Japanese v,ho
was discoverea giving aid or comfort to a Christiau teacner, Ihey remembered,
too, that the Expulsion Decree of 1825 had recently be«B renewed (1857). How
under the threat of French arms, they were being forced to violate the strict
policies of Yedo. The Bakufu officials had been kept well informed of the
British victory in China and of the concessions which China had made in the
Treaty of Nanking. The Dutch repreaentatives at Nagasaki were eager to pro>
tect their om trade monopoly. They had warned Yedo that both the British and
the French were planning to establish trading bases in Ryukyu. The extensive ..

Briti^ sarveying operatioaa in Xaeyana, Miyako and (ncinaimn waters ware wall
known to the autboritiea in Japan* Hanahiga ^f?hifr'ff otory confirmed the
Dutch warning*

-
There were two schools of thought at Yedo. One advocated a moderate policy
and possibly some conciliatory enlargement of trade with countries other than
Holland. The other advocated a stem refusal of any overtures for further in-
tercourse with the iiestem world* And for a time, these latter views prevailed. .

(114.) For a full account of French activity, with texts of notes exchsaged
with Shuri, see Mamas, Francisque: La "Religion de Jesus (laso Je-kyo)
Ressuacitee au Japon dans la second moiti^ du pCIXe sidcle (2 vols* Paris and
Lyon, 1896) Premiere Partie; Aux Fortes du Jauon: Livre Premier: L'avant^poata
des lies Rlu-kiu Vol. 1, pp. 91-188.

Copyriytiioa material
Soon after Hamahiga Pechln vieited Yedo an envoy arrived from the King of
Holland, bearing advice that to avoid serious difficulty it T;ould be well for
Japan to relax its laws forbidding trade and official relations with the West-
em powers. After moattas of debate and conflict, en snsKer ime given to the
Dutch envoys wbl<di said in partt

...«4ien the time caae for determining with what countries


/Japaaeaej coammioation should be permitted^ intercourse
was limited to Kore^a and Luchu, and trade to your Excel-
lencies' co'.intry /Holland/ and China. Aside from these
countries, all coiijjnunic&tion was strictly disallowed
Beneefortby pray cease correspondence. .. • (115)

This was not an end to the matter. It vill be recalled that Satsuma's
eerlier attempts to establish direct trading relations vdth the West had been
frustrated. Here a new opocrtunity pnemtmd itself. Vie French had cone to
Naha v/ith warships to press for a trading agreement. Plan? were nor; matured
at Kagoshima whereby Japan on the one hand could keep the foreign Powers at a
distance by satisfying them with a trading station at Naha, while Satsuma on
the other hand would enjoy the fi-uits of a mmopoly on trade which the Balcufti
itself decalred to be legitfjaate between Japan and Ryukyu.

The French missionary Forcade and his Chinese aide attempted to establish
thsBselves in the confidence of the people of Ryuk^. Tliey had 'no success.
They reported that the Okinawans nere a happy and personally friendly people,
but that they themselves were hedged about with sharp restrictions, spied upon,
end made uncomfortable In a thousand vbys. They became at;-are of the pressure
of the Satsuma agents upon the Govemr-^nt at Shuri, but did net rholly under-
stand it. Neither did they realise thit the full force of the Exclusion tra-
dition was directed toward Catholic missionaries associated with foreign politi-
cal and military efforts to penetrate Japan. The French Government had learned
nothing from history. It v/ould have been impossible for thera to have selected
less s-jitnble ar;-:)nts for t)\e dcvelonnent of their intorest, in the R^'ukj'us as a
stepping tiZouj towai-d Japan. Added to this vrers t^o furtner disadvantages:
the Chinese interpreter and convert who was expected to assist Forcade was knom
by the Okinarar.s to have been the inmate of r Thinoro .^ail, and to be an uncul-
tured refugee ^.s i,iU!>h interested in saving his body tiirou,jh association •.-'ith
the foreign priests as he was in the salvation of h:.s £>oul in Christianity. He
was not a man whose background recommended him to the educated officials at Naha*

On May 2, Idi^, the French warship Sahlne dropped anchor at ileha. To the
dismay of the Okinawans, a second priest, naaisd Leturdii, was pot aehore to Join
Forcade. The comn.andlnp officer (Guerin) made an official call upon the Chief
Magistrate of Shuri. During the exchange of entertainment which followed he
announced that ho was rsbout to move his ship to Unten Harbor, for a rendezvous
with the ships c^copotra ar,d Vic toribur.e . This was done on June 7, over the
strong objeotions of the authorities at Shuri. Satsuma* s agents, as well as the

(115) See Greene, H. C.t Correspondence between the Shogon of Janan, A.D .
ISlA and rilliam II of Hol land. Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Janen.
Vol. Xmv, Part IV, pp. 121-122.

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Court officials, wanted to -"keep ttie foreigners under closest superviBion. Fur-
thermore there were the olhrlous difficulties of maintainiAg liaison «ith the
Trmdn isBion lit that distant harbor.

On June 8, Admiral Ctcille received the local Mapistrate for the Hoku^aa
District aboard the CXeooatra at Uuten. Teii days later he T7eut ashore at Kami
Qnteo with graat fanfare of dnan and truapata to maat tba King* a rapraaantatiw
and to opea fornal but unauooaaafiil nagotlationa for a fraal^.

Ihile this was taking place at Okinawa, a series of conferences viere being
htHA at Kagoiliiaa and at Xado. flhiaaan Mariakira (Salhin) hair praamptiva to
the headship of the Satsnma Clan, was even rore interested in developing foreign
relations than his grandfather Shigehide had been, for he had more than trade
in vieu. He was a brilliant man, seusitive to the changes which were overtak-
ing Japan's international' poeitJ.an* He aaa oonTinced that the nation's Seclusion
policies must be abandoned or at least be modified da'aatically. In the French
proposal to open trade with Byukyu be saw a larger oj^rtunity, and although an
iiqiorUot party of coneen^tl'vee at Kagoahima eere iHsabbomly oppoaed to his
proposals, he took the matted to the highest officers at Yedo. (116) Here again
he found divided opinion and serious opposition. Prjjicjpal officers in the
three most important magistracies (Jigha. Mc.ch i and Kan.io Bugjg.) were antago-
nistic. Other proiidnent wm were found to approve - most notatle among then -

Lord Abe Masahiro, Chief of the Great Council of State (Poju) rho had been re-
called to office by the news of the French action in Byukyu. At last the Shogm
summcoied the Daiayp of Satsuma and his heir, Nariaicira, and in secret conference
lay 27y 1846, indireotly sanctioned a trading agreement with the Ftench. Be did
this by leaving decisions in Mariakira' s hands vTith the admonition that the
matter must be concealed from the other feudal lords, end that it was to he
TOrked out in a manner which would cause no future trouble for ledo.
"
' • • • . • .

Noriekira attempted to exploit the Government's exclusion policy in a pecu-


liar and devious v/ay. VJhile he publicly declared hinaelf in support of the Ex-
clusion policies, and advocated a strong coastal defense, he expanded operations
at the Ayuk^u Tlradlng Depot in F\]kian» eitli a view gradually to transfer opera-
tions to Naha and thence, perhaps, to a port in his own domain on Kyushu. He
paid great attention to the manufacture of arms and projected the development
of a BOnopoly of heavy arms nanofaeturairwitbin his fief. By rousing the fears
of the oountxy i^m deaiand for ana mid
Inbrease steadily. By using Naha as an
Intermediary base, he expected to profit from the import of weapons. He was
shrewd. He knew that the Bakufu would be unable to resist French or British
dnands in distant Ryukyu, if they were backed by foree, and that concessions
acceptable to the foreigners there - especially freedom to trade mipht satisfy
the Hestern Powers while diverting their attention from the port? of Japan Proper.
But at the same time Shimazu shared with other Japanese of his day a profound
aistrust and fear of Christian nlssionary activily,
?lhile these long-drawn-out negotiations went forward at Yedo, and ended
fcvorably tharoy tlia &huri GoveniMty unapare of thaa, deliyered a note to the
Iteoh Adniral Cecilia, at Bnten on July Ib which It was stated that, the

Horie Xmuso: yihon Shihon Si^ugl no fieiritau ( Fomation of Jayaneae


CenitAHaa^ Tokys, 1938, p» 106, note 4. .....
.
' . :-

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King of Ryukyu must decline ,the offer of a treaty t.ith the f^peror of Uie
Franob. CU7) Chi July 17 tin Arwusb ieqmdroii Isft OatiB for J&pan, taking idth
them the missionary Forcado. v . .

A third missionsTy, Adnet, had Joined Leturdu^ and these two were left be-
hind to loam the Ryul^an languago and to prepare th« way for poeaiVLe fotura
negotiatieos. l^eir aissioa did aot:ivoapar« Mo ooavorts v;ere made, but in
the next year (l8/!^7) a ycung Japanese from Satauma named Iwajiri Kisuke was sent
dom from Kagoshima for the express purpose of learning French. It was repre>
santad to tbo FreoohMn that ha was a nal^va of fokara island, the trading sta-
tion midway bet^ieen Okinawa and Kagoshim^. JDnfortunately for Shimazu's plans,
.

this agent- in- training died in the next year* Nevertheless, desoite heavy op-
position within his own Clan councils, iiariakira pressed forweu*d with hie secret
plan to open trade altli tha Fjranch. Ota July 1, 1843, llathiaa Adnet 4iad at
'.llahaj nnd iv. the next month (Aupust 27), a French ship took snpiy Laturdlly Vitao
was thoi.Xully prepared to abandon the hopeless qii^sion.

..Meanirtiile Mniral Cecllle had saHad wiiwijcmttTdf saying upon- departure that
French ships would come later to seek reconsideration of Shuri's refusal to trade.
At Nagasaki he was curtly rebuffed by the Shogi^'.e local author! tJ^es who had no
knoidedge of the aeeret understanding nihldh had been arrived at betveaa the flho-
gun and Shimasu Nariakira. Cecille Tdthdrev/, unaware that his demands upon Ryu-
kyu had set In notioD policies abich sere to bave.,« profound effect upon Japan's
Seclusion.

RftllUaifl ITlth Great Bci^jn^ yr.^ Pfoblaa of the Missioi^ary Bytte^ia


The ftwoh nan-of-^aar Sabine was leaiving Naha anchorage when the British
shin Starling came in. Shuri*s relations with Great Britain during these years
• were of less official character than they had been v.ith the French, but they
were of a deeply disturbing nature. French ^s^ertions that Britain intended to
:seiie the Ryukyu Islands seanedito be. Justified l)gr> British aatlon; >

preliminary surveys carried out by Captain Sir Murray Maxwell and Cap-
T^r.e

tain Basil Hall in 1316, and by Captain Beechey in 1827 had been followed by
a thorough ohartiag of the archipelago and by a considerable diippln^ aetivitgr
occasioned by the war v*ith China, 1839-1BA2. On the v.-hole the British officers
and men were scrupulously careful in their ^relations with the people of Okinav^a,
paying for supplies afforded them by the common people and returning entertain-
acnt for antertaimMBt among the hii^er offieisl^s.

Ihe relationship was now distorted by; the arrival^ voder British auspices,
.

of a nlss^onary named -BetteUteia.

The arrival in Ryukyu of the Catholic missionaries Forcade, Adnet, and


Leturdu with their assistant Augustin Ho, and of the Protestant missionaries
Bettelhelm' and Moreton, oan be understood only in the li^t of a worldwide
missionary movement 7*iich took place in the 19th centurj'. This movement was oos
nanifestation of the Industrial Revolution which was sryeeoing over Tiestem Eu-
rope and the United States and must be noted if ye are to understand clearly
Uie evaktflf of the naoct few years co Oklnanfeu

(117) For text of notes, see iiamas, op. cit : Vol. I, p. 133*

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Hm mw HtMihiiM Aflp la Bkmiw had aids possiUltt th* erMtloii and •eenndJK
tion of capital wealth at a rate hitherto unknown in history. Accumulations
of puJ^Xic and private caplt««I in turn made it possible to invest freely in ex- .

perijsoits and ventures of every kind. There was capital available to support
reaaardi In pure and c^plied science and to promote expansive philnthroi^
•nterpriseis. The develoiUient of the iviachine Age released tremendous energies
la the Vestem 1torld> and muoh of It went into the eoqploration and esqpaDBlon of
rum frontiMs Sa^avery field of fauaaa aetlvity. Hm ftontlers of natural aci-
enoe were '|lu8bM' beck by men like von Huaboldt and tiia Darrins. Applied scienoa
created new means of transportation, such as railT^ayB and steamships. The
Great Powers developed fleets and armies on a new scale* Land frontiers were
newly opoaed; tha Anarieana puihad owarland toward California, tfaa Dutch iNDt
into South Africa, the BritlA Here colonizing Australia and New Zaalaad. Kaan
and often violent competition now developed for new fields of commerce, and
there was firm belief in the right to trade and a duty to spread the Christian
raHgtoa»

Missionary activity was but one aspect of this explosive release of Machine
Age energy in the TIestem Vbrld. Thus the intellectual, cultural, economic and
politieal aetiTitiaa of tha Vaat apraad Ilka tidal aavaa into avaxy. part of 'tha
globe, sometimes giving; ner life to old ciwillaatloaay aonatiaaa BodifTlng thaa,
soaetiaes destroying them altogether*

The advent of men-of-war, traders and niaaionsriea In the Hyukyu Islands


at this time was part of the world-wide process of chanfje. The first wave to
reach Okinawa laa manifest in the activities of explorers like Broug^ton, Max-
wU, Hall, Baaohey and Balahar* Iha^ had not completad their oeaanographie
surveys before the merohanta on tha China Coast began to explora tha possibili-
tiea of trade in Ryukyo and Japan. C3L08a after thaa earn tha naval-diploaata
end the fflissionaries.

The worldwide Christian missionary movement was iaplenaotad hy inniaerahle


Mission Societies, Associations and Churches. Many were organized in a prograa
of general support for foreign service; some were estabiisbed in support of
isaioBs diapattihad to caa or inothar apaoifie araa or paopla. Snoh aae tha
loodioo Hawal Miaaioa of Loadtia.

Tha ship Morrison which touched at Naha in 1837 had had aboard several
alaaianariaa tvom Ghlaa ooaatal atatlona* day ware lapraaaad deeply Tof tha
character of the Oklnawans and were especiallv interested in the position ^ich
the Ryukyu Kingdom occupied as a mid-way point between China and Japan. Vthile
no Qiinese were allowed to re8i4e pn Okinawa, it occurred to the missionaries
tint the eonaidaraUa volma of 1;vada Itoougb Okinawa to Sataina and Japan
!:^i*t offer a "back door" for Christian misrionary inflijence in both China and
Japan proper. The Morrison's efforts to enter Japanese ports had been rudely
nilaffed. At Naha ita crew and passengers had been given a hospitable recep-
tloi. The idea was conceived and developed that by demonatratlng good Ghria*
tlan works in Okinawa, the fears and prejudices of the Japanese might be ovar-
eoM. It was evident that anything done in Okinawa would be observed and
ftportad in ainnta datail at. Kagoablaa and at Tado.

-13d-

Copyrighted malarial
These views were givai vide circulation in Efagl.-^Jiid and the United States,
In 1843 a "Loochoo Maval Mission" iTas founded in London by Lieutenant Herbert
J. 'GllffoTdy of the Royal Navy. Clifford had be«n an offic«r on the Aiceste
under Captain Sir Murray Maxwell and Captain Basil Hall during the famous vialt
of 1816, According to Clifford, he had on that occasion sent some Ryukyuan
officers away from the vessel one Sunday because a Christian service was being
iMld aboard. In a tenaqua pidglB-enslLieh explaoaticn ha had told tiian that the
ship's company was "chin-cH inning Joss, Just as you do". In later years and
under the influence of the universal missionary mov^ent, this incident caused
the Lieutenant deep .remorse and ultimately prompted him to found a Loochoo Mia-
aion iibKdi draw Ita support fron pioiis naval iMa.

In .good faith the Loochoo Daval Mission employed a lay missiMiary named
Barnard John ^fiattaUiala to oarrr out its purposes. Ha laft AigLaad Saptaober 9«
1845 and arrlvad at Maha rith his vdfe and childrea, Tia flon^ong, on nlay 1,
I846. He proved a most unfortunate choice for the purposes uhich the Uission
had in view, for he waa crude, impolite and arrogant in his behaviour toward
Uia Ryukyu goYarmaant and people, tvHl of daoait In tha baltaf "that tha and
justified tha naana» and ready at all times to mafca It appear that if he did
not have things as he ».'anted them, the British Government (or the French or the
American governments) might send warships to support his position and demands.

He used the presence of French ships to give apparent v/eight to his actions^
and accepted the hospitality and assistance of French officers, men and mission-
aries, but he carried the bitter conflict of Catholic versus Protestant Chrla—
tianlty inta tha lAanda. Bf his aetions aiid-stataiMDta to tha Rgndcyu paopla
he associated foreign governments v.'ith Christian missions. In ioin^ so hp doH»
feated his om purposes, for the extreme Japanese fear and mistrust of Chris—"
tianity and Christian missionary activity was fundamentally a fear of foreign
illtarj aneroacfaaent. Id hia om
aorda»

I had fhglisb feaLing enough \not to allow that permission to _


V • raaida in Byukyy/ to ba rafaaad to tha vnion-Jack /British fla^^''
liiii<dr was granted to the tri-colored cockade /Ft&ach flagjr ; and
let me tell you, bye-the-bye, the union-Jack, at this time, was
to me tantamount to the flag of Protestantism. I trust to God
aa shall not hava to atrika It^ ahUa tha voaary and dlataff of
tba soarlat Isdgr :9amm Catholic Ohurol^ rsanliia holstad. (UUS)

(IL8) Bettelheim was of Jev.ish 'ancestry, bom at Pressburg, Hungary, edu-


cated at Pestb (Himgary) . Vienna (Austria) and Padua (Italy), vrhere he took a
degree In medicine (183o). fie {ovietieed at a number of places » Ineludtng
Trieste and Naples, and servajd In the* i^gyptian Army, the Turicish Navy, and
finally with the British forces near Smyrna. He ras converted to Christianity
at the age of 70, removed to London and there married a British vToman (1843) •
The jears 18^5 to 185A aiare spent in tigndcyu. Baroute to London from Kaha he
'

changed plans (and allegiance) once again, this time settling in the Dnited
States, where he served for five months as a surgeon rrith the Onion Army. He
died at Ebraokfleld, Missouri, on February 9, 1870. Bettelheim* s linguistic
oapaeltles were raaiaitoble, for It is a natter of record that he kniw Babraw,
Angarian, German, French, Italian, English, Spanish, Latin, Greak, Arablo and
Itarkl^ before he took up Cblneae, Luchuan, and Japanaae.

-139-

Copyriytiioa material
(Dflj! cont'd.
For his ova account of his •xtraordinary relations with the British «uth-
orities, the French priests, and the people of I^yukyti^ see (fttnese Repoeitorr,
Ycl. nX, I'^^O. For his Tiary concerning Ccmraodore Perxy'j vieit to Naha, see
Schwartz, Killiam L. : "CoTnm odore Perry at Okinawa. From tiie Unpublished Diary
of a British Itissionary " . The American Historical Review . Vol. LI, No. 2, Janu-
ax7l946, pp. 262^6;'

Tbe story of Bettelhela In Ryukyu is retold here at some length In order to


d«MBStratfl th^ nahner In vhieh i^rtlie Mid Xegeods can gtom into the historical .

record, obscuring it auickly. Eettelheiii hod no converta in j^lcyu, and his own
journal indicatpc tha^ ho anade little or no contrit-jtion as a doctor, as a tea>
Cher of Biglish, mavnematics or astronomy. On the contrary, his presence was
a source of friction, and planted nisthiet dnd BiaunderBtanding where oonfidenee
and objective judgment wero needed. He made a positive contritwtion in the
preparation of a Ryr-ikyu-Eri^^lish dictionary and in the prepsirstlou of notes on
the local language nnich he hooed to have published in ingxana or the United
States.

Bettelheim was a man of great emotional instability, swinging Troui one ax-
tme of approhaticii of the Ayukyu people to another of nhtaridled Hureats and
actions. Bemused by Captain Basil Hell's account of the friendly courtesy of
the Okinarans, Bettelheim believed that the King of Ryukyj himself had come out
to the ship to greet him vhen the Starling put in at Naha on that May Day in
1&(6. Ihe ship's captain eas reluctant to put the missionary and his fanlly
ashore over the vigorbufe protests of the Naha officials. By a ruse 7*iich de-
ceived the Captain as Well as the Oklnawans who had come aboard the ship, Bettel-
beia landed iri*^ all h^s' gear. Again by ru6e and suhterfSige he ousted priests
from an ancient temple (Gokoku-Jl) on the Naminoue headland, 6ver).ooklng Naha
harbor, and there he settled down for a Strug^e with the fiyukyu Govetnineat fdod
people which was to last. for nine years. '
. . .. . , .

Bie Shuri Government faced a seripus dilemma. It feared retr:l Ion from
*

Tedo or Satsuma if it did not enforce the edicts of the Seclusion policy. It
ha<i taken the position that Ryukyu would welcome temporary visitors but that the

Govenunent ooold not permit pernaneftt foreign residence. The two French priests.
"ho lived in seclusion at Tomari from 1844. to I848 finally abandoned the mission,
cettelheim clunp on tenaciously, although the Ryokyii Gnvemment petitioned every
foreign ship arriving tnroughput nii^e years to take tne missionary and his foiui-
'

ly tmeijf by force, if neeessSry.

Bettelheim' s presence was costly; there was not only the consumption of
food required by his growing family, but the naintenanee of a guard numbering
close'to a hundred which was thought necessary to keep him under surveillance.
If Bettelheim wanted something in the rarket, he took it, thro-, /inr' down what
be or his wife felt was a sufficient paymoit in coin. In a time of near-famine
Im seised a load of smet potatoes t>elng carried through the alleys near his
residence, and wias'oBly driven off by an aroused crowd. For the first few nooths
the innate politeness and friendliness of the local people gave Bettelheim sons
encourageneot, but his own extravagant behaviour soon jsatzvaged officials and

/..I4O-

Copyriytiioa material
common people alike. If housedoors were closed to him, he v/ould break througfi
the walls at the back. "I was little moved v.lth the cries of the irom^ or
ftigbtened at th« serMiw of th« 4fliildr«n» 1»t 'SMted ajraelf in thfl first zooa
I could get access to." He would repeatedly push his »av into public tora
BeetingSy causing them to break up in confusloo and dsspair. In these actions
be beeaie a great nuisance to the Government. -

Eettelheim conceived himself to be in a key position to force a Japanese


overture to Great Britain^ and felt that the British authorities did not ap-
praoiata hla north. Again and again ha triad to Invoka offldatl' British pros-
sura upon the Byukyu government in an effort to have his personal demands met.
While on the one hand he threatened the Shuri Government rith the might of the
British Navy, he petitioned the British authorities on the China Coast to in-
tsrvsna oa- his bataolf • "I thou^t It not only alloaaULay tat ma
mf dutgr, to
tbraaten tbat I vould bring the aattar before tha BagLlah GovanuwDt."

Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane of the British Navy visited M^ha in October
1846 and upon returrnlng to ^e China ooast aoousad Bettalhelm. of aaaquarading
-

as a Pritlsh official. Bpttelheim on his part addressed complaints to the


Government at London, to the press, and to friends and acquaintances everywhere,
demanding action on his behalf and representing his ovm version of the diffi->
eult situation* lha OkimrMn side of tha atory had no piihllolty in Wastam
languages. The matter became an international issue. Lord Palmerston dis-
patched a note to the %uri Government from the Government of Queen Victoria
at London, demanding that the Okinaaans give better treatment to the British
subjaet.

This letter was delivered by^Captain Cracroft of H.M.S. Eevnard in October


1050. Craeroft, together irlth\Georga fliBlth, a ^shop of the Church of fiagland,
had been directed to inquire into Bettelheim's condition. Tihile tha British
Foreign Office was discussing the problem of Eettelheim with its representatives
at Hongkong, Bettelheim himself lost no opportunity to spread abroad his preju-
diced views of the Ryukyu people and their probleas. ile flooded the vlsslon
-

press with letters describing his self-imposed exile as a virtued martyrdom, and
he sought the help of every foreign visitor in bringing pressure upon Shuri to
meet his demands. The. most important single instance of his activities and their
fw-raatfliing influanoa asy have bean hia latarvlava alth Coanandar Jates Glyn, of
the 0. S. Fhip Prebl^, vnp visiti-- Na' a in 18^8. It wf.s to b-r cx-pscted t!if.t the
jrlsitor took Bettelheim' s descriptions of life in Okina?.'e at their face value.
The Conmander' 8 reports to Washington in tima became an important source of in-
formation in the developmeat- of Govarnment policy vdMn preparations were mada
for the U. S. Mission tx) Japan. Commodore Perry's preconceptions of his pro-
blems at Naha were based in part upon the Glyn report, and account for his
readiness to anticipate deaelt, If not serious treachery, in opening negotia-
tions with the Government at ^uri. (II9) Iba-.^uri Govamment meanvMla
despaired of persuading any visiting ship to remove the unwanted missionary.
The King's ministers now petitioned the Chinese.. Government to act on their ber
half, end offlolal repraseatatlons aera nade through tha- Tloaroy of Kaaugtuug
and Kwanghsi to the British authorities at Hongkong, on the grounds that the
Treaty of Nanking and Its Supplements did Aot provide fpr lalsslon activities ia

03$) d7~S. Saaate Documents. 1851-52. Vol. IX, No. 59, Commander Glyn's
Lattar.

CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
the Byukyu Dependency. Here was the beginning of a modern Chinese claim to
MVareigaty in the RyikyuB, and wad indeed the first time that China showed an
interest in Hyukyu. The (%inese were smarting under the consequences of Bri-
tain's China policy, and this incident in Ryukyo gave then a plausitala reaaon
for eomplalnt and critleiaB of the lleateni Povar.

Battelheim naa not renorad natU Comnodora Perry' a fleet laft Maha in
taking him off in the ship Supply . The missionary heui by this time constituted
hiaself as self-appointed interpreter at the port, though it was his frequent
and peculiar duty to transmit the Shuri Government's requests that he (Bettel-
helH) be reaovad tram Qklnaiia. Though Conodore Perry at firat waluad hia ad-
vice upon Ryj>.yuan affairs, members of his staff noted that the squadron's
interests were better served whenever they dispensed r.lth Bettelheim's services.
Od his part Bettelheim blamed Captain Basil Hall's "deluding narrative" for his
troublaa, alaiaing that Hall* a roaantie daacrlptloQ of the diaraetar of the Ryn-
kyu people, so at veri?jice with his own experience, hid v.hat Bettelhciri believed
to be extremes of d-jplicity and potential danger for all foreipners in Ryukyu.
Acting more on Bettelheim's advice, therefore, than upon the testimony of a
seora of raporta aritten by arltlA» Amarloaa and French viaitoray Conaodora
Perry shaped his conduct in bringing T)ressure to bear uDcn Shuri to secure the
first Compact of Friendship and Comm^rfie concluded between the Ryukyu Kingdom
and a Western Porer.

-142-

CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
Chapter X

PEBHI'S UISSION AMD ITS AFTERIdAXUf 18$>1872

1. Byukyu, P«n7> vnd tb« Alfte of NationaliflB In th« 19th Ceoturj

2. \ Perry Proposes to Snter Japan via Ayukyv

3* Shurl'8 Belatioas with the £uropeaa Powers

4* • Sataiima and Frances the Iia3d.0hi-Chica J^cident

3» Economic aud Educational Affairs

6. &KVMtltore of the Last King of RgndcTUy 1866

7. The Meiji Restoration in 1868, and the Rjrukyu Problem

Copyrighted matsrial
Chapter X
• ••

PERRX>S mSSION AND ITS AFTEKMATH, 1853-1B72 -

"'
PTJkru. Perry, aad the Riae of Batlmiallsm In the 19th Century '

The Conpart of Amity and Commerc e solemnly declared Ryukyu to be a sover^


eign and independent State, acting in its oMi right. It T;as signed by the
Regent and his asfloelatee on June 27, but rlth the greatest reluetanee.
T.C-.- felt that they faced four grr.ve threats. Hiey feared possible re- rirfils
froHi Japan or China (or tcth), feared the consequences of Perry's disple-uuro
if they should longer delay, and they feared that "independence" meant "iso-
lation* fron ooamerce with Gh3xi4 and Japan, nhlch vas vital to the eeonomip life
of the Kingdom. . . .

I^om Shuri's point of viev; the fleet in xiie Naiia anchorage represented an
ovmiheliiiing force irtiieh neither Satauma n&r 'the Chineae Government were pre-
pared to counter on behalf of Ryukyj. They did not knor; that Perry's orders
froa Tashington strictly ordered him to use no force In his relations T.ith the
people of Ryuk^'u, unleaa tn aelf-defenae. Perry on hia part was folly deter-
ained to complete a program fdiich he had oroposed and pursued for more than
one year, although his success at Uraga, Japan (in May) had by this tirce
greatly reduced the importance or need for a iiyukyu Cpmpact in the overall
atrategy designed to open Japan ita^ to Veatem intercourse. (119a)

From our vantage point in history, one hundred years after the event, we
can see that it was not an isolated political haxdship, imposed by chance upon
the Oovernatent of Ryukyu bv a idllful Commodore. ..In retrospect re aee that the
Perry Mission and its consequences fit neatly into a T;orld-7.i.de pattern of
events occasioned by the rise of nation el isni in the I9*h Century. Gr<=at evcnta
were taking place in the countries nearby and. the Chinese Government was be- .

ginning to dlaintegrate* A tide of revolutionary change mia about to break


within Japan, STreeping ar.ay archaic forms of government and bringing Jrpan into
close association with the Viestem rorld. R^ajkyu, on the frontiers betv.een,
could not escape being deeply affected by events in nearby lands. This time, .

hovever, the problema eere not merely regional in nature. Thla univeraai change
had many aspects, one of which was the need, ever^yT.herc in the vorld, for a
clarification of borders and boundaries, and a formal definition o.f relations
to be established among all Governments everyr/here.

It may be a little difficult for the student at Shuri to see in Perry's


Mission a link In a chain of events which began In the great R^alsaance in
Europe. The 15th and 16th century "Age of Curiosity" (whl<^ oolncldod with Sho
Hashi's reign, and the reign of Sho En and Sho Shin) had been flollowed by the
17th century "Age of Exploration". Exploration had opened new sources of wealth
for Europe, some of which was used to put the new learning of the Renaissance
to practiiMl use. The 18th century saw the birth gf..the. "Machine Age**, and the
opening of vast new sraas to settlement and economic deveilopment» Tradition and
ancient forma of government and aoelai organisation iiei'e giving nay before the

(119a) Sec SnkE;?.aki Shunzc: "Jnnan and the United States, 1790-1853" tn
Transactions of the Asiatic Socio tv of Japan. Second Sarlea, Vol. XVIII, Dec.l939»

•U3-
Copy righted material
damands of a new age of science* Political life and institutions were being
adjusted, often palnfbllsr, to now opportimltiM iMoh had' risen in uBd«rd»»
veloped areas of the ^orZd, and to the demands of a new international indus-
try and conmcrce. British colonists in North America hed led the way,
founding the United States only seventy-seven years before Perry arrived at
Nsha. Iho nreneh Bovolutloa,- the BapoXeonie IkKtBp and e series of revolutions
in Latin America had created new States, or diarply defined pev boundarlee
for, older governments* ^

.
.
' - *

At the opening of the 19tfa eentury there were vast areas of the world
that had been little explored and never mapped. In crowded Ei;rope political
and administrative frontiers were well-defined, but in the Far East and the
continents of florih and South America, Africa and Australia, political and
administrative frontiers were vague and ill-defined. The development of new
states and.nev,' colonies made it necessary to establish and clarify physical
boundaries, to establish new ones and defend. old. ones everywhere*
* * •
,
,

Perry' s insistence upon a Compact with Shurl which would define the sover-
eign status of th'i Ryukyu Inlands was r-rt of thic vorld--..ide process. furin.- the
ten years, that Eotteiheim w{?.s living in Okinawa, the United States had been jen-
gaged in a bitter dispute rlth Great Britain concerning the boundaries of the
Northrest Trrritory (tofay the S'-ates of TaEhington and OrSt-ron), and with
Mexico concerning the boundaries find sovereignty of areas T.hich nor form the
States of California, Ai'izona, New liiexico and Texas. The neT7ly formed South
Amerlcen repohlles were disputing boundary lines In the Anasonlan jun^e and
the Andes rooun tains. In Europe the German principalities rere being drawn
together to form a single Ekpire, and many small principalities of Italy >
some of than no larger l^an Okinawa were about to b^' forged into a' Kingdom*
Europeans were eaqploring and mapping Asia; th Pjssiaris, the French, and the
British vrere surveying frontiers In Afghanistan, India, Tibet and Western
China for the first time. Peking was. being, challenged to define and defend
Its relationships ultii all nan<^ln'<jee people updn iriiolii' it laid elaln as de-
pendencies. Because the Peking Govem.Tient was unable to do so, China quickly
lost Burma, Nepal and Tibet, end was now about to lose. Ryukyu, Korea, and the
border states of Indo-China. Cl2Cj ^
*
.

Perry's Mission to Japan in effect challenged Yedo to reduce tc written


Treaty-form the rights and privileges v^ich the Bakufu would recognize, and to
define terrltodsl lialts ov^ ^lob ttie Japanese would assert conttol.

'

Periry Proposes to £htey Japan Via Rvukvu .


'

. It .Is a paradox that by demending a Comriact in which the officials at


Shuri" were required to declare the Ryukyu Kingdom to be a sovereign and inde-
pendent State, Perry set into motion a series of events which brought about
the awjCft disappearance of aU vestiges of Indepetadence, and the extinction
of the Poyel "House r.hich had been its symbol. Once the delicate balance of
relationships rith both China and Japan had been destroyed, the small KingdOB
could not long survive as a political or economic entity.

. (120) .See I.brce, Hjfea BcJlau: The International Relations f^f'thy q^ ^yfipffy
QpDire . Vol. I Period of ConfUct; 183^-1860 London. 1910.

Cop>iiyl ited material


P«ny iilasd.f mts not sure of the true stfttos of tiM iilanda irtitii hm
began negotiations, but he believed that he could bring important influence
to bear upou the Japanese at Xedo throu^ an occupation of Okinawa and his
ne^tiatioas Dlth Shurl. ..•^
.

This beautiful island is a dependency of Japan, and is governed


by the same laws; the people are industrious and inoffensive,
and I hav» already Bade consldaraVle prograaa In ealming their
fears and concii'.iatinc their friendship; aiid, as I propose to
make this a port of rendezvous foi- the squadron, It ray be hoped
that, in the course of time, the whole population of tnis isl&nd
aqr beoone quite fMendly.

I am only waiting here to establish a good understajiding .vith


Ibeee people before my visit to J&pan, that Information of our
fricDdly ceroonstratlon towards the Lewchewans nay precede us, and
assure the «Iapauese that ve havs no hostile Intentions. (12^

Ten Booths later, while negotiating with the Japanese goTemnent at


Oraga, Perry desanded that Naha be designated one of the Japanese ports to be
opened to American trade and commerce. On March 17, 1653 the Yedo offjcials
countered with a statement that since "Lew-chew la a very distant country"
and a dependenoy over which the &qperor had little control, they oould not
include it among the ports to be covered by the Treaty under consideration*
This action roflected the views and beliefs of the ultra-conaervative and
traditional elements in the Bekufu Government. They were being called upon
to define Japan's frontiers, and for the tiM being were too preoccupied with
internal crises and the threat of civil war among the daimyo to give much
oonsideraticm to the fiyukyu question. In effect, therefore, the ledo Govern-
Bcot disdained respansibllity for the southern islands.

Some of the most powerful leaders rising to challenge tlie Yedo BakufU at
this time came from Satsuma, and for Satsuma.the Ryukyu relationship had much
greater significance. Indeed, it was largely fron the Ryukyu trade that Sat-
suTna ras ab] e to finance its strong independent Stand vis-a-vis the B gkufu
in Eastern Japan. They had strong reason to believe that if Japan aid not
claim Jurisdiction at Okinawa some other power might do so, and thus become
estsibLished at Japu* s very threshhold.

How very real this threat was they did not know at the time. Commodore
Perry entertained a fear thst Brltirii, Russian or French naval forces mi^t
seise 're tlyukyu Islands. He therefore argued that the Dnited States should
forestall such a development by eptablishirf^ itself in the islarids. In a
letter to ttie Secretary of the Navy at Washington, he set forth his vlewax

Considering that I am acting very much upon my own responsi-


bility, I should desire to be instructed as to the policy,
which I do not hesitate to recommend, of continuing the in-
fluence Which I have* 'already ao^lred olror the iutfadrities
'

end psople of the bsiautiful island of Lsv-Ctoew;'. ,y,


'

(12 j) U. S. Senate. Executive Document Mo. 33rd Congress. 2nd Session


pp. 28-29. Perry to the Secretary of the Havy, Ho. 13, at Nnfia, Lem-Chem,
June 2, 18$3«

-U5-

Copyrtghted material
. 1lh« d«partaiint jfof the Navyii/ irtll 1w mrprlsed to lean
that this royal dependency of Japan .... is in such a stat©
of political vassalaije and thralldom, that it TTould be a
aerit to ertend over it the vivifying influence and protec-
.,
^bioD Qt a govamnent liko our om.

It is eelf-evident that the course of coming events will ere


.
long make' it necessary for ths Onited States to extend its
territorial Jurisdiction beyond the limits of the western
continent, and I assume the respond ibili+y of urging that the
exiJ^diency of establishing a foothold in this quarter of the
giLobe^ as a measura of positive necessitgr to the sustalnMiit
of otir naril^e ri^ts in the east.

I shall continue to maintain the influence over the authori«-


ties and people of Lew-Chew ThUih I now oonnend, hut it is
important that I should have instructions to act promptly,
for it iv not i,-npo8sible that some ether power, less scrupu-
lous, may slip in sad seise upon the advantages which should
Justly bolong ta Us.... (]2$

.-..it is ."ay irrrnti^n, jshould the Japanese govorunent refuse


to rogotifite / R ti*.ea»-.y_ / or to assX^ a port of rr^roirt for
>^^
our -:;c:''.r'<^' t aivJ wYal lng trn' ps, to i.Jte undor i;X";- v.^V'i. of
the fmrrx'- m flr.p, oz :n the ^PiV^L ''iL JA'^l^'r/i'i.' i^i insults
and 3 cqlj? i.Lt c.j uppn i\merii'f<Q ciL.izer ii, tnis i&lend of
Groat Le«r-Ch«w, a dc»^dSney of the eoepire, to be held undsr
such rest mint, until the decision of rr.v Government shall be
known, whether to avow or disavow my acts. On til such action
is had, the responsibility will rest solely upon me, and I
shell assume it as a measure of political preoaution, for it
is certain that if I do not take preliminary steps before leav-
ing, this, port /"i.e. Naha^ for Xedo, for adopting such course,
the iiussians or Frencih, or probehly the English, will sntioi-
pate ths design. (US)

Orz) j.bid. p. 81. Perry to Secretary of the Havyy Bo. 30, Hong|coagj
December 2 A, 1853.
(123) Ibid. p. 109. Perxy to Secretary of the Bavy, No. 39* dated Naha,
Jaiiuary 25, 1^5^.
Perz7''s proposals ran counter to a fundamental American policy at that
tiae* -
Ihe Sedretary of the Havy proaqptly rejected them in these words:

Your suggestion about holding one of the Lew-Chew islands... is


more embarrassing. l|he sulgect has been laid before the Presio
.

• dent, iriio, while he sppreeiates highly the patriotic motive


which prompts the suggestion, is disinclined, without the au-
thority of .Congress^ to take and retain posaession of an island
in that distant country, partieularly unless wore urgent and
potent reasons demanded it than now exist. If, in future, re-
sistance should be offered and threatened, it would also be

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tS^ cont'd.
rather mortifying to eurronder tiie island, If once seized, aiid
rather inconveniant and expensive to maintain a force there to
retain it. Indulging in the hope that the contlugaicy may not
aristt to oeeasioii any resort to the axpediant 0uggestad..**it
is considered rounder policy not to eeite Uie island as suggested
In your dispatch.

Ibid, pp. 112-113, Secretary of Hm lavy to Perry, fiashingtao. Hay 30,


1054.

See also Dennett, Tyler: Aiuericai.s in I:.asteni Atiia . pp. 274-v275< •

Conditions were such that Commodore Pen-y v.as sble to cross through the
frontier islands and enter Japan without seizing upon Fyulcyu as a base of
operations against the Totragana government at Tedo, nor did the Russians, the
French or the British attempt to take thsm. Kis success in negotiatiiig the
Treaty of Kanaes'.m (March 31, 1354) vithout the actual use of force brought
to an end iimerlcan interest in the P^'ukyu Islands*

Important though it 7/as to the Ryukyu Govemment, tiie Le^vchew Comp act,
concluded at Shurl on July 11, 1854, ^aa soon overshadcwed at V.ashington by
other eonsequences of the Perry Mission. It irais sutanitted to the United States
Senate, which advised ratification on March 3, 1855, end six days later pro-
claiiaed by the President to be in effect. Occasionally thereafter American
ships put in at Naha to obtain supplies or to conduct local maritice surveys.
Ryukyu had lost its iniportanee ^en the ealls around Japan were breached.
Oiploinatic relations betv.Ren V.a3hington and Yeio ~era henceforth direct. Oki-
nawa had virtually nothing significant to offer in commerce, v.tich c-uld like-
wise be carried on directly between the Western world and Japan alter the
Treaty of afainoda Has concluded in Mardi,'1857. The outbreak of civil war
rlthin the Onited States in I86I absorled all American military strength and
put an end to naval interest in th^ B:njkyus as an intermediary base for opera-
tions in Far Eastern waters. Hie Ryukyus remained eoqposed upon the physical
'

ftontiers of Japan, lk>m«r, and on the Westeni Pacific' rin of inerica*s mjari-
'

tinie interests* '


.

girl's Reaatione t>ith the li^ropean Penary

Although the Doited States had led the way in opening Jape^n and Ryukyu,
the CHjBeen lar (1854-1856) nade Japan an area of concern for Bagland and
France at this time. Russia v/aa attemptinj^ to force Turkey to become her
satellite, in order to control the Dardanelles Straits. England and France
w«at to the aid of Turkey in defence of their own Mediterranean interests.
Half-way round the rorld, in the Northern Pacific, Russia maintained naval
bases in Kamchatka vfhich France and England proposed to blockade. It was im-
portant for both £ii gland and Russia to conclude treaties with XedOf in order
to ensure that Japanese ports. Here not -used MiAusiwely by either one or the
othsr as bases for naval actlen,! and Hjotii needed open neutral ports for shelter

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and STipply. A Japanese Treaty with England was signed on October 1^, 185A»
and with Russia on February 7, 1855. One by one thereafter the major European
pomrs astablished fontal raLatlons with the Sbogm'a sa(wxrmmt. TrMties,
revisions and supplements attempted to prescribe the rights and privileges of
foreign aattcalfl in Japan^ and to define the boundaries within v.hich the Japan-
ese GovemaisDt «bs to be recognised to be sovereisa. Although ihgland's PrLne
Minister had addresBed letters to the Governnent at Shuri» no attenpt iws nade
by Louden to o-taMish a forr.al treaty relacionship thiere as Perr- had ^onh.
British ships continued to drop anchor at Naha frcxn time to time and to per-
fect earlier sorveys of Hyukyu IsXanda sad (Channels. Shuri^s Tireaty eitfa Hol-
land (1859) "'as of little consequence either to the Netherlands or to Ryukyu*
A Treaty rith Fi-ence, hov.pver, signed on December 17, 1^55, anticipated a
selTies^ or incTdtihts^at. Shuri and Naha which had profound conseouences for the
people of Ryukyu. (124)

Satauna and Fraocet The Makishi-Onga Incident

Shimazu Nariakira directed the administration of Satsuma Clan affairs froa


1851 until his untjjcely death in July 1858. Despite bitter opposition by an
Important number pf Satsuma Clan officers , he continued to Mature his wAn&m
to establish a moribpclistic truaing relation ^rith the French "Uirough Ryukyu.
Two months after Perry left Naha .vith hip copies of the Ry^Jkyu-A-nerican Compact)
the Satsuma Government sent a memorandum to Shuri concerning the treatment of
foreigners, to .whlc^ the Qklsanen officials replied with a stateoieot of their
own vie?;s on tlie subject. In order to regulate public relaticms witJj the fore-
ipners r-ho arrived from tin-.? to time, the Shuri Government Issued a series of
oraers Rhich prohibit^ singing, dancing, aiid .sainieen .playing while foreign-
aallora were ashore. .The. opening of trading bdotiis was. likewise prohibited. .

A minor incident concerning the Shin Sect of Buddhism suggests hov; sensi-
tive Satsuma had become in these years of intrigue and counter-plots in Japan
proper. It was discovered at Shuri that the Shin Sect had some folloaers on
Okinawa. The strict prohibition which had first been invoked by Satsuna before
1600, was now applied severely in Ryukyu, more than 250 years later; Nakoshi .

Selryv and thirteen others irere exiled to Xaeyana in the belief that as folloesrs
of a forbidden religious 0eet» tfa^ ai^t serve as agents subverting Satsuna'a
Interest in the islands.
*
In Jtamrff lS55f Ftmvih ships osne' Sgalir, this tine for the parpose of
reviving the Catholic HiiBSion, nnd concluding a Treaty. In M^rch they built
a residence on shore for a priest and his Chinese assistant, and by Octobar
treaty negotiations were under way. In this the French were more fortunate,
than the Americans or the ^British had been» for Shimazu Nariakira was direct-
ing Shuri' 8 actions from behind the scenes, and with his full approval and
encouragement the Oklnawan officials were gaining in e3q}erience which c^uld be
of -value to Satsunai. In reodgpition jof ^iB» for instaneef Hariafeira reearde^

(124) This Treaty, never ratified by the French Government, was negotiated
by Vice Adairal Nioholaa-Franooia Querin^ abo had been in fiyukyu with CaoiUe
in 1B46.

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Itafflliikl Satcumdil for his atle eonduet of affairs' relating to foreigners on
Ckinawci, and it i»as proposed to send Satsunia agents secretly to study the French
language at Naha. By this year Nariakira's plans were well advanced. He was
ens of' the most influential men of Japan, for he' enjoyed the confidence of the
Inporial Court at Kyoto and of many important feudal lords. He was ready to
relax some restrictions f-ithin Ryikyxt, but in seeking to establish trading re-
lations with a foreign power (France) he took risks which few other men of his
day might dare* Harlaklra Incurred the cAnlty and strong opposition of maay
id thin his oin GLan, inolvdiiig theh^jr-prevniipti'vey his half-hrdthery Sbimaau
Hisamitstt* .. ..

All -went well with his plans for aboot sixteen months. In February 1857
tho French MisEion st Ryukyu presented to the young King Sho Tai an artillery
field piece, vfi^h Tuil equipment. Itnra'ihikl Pechin wa? directed to become
fazidliiir with its use and management. In June Satsuaa relaxed the orders re-
stritsting friendly intercourse between FrmtAt visitors and the eonnon people,
naintalning only the strong prohibition upon Christian nlssionery work. In
August Satsuca sent doma an agent named Ichikl Shoeaion with instructions to con--
elnde a secret agreement with 12ie Flren^. The natter was first discussed irittk
Ryukyu leaders named ;v;ebuni end Ougny for trade ostensibly was to be v-ith Sbliri
and Naha, though in fact goods were to be deli/ercd through R^AJkyu to Srtsuma.
The details cf this conference planning vera reported to Satsuma in September.
la the following month lehiki and Onga widened the base for their aetlidties
by giving secret instructions to local govemr.ent officials concerning'. dassss
cf goods in rhich they night deal with the French.

Hhile these things were happening at Kagoshlma and Naha, the reluetant
Tedo Gov3mnier.t vbs negoticting a T'^ea ty nf Amity nr.d Ccnmerc r rith the United
States of America under the steady pressures and persuasion Townsend Harris.
Farsighted Shimaso Nariakira was well-informed of the progress being made, at
Shimoda and saw in it a threat to the monopoly of trade which he had hoped to
establish thro'^gh Ryukyu. He broadened his plans, and in December 1857 directed
three men on Okinawa Uchiki, Owan and Iwashita) to study the English language
idiile carxrying through their negotiations with the French.

Tvro nonths later (February 1858) Ichiki and Itarashiki took up direct ne-
gotiations with the French. liie latter was of course an official of ttie Ryukyu
Govemment, but lehilci, tran Satsuma, disguised himsdf as a Ryukyoan doctor
from one of the more northern islands. Under the general terr.s of th 3 French
Treaty of 13'^ 5. it was agreed that certain students should go to France to
Study, tnat Eyukyu would purchase a email war vessel and certain arms from
franosy and that regular commercial traffic «<>uld be established.

As a reward for the success of these negotiations Itarashiki was appointed


Jito or Chief of Uakishi District on Okinara and was known thereafter as "Ma^
kishi Pechin" . Ihis reward .mas made in April. In Kay Onga end Ichiki r.ont up
to Satsuma to report. Plans were drawn up. for m.nev diplomatic affairs office
at Shurii which was established in July.
'

i

Shircazu Nariakira died on August 25, 1858, in his A9th year. He was then
at the hei^t of bis influoice and importance during the crisis in government ,

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Copyrighted material
at Yedo, opd ruling the Opposition within his otn Clan with a strong hand.
His successor was his Jealous helf-brother, Shimazu His?jnitnu (known in later
life as Shimazu Saburo) . Upon the acpegslon of the new d^imyo at Kagoshimay
the boy-King Eho Tai and bis Council at Sbnri wro required to nake a new
pledge of feelty to the ShinaBu Clan, roneviBg eaqpresaioDfl of gratitude for fa-
vor bestowad Igr SatBuoa and aasertings

• ••this eolena oath I mini head donn to wj posterity and.inm~

them thus:- that they all, so lor.g as the lineage of my lemily


exists, shall forever ob&erve thv.z v.hich I have sv^oi-n: end If
any one of my posterity, ever in tines to come, conceive a
nicked thought and prove traitor to our coon try* 3i-'lainr, -ve ahall
'
forthr.ith bring you report thereof and punish the offeadet"; -and
. . never will we neglect .our duty towards you.,.. (125).
... ... • -

Hieaaitini at that time was filled nith an extreme an ti-foreigp. prejudice'.


Qhereas his predaawsor had advocated the peaceful and voluntary opening of
Japan to foreign intercourse as a best means to avoid invasion by the foreign
poeera, Hisamitau had oppoaed-him at evary point, and gave his ardent support
to the most radical anti-Tokugaiia and aatl-forelgn elements in the Clan Coun-
cils. It was soon after his accession at Kagosh?.ma that the slogan "Exalt the
Etaperorl Expel tne Barbariansl" ( Sonno Jofl ) began to be heard, and for the
firat. tiae there were op«ti cries of "Doan nith the Bpkufu l" The anti^Tokugaaa
forpes extracted fron tht Emperor at Kyoto a secret egreement to issue an Order
expelling^ all foreigners from Japan j no ratter vfhat thp consequences of the
action might be, June 2a, 1863, was fixed as the date for this extreaely dar^
ing and dangerous ftttettpt^^ .

. ..3!hi9
-: ; the background for the Makishi-Onga affair.
. The most poT.'erful
advoeatBr of anti-foreign action and renewed- seclusion for Japan came to power
ati.aiMoaent when the Ryukyu Government, unddr his control, had c^one farther
thap any other local administration toward opening trade and diplotiatic rela^
tioQXi with t>ie West. From the standpoint of a feudal lord, this was an in-
tolerable state of affairs, end- with cruelty and vlndictivaness, fiisaaitsu set
about destroying every vestige of Hariakira's program end support*

•• He spared few within the Satsuraa Clan and in Ryukyu. Within Uie month
following Nariakiralis. death Ii^iki hastSDed back to Naha witit orders, that all
conpodities ordered from France must be delivered TJlthin six months, that is
to say, by March, 1859. This was obviously impossible, ichiki himself did
not appear to talk with the French Mission. The Okinawans were required to tell
the French that h» had- died in a fall froa a horse. To give convincing proof
of this, a newly constructed tomb was shown to the French. It reemed, evident^
therefore, that negotiations would have to be broken off. The demand for a
quiak delivery of French goods had been nerely a shallow excuse to -lay oo the
French the onus of being unable to fulfill the contract* The agreement waa
forthwith cancelled, and the French hiission sailed away fro:r! Naha. Ichiki
emerged from hiding, returned to Satsuma, and lived thereafter until 1909*

(125) Official translations of oaths of allegiaiice. to Satsuma subscribed


to by King Sho Tai and each of the SsnShikan were laid before ex-Presldaot
Grant in 1879 during his consideration of the Sino-Japenese sovereignty di^Nite*
Japan Weekly Mail Vol. Ill, No. A3> Oct. 25, p. 1AZI>

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Rlsimltsu's partisans were not satisfied* An agent for Satsuma collected
doeunents relating to ItyuIcTU-Freach Mgotlations and took then tip to Kagoefhina*
Meanwhile an official named Zakimi Uyekata at Shuri was found willini^ to ac-
cuse Onga Oyekata and his aFsociates of treasonable plotting ag?.in3t the Kin{^.
iiakishi Pechin was arrested in September, 1859« Onga aieU under tne rigors of
imprLmmamt In Mardi, I860.
Ihe attitude of Satsuma toward foreign intercourse was stiffening on all
points. Hlsamitsu and his associates believed that by a close union of tha
Kyoto Imperial Court and the nilitary Government at Yedo (the policy known aa
Kobu Gattai ) all foreigners could be expelled from the country v.ithin ten years,
and the country closed again safely to Western. Interference, There were others
honever, alio had wished to overthrow the Tedo Government because It had negoti-
ated the foreign treaties initiated by Perry without the Emperor's consent.
These extremists formed paities declaring Loyalty to the Imperial House (^inno) .
and among them Satsuma patriots; were outstanding.

Every concession to foreignpr3 or foreign intcrcrts v:':" Mtterly condenned»


All who had advocated compromise v.-ere under deepest suspicion. Kisaraitsu and
his advisers felt peculiarly vulnerable in the Ryukyu dependency, used so openly
as a base for foreign operations in Jc^Mnese waters. The Ryuky^j treaties and
the trade neprtiations conducted on the soil of a dependency of Satsuma, were
exceptionally embarrassing to advocates of complete Seclusion. Contrary to
ueh rofliantic writing abont bushido in later years, cruelty and revenge were aa
proadnent in the feudal code as pity or toleranca. Hiaa&itsu was relentless.
In June, 1862, Satsuma ordered the Ryukyu Government to send Makiahi Pechin up
to Kagoshima. The Regent himself was required to report to the Satsuma Agency
office near Naha.

Makishi and his escort set sail in July, 1862, but h«ti only a few miles
'

north ol the Motobu Peninsula, this distinguished Okinavmn committed suicide.


it the age of for^-five years^ ha €ibo99 to cast hiraelf into the eaa and aaat
death by drov.ning rather than to face Shlaaiu Hisanitso eftd hia retainers at
Kagoshima. (1^)

(126) The intensity of enti-foreign feeling in Satsuma was heightened in


Septanber, 1862, whan Qiinasu Risamitsu* s retainers killed one British subject
and wounded others in the Mamamugi Incident near Yokohama. The British Govern-
ment made demands on the Shogunate at Yedo and on the Shimazu Family at Kago-
shima. Seven warships under Admiral Kuper entered Kagoshima Bay in August 1863^
end in the brief dcitniah irtii^ followed Kagoshima* s batteries were silenced
and several ships were destroyed, including Junks from Ryukyu. Recognizing at
once that unprepared resistance to Y.'estern naval porer was futile and hazard-
ous, Satsuma leaders made this a sharp turning point in poiicyj Henceforth they
took the lead la opening the country and in aendlng man abroad to leam the
ta<dittloal ddlls of the Vastern worlds

During these years Saigo Takamori, who had been a trusted aide of Shimasu
larlaklrat twice suffered banishment under Hisamitsu, once to Osfaiaa and onea to
Tokunoshiaa and Okinoarabu in the northern fiyukyu Islands*

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At Sburi, court and gentry nere split disastrously by the Uakishl-Onga
Affkir. A ^«dcA and *1Ritte" faction developed fAione eonflieting Influence
ma to be felt deeply for nearly fifty years thereafter. On" an issue tio' seri-
ous it was impossible to maintain cool neutrality. Fa.iiilies were torn in
their loyalties. There vrere charges and countercharges of unprecedented t?it-
terness. Orders were issued strictly fortddding partisans t6 spread Vicidils
rumors or to post in public places placards and broadsheets bearing slanders
and attacks iipoD meatbers of Governmnt and proodxient OMtt*' „ , .

In the midst of the crisis which followed upon the impeachment of Onga, .

C--^ &n L ,-ek.ata had returned from a mission to China (Harch 1859) • -fii October .

he 7/as given a high post in Government, and in May, 1862, became a namber of :
the Sanshikan . He was new in effect the principal officer in Covemment, Ma-
kishi and Onga lost their lives for the part they had played in Nariakira's
'
negotiations with the Areneh; other hig^ officers underwent various lesser de^
grees of punishment. Oroku Oyekata . for instance, was banished to nearby le-
jima for a period of five hundred days. In the subsequent factionalism GiY-an
attempted tQ rule v;ith firuiness; when a man named Hehira, Shima.iiri lohi to,
and three otifiers mere arrested for posting antl-rgovenment sentiments in poblle
places, they rare Y.ol ~ l vear and then executed e.t Hairagnm.a villare.
'"

These were, stem measures in a society, which; had knovna little violence through
five cttaturies. ........
;•. ' •' •
i - -y- •' • • • .
. • •. : 1 '
. . * -

Eoonoiaife anil a^ucational Affairs •


• •. • •• U • • .

The 3rears 1354. to 183S were full of economic hardship which taxed the
Government's resources to the utmost .apd brought into play all the administra-
tive talents which could be mastered. Beoause of the excessive costs of ad-
ministration at Shuri and Naha, taxes had been laid on to the limit. There
had been no opportunity to accumulate a margin of surplus in foodstuffs or
trading goods. In 18^5 there were riots on Terama Island, Shuri dispatcned
llatsukaiMi Pe<fliln to look into the matter, and protests took Takehara Pechin and
Yabe Anko to Kumc- Islnnd to see vfhat could be dene to brinp: about relief
there. Typhoons, epidemics and long drought brought the people of the sou-
thern islands to conditions bordering on chronic starvation. ./There was r»-
.

b^JLious unrest. The Shuri GcTernpamt now dispatched. Onega Chotan to. Investi-
gate and if possible to alleviate conditions. Ke found the normal moral
standards of the community were being cast aside, and so rhile.oa-ithe one
hand he caused provisions of the criminal code to be read piihLlcly before the
people, on the other he li^itened the tax burdm on all families t^ith many
children. As if these disasters were not enouf^h, the tribute ship for Sat-
sme. was wrecked, though its envoy Tonaki Uyekata and his men were rescued at
. sea and brought back to Baha bgr an Aawlean fiiallng vessel..

In the wAjStBt of political turmoil a serious inflation set in. to offset


this a mint was established in 1961 at Taiq»san in Kagoshima, to manufacture ' .
'
. . •
M .» ' • •.
. . .
'

.. , ' . J • : • • •
. * . -

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coins for trading: purpos ?s in Ayukyu. These ware knoim ae Ayukyu Tau-ho or
Currant Treasure of Ryukyu" and vera valued at 100 Japaneae ^
each. (127)

KLtbin the Tear the value of the RTukyu Tau-hc had dropped fifty pereettt,
but it had b«>gur! try cone into ride comnan use. (128) In March 18^3 R Price Con-
trol Magistracy was set up which reatorad the value of the copper coin briefly,
aking it again eonvertilde at one for tvjo iron coins, fiithin a year infLation
set in agaSxiy contlnutng irregularly until 1868 when in the midst of eeonondo
eriaiSy one copper coin could be exobangad for tmaoty-four iron ooina*

Ihe iBDMUfe ijnportance of edneatioa for leadership in these crlala years


vas reeogniaed.ip ^kyu as it nas in Japan proper, but iihereas the Japaneae
turned more and more to the West for information end training, the governing
class at Shuri turned back to the traditional and formal Chinese classical,
curriculum. r(]29)

Okinawa tos no longer of international i-nnc.rtence to the T'est, and the West
in turn ceased to be of auch great iinportence to t.yukyu. There were no longer
exeltiae neeting^, and ocnferencea and niaaionii to atinulate eurioeity or require
a '<nowled8*- of ^^ropean lan^ages, politics or economics- Tv'hile deteruined
young nan^.pf Sat£umfi^ r- O^ubo Toshiikitsu, for inatiince - defiantly were going
abroad to study in West^ern countriea^ their eontomporarlea in the Sateuma De-
pendency of Ryukyu_ were offered on^ the dry crumbs of Confucian literary
training. Semi-annual examinations required exercise in the composition of
poems in the springtime, end of brief formal essays in the autumn.

(127) An interval of AOO yeers had elapsed betv.een the r.anufscture of the
first knoTiTi Pyukyu colne in the isth century and these Kjai^yu Tsu-ho . The tiny
"pigeon-eye" (hatoae) sen , which had been manufactured locally during the 17th
and Idtti eantttriea, had a value of ten pfr Jiqwnetfe man, or 1000 per fiytfcvu Tan-
ho. Each Ftring of 100 .sen bore the Kiikg*8 8m1. Ihe new Jau-ho became immedi-

ately popular and gained v.ide use.


Commodore Perry could not comprehend the absence of the old (15th century)
coins in general use nof their scarcity. He wished to set a precedent for regu-
lar trade on a standardized money basis, hence, over strong official ol?jectione^
he. had insisted upon payment in coin for supplies itbich otlierv/ise the, Ryukyu
Government would have provided gratis . Foreieji coinage was of course of no im^
mediate value to the Ryukyu peor"Le. ^Thus Ycnkee commercial lopic csme into con-
flict with ttie Kyukyu traditional courtesy system, though Satsuma was glad
CBOQgh to aaie an aeeumiilatlcn of lattam oolne.
QSSS^ Fbr ilittstratlqnB aee Stairo, K. C.t
.
Colna of Janan. pp. 161-165

O29) Satacna nai among tiie first to reooghiae^ the neceaalty to add a know-
ledge of the Western world to its traditional learning. Satsuma leaders had been
among those debating the need to send a mission from Yedo to Honfrkonpr to study
political and military affairs in 13^7, and under Shlmazu ilariakira expected to
send students to Aranee tind«r tenia of the fVenoh Tireaty-wilh^ ihe King of fiyukyu.
Shimazu Saburo's intense hostility to the West was transformed when the bombard-
ment of Kagoshima illustrated hew little he knew of it. In 1866 he broke all
precedent by entertaining the British Minister, Harry Parkes, at Kagoshima.

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Cop>iiylited material
^pvestlture of the Last King of Ryukyu. 1866

In 186a envoys had gone to Peking to ask for the invertiture of t!ie young
King, She Tal. Two /ears later Chinese aab^ssadox-a arriveu* conducted the r«»-
qulred cereAoni«B In midyear, and in Mcmnbtr Mtomed to (rnina) vnavare of
course :ihctt they were the la»t to perfoni & rite irtiich had been eontlnued mora
than 500 years. (130) '

• •
. .. "i- . I.

The M«i.11 Kestoration in 1868> and toe Rmtom Protilea

The King, £ho Tai, v.as a young man in his tuenty-fifth year at this tjuae.
Six XKmths after his formal investiture at Shuri, another jrouth, aged fifteen
years, succeeded to the throne at Kyoto. This was Mutsuhito, dectined to reign
in Japan for forty-five years ae the Meiji EniDeror. Under the one, the Kingdoa
of Ryukyu was to be extinguished. Under the other, Japan was to defeat China
and Russia, and to conclude an alliance with Great Britain, rising thus with-
in a gfinarati<m to preenineooa as a isorld Power.

On the 3rd of October, 1367, representatives from some forty feudal do-
mains met at Kyoto to consider a memorial irtiich had been presented hy Yananouchi
Yodo, Lord of Tosa, in which the Fhogun was af'vised to rei^ign his authority into
the hands of the young iksperor and his advisers. Komatsu of Satsuma was first
to Bi0i the record of clans supporting* this revolutionary act. the Shogun'a
resignation was handed to the Emperor on October 1.4, and the Etaperor's formal
acceptance of It on December 1^ narked the erici -yf Tokueawa military government
after tvro hundred and sixty- four years. From January 1, 186-H, the reign-
name ( nengo) was changed to Mei.11 . or "Era of Ihlis^tened Governnent**.

The new Imperial Government enjoyed direct control only in the territories
which the Tokugawa Bakufu had surrendered to it^ It-"baoane necessary to call'
on the feudal lords individually to surrender their authority as the Tokugawa
Family had done. The four most powerful clans in the country were Satsuma,
Choshu, Tosa and Hizen, and again, as in 1867, it was Satsuma which took the
lead. Shiaasu HleaBitsu surrendered the Shioaao Family authority to the £aperial
Government in August, 1869. Within the next two years 273 daimyc had followed
Satsuma' s example. To make the transition practicable, and to ease problems of
organization, the hereditary Lords were now appointed Governors or chief ad-' [

ninistrBtors in, their fomer territories, and for Ineoiia ea.ch was asaigtaed a
fixed porcentipe of the fief revenues. Hisanitsu, for instance, had been ap-
pointed Governor of Satsuma and of Rj-ukyu. Names and titles changed, but within
the Mundeuries of the old fiefs the actual feudal relations of the past con-
tinued- to an important degree. Local manhmis of the old- clan hierarchy baeaaa
. officials- of the new administration. It was not until August, 1871, that an
Inparial- Decree' announced that old feudal domain units would be abolished in
fact -as well as la name, and that a sfstaii of Prafactoras would be created,
including tvo (Kagoshima and Osumi)- to take the place of the ola Satsuma prin-
cipality. lh« Central GovanuMBt aeant to aacaroisa direct authority in local ...
affairs. , . • , .

» ' ..
• • < .

(130) "Coronation of the King of Loochoo" China Beview. Vol. VII, No.
1878-1879. pp. ;283-284.

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There now arose the problem of what to do about Ryukyu. Should the an-
nual tribute exacted Srom Shurl be sent up to Tokyo? Should It be co\mted as
tax due to the new Ka^shlma Provincial Govemneot? Should It be etiared
Osumi? Should it be included in calculations or prorated income due the Shi-
aazu Fanily? Above all else, That attitude should Jayian take toward the fiyukyu
Kin(7dom in International affairs? In 1354, the Yedo authorities had assured
OoBBodore Perry that they were imable to arranee for the opening of Naha In the
Ryukyu Islands nor Matsuiaae in Yezo (HckVaiao), because over these two distant
places the Emperor exercised insufficient and limited control. Since that
statement to Peiry, the Japanese had ritnessed Perry's forthright conclusion of
a Treaty with Ryulcyu as an Independent Kingdoa* Ihej were persuaded that the
Onited States Government had no ambiticns or plans to seize Japanese territory.
Other Restem countries unmistakably did, hoi.ever. The Euselans had seized and
occupied the nearby island of Tsushina in the straits between Honshu and Korea.
Though the RusEo-Japaneee Treaty of 1855 had defined a northern boundary in the
Kuriles, the question of claims to Sakhalin were not yet settled. In fact, two
Japanese missions to Russia (In 1362 and 1366) had failed and by 1870 the Ja-
panese dispute with Russia ooooeming her northern borders had becoaw serious*
Japan at that time saw in the 'Jnited States a friendly interest in her problems
vis-a-*vls the Rupsxan threat. The President of the Hnited States vras asked to
mediate, and the Ajocrican Minister at Tokyo be^an to gather the aecessary in-
fomatioa, but Russia refused to accept Anerieais good offices.

It had by this time become overTrhelmlngly important to Japan to define her


boundaries clearly in order to establish and maintain her ri^ts in the faee of
the predatory, onpire-buildlng nations of the 19th century. In 1871 the Japanese
resumed direct negotiations vith Rrsslaj while the Iv.akura Mission discussed the
boundary problem at St. Petersburg, the Busslan capital, Soejlma Taneoml attempted
vwuecessfully to reach an agreement with the fiusslsns on the cpot at Possiet
B>ar*

Both Great Britain ard the United States for a brief time had claimed the
Ogasawara (Benin) IslandSy east of %ukyu, ew«i thou^ the Shogunate had sent
officials there in 186A to develop the administration and maintain Japan's
claims to them. ?Jhile the Russians sent colonists dora into southern Saghalin
(nhich Japan claimed to be her own), a mixed colony of British, Americans and
Bawaiians wars sent into the Bonin Islands by the British Consul at Booolulu as
a direct diallenge to Japan's authority.

Ihers new occurred sb IneidKit la Fofnosa ffhldi brou^t to world attsntlon


the imeertaSn status and eavosed position of the Ryukyu iSlsnds.

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I

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.. ..... J
PART THAEE

OCDIAIIi FBOnNGB

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Chapter XI

OIUNSXTION FBOU KIMGDOK TO PROVUiCE

(Sgi^t^St^^SS^ 1372-1879)

1. Securl'ty on the Frontiers

2. Ibe fornoM XneidMt

3« China RsoopiisM Japan** CIaljD8» October 31» 1874

^. Adjustment of Administrative Relatione BetwMD Shurl and Tokyoa


and the Reaction In fiyukyu

5* Foli«le8 and Aetlona of Horn Mlniatar Okxibo Ibehlnitm

6. The First Matsuda MissioD to Okinawa Presents Tclcyo'a


DenendSy June-Septeabery 1879

?• Crisis at Shuri: Xhe King's Abdication, Mai^ch 27, 1379

8« Ryukyu Sovereignty as an Aitomatlonel Xsflftiet GsbCTal


0. S. Grant a dicdiatioo

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Ghaptar U
TB^SlpXM TBtm KXHGOQM ID FBOVmCB
^ r

(Hoi-han Chi-ken. 1872-1879)

Se c|ority pn the Frontiers

Xn the years inunedlately after t|^a Maljl Restoration (186d) , the Japaneaa
Government undertook immense tasks of reorganizing the administration at hona^
establishing the frontiers, and pursuing a new foreign policy according to
intomatioDally accepted fonalitlea and procaduras of tha laatani norld. Hha
conversion of the old Ryukyu Kingdom into a new "Province of Okinawa" was cloae-
ly related to the settlcTi^^nt of Tokyo's relations with the rany loca]- feudal
organizations inherited from centuries of Tokugawa rule. It was not by chor.ce
alone that tha pariod of hai-Jian dki^'-km alnoet aoeactly eoineidas with tha dia-
torbad ara of oriaie bataaao Satsimia and the Cantral GoTammant, I^TL-ISTS.

Ontil 274. dairayo had surrendered their autonomoua territorial authority,


tha naw Central c^ovenunant oould not ba oartain of Ita Ufa. Iha nair ayatem
of prefectures (ken) was created in August, 1371, vrith the former feudal lords
and their chief rata^ara taking over the titles and duties of local governors
raaponaiUa to TnkgOm ttB old faudaX ralatlpnshlp of. tarritorlal aubordinatlon
survived only In, siitsinaf' .iridoh continuad to.look on tha l^kyo Kingdoa a m
tributary atata*

It naa aaaantiial for Tokyo that thla relationahip too> Aould be, changed,
that the allegiance of the King of Ryukyu should be shifted from Kagoehima to
Tokyo, and that a direct relationship of control ond authority should be es-
tebxished between Tokyo and Shuri. Such a vulnerable segn:.ent of Japan's de- .•
ftnaa parlnatar could not ba laft to tha haaardfl of Indlroot control aitiarclBad
*-hrou^ Satsuma, for the complete loyalty of Satsuma itself was not certain in
the early days of the Meiji Era. Satsuma had submitted unwillingly, to ordera
troa tado tiirou^out tha long period of Tt^gamt supranaey. Tha teaditlon of
semi-autonomy persisted after Yedo's name was changed to Tokyo, and tha antago-
nism between local end central authority grew steadily until a 5*11wiiT
'
HU
reached in the costly Satsuma Rebellion of 1878.

"
Hal-hag^ Chi-ken " tharafora can be summed up as the long process of da-
t&ching Ryukyu from Satsuroa and attaching it directly to Tokyo, in order to
oake the southern frontier secure.

The Formosa Incident provided Tokyo rdth an opportunity to settle disputes


rith China concern jjng sovereignty in the Ryukyu Islands, and to adjust Shuri'
adoixiistrative relationships with Japan. It was one of several major frontier
qpeatiima* If «a draw an imaginary circle around tlia main lalanda of Jafwn,
id.th its central point at Tokyo, we rill see that in the ten years following
the-MeiJi Restoration the Japanese Government had to face four major frontier
laanas on the perlmter of that circle* These were border regions in nhidi

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political outlioritf had not been hitharto aeairat^y M±mA at upon uhldi
thare were claims rivaling tlie claiae of Japan. Before ma taka vp the Ryukyu
Question, therefore, let us glance quickly at the others, for tba aattlemant
of aach had an indirect bearing upcm Japan's conduct on Okinawa.

To the north Japan had to meet the Russian threat v.hich had become unmis-
takably clear as early as 180^. Treaties and agreements negotiated in 181)5
and thereafter had led to no satisfactory corclusxon. In 1870 the American
ax-Secretary of State fdlllaa StiiWard was asked by tha Japanaa« Government to
mediate in the northern boundary conflict. He had recently completed the pur-
chase of Alaska for the United States. It was not surprising for bin to pro-
posa that Japan should purefaasa the island of Sac^salin and so aHmlnata Russian
interests there. The Russians refused to act. Admiral fhomoto Bayo negotiatad
the northern Icundary question at St. Petersburg (now Leningrad), sicned a
Treaty there on May 7, 1875* and secured for Japan the Ku'rile Islands in ex-
changa for her claims to Saghilia. It thairoforo t6ok Jaban''i««iitj yaara to
establish a northam boundary «tod to saeura intairqrtidBal 'raeofEDitlon for it bgr
formal treaty.

iround tha parlmatar of our ImaglBary eirelot to tha aouthaasty Japan foisnd
herself engaged in e dispute concerning her claims to the Bonln IslanrfS. Ja-
panese had maintained inter:nitteot settlentents thare since the early Tokugawa
pariody but in June, 1827, Captain Baaohay of tiia British ship Elossom had ladd
olaim to them for Qngland. A aiaad settlement of Britiah, Aaorioan, Italian^
Hawaiian, French and Portuguese people had groiin up in subsequent y^ers. Peny
suryayed the archipela^, bought land there, and wished to claim the islands
for 'l^a Qnited ^Statas to sarvo era 'an aandliary for tlia' pr&nosed baso'at-Haha*
Japan began soon after to reassert her traditional control. Repressntativas of
the British Government at once Reminded Perry that Great Britain had taken
possession of the islands. In 1373 the American Secretary of State (Hamilton'
Fish) fomaUy withdraw all Anarioan dains, and two yaara Istar tha Onitad
Sta+es activr-ly supported Tokyo's efforts to win general international recog-
nition of Ja^^anese sovereignty in the Bonins. On November ic/^, 1875, Japanese
officials l€Uided and formally declared the Bonins to be Japanese territory.
Tvro days latar a British naval vessel arrived with oi^ars to daelare tha islands
British territory if the Japanese had not already taken them. By 30 cldse a
margin in time, after tw^aty-rOna years of dispute, Ja^an closed this territory
ial gap on her southeaatarn' frontiers. (129a)

Around our iaag^inary circle to the westward, Japan was engaged in a bitter
dispute with Korea. Here, as elsewhere, it was a problem of establishing pre-
oise, foxnal ralatlonships and of redefining boiitidai*ied' with a nai^borlng ter-
ritory. For centuries the Korean Court had paid tribute to Peking, as the
Okinawpna did, and had sent envoys and gifts to Japan upon special occasions.
The small island of Tsushima, lying in the Straits between Korea and Kyushu, had
served as an intacnediate point In trade and diploaaey, jdiit as Okinawa had done.

Japan's announcement of the Imperial Restoration of 1868 gave the Koreans


oeaasion to'braalc off tha old relationship, charjin^ that Japaa had abandoned
its true Far Eastern heritage and had beccne a servant of t^is'llestem rorld.
Korea's refusal to recognize the neu Govemrent in Jcpan wias' estpressed in terms
samurai at Tokyo, feeling ran high, and there
which were otnoxious to the proud ^^^^^^"^
. . •. ' . f

(129a) There >as some the def:ir.ibility of annaxation of Hawaii by Japan


in these years. The U. S, Ki/iister at Tokyo (De long) raised the issue with the
Department of State at Washington. Kin(T Kalakaua of Hawaii himself latM> pro-
posed a cloaa alliance with Japan under Meiji fiaperor's leadership*
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vare dMsnds for a pimitlve expedition into the peninsular Klngdon. Beyond
Korea looaed Russia in Siberia, casting its shadow over the unstable Korean
Govemmert end over neishborirg Manchuria as re 11. There rere some leaders
at Tokyo who believed that this uiight be the time to make sure that Korea did
not fall into hands unfriendly to Japtn. 1!bere vere others iiho felt that
Japan was not yet strong enough to risk the dangers of a large-scale v/er. T/That
if China should choose to inter\/ene on Korea' e behalf, and do so with the aid
of European powers unfriendly to Japsn?

The Formosa Incident

It was at this racMsent that an accident opened the way for a diversion of
attention from the Korean policy crisis at Tokyo. In December, 1371, a ^eat
stem tlew a Ryvkyu junk out of its course betv<een Miyako and Naha, ano drove
it upon the wild tfiores oi touthem Foraosa. There the aborigines of the
Botan tribe fell upon the vratikf plundered it, and killed fifty-four of the
helpless soamen and passengers* A fev surviTors escaped and in time made their
way back to Miyako.

The Shuri Government had a special interest in tl-is .^Jnk, for it T.an em-
ployed in carrying the tribute-tax from Miyako tc Naha, ar,d in carrying beck
to Hirara City trading goods upon which the limited Miyako economy was seri-
ously dependent. Reports of the affair reached Kagoshima through Japanese
agents at Naha. Shuri 7?as prompted to mp3ce a formal report to Kcgoshima. Tl.is
incident was seized upon by Tokyo immediately, to serve as a useful excuse for
direct intervutioD, and for cIbIjbs agpalnst China* In a sense this forasd the
foundation upon ihlch Japan erected and defended all subsequent dains to
aoverelgnty*

It is notenorthy that henceforth the Govemaent and people of Ryukyu had


virtually nothing to do with the Formosa Incident which grew out of their peti-
tion. V.hen in September 1872 the Japanese Minister at Pekinc tisked China to
punish the aborigines on Formosa, the Chinese Govemsietit at iirst disclaimed
•11 responsibility for govenaent on the EMt Coast of that island* Isx these .

early conversations the Chinese referred to the Ryuksru people as "subiects of


Japan" whose interests the Japanese had a right to defend.

Japan's Foreign Minister Soejima himself went to Peking in early 187^ to


negotiate on this and other outstanding issues betv^een the two countries. He
observed at first hand China's vacillating and confused Government and her at-
teapts to use foreign govenuisnts to check Japan 'a dev^lopneot as a modem
state. (130)

(130) Is an Ambassador Fieoipotentiary, Soejima outranked all other fore-


ign rapresentatives at Peking. It ras he therefore v.ho became the first fore-
ign envoy in modem times to he received in private auditnce by the Chinese
aiperor. He was later joined by the other envoys in a general reception vjhich
the Chinese took pains to hold in a minor audience chamber traditionally used
to receive the Ryukyu and Korean envoys and missions from other Tributary
States. Portraits of great Chinese Generals hung upon the walls to suggest
China's military power.

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Soejtnla Tetaxned to Tokyo ooBVlBOed that China wap too reak to interfere
with a Jappnese expeaition to Korea. He gave full support to Saigo Takanori'a
plans to consolidate Japan's position vis-a-vis foissia by bringing Korea to
terns aceeptaU.e to Tokfo. 3^ this Soejiaa and* Saigo nere opposed by Imkura
Tomcml Just returned from a tour of the Tres uein v/orld. He and his associates
,

were convinced that an expedition to Korea would rouse serious opposition


among the Western Powers nhich the new Restoration Government mignt be too
iiealc to overcoae. At soy eo0t» he thouf^t^ Japan must first bring order sod
strangth to her internal adainistratlon and eoanony.

A bitter debate was held in the %tperor*8 presence on October H* When


Hm decision went af^ain&t them, Saigo, Soejima and ottier advcca'^'es of the
Korean Fxpedition resigned from the State Council. A political crisis of the
gravest proportions had been reached. Soaething had to be done to concentrate
and divert the pent-up aatoMons of dissatisfied samurai r/ho looked to Sai^o
Taksnorl for* leadership.

China's failure to offer redress for damage inflicted upon the Uiyako
sesnan In 1871 now provided an ezeuse for action tihi^ night satisfy saaiurai
demands for militaiy action overseas and at the same time serve the interests
of Goveitinient leaders who were anxious to es'^'ablish the borders of the entire
and to develop a strong and unified administration within.

It is not without significance that the diplomatic negotiations and mili-


tary actions in this affair were in the hands of two former samurai of Satsuaa*
Saiflo 1Uamerl*s" brother. General Saigo Tsuguniehi, was placed In ooansnd of
the fiqieditionary Force which was now prepared to punish the Formosan aborig-
ines on behalf of Ryukyu. Okubo Toshimichi ultimately became director of
negotiations with the Chinese Govemment and with the Goveruirent at Shuri. Bf
tradition and training both men were conditioned to expect unquestioning ac-
quiesces ce by Shuri in an;i^ decisions ::ade in Japan affecting the administra-
tion of the Ryukyu dependency. They now fet themselves the task of winning
international recognition of Japan's claims to the islands, and of bringing
about refon in ^e island adodnistration*

European diplomats stationed at Tokyo and Peking had shown a narked and
unwelcome tendency to meddle in all the international ne{^>tiatton8 of Japan.
They resented Soejima* s auoeesses at Peking end feared the rise of the ambi-
tious new Restoration Government. Settlement of the Ryukyu Question therefore'
became a symbolic affair of honor for the Japanese. Xbe interests or com-
plaints of ^e Byukyu people were not allowed to stand in the wey. Planning
for the Formosa Expedition therefore went forward with great secrecy. Earjy
in 187ii the Tokyo Govemment invited three x\mericans to ^oin the organization,
men who had had experience in the Aineiican roreign Service, the 0. S. Army and
tiw Q. 8. Navy, respeotl-vely. v03D An inerioan and a BritiA ship were engaged

(131) beneral C. Y:. LeGendre, lately American Consul at Amoy. -af a recog-
nized authority in Forroosan affairs; Lieutenant James R. Kasson, letuly of the
D. S. Army Qigineers. was given the rank Of Colonel in the Japanese Armyi Lieu-
tenant Commander Douglas Ceuisel, 3. Navy, was released from active duty at,
Yokohama at the Japanese Government's request, ana T/ith th*^ endorsement tbe
American Minister, John Bingham. Cassel was given the rauK of Commodore in <

Japan's new Havy^ ^ioh was doalnated by Satsuna smo.


|

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for transport duty. The D. S, Bftvy D^Mirtinetit fumlBbed bydrographle efaarti
and other data for Japan's oao. la idF'J^aril tha Ibq^editloa got voderaay.

At Fiilcing tho Cbtnaso auddecly ravaraad the poeltioo tliat th«7 could not
be held raqponallile for the govemaent of territory lying on the eastern cor>.st
of Formosa. They now claimed full sovereignty throughout Formosa end claimed
the Ryukyu Islands as well. In this sudden right-about-face they vere sup-
ported tgr the BritlA Wnlater at Peking. The Buseian Charge d' Affaires at
Tokyo warned a31 Russians to abstain from participation in any v.ay. The Ameri-
can Minister at Tokyo reversed his former position, withdrev: his approval, and
ordered American shipping as well as American Individuals to withdraw from the
Exnedltlon.

Ihe details of action taken by the Esqieditlonary Force on Fomosa end of


the ne^tiat^oeis eoudaoted Hiere and in Pdcirg are not properly a part of a
History of ths Ryukyu Islands. (132) Although ^e entire incidont had begun
as an effort to gain redrees for the Rjukyu searen of Miyako, the fociif: of at-
t«ation shifted swiftly to Formosa, and to China's vague end wavering claims
to sovereignty there. Throu^ioiit the preliminary negotiations, the lailitary
action, and t:.e Tiral aott'teaient through diploaatic channels, tl.e authorities
at Ryu<yu v.vre not consulted, and the P^ukyu Islands themselves vere mentioned
only in passing.

At a fi-^ld con^'erenco in S-^'^-^h Foi'irosc on Jrne 2ii and June 25, OSO-
eral Salgo and Chinase Co;3raissioner Pan ^'i reached a tenLative cettlenent,
subject to the approval of their Governments. Peking refused to accept the
terms of settlement and derranded that the Japanese forces te rithdra-m before
neT7 discussions Could tt.Ve place. TThen this became knn7.Ti in Japan, public
feeling was roused to a new pitch of excitement. A declaration of war upon
China seemed ^junlnent. lb avert this, Okubo 'Cof^lmlchi of Satsuma; one of
Japan's ablest Hini3tera of State, hastened to Peking to insist that China hcmaT
her obligations. He was accompanied by a French legal alvisor (GustA^e Boia-
sanade) who maintained that China could claia sovereignty only over territoxy
in aiiieh she actually exercised the functions of gDvemneot. By this test
Pddxig oould claim, neither eastern Foxnosa nor the l^yukTU Islsnds.

From tiie time of his arrival in China (Septeiabtir 2) until his departure
late in Itovenber, Okubo was subjected to all the pressure the foreign envoys
at Faking could bring to bear upon him in China's behalf. China made evety

(13^) For a detailed account by an Air.erican Tfho accompanied the Expedition,


see House, Ed;rard H.t The Japanese Expedition to fonnosa. Tokyo, 1375 • 231 pp»
Forei<»n nressure so great that the civil government at Tokyo sent or-
ders to Saigo Tsugunichi to delay departure from Nagasaki pending clarification
of the situation. Tills he refused to Jo, as i:r'T-ig full i-esponjibili ty for his
actions. He thus provided the first modern jjnstence in which the Japanese mili-
tary Hi(^ Comrcand refused to atic.e by decisions of the Civil Government. Re
aas soecessfulf therefore he iras forgiven, but he set a disastrous precedent.

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effort to evade the terms of the settlement "^hich had been reached on Fornosa}
negotiations were not ended until the British Minister, Thomas Wade - on
China's behalf - added hia peraonal euarantee that the Chinese fould ablda hy
written a^/Moanta, . •

« •

Qiina Baeomtaaa Jaaan^a O '^lrf f" Bandtro. October 31. 187A

On .October 31, 1874, the brief formal document concxuding the Formoea In-
cident liaa .a£i9ied and sealed at Pekins* In it the shipvreeked men of Miyaka
ware referred to four times, and in each instance they were si"?.T.'ly de£l=Tiated
subjects of Japan". It nas of nuch importance ia subsequent Chinese claims
to Ryukjv that it must be quoted in full.

/"Preamble.^ Hhareas, Oknbo, High Ccnissloner Flanipotentiaxy


of Japan, S{m(|i, Cooneillor of State a^ Secretary of the Interior
Department / on the one part_y, and / ncmeE of Prince Kung__and nine
other Chinese of ficialsj'" of the Tsung-li Yamen of China /"o"^ "Wi©
other part_7, ha/ing dlsousssd the subject of Articles of ilgreeaent
and fixed the manner of their settlement; and it having been under-
stood that the subjects of every nation must be duly protected from
injury; that .therefore every nation may take ef:^cient me^su^es for
the seenrity of its subjects; that if anything £ inJuriooB_7 happen
within the limits of any state, that state should undertake the duty
of reparation; that the aborigines of Formosa formerly committed out~
rages upon subjects of Japan; that Japan sent troops for the sole
purpose of inflicting punishnent on these aborigines > and that the '

troops are to be vvithdram, China assuming the responsibility of meap>


sures for the future; therefore, the following Articles have been
draw and agreed upont
AmOE I.
The present enterprise of Jspan is a Just and rl'gbtful procaed-
ing, to protect her ovn aubjeetst and China doas not designate it as
a, nrong action,

jrhgle n.

A SUB of money ^all be given by China for relief to the faadlias


of the shipwrecked ^Japanese_/ subjects that were maltreated, Japan
has constructed roads and built houses, etc., in that place. China,
wishing to have the use of these for herself, agrees to make payment
for Iha aaonnt is detenlned I37 a special doouBsnt*
ARTICLE III.

All the official correspondence hitherto exchanged between the


two states snail be returned mutually, and be annulled, to prevent
any future aisundarst*aidlng. As to ttub savages, China engages to eS"
tablish authority, and promises that navigptors Shall be protected
from injury by them. (I33)

JJa^House, £dward H.i P^a Japanese Expedition to Fomosa. Toklo, 1875*


pp* Zfty-ZUD*
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Tb this Agreemeint the Japanese depired to add some documentary evidence
recording the part which the British Minister hcd played in securing the Agree-
uDt thxou^ his om personal guan&tM tfaat tfas GhlMM would meet its terms.
A Coa tract vas added.

CON TRACT

TJith regard to the question of Formosa, Mr. V.ade, H.B.M.'s


Minister, having q>ok«a on the subject to the two parties, they,
the said ConBiasioDers of the two natioos, have arranged for set-
UeMnt tfaust-

I. — China
agrees that she shall pay the sum of one hundred
tboosand taels, for relief to the families of .the subjeete of Japan
iho Here nurdered*

II. —
China Irishes that, after Japan idiall have vithdraan her
troops y all the roads that have been repaired and all the houses :

that have been built, etc, , shall be retained for her use; at the '

same tine consenting to pay the sum of four hundred thousand taels
by way of reeoopaise; ^and it is agreed that Japan shall vithdrair
ail her troops, and China shall pay the whole amount v/lthout fail,
by the 20th day of December, the seventh year of Meiji, with Japaa^
or on the 22nd day of the eleventh moon, xhe thirteenth year of
Tung Chi, nith Ghinai but, in the event of Japan not irithdraalng
her troops, China shall not pay the anount.

This settlement having been concluded, each party has taken


.one copy of the oontraet as voucher. 034)

For the tine being the Formosa Incident ceased to have international in-
ter^. Japm had asserted her elaia to international T»cognition as sovereign
poller in the Pyukyus, and had takan a serious military and diplomatic risk to
do so. Britain's diplomatic representative in China had been identified with
a document recognising Japan's interest in Kyukyu. There now remained the,
tadc of persuading the people and Goveramflot at Shurl to accept all the eonse-..
qusooes of this nev relationBhip* and this they proved most reluctant to do. ..'

AdIaatMit ot Mp4n4mir^tive Bftlationa betaean fihuri and Tokvo. and


'
k:
Shoriia appeal for action in September 1872 underscored arjprobLen ahich
already occupied the attention of Kagoshlma authorities. In jfaauary, two
prominent Japanese had arrived in Okinawa to begin discussion end adjustment
of Ryukyu relatione with Japan proper. The principal agent was, Narahara Kogoro,
hmshi or Chief Retainer managing the affairs of Ailmaso Hisamitsu, aac- daimvp of
Satsuma. He was accompanied b^"- Ijichi Sadaka, member of an old Satsuma family
charged traditionally with the investigation and management of Satsuma' a in>
'

terests in Ryukyu.
^"M) Ibid .

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These ren first conferred v:ith the Sanshlkan concerning debt adjustments,
the reorganization of goverpmerit for the treive northern islands (the Oshlma
Group), and the possibility of developing the cool mines la30T.<n to exist in
laeyama. Since the Shlaani Family had relinquished its rights and privileges
to the Central Government, continued payment of tribute and of interest and
principal on old Fyukyu debts by ^burl to the Shlmaau ^aally was called Into
question bgr ^cSsyo. the tvelve northern Islimds nere held hy Satsuae under terms

of the agreement ?ith King Sho Nei (1609) • It seemed desirable nor to shift
the basis of Japanese authority to new and more substantial grounds by arrang-
ing for the outright aeeesslon of the territory to Kegorihima Prefecture, As
for coal mines on Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Group, a Japanese ship was
even then conducting a modem survey of the watery about Yaeyama based on .

Western technical principles, and in Japan long-range plans for Industriali-


zation iMure being matured lAloh 3*equlred the «qiloitation of every available
local sooree of ooal. .> . •

To begin vrlth, it was agreed that Shinasu mid


eanoel Shjifl's fin.fiiicial
obligation (approximately 50,000 ym) provided an equlvaloit sum nere used for
the relief of indigent families among the Fyukyu gentry. In February Ijichl
eonferred rlth the Regent concerning overall administrative policy In the new
era. This was a delicate issue, for opposition to ^tsuma's growing power in
the Central Government had led (among many other things) to a derjond that
Ryukyu's ancient obligations should not be transferred from the Satsuma han
govemmoat to the government of l^goshima Prefecture, but should be transferred
directly to Tbicyo. It nas iiell4aibfB'tbat the Kagoebina Prefeetural adninls-
tration was little more than a continuation of the old han regime under new
office names and titles. Finance Winister Inouye K^ru led the way at Tokyo
In demanding that Ryukyu be made responsible to Tokyo and not to Kagoshima*
In June a Oustons Official ( Zalban Bugyp ) named Fukuzaki arrived at Kaha to
take up problems of economic adjustment, such as the issue, control end respon-
sibility for Ryukyu coinage minted at Kagoshijna. g
It was in this month that Governor Oyama of Kagoshima was notif'ied by
Shuri of the fate r-hich had overtaken the tribute-tax ship from Miyako ten
months earlier. The matter was referred to Tokyo, and Tokyo In turn advised
-ttiat King Sbo Tai diould cone' up to Tokyo to pay his respects to 'the Etaperor*
This would provide an opportunity to revier the Ryukyu-Japan relationship and
incidentally, ^jpjild demonatralje to the world the. subordination of King to £ni- .

This the King declined to do on the grounds of illness. Instead, he sent


his uncle ^Prince le and Glnowan Uyekata as envoys on h^^s bet^alf . J'lne local
produotff uex'e entrusted to the mission for deli^ry as gifts to the laiperial.
Court. Opon reaching Tokyo they were greeteii with many courtesies by the Fore-
i^ Ol^ce. CL35)* On October lA, 1^72, the Foreign Minister summoned the Ryo-
kyu envoys and Tdth no forewarning read to thoii a brief. Imperial decree:
• •
... »
;
• . . • -. •.

^be Ryukyu Mlsclai which went to Tokyo in 1872 was entertained "Hiritli
(135)
JUjni chiefs nd other foreigift envoys" at the opening of the first i^ilway in
Japuk, between Yokohama snd Shlmbashi^ Tbkyo.

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Vie have here succeeded to the Imperial Throne of a line un-
broken for ages eternal, and now reign over all the land. Ryukyu,
situated to the south, has the same race, habits and language, and
has ftlmyfl 1m«ei loyml to Satmne. Vo anproclato thla loTalty, and
here raise you to the peprare en^^ ^.p-oint you King of Ryukj-u Han.
You, Sho Tai, take responsibility in the administration of the Han.
cod assist us eternally. (136)

Taken quite by surprise, Prince le could do nothing under tha ClreUBStsneaa


but accept the ^mpex^or's decree with formal expression of thanks. -

To cover the hluntaess of this formal declaration of control over Ryulcyu,


the Imperial Court ordered that a residence in Tokyo bo establirhed for King
She Tai, that he be granted a gift of 30,000 yen , and that a variety of pra-
sents ba sent down to ByuicTo. Tlnia fsr tha raiatioDshlp had takeh on preelsaly
the character of th? tmditional relationship with the Chinese Court. Tokyo
went further than Peking, however. The Ryukyu Government was directed to hand
OTOr to ihe Japanese Foreign Office ail treaty correspondence and the original
oopiaa of traatlas ahlch had baeo cooolwdad alth tha Doited States, BoUand and
France. Thenceforth the axtemal relatione of the Ryidcjni Kingdom vwn to be
anaged by Tokyo.

Tso aanths later (I^ovcT/oer 1372) the Japanese Government formally notified
foreign governments that Tokyo had assumed responsibility for the Ryukyu King-
dom. The United States Minister to Jc^>an (DeLong) immediately called Japan's
attention to the fact that Hyukyu had treaties eith foreign powers and that
E'jch unilateral action by TokyO' night raise difficult problems. While waiting
for instructions fror. iBshington, DeLong began to collect information bearing
upon the history and status of Rjnjkyu. The Japanese Foreign Office meanwhile
assured the United States and other int^sted powers that Tokyo would assome
full responsibility for all obligations and rights affected by the treaties in
question. This satisfied the foreign powers. Vashington issued instructions
to DeLong on Dei^embcr 18, 1372, to accept the Japanese position.

Prince Ie*s mission had teen essentially of a diploiaatic character. To


niq[)lenent it in handling the practical details of an adjusted relationship,
-Tonabam Oya>;ata cottdueted a aiasidii of sonw thirty nsnbers to Ibk^o. It was
agreed that the old Bu-a-:i Tax and the tax in lieU of sugar ship-
ments rhichihud been paid to Satsuma, would henceforth be cancelled, and that
the tribute formerly sent up to Kagoshima would now go to Tokyo in the fom
of a oney ^equivilsnt for 8,500 koku of rice, based on average Osaka Rioe 1»-
chsnge prl^s in Uie autunn nonthe.

On March 3, 1S73, the envoys returned to Shuri, and three weeks later a
Deoorial |(hzo8o) was issued in the King's neoM vliieh aeknowledged the bperor**
gifts, thie new title Han - 0 end the Court Rank of the First Class. The King
pointedly, tiiough politely. Indicated that these attentions had come upon hin
M a oonlete surprise.

r
Da.1okwan Misshi No. 70. October 16, 1872; Subsequent referonces
o. 76 VOet 29)1 Ho. 7S (Oct. 31).

I
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All In all, the year 1873 was a quiet one for isfaurl. A festival cele-
taration iras h«ld throughout th» lalmds ito nota that the Driapna of Byvtkyn
hald not a single prisoner at that time* Ihis aeaned a matter of justifiable
pride at Shuri, but in Japan certnin joumplists. derided the Okinawans on
this, saying that they indeed lacked spirit. It also meant theu and later
that no one was heing poroMcutad for dlaobcjlxig Japanaaa. orders ooneaxniiig the
conduct of Intaznal and external affaire.

At Tokyo the Qoverument ime preoccupied with the Korean Issue In the
State Council/ iHiSb' the groviog opposition of the samurai to tneir changing
economic and social position, VJith the rebellionr in Sega and Hlzen, and
with attempts to aasassinate the principal Ministers of: State. There vrera
nase arreats, and Jiput^e priaona were overerowded with political offandars* ,

The first signs of a cultural transition from old to new began to be aean
in Ryukyu. A move toward standardisation. took place with the introduction of
the solar calandar to replaoe the old lunar calendar of inaanorial traditional
use in China. This wae of major importance, for the Chinese had alrays taken
usa?e r;f the official lunar calendar to be a basic requirement and symbol of
assiinllation to Chinese culture. Above everything else, the Emperor's his- ;
-

torio role had bean ttiat of "Mediator between Bee van and Eartli", and "Regular
tor of the Seasons" by which an agricultural society lives. The intruduction
of the solar calendar to Hyukyu in January, 1873 therefore was the subject of
shocked ooniMnt at Faking. It marked a significant advance in Japn's assiib-.
llatlcwi progras*

In March 1673 a doctor trained in modem techniquef:' vas taken into the
local Oowernnent sarvice M toward the end of the year this nedical office
(Ikyoku) became knovm as the Okinawa Dispensary. Portraits of the Fraperor and
Eiapress were sent down from Tokyo to provide in Ryuk^ru a dolicate suggestion
of the new role and status v;hich was being prepared for the islands. The sig-
nificance of the nM title Hsp-O was not yet clear, ill fhe feudal ligft or
fiefs of Japan Proper had been abolished or converted into ken.. The daimyo of
old had been termed han-shu ( han liord")f v7hile in traditional practice the
texn O was reserved for independent monarchs of small countries. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs set up an office at Naha in October, 1873* to take the place
of the old Satsuma agency irttich had ftinctioned for two and a talf centuries.

Although the Chief IHniater of State in Tokyo, Prince. D^Skura^ had stood
firm in opposition to proposals for an Invasion of Korea or.'descent upon For-
mosa, an attempt on his life in January, 1874., and the SRmurai rebellions in
Saga and Hizen in March, were grave warnings of civil war... Th.e f^eiditlon to
Fonaoaa deacribed in earlier psgea, was aoqiected to raliewe some of the tan-
sion vrithin Japan, but it was evident that military operations there brought
risk of frontal T.-ar v/ith China, -foreign powers ranged themselves in .support o
Peking, fvith the issue of sovereignty in the Kyukyus as the point of' departure,
J«pan*s leaders were plmging the nation Into grave danger. Kilitaxyi opera-
tions in Formosa were suspended in July, but the danger of general wav aoilAted
throuj^ut the period of Okubo's mission at Peking.
^

: In the midst of this crisis, the chagrin of. Japan's leaders nay b^
In^a^ined r^hen they discovered tiiet the Ryukyu Court had permitted the t-radi-
tional tribute ships and envoys to leave Naha and proceed to Peking, io 1873

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and 1874, performing enroute and at PdcSng tbs aneiwt rituals of sablllSBioa
to the ChineBe Court. 0J7).

Qknte at Peking demanded to see nemberS of the %ok7u nlasloB fliieh ar-
rived while he was there. This ras refused by the Chinese. By their very
presence at the Chinese capital the fiyukyu envoys appeared to refute the Ja»
panes* olaias vhleh lay it the basts of the Sino-Japanese coiitroTsrsy.

Policies and Action^ of Home Minister OkubQ ToahjLfaicl'^i

Almost at once the Court began to pay heavily for these indiscre-
R'/ijkyu
tions. They demonstrated a profound failure to comprehend the importance of
the Ryukyu Question to the Japanese Government. Tokyo's attitude stiffened.
It vas determined to require the fignikyo Court to break off all traditional ties
with China at once, and to close the Ryukyu Trading depot at F*jkien. Further-
aore, Tokyo began developing and strengthening an indirect system of controls
vlthln the ^uri adainistratioD* The Regent ( Sessei) and members of the Coun-
cil of State ( Sanshikan) hereafter were to be appointed by Tokyo on the recoia-
mendation of the Ryvkyu Government. Official ranks were to be reclassified
and reduced in relative importance; although the King itas to hold the rare
First dsiss rank. Regents were to be eonsldiared to bold the Fourth, and. San-
*
ahllan the Sixth, ranks respectively*

Many of Japan's demands, instructions and requests issued in the period


1872 to 1875 vent unheeded in Ryukyu, or were deliberately i^sdred. Antl-
Jspanesp feeling at Shuri ran r.irh. Orders' to break r-ff relatlop? vri th China,
precipitated a crisis v.ithin the i^huri Court. Prince le and Gino.van Oyakata
suffered heavy abuse, for they vere held responsible in having accepted the
surprising Imperial Message of 1872. Uany leading nen at Shurl advocated a
formal appeal to China for aid in rejecting Japan's disiands and for a relMxn
••»
to the old status quo of dual subordination.

On December 15 the official Peking Gazette at the Chinese capital pub-


lished notice of the arrival of a tribute mission from Ryukyu as if it were
a routine matter, ignoring the fact that the ink was hardly dry on an official
CoBventlcn by idtldi the (%inese govenuMOt recostiised Ryukyu to be subject to
Japan.

At Tokyo in January 1373, Oku bo Toshimichi made a report to the £mperor


ahieh fomally revieeed and ended the Fonosa Incident* This contained only
one passirvg reference to Ryukyu in a statement that "the position of a subject
han /"is / for the first time cleared up." In an affair touching upon the Im-
perial Court at that tlike' It nas Intolerable to Okubo that his statensnts to
the Throne should be Contradicted by actions of the E^ndqru Court*' He nov began
to taring great pressure to bear on Stauri.

037) A tribute ship for China left Naha in the seventh month of 1874 and
from there made the overland trip to Peking in ihB tenth aonth. See teoct of
M^morlBl addressed to the Peking Throne from Fukien, published in Peking
Gazette December 15, 1874, Translation in Japan Tjeekly A^i^.* Vol. VI,. Iiio. 4,
Jan. 23, 1875, p. 70. .

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A mission Has summoned from Okinawa to reeelva formal anBouneaaont of tho
end of the Formosa Affair, to receive distribution of the indemnity award frcm
China and to hear a reprlxaand for aliotring trlbjte ehipa and envoys to go to
China In 1874> 1!hl0 nee a lairge Issiony ccmslBtlng of about fifty peraons.
The principal officers nere Iket^suku Oyakata . Yonabara O yakata and Xocbl Pgo-
nin. Leaving Kaha on Februa-^y l6 they took up residence in the compound
( yashikl) of the Ryukyu han at Mochinokl-aaka on March X8. Ten days later they
wam received In audience bj the ftqperor, presenting to his the foxaal tribute
ertielee cuetcaary on mstAi oocaaicns. (M
The presence of the curiously dressed Ayukyuans at the capital attracted
sooe atteniion in itself, but iSne subject at issue bettreen the Ryukyu Court
and the Government at Tokj'o vms of con?iierable though ter:.porary imp-^rt-^TiCe
to the press. It will be remembered that the authoritarian government was
faced v.ith the prospect of rebellion by samurai factions unwilling to accept
the new order. In an effort to iraintain a close control over public affairs,
the Government had impoEed extremely harsh Press Lars, and had thus antagonized
the newspapers and Journals of the capital. Some of them found In the Ryukyu
problen a new issue with which to enberraes md harass the ednlnistration* The
Chova Shlmbun and the Wlsahin Shin.iishi for instance, cabled into question the
Government's rif^ht to renrimand the Ryukyus, and acked tl':e Government to pro-
duce a Treaty or formal Agreement by which Ryukyu «as bound to accept Tokyo's
danands. The Hoehl Shlmbun advocated that Japan abandon the Ryukyus entirely.

Open concluding his v.ork as President of the ^oir-nsn Commission Okubo


resumed his duties as Home 'Minister. In ti is capacity he summoned
enbers of tiie ftjfukyu Mission on Harch 31 and gawe then seme prelininary in-
dication of the demands which were about to be :::ade upon the Kingdom of Ryu-
kyu. He attempted to Impress upon them the need to recognize what swift
<d)ange8 had overtaken the International situation and to emphasise the need
to modernize ancient institutions In order to meet the challenee of new times.
It was pointed out that the internal administration of the Ryukyu ban should
be brought into conformity rdth the nev.ly organized ken governments of Japan
idmcvver possible.

In this first Interview Okubo outlined five requirementes

(1) The King himself should visit Tokyo to give thanks for
Japan's efforts to protect the Interests of l^kyusns
cast away on Formosa.

(2) Byukyu should abandoB the use of Chinese reignHBsaes


(nengo) fund should adopt the Meiji era-name throughout
the islands. Furthermore, Ryukyu should adopt and
•trietly observe all Japanese national official festi-
vals according to notification from Tokj'o. This would
aean island-wide celebration of the Emperor's birthdey,
of. the. traditionally accepted Accession Day of tlie First
Bsperoi* Jlmi, and of the Hew Tear in confonlty with
Vestem practice.
Q38) See "On the Ryukyu Ebbassy",' tokro Mlcfal Mlohl i3hinfaa March 30 and
May 25, 1875 and oonentary^ J^nap iryefeLY*^faf Vol. VZ« Ho. 22, pp. 466^(67,
Hay 29* 1875.
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(3) Bgrukyu should adopt the eriminal law codes of Japan as de-
veloped in the Ministry of Justice (Shiho-Sho) at Tokyo,
and to this end ^url should send tJLree officials to Tokyo
for iiMtrootiaii.

(4) Opon revising the administrative organization at Shuri and


Naha, the Japanese Ctovemment would send down officials from
the Hone Hiaietrey to de^lop liai0on wtfh Tokyo.

(5) Ten youths should be selected by SViuri for education at


Tokyo, in order that they might come to understand the
trend of the tloMMi In Hew Japan.

Okubo dwelt at length upon the developnent and outcome of the Formosa Af-
fair, and in doing so naturally introduced the subject of the original ship-
aredCy the Jadennlty paid by China and the threat of imr which had been averted.
He assured the Ryukyu envoys that relief rice TOuld be paid over to the vic-
tiJBS of the 1871 affair, and prosilsed thea the gift of a steamship which would
provide then vith safer and better inter>*ialmd fervloe than Idie old, elmaj
Jindv had done. Fuithermore, in order to proteet the ftyukyo people, a garxdson
force wuld he eataialiehed on QkinaMU

Qknbo had made a aklllful and stateBaanllke ^iproadi to a difficult sob*


Ject. The five specific requirements presented no insuperable or harsh de-
taands. A visit by the King to Tokyo would be carried out v/ith ceremony and
courtesy, but would demonstrate to the world at large that Ryukyu acknowledged
its subordination to Tokyo. A ofaange in the ii«afe of reign-names and holidays
would not x.ork any hardship on the illiterate common people; the gentry might
tie ixked by a change in custom, but no real damage would be done to their

livelihood or statue, while they would iweone aecustoned to stttidaii^Lsatiaii of


ivactice with Japan Proper. The development of new criminal law codes and
fVocedures would be more difficult, but the suggestion that it would require
the presence of only three men. at Tokyo may have blunted the long-range sig-
nifioanoe of this proposal. Slinllarly, the indioation that the Hone Ministry .

at Tokyo would wait for Shuri to reorganize on its own volition put a mild
apnearance upon this fourth point. There would be no objection to a program
of education for Ryukyu youths at Tokyo.

By enlarging on the prolonged and troublesome negotiations vith China,


the risks that Japan had taken on Ryukyu 's behalf, and the magnanimity of the
Imperial Government in granting relief rice and a modem ship to the Ryukyu
people, Olcubo tried to create tn the envoys a sense of obligation to Japan*
This T/as an important point in a country so markedly sensitive to propriety.
Japan's ultimate purpose in the entire effort to draw Ryukyu within an estab-
lUhnd Japanese fi«ntler was served nost directly in Ihe last point - the es-
tabaj.8hment of a Japanese garrison foroe in the Ryukyu Islands, this too ms
presented to the Ryukyu envoys as a benevolent and protectiTS gesture, S JS;-
panose sacrifice on behalf of the Ryukyu people.

Home Minister Okubo did not treat this conference as a negotiation; it


was a polite but forthright stateuent of orders fron Tokyo to Shuri. He had
DO reason to be pleased therefore when the Ryukyu envoys withdrew to their

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hMdqoartors at HodiiBokl'-saka for dellbMratlune i4kl^ iMted one week. Gb
i^ril 8 they tbtg received agQin by Oku be, to v;hora tliey expressed appreciatldl
for Japan's interest. Going to the heart of ti^te matter,: huwever, they repro-
sontod to Okvbu that f^ince Ryukyu iras a distant and poverty- stricken Kingdom,
it had never required a aiilitary force to dofend it, tut instead had relied
exclusively, and thus fax- successrully, upon friendly negotiation tn raintain
its relations with otlier peoples. It had been successful even in dealing with
VostWB ships, and had naintalnod pMoo for bnmdreds of years. The envojrs eic-
prossad concern last a garriaon in Oklnttaa ahould attract the hostile atten-
tion and action of foreign powers. Secondly, as lor the gift of a steamship,
Byukyu had no way in rhich to. maintain it, or to pay for it, because of recent
great financial loasas* Thirdly, aa for the relief rice proaiaed
'
Japan for
the victims of the Formosa incident four years earlier (December 1871), the
Ryukyu Govemaent authorities had already tal^eD care of the faxDilies of the
victims.

Here Okubo, the proud Satsuma statesman, met rith unexpected frankness and
firmness. His keen perception could not miss the implied comparison of Okina-
van's success in dealing with the Kestem powers peacefully and Satsuma's un-
successful, spectacular, and ooetly clash with the Britlah in 1362. There ana
a touch of irony in reference to Shuri's flnarcial losses and inability to pay
for a steamship, for it had been Japan's action in cutting off the tribute-
trade ralationa with China that had brou^t about 8huri*a lateat and noat severe
Inpovarlahnant. Furthermore, by terns of fhe Sino-Japanese Convention of 1874
Tokyo was under moral obligation to pay over to the Ryukyu victims the equiva-
lent of 100,000 taelj (approximately $150,000) which was approximately three
tines the sun owed by Ryukyu to S&tsuna when tiie latter beeane a Prefecture*

Okubo once again revieved all the argments which stressed Japan's mag-
nanimity in making these proposals to Hyukyu, and ended sharply that a refusal
to aooapt the gifts offered by the Inperlal Court nas construed to be a grave
affront. Nothing daunted, the Ryukyn envoys continued to press their reasons
for rejecting Japan'^ wishes, and met Td.th the Home Ministry ofi'iciald on April
18 and 28, and again on the 2nd and 3rd days of Hay. A minor compromise was
reached rhen they agreed that &yukyu would aooapt the proposal to observe Japan's
national holidays, and iiould Send students as |m11 as law enforosMnt officials
to Tokyo to study.

Viith patience exhausted, Okubo adopted a more coercive attitude in a meet-


ing held on May 7. There rould be no more argument; Ryukyu would accept a gar-
rison to be made up from the ^ixth Kiaoamoto Division, the steamship nvouid be
delivered toUal^^ and,l,740 koku of rioe wold be distributed to the fanllies
of violins and survivors of the 1871 Alparedk. -03^

(X3^ For the text of the official notlficationsL from the DaJokii-iin(Couneil
of State) to the Ryukyu han goveirment, see McLaren, ». Japanese Go-gaiPnapt
Documents TAST Vol. XLII, Pt. 1, 1914, p. 287. •

Ja;^an t.e./kly Mail . Vol. VI, Ho. 22, p. 467.


Instead of the equivalent of ^150,000, the Japanese Government actually
paid over only a total of 8,700 kolw of rice to the victir^s. An un verifiable
story reached the foreign community in Japan that the Kyukyu envoys refused to
aecept the Chinese indenlty for "patriotic" reasons, and nere offered the 8t4Mai
vessel instead*

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Toodtaru Oyakata and his eoll«a^es responded to this with the statemant
that they could not Mcept theM coodltlooB vltbout r«f«renoe to the %uri
Govenunent.

Oku bo met such stubborn resistance to his dememds by a change In tactioa.


He rcElized that envoys sent to Tokyo quite legitimately could refuse to coro-
oit the Hyukyu govemmait without reference to Shuri unlees they were armed
vlth full dlplomtlo poirarB. That nould not be Mtlflfaetory, for it susgeeted
a greater degree of independent action and decision for Shuri than Tokyo was
prepared to admit to be proper at this time. Henceforth Tokyo's representa-
tives would go to Shuri, armed vrith considerable authority and backed by a
wltaUe aiiov of forca* . .

Ihe Firat liatauda Mlasicp to Okjpana Preeants Tokyo's Demands.


Juna-aaotembar. 1875.

Oa June 12the Chief Secretary of the Home Ministry, Uatsuda f'ichiyuki


together with a auitaULa eoDpany of aides, left Tokyo aboard the Ta i.-^u-aa ru.
This vessel was to be the gift of the Japanese Ekaperor to the King of Ryukyu,
liut was in factto be used principally thereafter to ferry Japanese officials
to and from u\e ^uthem Islands. The Uatsuda Mission arrived at Naha on July
10, and prooaadad to the Caatla at Shurl on the 14th. Thay ware not raeaivad
by the King, who v;as said to be ill, but by Prince Nakijin, his peraonal rapra-
sentatlyey by the Bsgmt Prince le, and by the Council of State.

WiJLle thaaa foxnalltlaa ware iieing carried througli, the Japanaaa aoyad in
a more practical ray to achie\''e their objectives. The conduct of Ryukyu-
Japanese affairs was transferied from the f'oreign Ministry to the Home o^inictry
at Tokyo, and a Home Ministry Branch Office was established at Naha to support
itatsuda and to carry on after his return to Tokyo. More important, perheqpai a
datachaent of the Kumanoto Dlvialon arrived to. form the Okinawa Garriaon.

Uatsuda now revealed a audi wider program for .change and aueh more seri-
ous demands than the Yonabaru Mission had received in Tokyo. The Japanese
lare not satisfied rrith the nere letter of thanks 7/hich the Council of State
nd Regent hau forwcrded to "^okjo* The King himself must go up to pay his
respeeta and eacpreaa Ayukjni'a appreciation for Japan's benevolence. The loeal
hierarchy of Court and Govemr.'?nt must be revised, with a new distribution of
ranks and responsibilities among 'he ^huri gentry. Furthermore, ranks at the
Hyukyu Court must become equiveQ.ent to suitable ranks at Tokyo. For instance,
the King would become a chokunin official of the First Class, which is to say
that he alone rould receive direct Imperial appointment. Six officials would
enjoy son in status, that is to say, would be appointed with the JQaperor's ap-
proval, and would be drawn fron the Uih to the 7th Court rank. Junior officials
would be draim from a classification to be equivalent to Japanese Court ranka
ei^ht to fifteen. Appropriate salariaa would be paid out of the local Govem-
ment treasury.

After several days consideration, Prince le, the Regent and the Council of
State called on Matsuda at his headquarters and asked that the visit of the
King to Tokyo might be postponed because of his illness. Instead they proposed

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that Prince Nakijiu mlglit prooMd to Tokyo as the Klag^s p«rpohal repreMata-
t^ve. (L^ T}u3 request Matsude ^pnted, but required «n -iMMdiate aeeeptanoe
and action couceming all other deatanda.

I>jrlng these negotiations public feeling ran high. The Biaall society con-
centrated atoiit Sl-iuri and Kaha, rich iii local traditions rhich set it apart
from both Japan and China^ was beginning to break up under irresis table pres~
fluree tram. Tokyo. The oomfortettLe prerogatives «ere threetebed ehleh had been
enjoyed by many generations of the local unarTned ha n-shi' or samurai , and the
subsidized academic end clerical gentry of Kume village. Nor there were riots.
Cro7/d8 gathered about the buildings in v*iich Matsuda and his suite were lodg-
Ingy and attempted to interfere «ith Go'venuiient officials 6a their nay to and
from coriferRnces vl^Yi the Japanese. It was only rrith prett dif ricul t^- that the
negotiations vrere brought to a conclusion, Matsuda left for Tokyo in Septem-
ber. Prince Nakijin followed shortly thereafter, reaching Tokyo in November
with six students and tro officials destined to study legal affairs* On
November 22 Prince Nakijin wa^ received in audience by the Snperor in order to
present the %ukyu King's statement of appreciation of past Japanese action on
his Kingdom* 8 behalf,
i

At Naha and Shuri orderly administration gEve tray to chaos. Those offi-
cials who had accepted the Imperial Japanese Rescript in 1S72 now became ob-
Jeeta of pubLie approbrium. dnowan Oyakata who had done hie beet for hie King
and Government at that time, was now forced to resign from all official posts
and to withdraw from public life in bitterness, ill-health, and seclusion in
the countryside. He was crushed by the injustice of the situation. Just before
his death in 18% he is said to kawe composed an ode T^ich suggests the tuiBalt
of advice and eritieism which had driven him fton service to his King.

There are edl kinds of insects


Chirping in the fields—
Ibo can tell one fro« fosother?

T&e'K\ime-mura people presented a most serious problem. They were of Chi-


nese descent end were strongly pro-Chinese by tradition. Their settlement be-
came a cen*er of antl-Jananese protest euid counter-action. Mor^t of the hen
gentry had be&n educated in Kume-mura or by Knme-oura scholars who wero deeply
inbued «i^ the tr^tionel view of China aa the great "Central Bspire" (Chrn^
kuo) and the world's nost powerful state. Peking's defeats and huniUations in
diplomacy and warfare after I84O were represented tn the Chinese view as mag-
nenimous Imperial Chinese concessions to barbarians - including the British,
the frrndb, the Americans end the Japanese.

By acce-iin'' to Japan's demands to break off the ancient tribute relation-


&hip, raeny S.iuri gentry believed 'ttiat Ryukyu would incur China's TTrath and

Cue) Only once before had a Ryukyu Kinr left Y.is countr-,' (ir ]609) and
that was to become a hostage to Satsuma, guaranteeing Ryukyu 's acceptance of
change and reform dictated from Kagoshima. Onder existing circumstances In
1875* the Shurl Government had' good reason to heSitate to allov their King to
proceed to ToIqfo at this time.

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oold suffer puDiehment. It wis knoim for instanoo that the Qiineee Ck>vem-
Mttt iiaa soccMflfully putting dofn the great Mohamedaa revolt of Takub Beg
in Eastern Turkestan, and that Peking iras moving to re-conquer and chastize
that TBvevir.g tributary region (accomplished in 1877), Fear of reprisals, as
veil as hope lor China's championship vls-a-vls Japan » prompted some to urge
the Sliori GovemMat to resist fckyo and to disregard Matsoda's progran*

By contrast, the Satsuma Rebellion in Kjrushu threatened to rnreck the Cen-


tral GovemiDent of Japan through general civil war. Qaboldened by this state
of affatrsy from i875 unlU ISTB, aaaibers of the ityukyu alssidB at Tokgro pre-
sented no less than fourteen petitions to the Tokyo Government seeking a return
to the status quo ante - the old "dual subordination" - and appealed to foreign
6RV07S of the'Onited States, frttnoB, the Netherlands and China to act on BjfM-
kyu's behalf. The argument was summed up poetioaUy, if not practically^ In
the stateasnt that "Ji^Mn Is our father and Chlnia our Hother".

A Maiorandiai prepared by Ikegusulcu Oyakata vras gtVen vide publicity in


the Tokyo press, in which he attempted to explain the positldo of the Govexn-
ment and people of the Rjrukyu Kingdom. They vrere rdllint^ to accept Japan's
demands and the consequences cf direct Japanese control, but they had an un->
Aakable aoral obli^tion to China. If the Japanese Govenment would send an
envoy to Peking to persuade the Chinese Government to send an envoy to Shurl
bearing a formal statement of release of Okinawan obligation to China, and di-
recting Shurl to accept Japan's exclusive jurisdiction, the entire matter could
be settled satisfactorily from the Okinawan point of vier/. IkegusuikRi reviewed
Japan's argument that no ?;oman could serve tro husbands at one time, and that
no country could serve t-no overloj^s. He pointed out that on the one hand
aany sovereigns in Europe reoeived a necessary confirmation of ^eir independ-
ent role from the hands of the Pope at Home. Similarly, Ryukyu understood
that Poland at that time was ruled ooojointly by. Russia, Austria and Prussia.

ntese argineots and entreaties 'aaae to nothing, for neither Japan nor China
TOuld act. At the sarne time, both were aware thnt the ^•i;ropc!m powers irere
ready to "fish in troubled waters". France, Britain and the United States had
ceased to show interest in the ^yukyus as a possible territorial base, but Ger-
aany continued to keep watch on opportunities irtilch might piresent theaselwes*
In 1875 the Gortaan ship R. J. Robertson was rrecked on Miyako. For a month its
crew were cared for and cordially entertained until they could be taken away.
How in liarch 2B% a German man-of-nar took gifts to the people of Miyakc, and
caasad a nonuRent to be eirected at Harimiisu in the name of the German Bnperor*
Wiile conveying the thanks of the German Government, this narship found opipor^
tunlty to cruise among the southern islands.

As a result of these confusions the Jrxranese renrer>ent*itives who remained


at Naha and '-huin .T.ade little progress after i.'-'ts'ida' s depart-jre. There was
a generel disregard of orders coming down from loicyo and an at,teaipt to return
to the old pattern of living, ^e Sttari officials were indeed buffeted by
storms of public opinion, and were driven to indiscretions which led Tokyo to
ove toward complete extinction of the monarchy and the establishment of a Pro-
vincial ( ken) form of Government for the islands. Perhaps the most serious of

CU^ Ogawa, H.I HfUI. <?ft»c?KU Ygrofc¥ (DlDl^aev of the Meili Era^ Tbkyo
1902, p. 69.

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these indiscretions was the secret dispatch of envoys Kochi Qyakata and Kin Sei-
Ko to China ill 1876, to aea «ft)At'4ieIp'«filgbt 1M secured In that quarter in an
effort to rerist .jEpon. At Peking it was said that thoy '.ad conie u]^ fron
Shurif according to traditional custom, to offer condoXences upon the occasion
of .the death of the T'ung Chih Eriperor.

l^ile the Chinese at Peking began to debate ways end means to bring the
Influence of foreign powers to "bear upon Japan» Tokyo acted. A bax'racks ra.a
built at rllaha to aeooneBodate a holf-battalion of JapmBtm troops. In May,
1376, Kinaahi Selichiro was appointed Resident In Qhsrge of the Naha Brandi
Office of the Home Ministry. He was at the same time made responsible for
..

control of overseas travel, police affairs and judicial affairs. Henceforth


travel regulations iihi<^ s^pliM el seihere 1a Japan, were to apply in the Ayu-
kyu Islnnds. This -neant thot anyone desiring to cross over to China t;es re-
quired first to obtain p&iTui Lesion from the Ministry of foreign Affairs (Tokyo)
iriiich in turn referred applications to the Home Ministry office at Naha. F-hile
this effectively .placed a 'legal VLotk, vpaa ft*ee travel to Cbina» the underde-
veloped state of coimnuni cations made it virtually certain that there rould be
f ew Byukyu applications for travel permits. Thoee who crossed to China nith-
out ihm violated the lair and .therefore plaosd theaselves in danger of arrest
and punishnont if. apprehended.
Y'

As time passed a number of Okinawans chose to go inter exile rather than


to acc^t the ^oiMng authority of Japan. Sone twenty aenbers of old Eune Vil-
lage fa.nilles (i-hose pride and nrivile^^e re.^ted on claims of Chinese descent)
now T/ent over to Fukien and took up residence in the old Ryukyu Trading Head-
quarters. Fihether by accident or intent, .the Ryukyu Trading Headquarters and
office at Kagoshiaa was destroyed by fire*

In. June, 1877, members of the influential political association founded by


Itagdci Taistdce (the Ulsshiaha) presented to the Ibperor a long neuorial. Charg-
ing that the IncunbeDt Government failed-.ill its duties /the Rlsehisha urged the
Gnperor to issue en order establishing a representative Assembly or Parlianent
for Japan. Among the many arguments were these:- ^

Loochoo constitutes a Japanese ban. Our troops are garrisoned


• there, the post-office and a branch of the Naiausho have been
established there; but both the King end the people of Loochoo
are endeavoring to free themselves from the authority of Japan.
China is endeavoring to do the same with Loo-choo as Russia has
clpne with Saghalin. If China succeeds, our territory will
gradually deereassy and ifitb it opr power. CU^

The Tokyo Government was well aT7rre that ''hina proposed to reopen discrus-
Sions of the Fyuky»> question by asking ex-Prc.Sj.uont Grant of the United States
of Aneriea to rflvian the question during his vieib to Peking early In 1879.
It was important t.'-.erefore for thdin to anticipate thrs by outting an end to the
ambiguri)3 anc unsatisfactory administrative relationehip with Shuri. The ques>
ticm was aebated in Uie Council of State (Da.1ok<.d:v) . Adnirtd Ehomoto Buyo who
^ CUiv
- •

r^cl.aren, T*. W. ed.: Japanese Government Dpcutrents "Memorial Advo-


.

cating the E£ tablishaent of a Representative Assembly" Transaction Asiatic So-


ciety of Japan, Vol.""XLlI (1914) pp. ^77-47fii' ' '
. .•

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had reecntly negotiated the northern bounday settlenient with Russia, is said
to have recomnended formally that the Ryukyu feudatcry (hen) be abolished, and
that Okinawa Province (kea) be created in its place, liie recommendation waa
adopted. The evtlnetion of tiie Fyukyu Kingdoa tms to be aade eonpLete* Events
oved swiftly thereafter. Hihen the Chinese laised the Ryukyu question with
General Grant, they were in effect asking the Japanese Goverrmert to give up
territory which was no longer a distant dependency, .bi|t - on paper at least - a
fioM Province.

Crisis at Shuri; the King's Abdication. March 27. IS?^

On December 28, 1378, the Japanese Council of ftite fcudcenly lasued a


brief order to the officers of the Kyukyu han stationed in Tokyo*

It is hereby notified that the notiflcatioa aa to the residence


in Tokyo of the representative officers of your han havin;^ been
countermanded, you are ordered to return to your hap at once.

Simultaneously the Miriatry of Bone Affairs was directed to speed and f*i-
cilitate the return of the *<-yukyu envoys. Or. Fiednesday, January 3, 1879 -
scarcely ten days after receiving this abrupt notice - the three principal
OonmiBsloners trxm Shuri enbaxked with their aides and servants for Kobe ahere
they were to transfer to a special ship awaiting to take them onward to Naha
without delay. One Ryukjru Commissioner remained at the lidabashl yashiki of
the Ryukyu ban . Matsuda wlichiyuki. Senior Secretary in the Ministry of Home
iffalrSf aae ordered to leave at once for Shorl with seoret instructions.

The suddenness and speed with which these orders v;ere given and executed
provoked wide oomMnt in Tokyo, for there ires still aone serious doubt as to
the strength of Chinese opposition to Japan, and soice veiled expression of caor*
cem. It was knor-n publicly that Kochi Oyakata had been sent by Shuri to
Peking to invoke Chinese intervention and help, byt the outcome of his nlsslon
renalned unpredictable* In general the Japanese press supported any moVe ahioh
would clarify the ambiguous status of the han in relation to the other ken of
Japan ProDf r. Okubo Toshiraichi had been assassina+ed in May, 1878. Ito Hiro-
bual was now kinisttsr of Home Affairs, hence the i^i^JKyu problem remained in the
hands of Japan's nost able statesaen*

Chief Secretary Matsuda arrived at Naha on January 21 » His stay was brief;
hot to the point. The Government at Shuri V7as ha:ided a list of Japan's com-
plaints concerning neglect and failure in local administration, and a detailed
list of points concemirg v!hich Shuri seemed to be in conflict with Tokyo. With
imniBtakable reference to Kochi Oyakata' mission to Peking, Matsuda reialnded
a»iri in writing, that all t:ra.vei overseas - ahethw to Tokyo or elseidiere ->
raqviired advance notification to the Ministry of Boaie Affairs.

It is probable that the mere repetition of these points was not so signi-
ficant as the ijoqwrtance to be attached to this final survey of conditions at

(L^) Jaoan fteeklv Mall. Vol. II new series, No. 2^ p. 42, January IX,

Copyrighted material
Nah« and Stourl before the Council of State at Tokyo dioold perfeet its plans
and prepare its orders for the dissolution of the han government. Matsuda
left Naha on February 4-, reached Tokyo February 13f participated in the con-
ferenoes there , and on Harc^ 12 left Tokoima for Daha once a^snln.

'This time he was accorr.panied by more than thirty civil aides, the Second
Police Superintendent, Sonoda Yaeutaka^ end siore than 160 policemen. Simul-
taneooaly a Captain Maaunitsu of the General Staff Haadquartersj and a Major
Hatano, commanding half a battalion, left Kaeoflhlaa to Join Matsoda. lha Ja^
panese Uiseion arrived at Naha on Uarch 25*

Froceadtng to Shuri Caatla on JUr^ 27, a fonwl eonmmicatloti fron the


Tokyo Government was handed to Prince Nakijin, announcing decisions to aboliflh
the han, end the monarchy, and create a Province Govexiunent for the Hyukyu la-
lands. In summary, the principal points were four:

1. Xha fi-yukyu Han is abolished and Oklnaaa ten is estabOLlshod.


• ' • • ^
.

2. This aetion is taken as punishiiMit for fallvrs to obey Tokyo's


orders of May 29« 1875 and May 17, ld76.

3. Prince le and Prince Nakijin will be granted the status of


peera in Japan, as an act of Imperial grace.

4. The deposed King, Sho Tai, is immediately required to visit


Tokyo. CU4) -i '

There were supplementary nrov^iBions relating -^o vithdrawal from the ancient
Castle, and establishing procedures for the transfer of authority and public
iMsinesstr
* *

The people of Shuri and Naha waited tensely. All gates to the Castle were
closed except the Kankai-Jdon and. this was under, heavy guard. All who entered
or left were searched until the transfer of inportsnt doeunents: ma conqilete. .

Opon delivering notification to Prince Nakijin, Matsuda issued a pubGLic


proclamation:
• * .

Because the Imperial Decree issued in Meiji 3th year (1375) has not
been complied with, the GovenuMnt las compelled to abolish the feudal
daa* liis former feudal Lord, his family' and kin xrill be accorded
princely treatment, and the per.^ona of citizens, including samurai,
th,etr hereditary stipends, property and business interests will be
.. dealt v.'ith in a manner as close to, traditional customs as is possible. ^
Any acts of malaimi'vl stration, and exhorbitant taxes and dues levied
during the regime of the former clan govem.iient will probably be
righted upon careful consideration. Do not be misled by irresponsible
rumors. a11 are advised to pursue their respective occupations uliii
. . ease, of mind. (145)

OJ^ Ota Chofu: Okinama KanKJil Go-iu-nan. ( Fifty leara of Adminiatration


in Okinav/a Province ) p. 4^5. !"

(L45) Ota Chofu: Ibid . . p. ^6.

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Tokyo had prepared the wr,y (March 3) for a transfer of ad-ministration
appointing Kinashi Seiichiro of the Home ^^inistry Branch Office to the post
of acting Governor ( Kenrei koKoroe) cf Okinawe-ken. He now announced that the
DOff Frovineiel eoveznmant would operate tenporarlly in the offieea of the Borne
Ministry Breach Office at Hitfiiansra, Heha.

Ihe King's withdratral was expected to be the aoet critical moment in the
trenefer procedures, but although great crouds waited quietly ar.u ith strong
.

emotion, he left the Castle of his ancestors on the evening of i.'arch 30, pro-
ceeding with his Household through the Kyukei Mou, ciowii Matsuzaki-^baba and
through the Kokugako Hon . Shuri Palace aae handed over
to a detached battwilion of the EuBsnoto Garrison*

The Tokyo Government's decisions to abolish the feudal dependency ( han )


and to establish In its place a provincial govenusent ( lean) vere made public
record by notices bearing Prii^e "inister Sanjo fianeyoshi's signature. Ihe
first (dated April 4) read simply

It is hereby publicly notified that the Loochoo


abolished and Okinana kan established, in its place*

the second (dated April 8) clarified ^e status of the northern islands of the
Ryuk>Tj arcrdpelago which had been tr,ken under control by Satsuma in 1609, but. ^
had alTrays been adcno«ledged to be part of the territories of the fiyukyu King-'
dom. It read:

It is hereby notified that the lzZ..nn': CshiaR, Kikaigashlma,


Tokunoshima, Oklyerabushima, and Yoronrhina, under the JuriSr

diction of the Kagoshima ken * will hereafter be called the *-

Oshima -gcri. (Oshioa Department) and belong to the Province


of Omni* CU£j|

Tokyo anticipated that aU formalities of transfer Tiould be complete- by


'

aid-April, and arranged to have the ship Mei.^ i-maru ready to transport the
former King to Japnji. Iraperiel Court Char;berlain TomlkoJ i arrived on the
Mel.1 innayu prepared to convey to Sho Tai an expression of Imperial apprecia-
'
tion, to diecoss the protocol of the King's impending trip, end to accompany
the Royal party on its jormey northward. Unexpectedly, it m&s announced that
'die forr,er Kir.g ras still too ill to make such en arduous trip. His twelve-
year old son told heir, Sho Tai, was entrusted to Tomiiioji's care and sent up
to Tbkyo instead, nhere he presented a petition that his Father be permitted to
defer his long-amaited courteiqr call upon the ^>eror*

Tokyo could no longer tolerate delay. The ship Tokai Maru entered Naha
port on May 18 bringing to Meha the first Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, Na-
beshima i^acokira, and Kara Tadanori, Assistant Secretary of the new administra-
tion* Also aboard were .iajor Sagara of the Imperial Household Ministry at
Ibk^o end Court Physician Takadiina. Despite repeated petitioas and protests,

0/6) Official translations published in the' Japan Weekly Maij. Vol. Ill,
Ro. IS, p. iOA, April 12, 1879.

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former King Sho Tai ras certified by Dr. TakaBhitta .to be rhysically fit for
the journey to Tokyo. All further entreaties were rejected, and on May ?7
the last King of Ryukyu, ti^en aged j)0, set sail vlth ninety-six retainers to
begin his life of exile in Japan.

Sho Tai arrived at Yokohama on Jure P and proceeded to Tokyo by train on


the next day. On June 10 he presented himself in audience at the Im,jerial
Pelaee. His position was a difficult one, for though he had bbiTSd to the in-
evitable at last, his long delays and many excuses had not msde him popular at
the Japanese ^ourt. for public information it was said that he had been ill
for eight 3rears solely because of worry concerning the uneasy and unsatisfactory
state of affairs in Ryukyu, and that he had sent messengers to China to ea^ilain
Japan's actions and to ask for China's aid aiid advice. On iviay ?0, it was seid,
a reply had been received to the effect that China was too busy with internal
affairs to act on behalf of Ryukyu, and that Kyukyu therefore henceforth oust
obey Japan s orders
' . On the follo^ring day, therefore^ the King had detmnined
to proceed to Tokyo. 0^
Such ims the eiq>lanation transparently designed to ease the King*s wounded
pride by attritutinr to him ••'he final deciis^on to t.ncead to Tokyo. Kis long
record of procrastination hai c-^me to an end. it had teen a helpless drifting
with the tides of opinion at Shur* rather than a deliberate or carefully
Idflinnad pdliey of defiance. The Ryukyn Gowemnent and people alike had es-
caped stronger coercive measures principally because Tokyo had been faced vith
such grave internal political crises as the Satsuma i^ebellion in Kyushu in the
years 1875 to 1879. Neither Tokyo nor Shuri bad means to g&vge China's trae
straogth or weakness, and a sense of uncertainty pervades i.irny public and pri-
vate records of the tines, fibuld China risk imr on behalf of Byukyu?

Rvukvu Sovereignty as an Intematiooal Issuet General 0, S. Grant's

Innouneenent of the change from hem to ][sn and the King's enforced removal
to Tokyo cler-red the way for a further attempt to dispose of the sovereignty
issue. Fifteen years were to pass, however, before all shadow of war or of a
viol«it resurgence of this issue could be removed.

The King set sail from Naha on May Z'7. On that day Generpl Olysses S.
Grant, former President of the United States of America, was moving over the
sea not aany miles distant, enrpute from Shanghai to Tientsin, where he was
to be received by Chinese Viceroy Li Hung-chang, and to meet with a determined
Chinese effort to reopen the Ryukyu Qi.?estion, ostensibly on behalf of the de-
posed King, tiho Tai. To understand the American position in relation to this
we inist gp back' briefly to 1875 to pldc up the thread of the story as one of
IniierhaUbnal slgnifieanoe, 04^.

(U^ Mainichi Shj-nhun Tokyo, quoted in the Japan fteekly Mall . Vol. Ill,
.

Ho. 24, p. 766, June 11, 1879,


Cub) Neither Japanese nor American documentation on the Ryukyu dispute
can be reecocHed with tiie Chinese records. The Chinese side of the affair

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Copyrighted material
Cub) cont'd.: Is set torth extensively by Tsiang, T. F.: "Sino-Japanese
Diplomatic Relations 1870-189^*" in the Chinese Social end Political Scienc»
Rwlew, Vol. XVII, April 1933, pp. 1-106, especially "The Fonnosan Episode,
187A" (pp. 16-34) aad "The Lluchiu Controvepsy, 1877-'81" (pp. 3A-53) . In this
presentation . fslaag XffkovB the history and nature of Sateumii's relationa
with Fyuk^«

Ses also: Morse, Hosea Bailout International Relatlonr nf the Chinese


Baplre Vol II - The Perlci of SubmlHEion. 1861-1693 London 1918. pp. 270-
.

275; 3^1-3^2. A suiamary translation of fifty-one letters, notes and memoranda


made ty LI epd bgr Ho are fotmd in Leaveninorth, Charles S. : The Loochoo Islands
Shanghai* 1905, pp* 199~1B6.

For documentation of the American role, see: U. Dep&rt:.ient of State:


Messages and Doctaaenta pp. 606-607; 657-638; 19A; 199-202; 1680 . p. 686$
1881 . p. 230. See also: Mcore, J. B.: History and Dlf^est of International Ar~
bitratlons to vhich the bnited States has been a Party . Washington, 1898, Vol*
v., pp. 4357; 50^8 and Treat, Payson B. : Diplomatic Relations betreeo ^e .

Dnited States and Jppan . 1853-1895; Vol. I., pp. 473-^3; 493-498; 541-556)
567-569. Vol. II, pp. 25; 71-74; ^104; 126-127; Ul-144; 179-180.

la these diseussioas the Vestem cooMntary oYerlooks the aoral lBpllo»-


tions of ceremonial rituals Of InTSStiture (aSTOo) , a sense of responsibility
to both China and Japan was possible according to R;i,Tjk;Aj standards. The reader
of Ryukyu history in this period must find a middle way between Chinese and
Japanese repressntaticms of the ease.

Ryukyu 's appeals to Tokyo for a return to the old position of dual subor-
dination were of course reported to Vfashington* .:In July, 1875» the Department
of state instructed the American Minister at Tokyo (John A. Bingham) to submit
a review of the status of the American Treaty v.ith.the Ryukyu Kingdoffl. Bip^am
repeated iriiat his predecessor DeLong had reported, namely, that Japan was
fully prepared to absorb and observe all treaty obligations. \J\en the Japanese
refused to permit the traditional tribute vessels to clear from Naha for Foo-
chow in 1876, the Imperial Chinese Treasurer in that city began inquiries. The
King at Shuri eas cauf^t in an uncoBfortahiLe crossfire. His IHnisters for-
warded a detailed explanation to China, and asked Peking to intervene on be- .

half of Ryukyu. Concurrently, as r;e have seen, the Ryukyu officers at Tokyo
appealed to the Qiinese Minister there, and to the envoys of the United States,
Great Britain and Franee,

Washington directed Bingham to refrain from making any fornial rf-n;rrsenta-


tion to the Tokyo Government, laut instructed him to stand ready to exercise his
fMlendly officSs if called upon to do so. Bln^ao believed Japan to be in the
wrong, but Washington maintained that so long as the 1854 Treaty provisions
were observed, the United States could not intrude upon this dispute with China*
lhat it was not fftiolly satisfied with the course of the Sino«Japanese dispute
became apparent In 1878 lAen Bingfiam was instructed for, the second tine to re^
view the prohlan*

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'The Japanese themselves steadfastly tefbsed to admit that la dispute ex-
'

isted, on the firm ground that China had signed the Pel'ing Convention of 1^'^^,
and that this clearly recognized Japan's claicis to sovereignty in the P.yukyu
Islands. The Chinese as consistently ignored the Peking Convention, arttenpted
to raise the dispute to an international level, and to rally foreign support
for China's clrims. China at first attempted to dej'l directly ^'ith the Ja-
panese Government through Ho Ju-chang, Chinese Minister at Tokyo, but he could
gain ne. hearing. At Peking, Prince Kung made no better progress in opening
the question with the Japanese Minister ^om he declared in exasperation to be
a "nere postoffice" without information and without instructions eoneemlng the
Ryukyu Questionk

Among the proposals for Chinese actions coneidered by Li Hung-chang and


the Chinese Foreign Office at this time were four, rade by Ho Ju-chang ^h-'ch
reflect the unreality of Chinese statesiuansnip and aiplomacy in this period.
Ihey'help Airtherpor^ to es^lain Japan' s uheaslness and uneertalnty' oonoemlng
the Ryiikjnj proMeT. through the years preceding China's derisive defeat in 1895*
Jbaything seemed possible. He. proposed four alternative courses of action':

1. China mi^t sand wardiips to oompel I^fukTQ ^ poy biaonial


tribute;

2» China might fon an agreement with Hyukyu idbereby Ayukyu would


start a war with Japan, Mhereupcn China mould then support Byo^
kyu;

5* China might take up the questlcm with Tokyo through diploaiatio


ebennelSf wi.th a view to srrang^g arUtratiaoi

An China might sell her claims to Ryukyu for a sum of money. (1/9)

The Chinese rere well aware of Japan's internal cripes, and saw in this an
opportune time to bring heavy pressure to bear if it were possible to promote
some fo» of foreign (v.estero) intwrentioii. Ihe i^roadning visit of e3c>
[

President Grant appeared to provide an oi^rtunitjr.

It is Mhidely but mistakenly understood that Grant arbitrated the Ryukyu


Question on behalf of ttie Dnited States Government and awarded the decision to
Japan. His relation to the issue, however, was that of a private citizen
Trtiose world-wide prestige put him in positior. to hear the views of both sides
and to suggest, informally, what his oT.n views would be if he were to arbi-
trate. Re had left the Presidency of the United States in the spring of 1877
and had se* out on a leisurely tour of tlie v/orld* Many foreif^- TOvemments and
people (including Li Hung-chang) believed him to have continuing political
power to a greater degree than in fact ti^s the case.


?3hen Grant reached China in the srring of 1879 the C^linese were aware that
he woildd go on to Tokyo and would there meet with the Emperor and talk T:ith the
principal Ministers of State, ^ey prepaM'td es^loit this oppbrtunity to

049) Tsiang, T. f.j og. cit., p. 37,

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aaeociate the United States with their claims, by inference, if not by techni-
cal fact. The Chinese Viceroy Li Hung-chang conducted a lengthy corresnondence
witn the Chinese Minister at Tokyo in trhich Ho advocated that China should
threaten war xAih Japen if the Japanese did not irithdrair from Ryukyu. He tM~
"lieved Jeran to be too rTiall end too weak to oppose a firm Chinese policy. He
predicted that if Rjoikyu vere secured by Japan, tlien it urouid not be long be-
fore Korea would likewise be detached from China' s. frontiers of paramount in-
fluence . Furthermore he tl^ioug^t he aetr in the isleDd^bred people of Ryukyu good
conscript material for the Japanese navy. Li agreed that China should fipht to
assert her claims in Byukyu, but knew very well that Peking was in no position
to become involved in war vdth Japm unless Festexn allies vere on China is side*
Recording to Li, General Grant indicated that he mould media(te in the Ryukyu
dispute provided China rould alter its laws governing Chinese migration to Cali-
fornia. At Tokyo the Chinese Minister Ho asserted that the United States was
not j^r^Mred to allow JTapan to hold tha Byukyus taeausa Americans far Eastaxn
shipping had to pass freely throuctb the islands*

Four representatives reached Tientsin from Shuri during these early dis-
cussions, bringing petitions for Chinese intervention and documents purporting
to establish Chinese claims of suzerainty. Among these mm £ho Toku-Ko. (or
Kochi Ovakata), a rasmbcr of the Koyal family, tat; -liscuflsed by Chinese as .
a poBcible replacement for the d^pose^ Kinc> ®m> Kben the Jajnuope rep-
rocr-itatives at Tientsin ;d«maifde;^ to ser these. -ssivoys fr-m J.vulcyu, Lhey. v.ere
rcTijned, fM\c Viceroy Li pave orr^ers tliat '-c Okina'-an- must l>et .proteote<^l from
Japanesre molestation, an& .^iven Chiaese financial support.

Japan was well amara of 'title Chinese desire to make an international issue
of this problem. A personal quarrel between the Chinese Minister Ho and his
Vice Minister at Tokyo made it relatively easy for other foreign envoys, and the
Japanese as well, to leam what was under discussion between the Qiinesa itahassy
<

and the Foreifm Office at Peking, As a conaec/jence Tokyo was Sharply 00 guard
throughout the period of conversations with General Grant.

Viceroy Li Iiung"Chang mat the ex-President at Tientsin and there reviewed


China's arguments in the case* Grant promised to give the matter thou^t, and
asked his staff to gather data for consideration. At Peking the Regent Prince
Eung vecaivad Grant twice in settings of elaborate and flattering entertainnent.
Hp assured his guest that China was interested neither in the intemal problems
of Ryukyu nor in the number of countries to which the Ry^^kyu Government might
want to send tribute, so long as tribute continued to be sent faithfully to
China. PAing desired to see the Ryukyu King retuxnad from Tokyo to 8buri» the
iTithdrawELL of the Japanese garrison from Okinawa^ and Japu's abaadofUMOt to
claims, of exclusive sovereignty in the islands* •

Grant waa aware that Japan's basis for Inteirventioo in 1872 had been China*
refusal to assume responsibility for the v/elfare of the shipwrecked Ryukyuans or
for the administration of eastern Formosa. He also knew that the Chinese Govem-
ent had officially recognized Japan's claims in the Convention of 187^. Prinoa
fivig's arguments on these points therefore were not impressive. As for the mili-
tary aspects of the question, this seasoned old General formed an opinion in
China that "a well-appointed body of ten thousand Japanese troops could make

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their way throu^ the length and breadth of China, against all odds that could
be brought to confront theni." Gmxkt cautiously promised Kung that he would in-
form htnuBelf on the subject.

The Viceroy, Li, outlined to Grant the bases for China's olaiuB. He
noted that the islands ^ere semi-inr^epp'ndpnt and t>at China had never exer-
cised sovereignty, .vhiie at the came time accepting a regular but undefined
trlluta« He observed that the King end the people of Ryukyu were not Chinese
and that althou^ a few people of Chineee descent lived in the islands and
played an Important role there (i.e. the hereditary clerks, scholars and traders
of KtmeHBura) , China had no officials stationed in -Ryukyu. China levied no
taxes and in the event of war neither received nor extended aid. Rjnjkyu had
alrays benefited throiif^h special trading facilities at Focchow and the sons of •

the RyuKyu gentry had been privileged to study at Peking at China's expense.
Qntnt «as assured that the fiyukyu people preferred to be associated elth diisa
rather then with Japan.

Li Hung-chang ivent further. He pointed out the strategic importance of


the Ryukyu Islands aa a screen lying off the coast of China, and predicted
that if J an an v ere alloved to reoaln In Byukyus, Pormoaa would sotsaday be
taken as well. (XSO)

On July 3, 1879, General Grant reached Tokyo and almost at once took up a
thorough revier of the Ryukyu problem rith Home Minister Ito Hiroburai, V.'ar
Minister Salgo Tsuguailchl, and the Japtmese envoy to the United States, Yoshida
Kiyonari. Grant was strongly and favorably impressed by the vigor and progres-
siveaess of the New Japan, and by the chairaoter of its leaders who had under-
taken a revolutionary modernization of an ancient country. He recognized its
internal pplitical weaknesses, however, and feared that it might suffer disas-
trously if it were drawn into a mtip with <%iha'at this time, with strong
probability of intervention by the Vestem Ferrer*.

China placed great hopes in Grant's mediation. The Chinese Minister at


Tokyo now made a formal request that the United States exercise its good offices
in scttlinp the P-jnJkyu issue. In a letter from Vvafhinrt on cpted July 8 the
American ^^ecretary of State accepted China's request upon condition that the
Jflipanelse' Government llkeidse asked for American mediation. Obviously, in view
of Japan s official position that no dispute existed, such a request woold not
'

be forthcoming.

t

Ebe-President Grant carefVilly assessed conflicting elaimfi and counter-


claims. China's were based on traditions and history, and Upon an uncertain
argument -that it ws? both desirable and necessary to restore the status quo
ante . Japan's position rested on the fact that China had already committed
itself to recognition of Tokyo's authority in the ialands; references to history
were kept in the background, although there was some allusicn to tho ancient
Tametomo tradition. Grant foresatv war if the issue were not settled by negotia-
tion.

ilJSO) It was Li v:ho signed the Treaty of Shimonoaekl In 18959 which ceded
Formosa to J^woi at the and of the Sino-Japanese War.

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On Aug'jst 18, 1879, General Grant addressed identical letters to the
Japanese Prime Minister Iwakura Tomomi, and to the Chir.ese i^egent, Prince Kung.
In them he recoiumended that (a) ^hina v;ithcrav; certain offensive correspondence
vhich the hau^ty Qiinese <^urt bad addraaeed to the Japaneae GovenuDant, (b)
that China and Japan each appoint corninissioners to appreise the j-rotlen-., \.ith j

a vier to arranging impartial arbitration, and (c) that no foreign countries


or foreignerfl ba allomad to become parties to the dispute itself, or be employed
in any v.ay in connection with th« affair, except, perhaps, as interpreters.
Japan's friendliness towerd China wa? mentioned, and it was suggested that '
China Tiould do well to follow Japan along the road to modernization and iade-
pmdanea of foreign controls* Japan indicated no public official reaction to •

the letters. Ihe Phinese vmcillated.*

On December 1, 1879 President Hutheriord ^. Hayes informed the Congress at


Washington that the Ikilted States had indicated willin^iese to do what It could
to facilitate the maintenance of peace between China and Japan in the Pyukyu
dispute. Mthough Tokyo maintained .a shor of public indifference, Govempent
.

leaders ware perturbed* It wnas evidant that the ^inese were still able to
inroke extensive foreign interest in their <dLains to Byukyu.

General Grant had advocated direct discussions between Tokyo and Peking.
Japan 8 representatlTe was given full powers to tork out an agree^aent, and was
led to believe that the Chinese representatives had similar powers. During
the discussions of a poesihle division of the Ryukyu Islands, Li Hung-chang
went so far as to suggest that a relative of the Sho family then in China (She
foku-Kb) mi^t be made King in the Sou them Ryukyus id take the place of .the
abdicated Sho Tai. Tokyo waiited Peking to enlarge the trading privileges open
to Japan in China, and proposed to give over to China the Yaeyama and Miyako
Islands in exchange for these Inland trading opportunitie's. Li knew that these
outer Islands were too small and too poor to become a separate Kingdom to sub-
stitute for the rhole Ryukyu archipelago. He insisted that Japan vritkdraw at
least to the Amami Islands, and restore Okinawa to the Sho family.

The Ryukyu Islands were no longer a problem insofar as Satsuma's relations


with Tokyo were concerned. T^.ey had become Instead a pa-™ in a game of inter-
national politics. If Japan could win valuable trade concessions throughout .

ini'Snd China giving vp the povertT-strieken Ryukyu Islands south of Oshima,


there were no serious reasons, either ecancaic or sentimental, to stand in the
way. Confidential inquiries were made to determine if China was really in-
terested in discussing a I'lnal settlement on the bcsis of mutual concessions.
CooDiesicners sere appointed on each side. Japan entrusted h^r interests to
its Minister to Peking fShishidol . where the Commissioners met to take up dis-
cussions on October <1, 1880.

After lengthy debate a settlement was agreed upon - or so the Japanese


thought - T.hich would reserve the northern islands of Ryuk^AJ (Amami group) to
Japanese Jurisdiction, guarantee the independence and neutrality of Okinawa
nder a restored noner<^y, and grant the Sakishima* Islands to the soulfcy to
China. In return for thir setMernent, Japan v/ould receive certain desirable
trading privileges and benefits in the interior of China.

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The Japanese Conunlssloner was prepared to sign thie new Convention in
November, bjt the Chinese continued to vacillate. Delay followed delay until
at last an Imperial (Chinese) i^ecree on December 20 ejqjlained that there ha^i
been insuffielcfkt preparation on China's part, and that P^inf could not sign.
(151) Vhen the Zv.rn.nece discovered that the Ciilnepe Comrlssijrcrr hrd rot po-
eessed the full authority which tliey represented therrse2ves to have had, nego-
tiations V7ere broken off at once. Japan did not again take up the Eyukyu issua
aa a diplomatic matter. Vhether this latest confusion was a situation dellb*
erately brought about by an effort to create tro^'ble, or r-hether the ^hine^'e
ofl'icials merely fumbled in attempting to apply oodem standards and usage to
international negotiations, we do not know. Chinese records indicate that there
was an involved political intrig'je at Peking which actually had little to do
Tdth interest in the Ryukyu Islands, tut idiich was designed to set one forei^i
power off against another.

In the Spring of 1882, the Viceroy LI Hung-chang attempted to reopen the


case hjy attemotinp^ to pers'jade the United States Govemireiit to act on Chira's
behalf once more. After reference to Tlashington, he vme advised to reopen tl;e
question through direct negotiation nith 'ttie Japanese on the basis of the 1880
Convention v.hich hnd nevfr hnor simed. The Jap^nere '^in'ster at Peking at
that tinie happened to be Adr.iral Enor.oto Buyo, a veter&n of border eettlement
negotiations, whose recommendations had led to the Klng*s forced abdication
In 1879.

Viceroy Li did not accept the suggestion. Nothing caore is heard of the
Ryukyu Question for nearly ten years. Fjranos had begun to detadi Hie tributary
state of Innam on China's southern frontiers » and vras aoon to occupy the
Pescadores and blockade Formosa. Russia was meddliiig in Koresn effairs. Ryu-
kyu faded into obscurity as an international problem of the 19th century.

Throughout all of thiSf the people of Ryukyowere merely pawns, toward


which neither China nor Japan felt any strong sentimental or moral obligation.
There is some evidence that Li Hung-chang «as ready to use the Ryukyu issue
deliberatdy to draw Japan into war in 1882 » but by tiuit tine the Russian-
Chinese-Japenese crisis in Korea overshadowed all other considerations in foreign
affairs, both at Peking and at ^okyo. Thus the question of sovereignty in the
Ryukyu Islands seemed to be settled in Japan's favor through default by China,
but it was not forgotten.

By adopting the policy of admitting no public official recognition of a


"Ryukyu Probleo**, the Japanese government skillfully snd successfully kept the
way clear for a steady development of administrative ties between Tokyo and the
nev; Prefecture. On March 11, 1880 foreign govemnents were notified that all
claims against the former Royal Government of Ryukyu nust be presented to the
Ministry of Finance at Tokyo not later thwi May 30, that debts contrscted after
the year 1843 would be paid in Govenment bonds snd money, but that earlier
debts would not be liquidated.

(151) For the Qiinese version, see Tsisng, op. cit . ; for the Japanese ver-
sion see u. Department of State: M essages and Documents IBSl, p. 2?0, and
,

Treat, on. cit . . vol. II, pp. 141-1^4. "%ere is disagreement concerning the
precise detuTs agreed vpoa In draft Ccrnvsntion.

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Ihe status of ths Ryukyu laLaads was not agrin to become a subject for
International coinment or delate until the outbreak cf Vorld Tar II. Japan
could turn her attention to the problems of reorganization for the internal
aooooay and adminlatrfttioa of Olclium Prefeeture, and to the gradual aaainll*-
tloa of tba Ryukyu peopla idlhlii the ganaral pattern of Japanese life*

Copyrighted material
THE "DO-HOTHING" ERA. 1879-189^

1. the "Do-Nothing" Policy

2. Fopulation, Social Cbmge and Laadarablp

3. Relatloiia Between Old Beeidtati and HaiteQaers

Admiaiatrati^e Change

5. PuUic Health and Welfare iKoik

6. Econofflic Change

7. Education and AsalallatloD Polleiea

Copyrighted material
Chapter HI

THE "DO-^QIHING" £BA. 1879-1894

The "Dt>-MQthlng" Policy

International recognition of Japanese sovereignty In the Ryukyus had been


iioa. Tokjro now faced the 'taalc of fitting the ner Province. into the ftameeork
of New Japan. It was an exhausted territory. A terrible cholera epidemic
siTept the islands in 1879; some 11,200 persons nfao fell, ill, more than
6,400 diM. Local leadership was paralyzed by feat, vneidrtainty ttnd a failure
to comprehend the true extent of the change i/hich yould be required if the
island.'; rere to share in the economic and social revolution then taking place
in Japan Proper. The Shuri treasury was empty. The soil was barren and the
crops were poor. Japan had aeeuned an wconomic, political 'and social llahlli-
ty at a moment v.hen the Government at Tokyo was teset with innumerable other
problems of domestic and foreign policy, leaving' little administrative talent
or economic surplus available for investment in the tasko ahead.

It coul5 not be charged that Tokyo had seized Ryukyu for e'^onomic advan-
tage or exploitation, nor for any political assets it ciight offer. It was es-
sentially a matter of defense, a move to secure the outer island approaches to
the main islands of Japan Proper. Even in this, to possess the islands wae not
so important in itself as it vas to deny them to potential enemies. This was
negative motivation, and negativism ( shokvoku seisaku) profoundly marked over-
all Japanese policy in (Hcinawa for at least fifteen years after the was
abolished and the Prefecture foxaally estalilished*

The administrators at Tokyo rere relatively well-informed of conditions


within I^kyu. IJichi Sadeka, distinguished representative of the Siatsuoa
family traditionally charged v/ith manapiement of Ryukyu affairs, had made de-
tailed and 7.ide-rftnging reports on the history and current circumstances of
the islands betvreen 1871 and 1879. Experience in conducting an actual trans-
fer of husiness at Qniri and Maha served to convince Tokyo that the older
generation in Pyukyu was too conpervative to be pressed hard for cooperation
in the tasks of rehabilitation and reconstruction which faced them all after
1879« Bven aore important, no cme was quite sure how far Vclkfo shoold go in
pushing reforms rhich might gaaegrate vlolsnt reaction snong the pro-Chinese
conservatives. As long as there were prominent Okinawan exiles living in China,
supported by the Chinese, a danger continued to exist. (1^2)

(152) Chinese leaders at Peking were actively seekinr a means to draw


Japan into war, for they believed that the rebellions in Kyushu end the recur-
rent political crises at Tokyo rere opportune signs of fundamental weakness,
lb '1882 Chrag Pei-lim, Vice President of the Board of Censors, proposed to
the Board in Peking that the Korean iscue should provide the excuse for a
break vrlth Japan. At the Chinese Emperor's direction this proposal was seat
to Li Hung-Chang, with orders that be prepare a plan for action. Li agreed
vlth Chang' s views on the necessity of war rdth Japan, but countered with a
'

suggestion that

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Cl5d eontid.t

Our best case foi* causing a rupture T.'ith J'apan is not over
the Korean Question, but in regard to the Ryukjru Islands.
Re have an indisputable rl^t to thaee islands, end every-
foreign power would ha"e to idmit our claim^ if «e demand
the restoration o£ our rights over thm«.«>

Morally re have a ri|^t to the LooChoo Zalands, anc; material-


ly China is a J^arge and strong fitpire, superior to Japan*

Pooley, E« H»,. ed.: The Spcyet Memoirs of Count Tadaay Hayaehi.


London, 1915 f Appendix A. .'pp. 316-318.

It was for these reasons that the {Japanese Govenment contented Itself
with a rather mild program of change, concentrating first upon the creation
and development of a new educational system. Tokyo bisnt its efforts to bring-
ing up a ner generation of young Okinawan leaders, educated from childhood to
lof^ upon Japan as the true nother oountry, and responsive to Japanese deoendfl
and re(iuireB«nts»

For the "Oo-Mothing Period** there was little change in institutional


and economic life. The interest which Tokyo displayed in the affairs of Qki^
nawa ?fas not directed to the health and economic well-being of the people,
but to the perfection of an adaiinistrative system designed to secure order
and general regimentation. Back of every major decision lurked the China .

Question. During the first twelve years of prefectural government Okinawa xfas
visited by two Ministers of Education (Tenaka Fujimaro and Mori Arinori), and
by the Prime Minister, Ito Hirobumi. More significant of the times, perhaps,
fwre visits by military leaders destined soon to play outstanding roles in the
approaching wars with China and with Russia. These included Yamagata Arito«0,
the founder of ^e modem Japanese Army, General (later Uarshal) Oyama Iwao
and Lieutenant General Tamaji Motobaru, and Ii^erial Prince, General Xitashl-
rakam XbiAiihlsa, and Captain (later Admiral) Togo Heihachlro.

gypulation. Social Change and Leadership


After 1875 social life in the i^rykyv^ began to undergo a nrofound trans-
formation. The old perpendicular arrangement of ftoyaltj-, nobility, gentry aad
oomnon men «as broken up. Hundreds of Japanese eame dovn from the main is-
lands to fill administrative and managerial positions created under the new
Government. These strangers formed a new elite, taking precedence over the
old aristocracy and finally replacing them. The old pattern of town-bred
aristocracy versus country-bred peasant nas novr. ohangod; hereafter it 'beoamo .

a pattezn of Oklnamns-by-birth Tarsus Japanese from other Frovln.ees.

Tokyo's first problem was one of making an eaotet record of the bunan re-
sources of Okinawa-ken and of their distribution. Open this all other eoo-
nomle or administrative planning must rest. No one knew precisely how many

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people there were in ihe R:,n:kyus nor rhat their classification might be. The
old records of the Ryvkyv Kingdom had been inacairate, vague, and incomplete.
Indeed, the records rhidi had been made by Satsuma during the period 1609>l6[Llf
bad formed the basis of all subsequent surveys and inquirie*. In the confu-
sion of the transfer cf authority between 1872 and 1879 many reoorda had be«n
destroyed, or carried off to Japan*

Estijiates made in 1875 placed the population figure at 165,930 persons,


cf rhom 117,316 xrere believed to be on Okiriawa itself. More than helf of this
number were living in the four tovms of Shuri, Naha, Tomari and Kume, and in
turn these tonnsmen were predoaiinantly menbere of the privileged noble or
gentry classes. Fach re-check in the years thereafter reflected ^eater ac-
curacy and provided laore complete data upon which to develop the nen aofflinis-
tration.

A check in 1879 indicated the number of households to be 63,506, and the


amber of persons to be 310,545. ^ recheck in the next year brought the num-
ber of hone^olds up to 7-t,189, and the population to 351, 37A, l»t even -these
revisions could not be taken vdthout reservations. They did shot; that Naha
had 6,030 households and 23,60C people, wtiile Shuri with somewhat fewer house-
holds had a sli^tly greater population. As the years passed, Naha gre«
steadily, and Shurl declined la population and in importance. The Ja^ianese
coming dom from the mainlsnd tended .to: settle In Hsha, «hich rapidly became
the prtnclpaL city of the islands.

The old Kingdom has been described as a miniature empire within Itself.
All of the outer islnnds served Okirawa and all of Ckina-'Q served Shuri, the
single source and center of authority. The people of ^huri looked dowi upon
people from other parts of Okinavia, and. the people of Okinawa looked doim upon
persons from the outer islands virtually as "colonial" subjects, rustic and
^sophisticated in manner. It T7ill be remembered that natives of the outer
lAsnds vera not allowed to go up to the capital to live, and that natives of
OkiiunM iAk> served terns of official duty on the outer islands irsre not per-
mitted, to bring families bade to Qklnsna from Yaeysmft or MlySko.

Between 1878 and 1895 all this dianged. In terms of "colonial treatm^t"
the leaders of Haha and Shuri found IheawelveB one with the natives df <ihe
-

outer islands in the eyes of the administrators and merchants newly r.rrived
from Japan proper. Tbey were all '^rustic and unsophisticated" by the standards
of Tokyo and Osaka.
4 .

break-up of the old Co:)rt life ,loi»ered the importance of Shuri and
T^.'"

sent many people back to the countryside. Reduction or loss of hereditazy


pensions forced many privileged families to look about for employment. Compe-
tition for favorable positions was extremely great in Hnha, htsnce there v-as
a general movement of former aristocrats to the country villa.-'eF of Okinav?a and
to the outer islands. Men who had a small ci^ltal to invest did so at promis-
ing village centers, and thus the foundations frere laid for the growth of tonns
of considerable local importance many miles from Shuri and Maha. Many of the
old gentry went out to the dependent islands as clerks, teachers or merchants,
but for years the old attitudes persisted, and ferr outer-island people moved
Into Oklaam.

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T.hen th« h«n was abolished there were only six princely fanilies ( Oi i-
,
ke) other than the household cf the former King. It be remembered that
sons of the King by tradition retained their status for ore generation only,
passing in the second gmamtion Into ^e ranks of the AnjJL* stipends for
the princes ranged from JQO to 400 koku of rice or it cnuivalent, and trcm
this they had to maintain a considerao^e household. The Japanepe Oovernnen't
now nominated two of the Princes (ilakijin and le) to the ranks of the Japanese
peerage I and in .tine imde than' barons (d an-shaku) . Of the An.1 i-ke in 1879
there were only thirty-six families, direct descendants of princes and entitled,
to tiereditory stipends of frcra /^O to ^0 kok^J of rice. The next rank? of the
old hierarchy were the so.iito-ke and the wa/ci.1 ito-ke . r,hich taicen together
mmbwi apptoxlaately seventy families ahen the great reorganisation began
to take place. The ~en of these families were the effective administrative
element of the old regime. Members of the so.1 Ito-ke v/ere either descendants
of the an.i 1 . or men promoted to the highest possible rank open as a reward for
public service. If a member of the so31to-ke nas nominated to the rank of
Councillor of State ( S&n shlkan he was enti-cled to
) income ranging from 200
to 300 koku of rice for the period of service. Otherr/ise members of the
so. ito-ke enjoyed stipends of only 40 to 80 koku.
i Junior members of this ad-
ministrative class in the^erarchy (the T7aki.1 ito-ke) included dsscsndaats of
the an.jl and men who had held and lost so ito-ke status, or nho were on the
.j

way up from the lower admini£trative ranks. It was from this administrative
<dass in the old regime lhat the new Province of (aclnama nas to Inherit locdl
political and economic leadership. These '.^ere the fanilies which had the ad-
vantages of assured incone, hotvever small, and the opportunities for education
lor the sons of the house. "
. " ,
.

There had been one other class of dependents \>'pon the King's treasury,
the shimamochi who were pensioners rewarded for meritorious service by grants
of 15 to 20 koku- of rice, usually for two generations, though sometimes for
one only.

The shift in social classes and privileges was not accomplished without
difficulty. Alttouj^ for purposes of inteniational negotiation and bargaining
Tdcyo had been vllling to claim the Ryukyus as an essential part of Japan,
people from other Prefectures were not prepared to treat the Okinawpn people
on a basis of full equality within the new Japanese empire. Government at
Tok]po approached the Ryokjru question as a eelonial problen. The idea of a
"public" to v.hich the governing elite is responsible hsd not yet been estab-
lished in Japan. It was especially difficult for the ex- samurai of Satsuma -
Okubo Toahimicui, for instance - to think of the people o£ Okinawa-ken as
equals; for tmo hundred and fifty years Shuri had accepted dictation tnm Kago-
shima. It seemed only natural that the people of Okinawa Prefecture should'
continue to accept dictation from Tokyo tilth unquestioned obedience. From
Tokyo all Qkinaman people looked pretty mudi alike, #ietber they came fron
Shurl or from Xaeyaoa or Ibnaguni, most distant of< the dependent Southern ia-
Isnds* '

Ranee in ^ril, 1879, it ivas announced abruptly that with the eaceeptioa
of the three favored branches of the old J^yal Family, all the snjj. and gentry
would become commoners thereafter, denendent upon their ov.n resources. There,
was a great outcry, sufficiently alarming to the Government to cause it to

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Co(.^ ij lied material


rescind the order in December and to apply itself to working out an adjusted
schedule of comnrntation of p«ieioD6 and etipetids. The budget, for 1880 there-
fore carried a total alloiniDCe for 189,13^ yen to be paid out seni-azmvally to
peers and their retainers, to holders of distinguished service stipends, end
to Shinto and Buddhist priests the hed hitherto been suppoi-ted by the King's
treasury. Grants per year ranged from a maxiraum of 2,000 yen, to a minlTium of
200 2S<. In all some 380 faallies only enjoyed the benefits of this adjusted
pension 8ystea« (153)

The Japanese Government was thoroughly familiar with the problems and dif-
ficulties of abolishing this feud&L practice. Comisutation of revenues for the
feudal lords in Japan had been made in 1871> and for the samurai (vjho nu-nbered
about 400,000) in the period 1873-1876. Applying much the same principles in
Gadnawa, the hereditary stipends enjoyed by the Sfauri and Haha gentry were now
Gomnuted OA the basis of current rates of exc^iange 'oet?;een rice ( koko^ and
money ( yen) of 1379 > and thereafter hereditary pension bonds v.ere mid over to
the individual on auSiefti-aunueJ. schedule. As in Japan proper, those v;ho had
relatiTely large Inoeiiiee were now In fact better off than they had been under
the King's administration, for they had fewer responsibilities and virtually no
personal expenditures for official purnoses. This cieant, too, that they had
some capital funds to invest in new business ventures. Inexperience, ^oor
nanageiient and lack of. opportunity brou^t Bsny pensioned families to the point
of bankruptcy. Fnr their relief the Government estrblishnd a craft nrk^hop
at Shuri, subsidizing it rith as much as i3,0C0 yen in 1S?5. The raajority how-
ever now had to find n6* employment to suoplement the pension bonds, if ^hey
had them. There was a general moveoent away from Shozi., and a liberalisation
of attitude torard residence elsev.here, and toward marriage rith members of
the land-holding gentry nhose properties were scattered throughout the ?ro-
Tince,

Throughout these early years the Government at Tokyo received the cooper-
ation of the former King, (.hen the decision had been made in 1879 be accepted
the obligations imposed upon hin and, honored tbeoi faithfully* In October of
the year of his abdication he addressed a message to the former Sarsn-'.kan ,

Orasoe and Tomigawa, on Okinawa, directing them to cooperate vdth the Japanose
from other Prefectures. Although prominent Okinawans continued to slip away
secretly to China, and -to lend tbsMeelwes taopeftQly to the- aofaemes of .Li Hung' ^

Chang and his associates, there is no iridication that the deponed Kinp: lent his
name or bis family' s Influence to these undertakings
' . In 138^ he was permitted
to retain to Okinawa for a wisit for one hundred days, during which -the Prefeo-
tural' Gowemor treated him with, great honor and consideration. When the new
peerage was created the title, rank and privileges of a marquis ( kp-shaku ) were
accorded him. He was still kept under a polite restraint at Tokyo, however,
and liwed on there until hie death in 1902, maintaining a degree of foroelity
and some of the praotloes peculiar to the old Court of Shuri. His Household
affairs were well managed so that the Sho Family continued to be the wealthi^
est among descendants of the old aristocrats of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
, . ^ . • .' *,• •

On Okina?va only two families, numberin;^ in all some thirty-five members,


naintained the social position and local social prerogatives of princes of the

(153) Ota Chofui On. cit. . p. A*

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old regime on Okinawa in ld95* Dietinctions among the elasMa of the old
nobility and gentry had been removed in fact and v;ere growing blurred even in
the recollection of those who had enjoyed them before 1679* In all, the privi-
leged classes ntinbered sone 22^500 households^ with a total Individual nenber-
ship of atout 95,000. The comiaon people (hej^in) numbered approxiiiiately
235fCXX), bringing the total population of the Province td sone 330,000. iX5^

BeUtioos BetcesD Old pee^<^ta ^d Meecomera

Ihe extsDsion of Japanese organisation, ccxitrols and influence to the la-


lands set a pattern i»hich was foUowsd in later years in Formosa an Korea.
i

Of^iciuls v;ho were pent down to occupy high |X)sts were men of hi^h intellipence,
well-educated and filled with a sense of responsibility for the unification and
developBent of unity within the Bq)ire. The arroganoe «hi^ they sometimes
denbnstrated in relations with subordinates end the common people was not di-
rected especially toward the people of ^yukyu, but was rather a habit of mind
inherited from feudal days of the recent past. It shouJ d be remembered that
most of then grew to manhood in the days when common people withdrev from the
roadriy and knelt in respectful silence if a (^reat lord or governor passed by.
As the lower ranks of govomment and of coiaoercial managem^t filled up, how-
ever, the newcomers tended to be dram from less well-educated classes, and
from the ranks of unemployed and restless man who had not fully adjusted to
the r\e\7 order in Japan Proper, ^'or many years Kaposhima men dominated all
activities. Ihe unsuccessful rebellion in Satsuma in 1877 had laft many dis-
contented men adrift* ^ey Oould not readily adapt thanselves to life in
other provinces, and migrated to i^yukyu v.here they fdund readj aaplojmMnt in
'

the police force, and in the lower government offices*

The new commercial field seoned promising. Newcomers toaded to live


apart as a group, and as a group these "Rssidant Merduoits*' oooperated among
themselves to block the developrrent of competition by natives of P-yiikyu. Ac-
cording to Professor Ota, who had long experience with "Resident Merchants",
an Okinawan who souglit to break' the monopoly markets at Raba or at Osaka 'or
Kobe was looked upon as presumptious. Casual visitors to ^^ukyu either in
official duty or on business - tended to take back to other prefectures stori*a
of the bisarre and unfamiliar things T.hlcb they had seen in Okinawa, as all
tourists do. bowing no other" country than their own, th^ tended tb^lstee the
unusual things lAiich set the Okinawan people apart from the people of their
home prefecture. The people of ftyukyu Tjere believed to belong to Japan, tut
were not accepted as part of the essential Japanese nation-family. They were
rustic second-cousins at best, ^e newcomers were in fact adopting the atti-
tude toward the people of Okinawa Prefecture that the people of Qkinewa Island

(1^ As this is written, three quarters of a century after the downfall


of the Kingdom, the "man of Shuri" continues to enjoy a social presti^i re-
gardless of his family's rank, Tjhich is denied to natives of any other Spot
in the ^yukyu Islands. It is an intangible elemmt in contemporary political
llfs*

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had adopted, historically, to;;ard the residents of the outer islands. Pecu-
liarities of dress, of food, of marriage and burial cuetons, of architecture,
and (p»»rhaps mo^t of all) of language, made it difficult for the casual visi-
tor from other Prefectures to accept the people of Ayukyu as nentmrs of his
otm nation and society. * *

The introductibn of change, the enforcement of unwelcoBe rules and regnlSp>


'

tions, arid the haughty discrijninatory attitude of many newcomers from Japan
generated ill-will and wounded pride in Okina;;a. A phrase "Looking aside in-
differently" ( Hi.juru yukumi ) was soaetines used as an expression of avoldazice
for the police who had to be the principal agents in enforcing government or-
der. The erpy-poinf^ people of the "land of propriety"' found themselves being
puched and hurrieu xiito the modern, mechanized a^ej the Japanese (rather than
the F!r6ndi or the ibwrleaha or the British) were the agents through idioii the
'•..*.'
fiyok^o Kingdom, against its tiHI, nas introduced to the nodern tsorld.
.
*

There wad an influential minority group among the aristocrats and gmtxj
of Old Rjrokyu i^ recognized the trend of the tines, and advocated sp«edy ac-
commodation to the demarids of reorganization. Se.isei Tsu"-anoko Oyakata is
named by ^ Ota Chofu as an outstanding leader of enlightened opinion. Among
tb» nobleii Ismd gentry the names of Goeku, Tskamine, Ogiml, Katsuren, Ginan,
Icmabaru , Tonigusuku and' Isena hecame proadnent as advocates of cooperation
with the Japanese.

To strengthen' their realistic position vis-a-vis the more conservative


majority, a n-jmter of these progressives formed an asscc5.ation knovm as the
Kai-ka To v/hich served as a moderatin^^ and llteralizi'iK r-xemoat in a society
being forced to adapt itself, um.illingly, to a ner.' oraer.

Artm^nip trative Change

The effective structure of Govf-rnnent for the han (1872-1878) ras simplio-
ity itself. The King was nominal Chief of State. The Prime Minister ( Sesse i)
was as always a Royal Prince or relative of the King, four Departments suf-
ficed to manage the administration. - The Council of State was the effective
governing body, directing affairs through the Home and Finance Departinent
( Mono Bugyo-sho )
, the Foreign Office' ( Moshi Kund.i-hc
) and the Judicial De-
partment ( pira-ho) • The last named was guided by a Civil Code , a Penal Cede
and "a Oode 'Cbveming the Ditrtrlbotion of Jbwarde . Surrouhdinp and supporting
these 'pfinci-'il nfficcs were scores of minor offices and indivi^-'ual Amotlon-i'
aries, .each with its title, clerical aides and appropriate stipend.

'
The Japanesi Ck^venuunt at Tbkyo was now faced with the task of recon-
oiling this traditional structure v/ith the complicated structure of moc!em '

administration which was being developed in Japan proper. In order to extend


to Ryukyu the services and fimctions of the Restoration Qoverament, it was
neeessafy to add 'gnetly to the number of existing offices or to brush them
aside and create nev. ones. Orders and requests had come dovn from Tokyo in
a steady stream betv;een 187^ and 1379 but for the most part they had been re-
ceived and filed away without action, l^aetlon did more to block Japan's
plans liian open opposition. A general paralysis overtook 'the puhLle business*
'

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During the first seyenteen years of the ner. order of things - the ''Do-
Mothlng Period" - the contrasts tetvraeii OclMm and Japan ^ew steadily
greater, for Japan proper v.as gripped \y a remlutionaxy "chroge av ex y hing"
'

H] irit. The Okinawa Prefectural Government was really not miich more than a,
local agency of the Home Jiinistry at Tokyo. Headquarters had shifted from
Shuri to Haha and natives of other provlneas of Japan Proper (especially of
Satsuoa) replaced natives of Okinawa in the higher administrative posts. The
Japanese judicial and police systems v.-ere introduced, but the local adminis-
tration of tiie villages and districts long retainoa their traditional forms
and titlas.

Ota Chofu describes the first tense weeks of the new era, xthea
Okinanan office holders (of which his father nas one) simply ceased to perform
their duties as clerks and managlBrs of government affairs. The Japanese police
seized a considerable number of leaders, held them in jail, and subjected then
to long persuasive lectures as well as to threats of physical punishment.
Gradually the. key posts were filled, by Japaneee who mat to.Oklnaira for soTem-
iMBt duty. The Okinawan gantry were no loocer masters in their o«ai house*

The top levels of Adniinistration only were altered to conform to the or-
ganisation prevailing in' other Prefectures* The Govemor, the Secretary-
General and the r3ction Chiefs v.pre professional ,-:ovem.r,pn t officers appointed
from Tokyo, The churacter and quaiificationf of che men selected for the
Governorships were reflected in the accomplishments of their administration.
A fair percentage of then went on in later years to posts of very great dis-
tinction in other provinces or at Tokyo, and it was someti:r.es said that Oki—
nawa served a.s a training ground for talents applied elsewhere in Japan.
Matsuda Michiyuki, for instsnoe, who had been charged irith bringing about the
King's abdication, had by now (1879) becdne Mayor of Tokyo , the most important
city of the fiBpire.

The first Govemor was Nabeshima Haoakira, member of the family vhich had
ruled as feudal lord of Saga. After two years of service he was succeeded by
,

Desugi Shigenorl, a form*=>r feudal lord, and descended from one of the most il-
lustrious families of Japan. By tradition the Uesugi F^oily of Yonetawa vrere
great patrons of literatuira' boA. education. Dpon his arrival in Qkinava the
new Governor proposed to break vp the old Ryukyu conservatism through a viror—
ouB program of education. He and his wife v.ere exceptionally democratic in
their social' relations at Shuri and'Naha. Tilth his encouragement the first
Okinawan students began to go up to Tokyo to school, and in later years he
made gifts of scholarship funds for Okinaran youths. His adn in ir.t ration was
Short-lived, however, for his proposals to speed change in Okinawa ran counter
to basic policy then in force at Tokyo, which was to avoid friction snd demon-
strations of discontent in Okinawa. China was still threatening to reopen the
isnue of (sovereignty in the islands. Uesugi had been in office less then one
year '•;hen Iwamura Michitoshi, Chief of the Audit bureau at. Tokyo, was sent
dowt by the Prime Minister to 6he6k on conditions in the new Prefecture. He
did not approve of the ir.pl ic anions jf Uesupi's reform measures, and abruptly
disfflis^ed the (k>vemor, assuming the poet himself.

Iwamura continued to hold his position in the Audit Bureau, leaving the
actual adminiistration at Maha to his Secretary-Gsoeral. This impractical and

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imsatlsfactorj state of affairs ended after seven months, when Nlshifflura Sutezo
.

became Go^rnor in Deeembert 1883.

Governor Nishlmura wis at that time concurrently Director cf the Civil


i!i::gineering Bureau of the Home Ministry at Tolcyo. Ke held office for two years
and four nonths, during lAil^ there was a narked change In the emphaeis of
administrative policy. In social and political hf^ai-^s Okinawa reverted to the
old syste-u rhich had been disturbed by Uetugi's aralitious refonn program. In
other matter?, however, Niehittura's policies reflected his engineering back-
groundy as well as the general preparations for war with China riiicfa Japan was
making throughout the Dnpire. Harbors and roads were developed as a foundntion
for str^gtbening the total economy, and new buildings sprang up to house the
•dadnlstration at Naha*

Nishimure's successor in the Governorship was a Satsuma man named Oseko


Sadakiyo, iHaose administration left little mark on the course of history in
Oklnawft. After one year he was succeeded 1^ a retired Major General, Fokiihara
Minoru, who devoted himself wholeheartedly to an effort to bring about a
reconciliation of the people of Pyokyv with the people of Japan Proper. T-^'hile
in office he associated freely with the Okinawans at the capital, end after
his retirenent (he was later created Baron) » he continued to correspond rith
his fMends in J^kyu and to pronote their interests at Toledo*

Governor Fukuhara was followed in office hy Maruo^a Kanji, former Chief


of the %rine Bureau in the govexnMnt at IMhcyo* He \mb an ultra-nationalist,
..

interested above all things in tlie revival and promotion of Shinto as a State
religion and a binding element of patriotism which would prepare and sustain
Japan in war as well as peace. These were the years when the crises with
China wnre growing steadily, as eadt incident of Chinese military intervention
in Korean affairs provoked a covmter-move by Japan. It was during Maruoka's
administration, too, that the ^vemment at Tokyo had finally to meet the
growing denands for popular representative GpyenuBent throu^ pronul^tion of
the Constitution, on February U, 1889*

The conflict at Tokyo between ultra-concervative and authoritarian na-


tionalists and ad-vooates of aore liberal represaatative institutions for Japan
was at the very center of Japanese political life. It had been faithfully if
only faintly reflected in the character of succeeding administrations on Oki-
nawa. Qesugi's liberalism and progressive policy in education bad been cut
short by Ivamura's conservatism. Hishiaura^s constructive moves toward eco-
nomic development rere followed by the static policy of Oreko. Fukuhara's
liberalism in promoting good relations between Okinawans and Japanese was
followed by the sreb-ccnservatin of the nstionalist ItarooIcB. He in tuna was
about to be followed .'by Harahara flhlgero, liiose long administration (1392-1907)
was tp reflect a new freedom from oonoezn with China in fiyukyu affairs*

In 1880 the Prefecture was divided for administrative purposes into nine
regions, namely, Shori city, Naha dty, and the districts of Sbiasjirl,

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Nakagamly KuDigaml, Iheya, Kume Ild.aDd, Uijrako and Yaeyame. The old regloned
hnadquarters Tvere abolished ixk nane, although the buslneas o£ local gOTarnment
was ^j,tt^e changod.

To facilitate operations, the Ciovemment established a printing office,


'ttte first in OklnaiNiy and 1881 the Go^rnor and his officers nera ready to
move into new buildings v,hich had been completed for them in Ncha. A Jail
was constructed, and v.hen in 1882 the Police Superintendent, inspectors, and
160 policemen arrived, the formal business of the Police ^apartment was inaijgu-
'
rated. Soon ttieraaftar it was profdalnod Iqf Cabinet order that nhila in tha
application of civil la?, officers were to continue for the time being to ob-
serve customary law in Okinawa, the application of criminal law would be xmi-
fon tdth the law elseahare in the fiinpire. Provisions vwe made to transport
erialnals from Okinawa to Yaeyoma, where prifflitlve living and working condi-
tions outside the town of Isbigaki made this a rigorous fom of eocile.

The administration of KJ^ako and laeyama presented an especially difficult


problem, for not only v/as there less traditional organization to support the
new administrrtion, but there were peculiarly difficult social and economic
conditions to overcome. *in investigation in late 1331 had disclosed profound
social disorder and hard^ip, which the local people attributed to the effect
of the disastrous tidal waves of the late 18th Century, after rhlch there had
never been adequate recovery. There was a high disease and death rate. Since
women who bore children were exempt from taxes for a period of tine, the mar-
riage bond ims held In light esteem, faailies ware not tightly bound togethtfr,
and there was general licentiousness v/hich the new administrstors frowned
Upon. Furthermore in Miyako there was a continuing and bitter feud between
.

the natlvas of that island and settlers who had been removed to it from nwrbj
Irabu Island after a severe famine and storm. The lend on iflyako was poor
and yielded meagre crops, and the natives of Miyalco vere unwilling to give any
'
apace or cooperation to the immigrants from Irabu. ' '

In consideration of these conditions in 1886, Vbm Government appointed


the Police Superintendents of Miyako and Yaeyama concurrently to the posts of
local district supervisors. This arrangement continued in force until 1893*
By 1891 the administra^on f^ework was fairly well establi^ed throughout
the Ryukyus. The Governor now had a Secretariat, a Police Section, and a Home
Afftiirs Section through v;hich to v/ork r.ith the rerional offices. Th.ese hnd
been reduced in number from nine to seven by incorporating the Iheya and Kume
Island offices with the Shimajiri administration. Ihe distant islets of Oaito,
Kita-Daito anc Minajmi-Daito had been ex'iloreH, Ja, cn'j: rovcreignty over thrn
had been proclaimed to the v.orld, and they too were brougiit under the Naha city
government. Local and District Courts were instituted and placed under the
Hagasakl Court of ;^ppeals. At last, in 1893', a system of villagei assemULlea
was created v.hich was in time to form the basis of local representation in
Government. The first tasks of the local majlrl aesembly however were only
to advise upon the local budget and to reflect opinion on matters of distlnetXy
local interest*

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Cop>iiylited material
Public Health and Welfare y»ork

Although early 19th century visitors had described the dwellings and
streets of Shuri and Naha in tenns of I'evorable contrast \:ith the port cities
of China, even the uiost elementary standards of Oiodem sanitation vere un-
kooiii* Hbmver nwt and dean' the indlviduel night be, -ttiere mis no general
mideretanding of the nature of disease nor of preventive action. Professor
Ota tells of the oqjericnce of his youth when children were allowed to pipy un-
concernedly in houses in which most serious infectious diseases were present,
and of superatitious relianee upon the Ineantatlona of tHe soteerera (wta)
who endeavored (for a price) to drivb aimgr the evil 8i)l^itB of aidraeBS and
death.

The newcomers from Tokyo began at once to lay down regulations deaigned
to bring about a physical improvement in living conditions on Ohinewa. Ad-
ministration of public health measures was in the hands of the police, and it
la ixxm that many of theae men themael'ves had little or no understanding of
the real significance of the rules th^ ware expected to enforce, nevertheless
it is evident from the reccrdr of the years 1879 to 19ii5 that there Trcs'a slow
but steady over-aU ianproveinent in conditions of public health end sanitation
throu^iout the ialanda.

As testiniony to the imoortarce the Government attached to the "clean-up"


program, the imperial Household ^epartcent it,self at Tokyo made a grant of one
thouaaad vw to inaugurate the' work In 1880. 'A public vaccination program nas
established, and fi^ty-slx doct'-ff: were granted jerir.its to practice although
they had only the most elamentaiy principles of practical medicine to guide
them. Measurea were devised to clean general living conditions in the cities
of Naha and Sburl, to regulate the processing and distribution of some food-
stjffs and beverages, and to reduce and control communicable disease. In the
interest of the first, the people of Haha and Shuri were forbidden to keep
swine or dogs iidthln th^ tom lliaits. Public toilets were built in the Tsuji
Qtiarter of Naha. Regulatldns wsre' laid down governing the use of the public
streets, and the Japanese system of periodic housecleening ultimately came
into effect. tVith a view to improving the handling of foods, butchering, meat-
seUing, and the diatribotlcn of mllJc j^roduets wSre taken tmder supexndsion,
and the police had authority to supervise drinkinp; 7.'ater supplies. These v;ere
principally commimity wells and springs. ^
Inspection system was set up for
public ba-Uihouses and brothels. "'

An additional seventy-five persons had been licenced to practice as doc-"


tors in 1364, and the primitive vuta were strictly forbidden to apply their
traditional sjrstaB'of ehama and ineantatloas. -The Prefeotural Ifospital es-
tabdished in 1885 promised to become a e«iter-f6r titalning and inflvenee, but
not much progress was made beyond this; -
-

;
% ..... •j--. ;

Despite the early Interest In' puUic health problems, and these few ele-
nentary steps taken over a period of ten years, Okinavm fell victim to epidemics
in 1886. Food shortages in the preceding year had weakened many; it was a mani-
festation of the old cycle of drought, hunger and sickness, "^ore than 5*000
persons suffered from small-pox, and of these more taua 1000 died* Gholara struck

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in the same year, Tdth more than l^CXX) deaths reported among 1,500 victims.
<a.0arl7 the nradleal facilities and the putiUe knonledge of •Xeaantarr health
rules vwre inadeqiiate*

By this time the Prefecturai population numbt^red 375,000, The organiza-


. ,

tion of an Okinawa Branch of the Red Cross Society opened the vay for appeals
for help from over^^ea? ir times of eraertency, tut sMCh neasiires were rholly
inadequate to the fundamental problem of public health services and education
for an entire Province. An office licensing mid-vdves had been established in
18d5» but five years sere to elapse b^ore. a regular aidififevy training, eoursa
was created in the Prcfectural Hospital. In 1890 a second Hospital (V:ayasa
^yoln} vas established, followed in the next year by Institution of standard
emninatiaas for all medleal praotltlaiiem*

Economic Change

Tokyo's "peace at any price" policy for Okinawa is perhaps most clearly
demonstrated in the failure to bring about sifTiificant changes in the economic
life of the islands before the Sino-Jap&nese ^ar of 1394-95. The Government ..
did little even to inprove the tax-basis for adalnlstratlon and virtually
nothing for the development cf rivate eriterprisp bpiieficial to the individ-
|

ual Okinawan. Professor Ota makes a useful coniparison of policies developed


for the Hokkaido and for OkinaT.a. Because of an abundance of natural re-
sources and stany opportunities for expansive settlem«)t Tokyo invested botii
capital funds and adninistrative talent in the development of the northern
Island, and received a notable ana ever>grov:ing profit as a reward. The Ainu
who were the aboriginal settlers were few in number, poorly orgtinlsed and
prinitlve, and presented no political problem In theaselves. In time they
were confined to reservations end ceased to be more than a minor tourist at-
traction. The problems of Okinawa offered a remarkable contrast as they T;ere
dealt with. in the sane years* The Ayukyus had no intrinsic naterlal assets,
no natural resources and little promise of economic return no matter how great
an investment of capital or managerial skills. On the other hand, the large
population presented-,a serious political problem. It was decided to do as
little as possible to disttnrb the old way of life.

The Prefecture overcame the problems of internal and external cotnmunica-


tions very slorly, but until this was accomplished there could be little hope
of bringing ihe islands into a satlsfaetMry economic rti-ationship with the
prefectures of Japan Proper. An eight-year port construction r^rogrsm was in-
augurated in June, 1380, but it was not until 1385 - during the governorship
of Hlshinura Suteso - that a v^lcnlar road was developed across the island,
and little v&a done thereafter for a full decade. Overland transport Ccntinuad
to depend upon the individual burden-bearer as it always hadi. Throughout the •

"DoHiothlng" period the Government and people alike depa:ided ucion T/ater trans-
port between seaside villages and the port of Naba, and betwesn Haha, the un-
developed anchorages ot the outer islands, and the ports of Japan Proper*
>
f

The old port of Naha now underwent change and development to meet the de—
Mnds of a new age of epamercia], shipping. By traditional practice ,the three

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aitrances to the old harbor had bem naned the YwBato-gu^l. opening to the
northwtrd and used by ships in commerce with Jepan, the Toaep-guchl . opening
"
directly to the T^e^t and reserved for ships in the China tribute and trading •

service, and tht .Uy.ikc -pnjchi. opening to the aou'Uimst and reserved to
chipping for t t outer islands. The port approa^ ras narro^^ <dioked iiithi
silt, end obstn-ictpcl by off-ly^ng reefs. It ras said to serve not more than
fifty ocean-going ships each year at the time of hai-han ch j.-ken . Clearly it
was inadequate for use aa a base In tine of war. '
-

In the developrcent of shipping services for Okinawe Prefecture there was


an echo of the forrcosen Expedition of 187A. The Tokyo Government at that time
.

had given thirteen ships used In the Expedition to Iimeaki Tataro, foimder
of the Mitsubishi Company. Dpoo this award he developed a merch-nt marine
rhich enjoyed a virtual monopoly on international shipping for Jtpan. The new -

Okinawa Prefectnral Governinent had one Ship of its oun, the Taivu Maru . This
was the ship ^hich hj^d been presented by the Qnperor of Japan to the King of
fiyukyu in lieu of the large sum ptid over by China in 1875 for consolation and '

relief of Ryukyu subjects murdered or injured on foivoea. This ship was now
handed over- to the jUtsubiehl Company for operation betireen Osaka snd Hahat
via Base in AobbI Oshiaa.

In 1882 an eiitez-prisi^ig ivegoshima man foundeo a shipping firm which he


.
'

called the Kaiw Kaisha (Sea Transport Conpany), Ihe Prefeetural authorities,
mr.-took the Tai-/u ',!firu from Mitsubishi and 'entrusted it to the new Kagoshtna
Company for a period of ten year.8.
'

, , . • .

It was not unti). five years lat«r that Okinawans began to have a finaiH.
eial and managerial share in the overseas shipping upon 7.hich the welfars.jWC
the islands so greatly depended. Marquis Sho's Household now founded a
'

^pping line whieh continued In operation for about twenty-five years, reaidi*
ing its greatest peak of prosperiV during the years of the Slno-Japanese Her. *

1388 surveys were completed irt^ch made it possible to establish of-


fiy
ficial distances along the roSds and inter-islahd seaways within Qkinawa Pre-
fecturoi but it was not until 1390 that a regular meteorological service was
set up, so necessary both to modem shipping and to modem agriculturei and'
eq)ecially so in an area swept annually t^' devastating storos*

Poverty of natural resources, political uncertainty, nr.' a laggard develop-'


oent of essential community services tekcn together meant that there wes little
inducement at Kagoshima, Tokyo, or Osaka for the investment of capital funds in
pioneering new developaients In Okinawa Prefeotunr, and' there was virtually no
local capital available. It has been estimated thet no more then tr.o or three
Okinawans held property valued at more than 20,000 yep in 1380. Those who po-
ssessed 2,000 yen worth of property were considered wealthy* Private lands held'
'

in the rural districts formed only a very small part of the total area^ Utt the
ratio of public land to private holdings was appnnijSELtely 76 to 2^^.
'
• • • .

Only four or five nan omed as audi as five oho (ca. 12.5 acres^ of land* •

A nan who could oonnand as much as 100 bags of land-rent rice was considered

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«n important landp-lord. (155) Virtually no one under the old regime had «o-
cxOTulated large savings in any form, hence there was little to fall back upon
when the crisis of change overtook the local economy.

The villages irtiidt had fanied conaon land under a variety o:'' con.niunal
land-holding arrangements continued to operate on this basis, although a lar^^e
proportion of the population - the toim-dwellers - were now facing a profound
(diange in their daily livelihood. As the tom eoonoBiea changed, the standards
of living slowly rose. It became more and more difficult for the farm-dwellers
to produce enough foodstiiff aiid textiles. They had to provide not only for old
standards of simple self-sufficiency, but enough also to pay for the additional
things ahich city-dwellers beliaved now to be necessities* The novenent of
people from Naha and Shnri to the villages, taking With tbsa urbsn Standards,
added to the demands on the country economy.

The former retainers and gaaural faced the problem of eking oat a living
by finding employment which would supplement the stipends or lump sum paynenta
they had received as commutation of their old incomes at the Court. They be-
Mns tradesmen or craftsmen on the suUest scale, borrowing very smsll sums
as temporary capital. Those Viho had lived in ir.oderate comfort in the past
found themselves reduced to the barest level of subsistence. Every member of
the family was forced to work. Family heirlooms were sold or bartered, and in
this oonservativa society the women of the hous^ld were expected to relieve
the men of as much of the burden of demeaning vork as they could. Hence where
the loTjer cl esses of women ha'l nlv.Gys played an outstanding role in small
trading and shopkeeping enterprises in every town ana village, they were
Joined by an Increasing number of women froip iiqioveriihed shisoteu fmilies.
The moai syste- -lutual aid financing among the aristocrats, rhich had been
introduced by Saion in 174.3, continued to play an important pert in providing
limited capital for the gentry. Men who were comparatively wealthy put aside
sums of 20 to 30 koku of rioe into a revolving f^d upon which their less for-
tunate colleagues could draw. This was especially useful during the period of
most serious unemployment, before the dispossessed aristocrats could adjust
themselves snd find new sources of inooma* Gradually the men began to enter
employment as minor cle«4cs in new CkrvwRUMnt offices, or to become emoloyees
of the Japanese who were opening up new commercial and industrial establishmen'tB.
The women went out to work in the farms or to manage small roadside market
stalls* 1!he old moai system played a part of decreasing importance, until about
1907, v/hen, as re shall pee, regular banking practices, loan SSSpCiatianS and
the like were at last introduced widely in Okinawa*

Before the Prefectural aovemment was estabLiahed, rice was the basic cosi—
modity, used in calculating the revenues and e>r.5enditures of the Government,
with textiles as an important auxiliary. After 1879 ^'hen foodstuffs could be
liQiorted, other payments were possible* Restrictions on the area which could
be planted to sugarcane mere gradually lifted, snd the production of sugar waa
pushed vigorously. Much rice-land was quickly converted to canefield and
within twenty-five years the total sugar output rose from 11,500,000 kin to
nearly 47,000,000 kin . ;
.
,

(155) Ota C5hofui Op Cit. , p. 59 et seq.

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The Govemmant continued to collect taxes in kind, however, long after
the practice was abandoned ii^^ other prefectures. No private sales of
,
sugar'
were pttmitted until tlie QoyetnlieDt* e aeMsement had been net throp^ delivw
eries to the warehouse. The village, not the individual remained the taxed
unit. Hence the unnatural RitTiat^on rose in vhich energetic and Bmbitious
inaxviduals who brought in good crops in one part o£ the island could not dis-
poae of their pvodoet until all the i^illagea bad net the Govemnent* s require^
ments. This m^jde the closest cooperation aironp villnpes necessary and indeed
compulsory. It may bo sold that this, and the moai system of mutual-aid fi-
nancing among the tbimflpeople, were tec very strong incentivea ,to fulX ii.a)c^o-
Ipation in mitnal aid progrena of aU ldnda* .

Taxes in kind (sugar and textiles) were delivered to the Government by


the Tillage. The Goirenment In Isum shipped the yield to OBikif ibere of- .

fleers of the Ministry of finance supervised its disposal in the public market*
Since su^ar vras the most Lipcrtant item, from Tokyo's point of view, the Pre-
fectural Government undertook to encourage sugar plantation. In the first year
of the new adniniatratloo a total of (^,B00 top eas iiaed aa a loan fund to h^
improve production techniques and to help the individual farraer avoid bank-
ruptcy because of excessive interest charged by private money-lenders. A Sugar-
Commission was createa irtilch ivas in effect a compulsory cooperative organisation*
Local ma.1 Iri sugar-growers, elected members to a Cbnnittee iriiich in turn attenpted
to keep check upon the quality and standards of sugar produced by the local con-
Bunity. As for textile output, in 1839 a sum of money was advanced to a number
of th4> old gentry datia to help then estaULiah i snail textile factoxy, hut this
railed soon thereafter;^ . .
;

ProhLcna of food supply and distribution grew in number as the economy


aliifted rapidly to the prodoction of sugar aa the mk^w item of vxp6rt» Hhen
restrictions were lifted upon the land-area allowed for cane groi^g, the area
planted to essential food crops immediately diminished. This meant a growing
dependence upon food imports. The farming community lost self-sufficiency even
at a minlnnn atandard of li'Ving. Fam villagftra aa 'veil aa town reaidenta be-
came dependent upon overseas shipping. The entire population became vulnerable
to chance market fluctuations at Osaka nhere the price of sugar was determined*
The so-called "Resident Merchants" from other prefectures were eager to proaote
a wf?fliffi?f Increase in sugar production, and were in fact indifferent to the
dangerous Insecurity of food supply which how developed in the islands. The
government was somewhat aware of the jpotential danger; in June, 1880 » a movement
aas begun to regularise and control Inrbduction of the edible cycads (sotetsu)
which were traditionally consid^ed '^fanine food" in the Ryukyas. In 1881 an
Agricultural Experiment Station was set up which continued in operation until
1903* New grains, fruits and vegetables were introduced, including new varie-
ties of bananas, papayas md citrua Araita* There «as little success In pto^
moting these on a large scale, however, for there \7as no -market for surpluses
not needed in the local farming community, and the returns from sugar produc-
tion seemed more attractive. Mew sugar plantation was begun in Miyako, Yaeyama
and Kune Island, dclnacsa farners were encouraged to ioin in a competitive Ebt-
hlbitlon held by the six prefectures of i^rushu* Meir sugar-oruahing nachinavy
was introduced.
Droughts and typhoons did great damage in 1?^?^, brine^ing with them the
threat of famine. The Government issued orders requiring a license for the

.: -3,99-

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collection, transport and sale of the sotetsu palm and its products, for about
this time an export bijsiners begrn 5n v;hich "':he hanosome palm fronds were sent
by way of 0;;aka to ©jropear* countries for use as funeral wreaths. In the fol-
loving yMr regolatioaa 9W put into effect designed to pronote control of
insect pests affecting tho rice fields. Agrifulturtl Essccitti-.r. br',--^r, *o be
r-

formed in the fanning communities Tath a view to helping the Government to


perfect and extend its controls.

Forest control regulations were instituted to replace the old restrictions


upon felling timber, or using forest land. Permits vere required for operations
of any kind, either on public or priTate propertiea.

Every effort was made to exploit the mineral resources of Okinavra, but
with scant success* Coal mines on Iriomote were opened in 1881, and put in the
hands of the Mitsttl Company in 1685* The Oio Faaily intereats attesipted to de>
velop o^iper nining in Kunii^ani in 1887» hut vith no aubatantial reaolt.

Naha had tvro or three small retail merchant shops in 1879. Elsewhere open
arkets equipped nith temporary stalls ^erveo the ccmmercial needs of the islands.
lEktMUtionally Okinawan vomen had handled barter and trade within the iAands.
The newcomers from Japan nov; established ther.selves as rholcsale suppliers of
goods imported from Japan proper, while the v;omen of Naha and Shuri became mid-
dleoKB or agents operating between the importer and the keepers of tJjny shops
and roadside stalls in the toTtns and villages throughout the islands* Kago-
shima men led the way in developing modem retail trading in Okinawa, opening
stores in Naha which continued to be local leaders for a half century after the
establidiment of the Prefecture. Marquis Oho* a buslnesa nahagiars organized the
Memjichi Shoten at Osaka to serve as an agency to market Okinawan poods in
Japan, but this v;as an exception. In general the so-called "Resident Merchants"
dominated all external trade, ana strove hara to blopk any Okinawan enterprise,
fhi^ .could threaten "Uie "Resident Merchants** monopoly.
In his excellent analysis of the economic development of Okinawa under
. the Prefectural Government, Professor Ota Chofu notes that the "Resident toer-
. chants" conaisted principally of the Sagoahiaa group aho imported grain and
exported sugar, and the Osaka proup who dealt -.Tith general merchandise and dry
goods. Long after the Okinawan people themselves, had begun to be auccessful .

in overseas commerce, traces of this 0saka^4CagO6hlBa division rare ajpparent in


Vbm eoQinomio l^e- of the islands.

Ner currency regulations went into effect in 1879. Old coins T^ere gathered
in to be seat to Oaaka for re-minting. I^he atandard Japanese ven and s^ were
to ijeplace the traditional fiyukyu kan and mon. BUBian beings throjphout the
world tend to be conservative yhen asked to give up a traditional standard of
exchange for a nw currency, and the Okinawan people were no exception to the
rule. According to Professor Ota, it required approximately three years to
effect the change-over in the Ryukyu Islands, and even then the old terras " kan"
and "jusul" lingered on in popular use. In September 1879 appraisal offices were

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established In the public markets to effect evaluation of the old, rorn coir-
age. People \sbo were reluctant to accept the unfaffllliar yep gave each other
sapglmmttay note's pranlsing to pay in bronM' wins of the old sort. Dhese
ffupplenpntary notes the Govemaent had to declare .null and voir*, and to
threaten puniahnent for anyone attenptlng to n«e tbem in place of the new legal
currency. ...
Immediately after the Prefecture was established an institution knoTOi as
the One Hundred r-nd Fifty-second Ban k r/fis finsaiced by a man fror. Shizuoka
nejsed Kinbaia Meizeu, and managed by an enterprising assistant named Uatsuda.
This bank was authorised to act in Ofcinaini as agent for the National Treasury
and served principally to cnrc for the depo-its anc" navinps accounts -of Govpm-
oent officials ..ho were arriving in Okinawa in increasing numbers. There nere
fMT dii»sitor6 among local citizens. Matsuda was eager to inyest in land-
redanation projects and the development of local enterprise, but his bank was -
forced to close its doors in 1888. The One Hundred I'ortr-seventh Bank of Kago-
shima .succeeded it as Govemmeat fiscal agent. The land reclamation work be-
gun by Uatsuda was carried forward bgr his sueeaBSors In the nar organisation,
and in time the marmger of the new institution becsBe a dominant figure In the
•oonooilc life of the islands.

ik 1675 port records, kept as an Investigative measure by a Japanese named


Kaw^rada Moriharu, shored a close br.T;mce bet -.-een the values of exports and
imports. A review of import-expert figures for the "Do-Nothing" period shows
that this changed, and that for most of the tine imports exceeded exports in
value. Other figures indieate a great increase in the variety of oonsunsirs
goods in demand for the Okinawa market, end an over-all increase In production
figures. These pust be taken to reflect the general, rise in the standard of
living throufihoot Japan; though Okinawa Prefecture lAiared in this advance. It
lagged far behind other prefectures in the rat*^ of progress made* Ifes people
of Okinawa themselves felt that until about 1907 the islands were used as a
dumping ground for inferior products that would not sell on the market in
Japan Proper. Ihey also had to accept dependence upon an export crop (sugar)
market, over hlch they had no control.
\ This was indeed a true "colorrlul
period" in which the Osaka and Kaj^oshir:;:! merchants and adiainistrators enjoyed
a yif>tual monopoly upon trade and shipping. The people of Okinana took v.hat
they could get, and wade the best of .it. Newocaars from other prefectures,
.

T.here progress in nodernization wac being made, with ever- increasing speed end
effectiveness, looked upon. Okinawa ana the Okinawan people as retarded coun-
.

try cousins, and mistook extreme po.verty for Indifference*



*

Education and Assimilation Policies

Leaders at Tokyo recogniaed that if Okinawan-ken were to be securely at»


tached to the Snpire, education was the key to assimilation. Prejudices of
the older generation in F«yukyu must be overcome. The loyalties of t^e younger
generation oust be shifted froa Shurl to Tokyo. ^Traditional ties with China
must be Iroken wherever pxjssible. The easy- ^'o in rc.ther casual life of the
.c;,

Okinawan community must give v;ay to a more disciplined, vigorous organization,


ready to snap to attention rhen given orders by the uoveniiaent. Above ail,
Uia individual muat be taught to believe without questioii that duty to the
State ccaas before personal, fami3Ly, or oownnnity interest.

Copyrighted material
At the time of hal-han chl-ken the Ministry of Education at Tokyo was
under the direction of far>sigiited and influential Tanaka Pujinaro, principal
ttothor of th« national Education Act of 1372 nhieh had aada prinarjr sdxxxL
attendance compulsory thrcucrhout the nation. He tori his colle?: pues had been
faced with the task of bringing unity to a nstioa which had long been divided
into 276 feudal territories. Between 1872 and 1879 these adjiinistratore had
gained a wide practical eaqparience in the proUenfl ihich nam presented thei^
selvea in the new Prefecture of Qkinava.


they were keenly aware of the importance of a school organization which
would reach into every community and touch every household throughout the is-
lands. It w£s characteristic of village life in China and Japan that families
should make a maximum sacriTlce in order to finance education for a promising
youth» and that villages idiould take great pride in the student irtio sucoese-
fully passed the formal examinations. Conversely, the Confucian ideal of the
child's obligat:?on to its pererts aepjit that a youth who accepted these sac-
rifices on his behalf, was himself deeply conscious of an obligation to the
fanily and to the eoonnniity. In Bgndcyu an' oprporbunity to study - or at least
to learn the elements of reading and writing - vrere rart of the birthright of
every youth of the upper classes. Literacy was synonoraous with privilege and
authority in the eyes of the illiterate peasant. Teacher and student commanded
the highest respect in the comnunity. Through them the new Government could
hope to establish an influential point of contact with every household repre»
sented by children in school*

The Education Ministry at Tokyo determined to create a 8du>ol system in


Okinawa Province which would gr&d\»ally bring into existence a younger genera-
tion responsive to tlie new Govemnent. They had very little with which to be-
gin the taaik. There were approximately thirty s<diools in existence at the
-

time of the Kinf-'s abdication, but these had been closed. After months of
confusion and uncertainty they were reopened in December, 1879. It was evi-
dent, however, that they were quite unsulted to the needs of the government.

Children in the mura gakko heard professional story-tellers relate tra-


ditional tales of filial piety and propriety. Cblldrea of the gentry attend-
ing the hira-gakke studied Chinese calligraphy and the 'elebentary texts of the
Chinese Classics. Youths idio went on to the Shuri Academy (Kokugaku) at the
age of seventeen or eighteen years, studied the Classics in greater detail and
heard formal lecture commentaries upon them. Kume Village students who wa-
tered the Meirin-do studied Chinese literature as tMll^ and learned to speak
in the Peking dialect which was accepted as the official xanguage of adminis*
tration throughout China. Study of Japanese language, calligraphy ond litera-
ture had to be undertaken privately, thanks to the old restrictions laid dom
and Maintained by Satsuna In srears gone hy.

The Japenese Government immediately established schools for training


clerks in calligraphy and arithmetic, appropriated funds to support both the
Khhirtku and the Meirln.^ . and salaries for the teachers in the loner sohoolB*

Early in 1880 the Vice Minister of Education (Tanaka Fujimaro) visited Oki-
nawa to see for himself what the problems wero, and to confer with local antiiasttlAs

Copyrighted material
eonomiiiig poli<7 qiMsticntf. The first of ttese was th« need for Interpreters,
for the newcomers from Japan found that although tliey could converse rith the
educated gentry at Naha and Sburi, they could not mcke theoiBelvee understood
ixi the countryside* It was noreovsr a matter of policy as well as of prlds
that the authorities should not leasn the Okinawa dialeotsi the Qklnawans were
required to learn standard Japanese*
^ t
.

In February, 1880, a "Gonversation Training Quarter" ( Tai7.-a Dcn shu-.^o.)
was opened in the precincts cf Tempi Shrine. Here it was proposed to develop
a corps of interpreters and clerks vrho could use standard Japanese in the
Govertunent sei-vice. By June a Normal School was established with a view to
Inereasing as rapidly as possible the nuaher of teachers eompetent to spread
a knowledge of standard Japanese. By the end cf the year the old Poynl Academy
at Shuri was transformed into a Middle School, three primary schools v.ere es-
tablished in Shuri, ten were opened in the Shimajiri District and one was es-
tahlished in the northern districts.

The Normal School was set up In the old Official Besidence of tiie Satsuma
Clan Headquarters at Haha. Ihis in Itself gave it some prestige. As rapidly -

as possible a "Rjoikyu -Japanese Conversation Book" (the O kinawa Taira ) was pre--
pared in tro vol-imor for ~enTal use. By May, 1831, the Normal School was
prepared to graduate five young men from its short course. These were all ex-
samurai of Shuri, and this tnay be taken to set the pattern of development in
the educational system throughout the years to follor;. Opportunities for a
career in Government were not promising; business xife was unfamiliar and not
popular among the dispossessed gentry. They turned instead to education as a
field in which- they could distinguish thenselvas.' As far as. the Tokyo Govern-
ment was concerned, this v.as all to the good, and deserved encouragement. Okubo
Toshimichi haa set the direction of policy as early as 1875 whai he laid such
great emphasis upon the need for refora and modem education in the Ryukyu Is-
landSy and had ordered ten youths to be sent up to Tokyo as part of the basio
agreement to govern the han administration in that day. Five young men were
sent up to Tokyo to school in 1882, at Government expense. Ihey were Jahara
Noboru, Kiehiaoto Xasho, Takaalne Ghokyo, Nakijin Ghoban and Ota Ghofu, and all
wwe deatlned to play leading parts in the coning pexlod of reorganisation.
'
The journalist Ota Chobe in later life recorded his experiences, and the*
experience of the Prefeetoral Govemaent in the first years of educational' re-
fern. As in other prefectures of Japan, ten years earlier, the common people were
reltictant at fitst to send their children to the ne~jly opened schools. Else-
tThero there had been some fear of the costs T.hich might accrue tnrough partici-
pation. In Okinawa Prefecture this fear of the cost of an education (a luaoiry)
V7a3 reinforced by deep, crnservative suspicion of change in itself, and of the
intentions of the ne-s-iy arrived officials from Japan. Prefectural authoritias.
adopted a policy which on the one hand encouraged cooperation by providing
school supplies and exempting parents from varying degress of labor service,
nhile on the other hand tho/ introduced an element of compulsion by establish-
ing a "school attendance quota" for each village. This brought into play the
pressnre of putiLio oplaion and the feeling of snittial responsibility Sx>t the vil-
lage as the representative local institution vis-a-vis the GoveniBent at Haha*

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1882 fifty- three primary schools had hem established, one for each
maj irl in Kunigaini and Mnkepard, and one for Iheya Island. In the next three
years schools %ere opened in Keraaa, Ifihigaki (^aeyasta), Mlyako and Irabu*
IBven 80, there eere only l^d^^ (^lidren enrolled bgr 188^, altbousli there eere
ore than 75»000 ohiiar«i of ediool ^ege in the ielandSf
In 1385 three girls were permitted to enter the primary classes attached
to Hie Nomel' School end Hile Jierited the begianing of geoerel eduoetioa for
romen throughout the Province. Tvrci otiier noteworthy innovation r for the year
were the introduction of the study of English to the required curriculum at
the Middle School in Shurl» and the introduction of formal gymnastics. Setting-
up exercises had e tno-fold purpose; while serving the needs of a physical
health training program, thay provided a basis in later years for the important
military drill schedule which was. to occupy so large a part of the school cur-
rieuluai throo^urat Japen.

The 3rear8 1886 and 1B?7 brought a marked advarce in education. New build-
ings ware erected for the Normal School, and facilities elsewhere were im-
proved* Education Societies eere founded for the Prefecture end for the dis-
triete of Kur, ih-»jn:i Rfid Shiraajiri. Military drill was introducer^ at the Middle
School. A public erUiibition was held for the purpose cf stimulating general
interest in educational proolems. Most important oi all, the influential
Mori Irlnori, eho had beeone Minister of Edueatlon at TokTO, found tine to
visit Ryukyu and to tour 0kinB':7a, observing at firtt haiid the problems Uhldl
must be met if this new Prefecture were to be aasimilatea successfully*

Mori found that only Af^2A students were enrolled at school^ representing
approximately eleven percent of the boys and one percent of the girls of schooX
age in the population. More than 1,300 of the students v>-ere above fourte«a
years of age* Some of then eere narried, and it vae only in thie yeer that
students began to abandon traditional dress and to adopt habits and custo:ns of
school life ',,'hich were standard throuphout Japan. These changes began in the
Normal School and spread slowly throughout Okinawa, and to Yaeyama and Miyako.
this institution ees at the very heart of QoeemiMnt plennlng for Okinaea
Prefecture. If a corps of teachers sympathetic to Japan's cb.lectives could
be placed in the field, assuming the role of leaders in every village and on
every island, no matter how small the commmity, a great advance eould be made
in overcoming local prejudices. end reflietaiioe to Japanese rule. Students e(|<- -

tering the teachers' training course were given grants in aid by the local
government. Essential supplies and living equipment were allotted to each. In
March, 1888, all the students of the Mqnral School snd the younger childrfltt la-
the Shimajiri Higher PrL-aary School, had their hair cut. The old top-knot
and hairpin (kaniizaF'^i) had indicated social rank. Nor the students of Okinawa
began to go about with the cropped heads which were fas^ becoming the standard
aaik of the student throughout all- of Japan. In the next yeer the Middle
School students be.^an to wear uniforms, T/hile all teachers nnd orefectural of-
ficers were urged to exchanre the traditional Ryukyu coptui^e for the standard
uniform of a government employee. By 1890 a private Girls' High School waa
.

established end a ecsheol for glyls iriio iriahed to lean dress-BSklsg in the
Japaneae stg^e had been. opened. '
.

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These were all laportant measures leading gradually to th* crseation of ft
body of students and teachers v/hose daily routine, dreps, reading material,
organizations, and standerdS: of fichieveinent would make them part of a nation-
wide, imifom educational -Qyatett defvoted to the services of the State. The
presentation of portraits of the Emperor and Einpress to every school in the
islands vras begun in 1889. They were not treated is mere photopranhs, but as
semi-eacred objects, surrounded with elaborate ritual. They v.ore in fact
symbols of a State religion. These nere to become the local symbol of nation-
wide unity. Frora that time forward every student in every classroom of Japan,
from the cold Uoklcaido to the sub-tropical islands of laeyama, was expected to
participate In a uniform schedule, applying himself to realization of uniform
standerds of accomplishment, measured fay oommoii ideals of service the indi-
vidual to the State. T^ese ideals v/ere summed up in the Imperial Res'iript on
Education issued with great solemnity at Tokyo in 1690. It was not by accident
that this notemtfrthy event coincided with Hie iXMWguration of the Imperial Biet
as an eaqMirlment in loeal representation In national Govemaeot*

Little has been written here concerning religious affairs in early modern
times, for there was in fact very little active interest in Insitutional r^ig-
ion. The Restoration of Japan (1868) hed bro'jght neti freedon of religious
practice as well at? new fret-ioni of speech. By 1872 proscription of Christi-
anity was at an end. This liberalizing change did not make itself felt in
Byokyu for some years. Fran^ Catholic missionaries rstutned to the islands *
-

this time to Ar.ami - about 1892. There the centuries-old prohibition of the
Shin sect of Buddhism still held, which had been initiated so long before be-
cause of Bideyo8hi*s actions in Satsuma. Early in 1876 a EhxMhist priest
(Tainara Hosui) ventured down to Okinawa as a missionary for the Shir-shu. He
had noteworthy success, tut conservative Sriuri hel:i fast to the old stendards
established by Satsuna. In 1878 nearly four hundred Shln-shu converts were ar-
rested and pmished, end only than were steps t«kan ithrou^ the Haha Branch
Offiise of the Heme Ministry to renove this disafallity.. .

Religious affairs thereafter were of slight interest or importance. With


the exception of lokeku^Ji, which eas declared to-be a "publics temple", all
Buddhist temples lost the support of the state and became depenr'ent upon pri-
vate -suppoz^ for their maintenance. This mee^t.that the ancient buildings
associated wiHi so mu^ of tile old Kingdom's cultural history, fell into un-
avoidable neglect and disrepair. During the administration of Governor Maruoica
Kanji, former Chief of the Shrine Bureau, the ancient Shinto place of rorrhip
on Haoizioue was designated a national Shrine of the third class, and thus be-
came entitled to annual govenment grants for its maintenance.

Japanese scholars grauually turned their attention to investigations of


natural history in the Jtyukyu Islands; ornithologists, botanists, marine biol-
ogists, were eager to make new contributions in their fields. In the Ryukyus
they Trere offered an opportunity to esqplore n«(W territory. These vrere the
natural sciences; a beginning was made in the study of linguistic problems
Hhen Tajima Riaatauro prepared his "Materials for the Study of the Fyukyu Lan-
guage" ( Rvataw-go Kankvu Shirvo) , and began a long life of scholarship devoted
tc the language and literary heritage of the islandc. The remarkable British
Professor of Japanese fbilology at the Imperial University of Tokyo, Basil Hall

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QiamberlalD , visited Okinawa in 189^^ to collect materials later published as
an Essay in ^
of Q^'a^w' ^r and Dictionary of t^e Luchuan Lpn>n.)ai^ (Tokyo,

1895) • A liunber of iintmSstS^ Ofclnairans wero quietly preparing notes end ee^
says recording their o"ii experiences and observationa of the jperiod of tranai-
tioa fron Kinjsdoffl to han. and from han to Profectiire. ^'

Japane&e leadeird in the islands were opposed to Investigations of natters


of historical interest, -ind nursued a cnnsclci:s policy of ne~lect of the ol^
culture, the old monuments and old buildings, l.hen educators bom in Okina-iva
began to talk of introducing a study of local history into the curriculum of
thp' schools, they met active and determined opposition. 'Okinavra still lagged
behind the other Prefectures of Japan. Although there were 101 schools in ex-
istence by December 31« 1B91» only 11,360 children were enrolled. The barriers
pf language and tff differing local custdos were not jret-fiilly otreroom. Local
economic instltutiaos had still to be revised, and local administrative organi-
"
zation was by no means ready to give the peotsle of Okinawa Prefecture equal'
representation in the National Diet.
. ; - •• .
' ..

Conditions in the Shuri Middle School and the Normal Scho-1 "ig^est the
problems of the time. Both schools drew students largely from the ranks of the
gentry of the old days. According to Professor Ota many students in the Middle
School vera' idlers mho ivould not take their studies seriously* Of a dass of
forty-one members who enrolled in 1880, onl;,^ three finished the course eight
years later, ^y X895. the Middle School had graduated only thirty-eight men,
and' of these only three or' four entered Govenvient service. The Noraal Sdiool,
Ijy oonlirist, had graduated 109 nm in the sane period.

'the reason for this disparity is not hard to find. The teaching profes-
siOD was nu^ more attractive' than a life in govranaent service- Subordinate to
Japanese officials from other prefectures. The teacher enjoyed the highest
prestige in all local communities, no matter hov; poor or hov.- remote from the
capital. In this period ot official encouragement and general educational ex-
pansion, the graduates of the Hontal S<diool' could- look; 'forward to lamediate
SB^loyment in the educational system, tut to little opportunity in other Govern-
ment services. Ihe loss of political power among Okinawans discouraged well-
educated young men and destroyed all political ambition, ^here was a general
discontent. Aahitious youths began to seek opportunities to go up to Japan
Proper where the capable individual faced less discrlnination and wider eco-
nomise opportunity.

'

An Okinawan who criticised Japanese policy oh Okinavta immediately heard


charges that the Okinawan people -..'ished to discriminate against people from
other Provinces. If the critic persisted, he was charged T/ith being disloyal
to Japan. Evan as late as 189A youths were in the odnori^ lAio had been edu-
cated in the new schools and had developed a degree of enthusiasm for Japanese
innovations in daily life. The older generation as a whole was not yet per-
suaded that exclusive control by Japan was either honorable or profitable.

This situHtion was not a healthy one; the crisis of Sijio-^apanese relation*
concerning Korea was soon to break into opea war. '^sion increased within
Okinawa between advocates of pro-Ghinese aiid pONHJ^Mnese points of view.

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In 1890 ten younp men volunteered for military training as non-commissioned
officers. In the next year seveuteen followed them, but the Tokyo Government
vas by no means reedy to oxteod tiia consoriptloii lans of J^apan to the island
Prefecture. Fear of Chinasa influanca in Bgrukyu and of China's efforts to re-
vive the Ryiikyu Question as an international issue was rell-founded. The
"Black" versus "Vihite" factionalism which had begun during the Makishi-Onga
affair remained bitter after nearly thirty years; Okinaaan leadership vas split
deeply.

As late as 1891-i39< the Chinese /ilinistsr a^ Tokyo (Li Ching-shu) threa-


tened to reopen the Byukyo issue, but nothing cane of it. At Baha nany of the
older generation 7.ere filled vdth an obsessive fear that China ".ould indeed
invade Okinawa and punish the "disloyal" subjects of the Tribute State» On
the othor hand, stud(Sits at the Normal and Middle Schools organized "patriotic
soeieties" in support of the Japanese.

Hostilities began on July 25t 1894* War was formally declared six days
later, and ocntlnued for seven and one-half nonttis. The emsitement In Ayukyo
was intense. Many Okinarane fully expected the Chinese fleet to appear in
Okinawan waters. Families v.ore sent into tlie countxyside to wait this crisis,
and hot argment emoittered friends and neighbors who were not agreed upon the
propw course of aotioa if the l^inese landed.

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Chapter XIII

PROGRESS IK OKINAWA, 1890-1940


i

1. War, Peace, end Politics

2. idninietrativie Evoltttion, Lend Refoni, and Representative


Goveraneot •

3. The Economic Development of Okinawa Province after 1890

4* Developments in Public Health and Welfare

3. School Strikes and the Struggle for Higher Education,


1890-1940

6. Cultural Affairs in Okinawa after the Sino-Japanese ftar

I
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Chapter nU
PROGRESS in OKINAM, 1890>I940

Iter. Peace, md PolltlcB

After ywTB of hesitation and inaction » Uie QoTermient at Tokyo began to


move forward about 1890 v.ith a pr&graji of change and developmer:! in Okinawa
Prcvirce. / oericd of r iininistrati^-e -reparation was follo":ved by fundamental
land rexorm, the creation of a Prefectural Asf^eiubly arid, at la^jt, repreeenta^
tlon- in-tbe MAtional Met. Ihe edoeation progran was puahed vieorouflLty, irith-
a con slier able emphasis laid upon vocational traintr.g. The suear iniustiy ;7a3
expanded many times over, and U-'ought under the control of jji'eax sugar-produc-
ing corporations Vi-hore headquarters were in Osaka and lokyo. Conscription
IBS eoctanded to every island In the Syokyu arehipelagD.

The reasons for the swift change in policy are not clear. Three events
are north' notlng| all of thea had their origin and concd^iaion outside of Oki-
nava SVovlnee, but the oonsaquenoes irithin the prefeetnre were serloos*

After years of resistance at Tokyo, the Cabinet yielded to popular pres*


sure and Ivooght about .the granting of a Constitution (Fetvnary, 1889) f and
the fornation of a Parliament. Throv.i^out the canpai^p, elections and se»-
sions of the first three -lets, the ^^ovemment operatc-cl in an air of unre-
lieved hostility beuweexi the Cabinet (domjuated by th^ ^L't-cho hanbatsu) and
MBibers of Parlisseont. Peoples Ri|^ta" ( Mlnksn) }iad been a central thane of
political discussi_-n for more than twenty years. It - i been a debate in
r

general temSi conceining the rights of all the pdople versus the oligarchy
of senior statesa^ around the Bnperor. %e regulnrization of Okinuia's pro-
Tineisl status and administration could not be ]on^ postponed, for the Govern-
ment was in a peculiarly vulnerable position. Public debate on the issue of
"peoples rights" kept the issue of special privilege tlonstantly before the
public eye.

The second cxt„mal change which affected decisions at Tokyo was the de-
cision to carry Uiruvgh tiie wsr with China, and Its ruccesslul conclusion.
It is doubtful if in 1890 sny Govexnnent leader at Tokyo thought war with
Chiina could or should be avoided. For treaty years it had been a ouertion of
choosinp the most advantapeous time to bring about a cif^^ii-ive change in rela-
tions with tne giant neighbor on the '^ntinent. Popjlar demands for war »n.th
Korea end with China had besn deflected in 1872 and 1874 by the Taiwan Siqpedi-
tion. Now again there ma popular demand for an- amed decision with China*

Opposition to the Government reached an intense peak Jji Japan j\»6t after
General Election of March 139^^. The new Diet lasted (MfibLy thre«> veeks, but
throughout the short scscion the strongest attacks were made upon the Govew-
aent' s allegedly weak conduct of foreign policy. The declaration of war
lvoo£^t insiediate unity to the country, and victory (confimed in the Tk<eatgr
of Shinonosflikiy' i^ril. 17, 1395) appeared to bring v ith it great International
prestifet plus a priie in the potentially rich ialand of Taiwan. China* s

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deolaivB defeat banished the BTukyu Question as a political threat for half a
century. It was not to te heard of again until late in World Ifar II. No
matter what the trost conaervetive and anti-Japenes"e C'kinawans might feel,
their objections to Japanese rule hencelorth could be treated indifferently.

The third major influence rising from external circumstance, but affect-
ing the interned development of Okinawa, lay in the acquisition of Taiwan.
Ryukyu ceased to be a frontier area and became of secondary importance, henco-
forth to be merely an econoDloally unrewarding link betKeen Japan oroper and
the rich but undeveloped territory to the south. The y^ecjliarities of Okina-
van speech and costume were thronn into a new perspective; they were odd, but
not so odd and difficult to understand as the speech, dress and eustoms of
the Taiwan natives. The slMIaritiee of culture in Okinawa and Japan proper
could now more clearly be seen to outnumber the differences which hadi'to be
overcome.

Administrative Evolution, ^end Reform, and Representative Government

The apprintr.ent nf Narahara Ghigeru to the Governorship in July, "!


S92
marked the turning point of administrative policy. He ras a hauphty snraur&i.
from Satsuma, which strengthened his position at Tokyo though it did not
recommend him to the Oklnawan people. They could remambert as well as he,
that he had been educated as a vapsal cf the Phimazu daimyo at Kagoshima,
and had from his childhood shared the commoa Satsuma attitude toward the sub-
ordinate Klngdoat of Ryukyu. (155a) He had first visited Okinawa in 1872 on
an investigative trip (^-.ith Ijichi Sadaka), irtiieh had prepared the way for hal- >

ban chi-ken and the King's abdication. Under his Governorship, 1892-1908, the
tanmaformation from Kingdom to Frovinpe T<as nearly completed; Governor NarSf-
hara was succeeded by one of his principal assistants » HIM Jumei, Mho carried
on the Narahara policies until his resignation in June, 1913. Elsewhere in
Japan the evolution of narty nolitics and of Party Government me.'^nt a constant
changing of administrators with each successive change in Ministries at Tokyo.
It was greatly to the benefit of Okinawa that such a continuity could be
maintained in the administration through twenty-one years. In the succeedin^y
period of twenty-one years, Okinawa was to have no less than fifteen Governors*

In the years 1893-1896 the Government sent a number of highly qualified


men to Okinawa to study local problems and to make recommendations. Three
objectives were sought. One was to elaborate and strengthen Government controL
In every aspect of the social and economic life of the people. A second was
to prepare the way for representative local government through local elections
to Frefectural Assembly membership, and ultimately to membership in both Rouses
of tlie Diet at Tokyo. A third was to develop the tax structure in such a we^
as to shift as much of the cost of government as possible to a basis In the
local economy. That is to Bay, while the functions and services of the Govern-
ment were steadily enlarged, the costs of government rose in proportion, and
this rising cost the Tokyo Govemmaat wished quite natAirally to be tome by
the peei^e of Oklnama Insofar as possible.

In 1892 and 1393 I'epresentative assemblies were convoked in each cf the


districts. Local lesders were allowed to express their views on the adnlnls-

(155a) Namhara is reputed to have been the samurai who actually killed
the British subject, Richardson, in the Namamugi Incident of September, 1862.

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trativ© budgets for their dlfltriots. Opposition sprang up at ooce in Ya«-
3ramaand Miyako, and vras ocmsidereid so serious that the Government is said to
have threatened to send a warship down to maintain order, Ihe old ban.^o or
guardhouses of each ^najj.rj. in Okinawa were replaced by yakuba . or government
ofXlcea tihoae funetlona were gradually broo^it into line with thoae of the or^
dinary gun-yekueho (district office) of other prefectures. In I's?^ sn Tn^erial
Decree created five end two ku in Okina7;a. The Lhief of Shuri-ku became
concurrently the gun-cho or Chief of Nakagami county; the Chief of Naha-ku con-'

currently h€ld the poat of Oiief of the adjacent Shlmajirl Oiatriet. The
Governor appointed and discharged ell personnel. Salaries of all men;bers of
Government except the Assemblymea and their assistants in the p;un orgauizatioa
were paid from the National Treasury. Henceforth the local assembliea were
given nodeat powera of local taxation and feodgeting for local expenditures. By
1^97 - alicays lagging a little behind - Taayama and tfiyako were brought into
harmony idth the province-wide syBtem*
j
•J

In 1898 a Temporary Land Readjustmmt Bureau was created to begin the for^
midable \,ask of converting traditional communal land - nearly seventy-six per-
cent of the total area - to private ownership, capable of sustaining private
entcirprlae and a nodom govematant* Taken In all ita political and econoodo
consequences, this lar;d refozm nuat be zenked as one of the noat aignifieaat
evebts in Qkinawan history.

The propoaed land reform program woold in the nature of thinga eauae a
profound disorganization of traditional con-inmity life. It npc] to be imposed
from without, through orders handed aovm froni Naha through the district of-
ficers to the local leaders of each community. It was certain to become in-
volved in a grave pcAitical problem Trtiich was peculiarly confined to Ryukyu,
and had no bearing upon the political prohLema then agitating other Provincea*

There was pressing need for local leaderahlp to overeoiM the deep and
bitter division of "Black" and "White" factions. Theae had continued to trou-
ble the islands since the Makishi-Onga Affair in 136^. During the days of
hai-han chi-ken the issue had been transformed into pro-Chinese and pro-Japanese
faetionaliaai. Now it wae being: trananntad into rancoroua diapute oonoetiking
•*
support for, or opposition to administrative and policy changes initia+ed at
Tokyo or Naha, and carried into the renoteBt countryside by Okinawans in the
'
Government service. . •

A number of prominent men formed an organization called the Kodo-kai


through which they wanted to restore unity to the Okinawan community and re-
establish themselves in local leadership. Their intentiona were good, but
they had insufficient understanding of the delicacy and politicfil importance
of their problem as it affected Japan's overall policies in international af-
faira. Japan was on the eve of ^ar with Kussia, and at the same time was
seeking treaty ravlaiosa which would aboliah eactra^territorlal privilegea
Joyed by the Western powers. Above all, Tokyo wished to show the Western
world that Japan had modem institutions of Government, under which the com-
aoo people enjoyed just and equitable rule. The Kodo-kai in Okinawa now pro-
poaed t6 Tokyo that it withdraw ita Gowemor (Marahara Shigeru) and replace
him by appointing Marquis Sho Tai, the former King, to the povernorshlp.
From the Okinawan point of viev/ this TJas Justifiable for it had been part of
the original proposal of Oku bo Toshimichi in 1B75 that the Sho family would

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b* horeditary Governors ( Han~3hu) . It was desirable, because the most stubborn
of the antl-Jflip«ne8« eXements in the Okiatman oonmunlty urn prepared to unite
with the literal advocates of moJerni zation if the MaMltlii Oollld be restored
to nominal honors and leadership at Maha*

Tokyo emehed the Kodo-kai noireaent at .onoe. It eas not only a challenge
to Government decisions T;hich had been issued in the form of Imperial decrees
(1679) « but it might be interpreted abroad as evidence of misrule or at least
a. dleeatisfaction with Japanese adnlniBtration . There was a possibility that
foreign powers wishing to delay Treaty revision rould revive the old issue of
Japan's right to sovereign authority in the Ryukyu Islands. As It rent for-
ward, in fact, the Government experienced relatively little local friction of
a serious nature during the five year refom period* r • > . .

The magnitude of the task is apparent if we pattse to note that except for
minor changes, the land system in 1897 T.as what it had been in 1614., when Sat-
suma agents nmde a thorough investigation and drew up land aUotieents. Ihls
archaic arrangement was inadequate. About seventy-six percent of the land was
designated "farmiand" (hyaJ-Tu sho-chi ) subject to reallocation at the will of the
Government. It was not omed by private persons but was assigned and reassigiied
l^r the villages to the individual farm hous^ld. The remainiiig land (approxi-
mately twenty-four percent) was divided into severeil major and minor cetegories,
for instance, extensive lands were held by nobles as herecitary private estates
or manors ( .1ito-chi ) . Some lands Here set aside pemsnently for the support
of the noro appointed to serve each village. Some land had been held by the
Shuri Court for r.r^si gnment to individuals at its pleasi.Te for varied periods
of time, and was now managed by ^e Prefecture. Reclaimed land ( shiake-chi)
oonsti-tuted the only private) land held by Individuals or by village eossnml-
ties, which could be bought or sold freely. The taxes which supported the
GovemTnent came from the farmland, and the farmers' households, but were levied
upon villages to T.hich the farm household belonged rather than upon the indi-
vidual household. The village ctolleoted taxea in kind (grain or tegctiles jot
labor servicer?) from the member households according to the land area currently
'

assigned to the household. The length of time a farmer was permitted to use
an assigned piece of land was determined by the village organization, and var-
ied from -hamlet to hemlet. Ten years «aft a usual mixinum period. If the in- -
*

dividual farm household was mable to meet its assessment, then the rroup of .

households to which it belonged made up the difference. (136} Tax assess- . >

meats laid on the village were determined by a complicated system. All the
villages of Okinawa were graded into five classes. Lrnd, toOf mas graded ac-
cording to its nature as determined in the long-outdated surveys of 1611-1614,
A combination of the village grade plus the land grade led to a determination
'

of the: tax assessment to he expected- ft*om each viliLage; ••


r
-

It will be seen at a glance that this cumbersome and inefficient system


could not support the. dansnds of a modem eoooomy; tt«»srtbeless> until 1901

(156) Compare this jrlth the ancient systems of communal land organization
described in early Chinese elassioal texts and in the early Japanese texts of
the K0.I Iki and Mhongi. Compare also with the coomunal land systems of tbs
Philippine Islands before the 20 th pentury.

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this was the basis for taxation In Okinawa Prefecture. In. that year Mori
KflDgo, an offie«r of the Plnanee Ministry In Tokyo » prepared a report In iihl<^
he pointed out that the fan.jers of Ryukyu had to bear a disproportionate shara
of the tax burden, and thtt the periodic reallocation of lend deprived the
individual farmer of the incentives of private ownership. Mori further pointed
oat that the land «aa allotted vithout consideration of distance fron the la-
dividual fanner's home, and was wasteful of time, labor and tr&r.Prort. S'v.cb
tiie great majority of people ov.ned no land, they had none to use as security
on loans. The famar could borrow only against his crops, which were uncer-
tain trom season to season, and he had to paj extrenely hl^ ratea of interest.

By October 1903 the Land Kefcrm was pronounced complete leaving only a
illage or tvo untouched or little Modified, Owners of hereditary lands were
coofinned in their ownership. Lands assigned for the support of the village
n oro becme tho private property of the noro' s farily. Arrangements rere made
to adjust land assignments and to confirm fsurmers in the possession of land co
irtkleb they were given petnanent title, and upon irtil^ thereafter they would
pay land-tax*

Hitherto cereals, salt, textiles, charcoal and the like had been accepted
as tax-in-klnd. As the Innovations and changes had increased after 1872, the
need for a labor eu'-ply bccaine increasingly burdensome, taking manpoT/er from
production. Before the reform tne peasant wap in fact a serf who could, neither
buy nor aell land, but had to remain inescapably tied to the land area assigned
to his irlllage if ha chose to remain a faner. After 1879 it became possible
for surplus manpower in the countryside to nove into the towns, but opportuni-
ties for employment pere limited in number*

As of 1903 Okinawa ras an area of complete impoverishment; the steadily


grovring population numbered 4^80,000, and the nevr Prefectural Govemraent pro-
mised to become a permanent burden upon the National Treasury. The lana re-
fom was aecMBpanied by a shift in 'Uie tax organisation. ISbereas the tota).
tax ir.co:ne under the old system of village levies ras aDproxirnately /6r,000
yen the nen taxation based on private land yielded only 126,000 yen . The dif-
ference had to be met by Increasing the number and variety of taxes on goods,
services, licenses and the like* Investaent capital had to be dram to Oki-
narra by improving opportunities for investors. Total production of goods, in-
cluding foodstuffs, had to be increased, and the development of exportable
.

ooaasodities, suah as sugar, had to be planned and carried throu^ if the coats
of govsmlng the Province were to be ^ninisad.

Imperial Edict No. 140*, issued in ^rll 190^, ordered a general reorgani-
sation of the Okinawa admiaiatration. Many roles and regulations governing
private property uere elaborated to solve prohlcms rhich had risen 1th the
-i

land reforms* The sclt, camphor and tobacco Eonopolies were united under one
office, and the numbor of new taxes on local business was steadily increased.

At last, in 190s, a general •system parallel to the to-n r.nd village organl-
satiws of other prefectures came into effect In Ryukyu. The old names were
abendonad; the SBallest units, the mura, now became aza the old Ryukyu majiri
,

became known as sop or mura instead. Shimajiri, Nakagami and Kunigami which
had been baaed on the ancient division of the three principalities (Sansan)

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of the Hth emtarf, aov gun, together nitli Hlyako and TMy«Ba« Itonta
beoaae a town ( cho ) , follovred in later years by Nago, Hli^ara and Ishirakl.
The local Okinawa Prefectural Treasury assumed ciany burdens hitherto carriet?
^. Uie Hatioiial Treasury at Tokyo, though a direct subsidy from Tokyo continued
to be neee8Bar7 to cover <ArQDlc deflolte.

Upon the basis created in the ma.j 5 ri or gun councils, a Prefecture-ride

not eleeted directly ^


Assembly was established, oieeting for the fiist tiue in 1909* Members were
i>eople but by the menbere of kji, and mm
councils already in existence. Any man who paid ten yen or more in taxes on
property was entitled to elect members to the local body, and so gain indirect
representation In the Prefectural i^ssembily*

The first election and first sessions were ratched r.ith close attention
hy special observers sent down by ^e Government at Tokyo, first Chairman of
the Prefectural Assembly vas lakemlne Cholc]po* The InteneiTe political party
activity common in other prefectures was only mildly reflected at Naha, i^ere
sixteen Assembly members profesvscd to belong to the Doshi-kai, and.fourtem
to the hlinyu-kai. which were exclusively local associations.

The measures Lrtrodu'^ed by the Chairman the first Prefectural Ascembly


are notevrortny, for thf y reflect a concern \^it;i cdiication , with f^eograp^^^ical
isolation, and with public health, all of whicn were problems ui deep ana
never-endiniEr ooBcen aaeog Oldiiaiian leaders, Ihe first oMasore ealled for the
establishment of a nev Bdiool in ^Jakaf^aml-gun, to be knovm a? the Second Pre-
fectural Middle School. The second measure introduced proposed construction
of a sutaBarine cable to link Miyako vdth Okinawa island. The third called for
.

an invertigation of local he^th prohLeBSy and the pvovisloo of fkve medleisM


aherever th^ might be needed*

The next move tias to 'estaULish Oklmman representation in the Lover Hbus*.
of the Diet at Tokyo. Necessary election laws ?/ere put into effect in 1910,
but these excluded Miyako and Yaeyama from the electoral district. At last,
in 1912, ti^o representatives went to the l^ational ^iet, and these, fittingly
enou^, were Takamlne Ghokyo and Kldilmoto Gasfae. Thirty years earlier, as
lads of 13 years, they had been amonf^ the first students sent up to become
acquaii;ted v.ith Japanese institutions which were then in the midst of politi-
cal revolution. In going up to the Diet in 1912 Takamine and Kishinoto vere
fulfilling precisely the role which the Japanese leaders, -of the earlier day
had envisaged for them. It \ie.s, too, a reward for the years in which they
had borne the burdens of leadership in a province-wide attack upon conservatism
and lethargy Mung the older generation*

As soon as this advance had been made tovmrd representative povemment,


the political parties at Tokyo moved to capture the votes the Okinawans pepre-
seated* But theee were only two, and party politicians at the national oapital
had very little of interest to offer In exchange for only tvro votes cast by
members of Pfrlianient who exercised virtually no rersonnl influence in national
political affairs. The Seiyukai opened an Okinavia office in ^.912, but closed
it snd disbanded it0 organisation three years later* Tao ysars passed by; the
old ^anaaan itio than doninatad the ^iTIi'K^Ar losing their exolvsiTa grip

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opoikGovmnment affairs. Old feudal rivalries and personal loyalties v.ere be<-
ing transmuted into party rivalries end allegiances. Phen the ^ei^otkai found
itself hard-pressed its rival, the Kenseikai. in 1917« it sent organizers
back to Okinam to raopan oiffio«8» for it naeded avsrsr iK>ta it could ouster
to maintain povar at Tokyo. Thej' were faced with tlia problem rousinc polit-
ical interest among a people '.7ho had no traditional sense of allegiance to any*
of the clansmen or cliques then in power and could make very little contribu-
tion to the hungry party traasvries.

Okinawa had no representative in the House of Peers to represent the high-


est taxpayers of the Province until 1918, when election changes made it possible
to BSDd Hirao Kisaburo to take a seat in th^ Qppsr House* There be Jojinsd Mar-
quis SbOf sbose membsrship was an bersditary adjunct of his rank.
. *
" ' . t'

Under Premier Hara, ^the first commoner to administer the State in tbd name
of the election la'^s for Okinarra Province were revised once again.
Itoe itaperor)
,

Yae3rama and Miyako were admitted to the electoral district, and the number of
representatives was increased to five. As of April 1, 19^0, the people of Oki«
natea for -Uie first tine enjoyed legal equality eith oilier Provinces in the law-
making body of the Empire, though niuch remained to be done to secure an equality
of social and economic opportunity. With only five repr^i entativ«s in a Lower
House membership of 3^1, they could carry iitU.e vreigbt in budgetary matters,
and had virtually no iiUSLuenoe upon the appoiatnent of Governors sent down
fror. Tokyo. Th^- Cnvemors, on t!.cir part, exercised Rreat and rftnn decisive
,

poner in election matters v.ithin the Province, for they controlled the police
'

vho administered election laws. > . •


'

•,1
'

...
• * •

The Governors sent down after the Narahara-Hibi era came to an end were
Party appointees for the iqost part* Few showed sympathy or understanding for
the basic probisMS besetting Okinawa. They were prlacipally concamed with
efforts to make the Provincial economy pay for Itself* One appointee (Oda'^iri
Bentcro) so disliked the idea of "exile" to a remote province that he resigned
his office seven days, after accepting appointment, and without setting foot
in the islands. Bis action was dseply resented throu^out RyukyU. Ssveral of
the Governors showed considerable activity in advancing the interests of the
great supar nanufacturinp companies which came into existence in Taiwan. All
of them, from first to last, faced a problem which was never solved, the pro-
,

blSBr.of athleving a sound and BolI-m^%c±mt econony for the island Prefect
twre* '.t !

From 1090 until 190 the Govetment 'made ;use of a form of social organiza-
tion vAiich was highly developed and clisverly used throu^iout the l&npire*' Vijy
tually everyone in a community ras expected to become a member of one or more
Arsociations such 3f the Yo unp Men's Associat ion. You n? TTomen ? ArFociation '

L^^iics Patriotic Association. Arr.y Reservists A;::iociatinn|, Fa rr..e-rs' A.^soci ution ,

and the like. In theory membership was on a volunteer btsia, but in fact every
member of the comTiUnity vras under indirect pressure to join at leart one of
the many ovei-lapping groups. If he dia not, he might become suspect of dis-
loyalty to liie Govemnent. By Joining several Assooiations he not only won
approval of the police and the local Government officers, but he gained a con-
siderable return in the benefits of mutual aid end cooperative Invsstment of

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time and effort. Fees assessed for membership and special contributions of
^ijae« labor, material or money formed a substantial supplementary income for
the ^Locftl govemment* Local AseoqlationB perfoxned taany civic serviced irhich
othemtsCiioljld have to be paid for by the Government, or else would be left
undone. Nor v;ere these associations beyond the reach of the political parties
who controlled appointments to administrative offices throughout Okinawa Pre-
fecture. Ostensibly the orgsnisations were spontaneous conninitv groups, in
fact many of thcr. - if not most of them - vrere proposed Sttd pronoted by Govexn-
**

ment officials "acting In their private capacities". '

The Beoaomic Develoi»ept of OMaawa Province After 1^


Okinawa was rapidly becoming overcrowded. To meet this problem , the Gov-
emnent resorted to three major programs. One of these undertook land reclaoA"
tlon, afforestation and the imrrovement of yields on lands already under cul-
tivation. A second program was designed to open up new land through the
cddpisation of Yaeyama. The third called for the pronation 6f emlgraticn to
other countries.

The Matsuyama Land Reclamation Project beg\jn in 1894 v-as expected to


bring 5»000 chobo (ea. 12,2f)0 acres) under production.' Agricultural schools
and vocational training courses in the regular schools frariually Inproved the
efficiency of the individual farmer. Research and experiment improved the
.

varieties of grains, potatoes, fruits^ and vegetaU.e8 under cultivation. Su-


perior breeds of horses, sheep and ffftine were imported to iitprbve local stock.
Camphor trees and baaboo groves were planted under Government supervision,
and strict controls were imposed upon the use of forest lands. Sericulturists
and fisheries experts were brou^jt down from Japan proper to giv^ instruction*

Sugar production outranked all other agricultural and food-processing' in-


dustries in importance, in value of production, area of land devoted to it and
investnent of capital by government and private enterprise. Limitations pd
acreage were. lifted in 1888 but sugar was accepted as tax- In-kind as late as
1904. Between 1904 and 1920 total production value increased more than ,ten-
fold, reflecting the inflation induced by Jk'orld Tiar I. Before land r^CffTm the
sugar industry vas virtually monopolised' by men from other Prefectures. Pri-
vate ownership of land gnve the Okinawan fanner a new incentive to produce.
Ota Chofu tells us that he himself suggested the establisl^iment of a research
office in Osaka through which Okinavans themselves could discover ways and
iMsns of entering the metropolitan markets in their own interest. Between
.1905 and 1907 there was a gradual change "with the development of local enter-
prise. A Sugar Dealers' Association was founded, and the n^en from other pro-
vinces resentfully found their. dominsnt maricet position' challenged by Oklm^
wan investors and management. It is said that there was a marked improvement
in the attitude of mainland Japanese toward their fellow citizens in. Okinawa
Prefecture as the old colonial attitude was slowly forced to give way to a
ore equitable treatment of the hitherto ineo^rienced Okinavshs. Inexperl-
eooe led to the organization of too ma^y small sugar companies hovever, and
thezse uere a. ^eries^f, failures ..

Standards of quality for the manufactured sugar v-ere not hiph. In 1907
the Gk>Viniment organised an "Okinawa Prefectural Provisional Sugar Improvement

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Buxteu"- under the- auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cornmerce at
Tokyo. The GovBroor himself became presidoat of the Bureau. After 1912 all
sugar for export had to naat oartain' atandards. For a tine a local nair^paper
ooaqpaiiy - the Ryukyu Shlapo-riia - took the lead in promoting da^alopOMnt of
the sugar industry, holding competitiva aacfaitaita aaong farmars and aaardiog
prizes for improved production.

The work of this Sugar Improvement Bureau attracted capital from Tokyo
and Osaka, and -.Thile the experimental farrns run by the Government were sub-
sidized seventy to eighty percent by public iunde, there was a steady increase
in invaatMbt from outalda tha Provlnea* The augar Induatry of naarbgr TSalaan
beginning to expand rapidly, and a curious rivalry grew up between the
sugar specialists engaged by the Taiwan indus'try and those employed by the in-
duatry in Okinawa. The former were from the Sapporo Agricultural College (Hok-
kaido Imperial Onlveraity) and the latter were principally from the Komaba
Agricultural apartment of tha Imperial Onivaralty. at Ibkgro;-
'
*
" •

This rapid aiqwnaion of tha Industry tbro<ig!h Investment of capital from


Tokyo and Osaka was not fundaaentally a healtliy thing for the Okinawan econongr#
for the major share of the profits of Okinawan land and labor left the Prefec-
ture. Local re-investmait tended to. be for the sugar industry or closely al-
lied Interests, oidy. A high peroentage of tiie Okinaman farm population beoane
entirely dependent upon the metropolitan markets which left them vulnaralAa tO
oarket price fluctuations rising fron conditiona in Taiwsn or.in Japan proper*

F!raD 1915 onward tiia Influence of bislnesgeien was -In tha ascendant at
Tokyo. In thet jrear the Govem-^r '^f '^kirav:-, '"rr.i Kyugoro, proposed an elab-
orate x-en-year economic development plan v.tiich was severely cri ticised for
many unrealistic elements in it. Nevertheless, it represented the first ef-
fort at Icng-tem eooncBio planning to have bean, undertaken in the Prefecture*
Another act of the Governor, however, laid him open to suspicion that he was •

acting more in the interests of large business corporations at Tokyo than in .

the interests of the Okinawan econcnix. Under his direction, the entire asssts
of the Okinawa Sugar Improvement Bureau - iAii<di bad basn subsidized by puVLlO
funds - were suddenly sold to the Okinawa ^^ar Company and this in turn was
,

subsequently (1917) absorbed by the powerful Taiwan Sugar Corporation (Talv;an


Seito bbudiiki KaiSha), together with the Okinawa-Taiwan Colonization and
Sugar Company , ^'ith this the control of the basic agricultural industry of
Okinawa passed into the h^nds of a huge corijoration in v.hich h«= principal
-

shareholders vrere the Imperial Household, and the Mitsui ana iiiitsubishi Com-
psmies* This was "ac(»ioBilc oolanlBation" raplacing the fomer "political cdo-
aisatiMi".

The area planted to sugar in Okinawa Prefecture rose from 1,700 cho in
1888 to more than 18,000 cho forty ysars later. Volume of sugar production
rose from about 12,000,000 kin to approximately 110,000,000, but as v.e shall '

see, from 1919 onward the value of export-import trade showed increasing ex-
port deficits until by 1928 the Islsnds were iaporttog goods valued at
11,200,000 2tt aore than the value- of eaqportsd products.

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Before we review the history of general trade &nd finance In the Province,
WB aust glance at local colonization which wes the second major interest iu
the Go5reRiBeDt*8 progr— » Ltivesttgators trcn TbkjFo dad tnqotntLy reported on
the potential value of thir.ly settled Yaeyama. Interest had been roused bj
the earliest police reports on conditions vrithin the islands, and the Police
Depairtment itself published tracta advocating settlenoit and development of
the distant and depradent islands of Ishlgaki, Iriomote and Yonagiml. 13ille
there was a slow develop^ient of economic and political activity among the peo-
ple native to the islands, attempts to develop colonization from crowded Oki-
naim failed again and again* The prevalnoe of aaXlgnuit ularla and the fre-
quency of terrifying atozBa, were very real otaBtades to a successful progran.
But the difficulties werie more than that; from the earliest days of the Ryu-
kyu Kingdom, the Yaeyama islands (an4 to a lesser degree Miyako) were con-
aldered a place of reaote exile, where opportunities were too Halted to he
considered seriously by anyone wishing to improve his economic situation. For
example, it wns not until 1925 that the settlement at Ishigaki achieved the
status of a tov^ (cho) . There ras no middle school for the education of chil-
dren beyond prlnary grades until 1928.

A special development loan fund had been established in 1886 for use in
Yaeyama, Miyako and the Kunigami district. A Hiroshima man named Nakagawa
Toraaosuke attaapted to pronote agricultural plantation in 1891* and ia 1894
there were special efforts to develop sv^qv cultivation there. A Yaeyama Sue;ar
^ianuf acturl^g Company was established in 1896. But all of these eaterprlses
depended upon local labor with the exception of the coal mlnea on Irlonota.
TheBe xiere opoied and operated by ^ormosan-Chinese laborers laported for -that
taskj cod the coal was eoqsorted directly to FoxMsa.

In 1935 * Ared) attempt was made to eacpead eolanlsation. The Yflevrjiia


fiaidoCompany was inaugurated, and a group of Yaeyama citiaens visited Naha to
petition for the establishment of an agricultural and fishery school on Ishi-
gaki Island. £)very device of propaganda and competition was used to promote •

velnntary nlgratlon fton crowded Okinawa. In 1938 the CSovernor (Fnehlgaid


Fusataro) presented a colonization program to the Prefect'jral Assembly, Mem-
bers of the Assembly made an inspection trip in the follor/ing year. An appeal
was made to the Ministry of finance for funds with which to carry on a malaria
suppression campaign, and these were granted in 1940. At last. In Martdi 1941»
the colonization of Haemi district was begun at novemment expense, and on the
eve of florid Rax II an inspection team composed of Qovemment officials apd
pmMdiMBt joumallsts mat dom to see for thcasalTss tiiat progress bad ben
ada«
By contrast, the Government had no difficulty in developing its third
major program, an overseas colonisation movement whldi was to be of great eco-
nomic significance to the islands. Going to Yaeyama meant hardship and exile
and limited opportunity; going abroad to Hawaii, the Philippines, Formosa,
North or South America vms soon discovered to mean improved living conditions -
and sooetiaes sealth - for the ^ndiv^dnal, and an Jjiportant source of foreMtn
aacdisnfe and local remue for the. ProviBolal Qovemaent.

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Bnigratlon begn tn 1099 i^en Toyanui Mateiuk* I«d a party of 27 laborers
to Hawaii for work in the si:gar plantations thare* In 1903 a total of 941 went
abroad, of irtiom 307 went to HaT.aii (among them a group of 15 3ed by Toyania's
brother, Kyuzo), 51 want to the United States, 223 i>cat to Mexico and 360 went
to the Philippine Iiluida'* Ely 1907 nora than 10,200 hAd gone aliroad to settle
in places as distant and varied as New Caledonia and Peru and laws were passed
at Tokyo, effective in Okinawa, which were designed to protect their interests
as Japanese subjects. By 1930 there were more than 54,000 Okinay/ans living
abroad, nearly half of shorn sere la South Amerloa. Sons of the early iinl-*
^ants to Hawaii Trerf beginning to ent^^r pro*'essional life as doctors, lawyers
and teachers. Many had established themselves in comfortable businesses* Soffie^
especially in South America, became extensive landholders and a few becaiae
millionaires* Many emigrants sent their sons and dau^ters back to Okinawa to
be educated at the Shuri Middle School from which many of the fathers had grad-
uated, or at the Girls' High Schools. The traditions of mutual aid which had
cone dosB throu^ the oentories of hard life under the old Kingdom sere not
forgotten; a steady stream of remittances in growing volume and value flowed
back from overseas into the Okinawan Provincial economy. In 1937 it reached
a maxifflum estimated at 3,567,000 yen, remitted by no less than ^0,A$3 Okinawans
living o^rseas. Ideas as well as material wealth flowed back Into Okinawa,
ar.d there vere fer viiinre? which did ttot nalntalB ooanonieatian by letter with
Okinawan conounities abroad*
»

'
fhlle promoting the sugar Industry and eololiisation^ the Qovemnent did
not neglect the development of communicatioos facilities essentiol to the ex-
panding productive capacity and to the economic well-being of an island com-
mmity. The submarine eable laid during the Sino-Japanese war gave Haha a
direct link with Xagoshima.

The threat of hostile naval action in the sea-lanes betreen Ryukya and
the main islands of Japah demonstrated Okinawa's' vulnerability in the Sine-
Japanese war and again during the war with Russia, Dntil there was a suffi-
cient import-export trade, the shipping companies were dependent upon heavy
Government subsidization from Tokyo. Gradually the Osaka Shosen Kaisha
eBsrged as the dominant flipping line, upon fthich the health and safety of
the eoooomy gradually became dependent*

In 1907 a second Harbor Development Program was launched at Naha under


tbe>direction of technical expSrts from Japan, loxk continued throu^ tweniy
years. Lighthouses were built on impcrtont headlands, and the weather re-
porting service and facilities were extended to outlying islands*

A cable laid between Yaeyama and Formosa in 1897 gave the Sakishima ls->
lands a telegraphic link with the outside world. Miyako remained cut off
until 1913, when a cable proposed in the first Pref ectural Assembly and
diargsd to the Prefectural budget, was constructed to link Haha with Hirara*

After the telegraphic services were opened to the general public in 1906,
lines were extended slowly within Okinawa itself, first to Onna (1912), to
and so on to otiier outlying toitos until the PrefSetiure had suf-
Hakl-jiii (1916)
ficient coverage for its needs* Telephones were first installed betreen Naha
and Shuri in 1910, and slowly thereafter to other areas. The Tokyo Govern-
ment established wireless services throughout the £bpire as soon as wireless

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Miagraphy beeoM practieable, and -b^ 1917 there- a irlMleas station on so
r n.v^e an isl;ind as l^aito-jlma. These outlying weather end wireless facili-
t •
served the dual purpose of national defense aiid of weather forecasting
- •

xiaich was particularly valuable in the typhoon season. As the airplane waa
defvalopad and put to practical, uaa, atom aavning ayateaa and a«ath<nr fora^ *

castinf^ assumed an importance hitherto unknovm. Ag early as 1915 the P'sOikyru


Newspaper Company arranged for a civilian flyer to visit Okinawa to demonstrate
the new flying machine* %ou^ hia aodilbition proved unsuciseasfulf the people
of Okinami nade their first aoqpalataikbb witii Hiis retroluticitiary fom of- trans-
portatloa.

Of ffloch more imediate and practical intMest ttf -then iMSre the devi^cfi>^
ments in local lend transportation. Hitherto coastal- Shipping carried most '•

traffic from beach to beach. The first racdem vehicular- road was opened in
1885 t but it wea not until 1897 that roads began to be developed in the roll-
ing coutttrsrside of Shinajiri. Maha, of course, miS' thie eentSr of a netnox^c
of roads radiating to the south, east and north. Jinriklphas and other t.heeled
vehicles 7.ere imported from Japan for town use and farm transport. In 1907
and 1908 a system of town and village responsibility for the building and main-
tenance of local roads was pot into effect, and a road-building race began.
Tliis was haphazard, end unecohomical, for the roads of one villpge mirht lead
only to the paths of another. Gradually the Prefectural Government took over
responsibility for extending and improving the principal hi^mys. By 1919 «
trunk hic^way had been completed' liifklng Maha with Nago ih the best agrioul-
tural area of Kunigami. Concurrently a light railray was constructed across
Nakagami from Naha to Yonabaru, and a horse-clraiui tramway opened service be-
teeen Tonabaru and Awase* Gradually li^t railmys ^lere extended north tram'
.

Naha to Kadenu and southsard to ItoBtn, thanks to a subsidy gnnted from the
National Treufury.
• '
- • ' -. . .
• • • / . , _f . ,
• .

In time OkiniCsa acquired all- the physical equipment- necessary to support'


a modem agricultural econcmy - roads, railroads, airfields, postal, telegrapdi,
and radio servicesi and modem aids to navigation. To these were added the
toxical SKdkbols. and vooational organisations commonly found in the oih%T
provinces of Japan. The records show a steady increase in per 'capita wealth
and in the £er capi ta deposits in the banks and postsil savings accounts. Direct
subsidies from the National Treasury slowly decreased, though the size of sub-
sidies for s:;>ecial projects (local railroad, building, harbor ocnatruotion and
thtf like) grew in proportion to the sise and langth of undertakings.

Despite ell this, Okinawa remained an impoverished island-province. It


was cut off physically from the other prefectures; though thousands of persons
might travel back rnd forth each year, there could not be the eafy interplay
of economic life which other Provinces enjoyed across their cooimon borders.
Production had risen, but so, too, had the total population figures, bringing '

vnrcsdttlng pressure upon the ^toveloping economy, oy 1940 there were approx'
imately 575,000 people living in the Prefecture, have noted that from 1919
onward the value of imports to the Province greatly exceeded the value of pro-
duce aoqpKirted.^ The differenee was made up by subsidies, bidden and direct,
and by the substantial value of fbreigp exx^ange remittances fson c/nacmtaf

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Natural disasters affected the is!?anr!s ro ^esr frcqi"en*ly after I89O
than in the centurier. Pone before, tho'u^h there r.ei-e Ciorts agencies to provide
relief and a greater understandiiig of v.hat could be done to enticipate and
prepare for calamity. Great atotna ampt Ta^rsM in 1899 and 1901. £n erup-
tion on Torishima in 1903 forced the tranefor of the entire population (69O
persons) to Kumejima in the following year« end tiirew the economy of that
anaXl ialand out of balance.

A great droupht cont'.nued throup-hout most of I9O4, during vhich the Hone
Uinistry from '^okyo sent investigators, granted relief funds, suspended the
payment of local taxaa, and organised a "Societj of Induatrlal Developaient" aa
a public fK>rk8 faroject to relieve the sufferers. The effects of this drought
TTere felt for several years thereafter, for it v/iped out savinf-p, retarded the
development of agriculture, and drove many persons to seek new employnent
«hi<^ would net be dependent upon the plenitude or lade of rain, hi epidemic
of srinp cholera affecterl r-p.ore than :iO,000 beasts in 1?02. Ironically, the
diser^R ar::pea:3 to have been introduced by a shipment of swine sent domn from
Kobe to improve the local breed of stock. The years I9II and 1912 were mai'ked
by earthiquakea and typboona, one of ahieh did exeepticoally great daaage in
Yaeyan:a. Relief funds har' to be provided to promote recovery through the fol-
lowing year. There were severe storms in 1917, I9I8 and 1922. More than 7,X0
buildings were damaged in 1931 «^ile two typhoona in 1933 in quiek sueeeasion'
nrau^t bavoe eatlnated at nOTe tiian 2,500^000 yejn In coat,

laeyama suffered most often and most heavily from typhoon damage, and to
th4.8 «aa added «d intemittent aeonrge of Inaecta affecting local eropa.

Def.pite natural disasters and poverty of resources, the changes vhich


took place in the Okinawan economy betv.een the ^ino-Japanese War and the end
of IKorld Var II repreaented a favorable developnent bringing the economy of
-

Oklnava abreast of the least prosperous Provinces of the main islands. Oki-
nawa shared fluctuations of fortune in common v.ith the total empire economy.
A peak of activity and apparent prosoerity was reached about I9I8, for Japan
benefitted through stimulated industries serving the war needs of her alliea
in Europe. IVie total of all bank deposits in Okinawa exceeded 96/X)0,900 yen ;
the. total value of goods produced exceeded 80,000,0CX} yaa. and the pef capita
production aairtmiwi for the entire population readied an average of I40 par

Then came a sharp break. Okinawa shared the empire-wide post-war depres-
aloa. Bgr 1925 the national banking oriaia had afif'ected Okinawa aeriooaiy.
There ras a general reorganization of banking institutions. Th.e Tokyo Diet
found it necessary to vote 2,620,000 yen for industrial development programs,
as a relief measure for Okinawa. ^ trade and products promotion office was
astaiaiahed at Tokyo in an effort to aupport and inoraaaa maiicata for Oklnawan
goods. The alternative was the prospect of chronic unemployroent and continu-
ing, costly relief subsidization. In tixe 52nd Diet session (1926) financial
aid was voted again. This time a total of 3,366,000 yen was appropriated for
industrial encouragement, of which 2,500,000 waa aaaigned to establish a new
Induatrlal Promotion Bank, (Kogyo Glnko) . which opened for buaineaa in 1928.

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The effects of this program had hardly begun to be felt rhen Japan as a
idiole faced the consequences of the Tirorld-iTide economic depression.
Extremes
of hardship were now expexdenoed throughout Okliiam> gsrorating social unr«flt
anr' oelling forth a maximu-n effort to organize relief for the faiTnir.f? and
fishing comraunities f/hich had no reserves of money or of goods rujon which to
draw. In 1933 the Government adopted a new industrial developraent plan drawn
up Tbj GoTornor Tno Jiro» who had eome to Okinaifa tram Eoldcaldo. Under his
guidance another attempt was made to colonize Yaeyama through migration from
Okinawa. This time the efforts were on en unprecedented scale^ entailing the
fu].l support of the Prafsetural Aeesnbly, a publicity pro«p:>w on a nationwide
scale, and the organisationi.of e<Kljoiiisation tralaini sohbols at Xtonsn and
Kin.

The irar in China after 1937 atlaiulated produetlon throu^iout the Islands,
but by 1941 the Government found it necessary to invoke "ttie National Mobili-
zation Laws leading to totalitarian control of the economy in every aspect.
War T.ith the Western T;orld was near at hand. The Government organized a Na-
tional Savings 'Association brarch in Okinawa Provinoe, iiqwsed detailed regu-
lations upon all food producing activities, a:id expanded the rationing system
under vhich the Japanese nation prolonged its economic life until 1943.

Developaents in Public Health and" Welfare

Hie developnent of health and welfare services did not keep pace with de-"
velopments in communication facilities, under Government sponsorship, or sugar
plantation and manufacture under private ownership and government subsidsr*
There were no first-class training facilities for doctors on Okinawa, and nen-
who had trained at the universities in metropolitan Japan or at the Imperial
University Medical School 'j.t Taihoku, Tai7/an, T-ere rol-jctont to return to
practice in poverty-stricken Okinawa Prefecture. A so-called hospital was
opened lumediately after the Prefeetural Government was established (usder Ja<-
panese army auspices), and in 1385 a training course was instituted. More
than ?00 persons attended. Even so, "by 1939 - after half a century under Ja*-*
panose Provinciax Government - there were only 178 jrfiysicians in the islands
sad 73 of these were living and practieinir in' Sfanrl and Naha cities*

After the Sino-Japanese war the Government's first concern was with the
control, treatjnent and suppi'ession of malaria, and Badh new attempt to ^tovelop
a settlement program for Xaeyama was preceded b7 studies of malarial condi-
tions in the islands. Investigations of venereal disease rates, leprosy, and
tuberculosis were given publicity, followed hy announcement of rules and regu-
lation'^ requiring periodic Inspections, but there was little progress made in
effectively combatting disease and unsanitary living habits. Ontil the years
of the Russo-Japanese V;ar Okinawa had the lowest venereal disease rate among
the Prefectures of Japan; by 1930 it had the highest rates, both for venereal
disease and for tuberculosis.

This was due in part to the increased movement of people throughout the
islands as the communications system expanded, and the opportunities for work
drew men into the cities or scattered them more widely^among the islands.
Traditional family ties v.ere loosened and women generally en^^oyed a much less**
restricted association with men. The increase in disease rates was due also
in part to the general malnutrition which affected a people whose land wms
too poor to produce an abundance or variety of foodstuffs.

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Attempts to provide medical facilities and to organize public health
facilities ftU short of the needs of the Province. In 1899 a smallpox epi-
demic took tfares tumdred lives, or half tlie number of persons who fell ill.
New buildings vere nrovid'?d for the Prefectural Hospital in 1901. An Isola^
tion Hospital was established in 1908. fte have noted that among the first
measures introduced to the new Prefecttiral Assembly in 1909 ves a proposal to
support Investigation of health conditions throu^iout the Province and to pro-
vide ftree medicines for the public, r.iis was not successful, but it reflected
the concern i^ich Okinawan leaders felt for the problen. Tae most that came
of it was the provisioo (until 1914) of fr— nedicina for malaria vietlaa 1a
XaayanM*

A Social Education Section established in 1920 in the Prefectural Govern-


ment began to inertese the effectiveness of public welfare ivork. Subsidies
were Hiade available to help in the developn^ent of srnitary servicer. A Ma-
laria Research Laboratory vihs opened to advance preventative work in Yaeyama
and Miy&ko. A training section for school nurses was established in the Ckl-
nama Girls' Horstel School. Special clinics were establiSbed for the e«Miaa-
tlon £nd treatment of leprosy in 1928, and ten years later a sanitorium for
lapers was established on lagachi island, in Kunigani District. The Ministry
of Coaanaioations meaniAiile established a Health Consultation Center as part
of the Postal Insurance System (1930), and mobile clinics began to make ele-
mentary medical services available to outlying country districts. School den-
tists were appointed in 1933 &Qd by 1938 Government dispensaries had begun to
be set up In remote villages. Evan in the midst of war, nine new health
oentars were established as late as 19a3«

Responsibility for public health end v.elfare activity rested with the
Prafectaral Governor, who was directed in these natters by the Ministry of
Public Health and Welfare organised at Tokyo in 1938. Sanitation specialists
in the Police Department were eocpected to supervise the application and en-
foreensnt of noblic health measures. Ihe success with which they were applied
depended as much upon the training of the individual policeman as it did upon
the general level of education and imderstanding cooperation which he might
find in the commimity to which he nas assigned. t «

School Strikes and the Struggle for Higher Education. 1890-19^^)

As soon as the Province was granted the ri^t to act in its own interests
through the Prefectural Assembly, there was a notev.'orthy expansion of Ihp bud-
get in su.)!!ort of education. Lvhv thnn 13,000 yen had been spent for edi:ca-
zion in 1887; by 1910 expenditures had risen above 100,000 yen , and by 1930
they were approximately half a million yen . Qntil 1908 the National Treuuxy
bore the costs of education. In 1909 the first meavsure proposed in the new
Assembly was one calling for the creation of a new middle school, and for some
years thereafter local district and town assemblias vied with one another in a
race to build primary schools. In some instances the burden proved too great
for the local budget, and it becanie necessary to consolidate facilities and
combine resources. Thirty years later, at the outbreak of liorld ?kar II, the
Provipca eould boast of 296 elementary schools, six middle schools for boys.

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eii^t high schools for girls^ nine vocational schools and two nonoal schools.
&irollMnt of BdK)ol<-a^ efalldroD dtbod aboiro 99 perceot of the total aehool-
age population. By 1935 "^-he to*^l expenditure for education had risen to ap-
nroximately 2,600,000 yen but acre tlien a million of this sum had to be con-
,

tributed from the National Ireasury, and moat of it was spaat on primary and
^eatloaal Institutloos.

Tne history of education during the half century 1890-19A1 ^as distin-
guished principally by a smuggle to overcome official reluctance to develop
educational facilities beyond the primary grade.' The First Middle School at
Shuri maintained preeminence, because of its age, location, and association
iTith traditions of the old Hoyal Acadeoty, and because of superior quality of
inatruotloo and faollltiea. ISntU 1097 It did not graduate mav than ten nan
in each year, but in the next forty years more than 2,^00 men completed the
courses. It ranked far dov:n in the list of Middle Schools throughout Japan,
but rdthin the Province it rtoiked first. Many emigrants to North and South
ABariea, to Hawaii and to* Islands in the South Pacific and Malayala sent back
their sons to Shuri for ato' education at the old capital, Approximotely 4i per-
cent of all graduates wont on to higher education, some to higher preparatory
'

schools, end then to imperial or private universities in other Provirces. Some


went on to nadleal 80ho61«» but in forty years only elxteeo entered the national
illtaxy and naval aeadanias. Nearly 500 baeane aehool taachers.

Ih response to pfobLlc demand llie capacity of the 'Irst Middle Sdsool was
expanded from 50 {in 1890) zo 300 (In 1917). Successive enlargements of tha
physical plant on the old Palace grounds led tb construction of new ferro-
concrete buildings, the best in Shuri, between 1925 and 19k9» An Alumni As-
sociation foTBed In 1903>' served thereafter as an Interestlnif Hide among^ nan
rho became community leaders throurho^jt the hone Prcfec*:ure, in Okinawan com-
munities in other Prefectures, and in eaigrent corrjnunities scattered overseas*
The relationships established at Shuri contributed much to the breakdoTm of
traditional prejvdica entartainad ty tha people of Hehh and %iirl toward mm
tnm ^outlying ialanda*
• * .* .

It took a long tine for men of other Provinces to begin to overcome


prejudice and contempt for their poorer cousins in Okinawa Prefecture. In
189^ the direction of the Provincial Deportr.ent of Education wag in the hands
of a man named Kodama Kihachi, %ho held concurrently the position of Princi-
pal in tiie Shori Middle School and Director of the Normal School. Despite
his preeminent position, he took few pains to conceal an attitude of arrogan't
contempt for the people of Okinawa Prefecture. He mistook poverty for ipjior—
ance and incapacity, and was outspoken in his belief that there v/as no need
at all for hii^er education In Okinaaa. In 1894 ha renovad tha study of &i£rli«h
from the list of reo-jired subjects at the Middle School, stating that in hl«
viev it was quite unnecessary.

This provoked a public controversy which developed into a student strike


in ld95. 09^ %e students nara supported by their parents, and by Qkinaaann

Among the striking students wbs Higaonna Kanjun, destined to be-*


657)
couio Doted professor in Tokyo, Kanna Kanwa (later Vice Admiral, Japanese
fx

avy,), Zha FUyu, and Majiklina Anko, later outstanding authorities on Qklna^
van histoxy.
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«ho held minor posts in Govemment. Kodaiaa was r^noved and the study of Big->
restored to. the corrieulua ae a required subject.
Ixsto.

Five years later (in 1900) a Girls' High School was founded as part of
tne Nornial School. It had to be supported from private funds until 1902 « vhen
the Prefeetural Qovemmcnt aeeuned reapoosibUity for it. WithiB thirty years'
tine it had grpduated more th--n ",000 stu-ients. The need '^or some advanced
training for v.omen orcupted several private individuals to establish a Domestic
Arts institute in 1905, with an enrollment of 579. Gradually the Naha munici-:
pal Goveranent increased subsidies for it, and at last, in 1924, it becaine the
:iaha Municipal Girls' High School. Three years later the Prefecture a-^opt«^d it
as the Second Prefeetural Girls High School. A third Girls' Schcoi founded by
popular subscription, was made a Prefeetural High School In 1930.

This was the general pattern of educational development after 1800. Tie
Government reaaily promoted primary education, but had to be prodded and prompted
by public interest before it vould assume responsibility for higher education
and the training of leadership. As 0](inawans slowly came to occupy a greater
number of local administrative offices, the process became easier. It ^lay be
said that there, was ruore uniform popular, sentiment conceniing educational needs
than there «as concerning any other aspect of the orgsnisatioa o^ eeonoiy'of
Okinawa Frefecture, Popular su-jport fpr -ths atudsot Strike at .ShUrl.in' 1895
was an early indication of tnis..

The history of the Second Middle School eas so even more dramatic illus-
tration of popular concern rith education. Professor Shikiya Koshin, who was
destined to become Chief Executive of bkinav7a after T.orld Vtar II, played a
leading part in the evolution of this school. The need for a second middle
scbof^ for men began to be discussed seriously in 1903. As the opening bus!'*
ness of the new Prefeetural Assembly, Chairman Takamine Chokyo introduced a
proposal that such a school be created as a symbol of the "Hew Okinawa". It
was founded as en adjunct of the First Middle S<^ocl, and In January, 1911,
began classes xvith an enrollment of 100, selected from among 557 applicants.
Fro^esjsor Takara Rintoku, the first Principal, was assisted by ^iklya Koshin*

In choosing a site for the new school, .politics overruled practical jud^
•nent. Despite a clamorous opposition, the school was built at Kadena. Al-
carrying the furniture to Naha from their
ouf^h the students m«de i holiday, in
temporary quarters at Shuri, and thence to Kadena, tney shared genera^ public
diSMtisfaotion with the site. BsrollBsnts decreased. The first class, gradu-
ated in 1915, numbered only thirty men. By 1913 the number of graduates had
dropped to eighteen. It was now proposed to bring the Second uliddle School
and the Agricultural School (vihlch had be«i removed from Nago to Kadena) under;
one administration and on the same grounds. This meant an irreconcilable com-,
flict between the traditions of vocational training (represented in the
Agricultural School) and literary training end accomplishment (represented
in the Middle School curriculum) . Students in the two schools clashed in
pitched battles on the school grounds. Par r t took sides. Teachers through-
;

out, the island debated the issue. A general strike paralyse4'.the school system.

Governor Omi, nho pushed through this inappropriate plin for the two
sdiools, bad already demonstrated an unrealistic and stubborn vletr of candid

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tioQS within the Province. The Government had no choice but to dismiss hin*
ProfttflsorTakara had resi^ied as principal of the school, meanwhile, and nov
took a seat in the Pro^/incial Assembly in order to flgjht for a separation of
the tvio institutions. Parents, students and faculty won their point, and In
June, 191d, the Second Middle S<shool was removed to Naha. The Agricultural
ScliooX rfwained at Kadena. Whereas in' 1916 there had been only 76 applioants
for admission to the Middle School at Kadena, by 1927 there eere 6l9 appli-
cants, and only 162 could be admitted. Tlie total enrol Irarnt rerched 800 youths
shortly thereafter, and the total number of graduates had exceeded 1000 1930.

The next important issue to rise in the fight for higher education came
with the need for ner bui]dinps at the Shuri Middle School to replace those
which had been built in 1891. Several years of public discussion and campaign-
ing were required to aove the Government at. laat to huUd and equip a nev series
of ferro-ooncrete etructuree on the Hakagusuku Palace site» betureen 1924 snd
1929.

Such putalie concern and debate inspired the people of Kvnigami «nd Biyako
to ask for middle schools of their oim. A Third Provincial F'iddle School wes
established at Mago in 1928, and the Second Middle School of N aha opened a
tarandi in Kiyako nas soon detached to become en Independent' Mi3rako Middls
Sdieol. In the same year (1919) a Middle Sdaool was established by the Educa-
tional Association tc prox'ide evening classes for those ..ho could not attend
regular daytime courses. After many years r/ith the Second Middle School, Pro-
fessor Sblkiya Xoehin left it in 1936 to eetabli^ the Kalnan Middle School
'

M' a private undertaking flnioieed tram abroad for the Children of anigrente*
In the same year a Girls' High School was established in :/ayako, but Yae-
yama did not succeed in obtaining hi^er scboole until 1942, ehen a Boye^ Mid-^
die School and a Girls* Rlg^ Sdiool eere established.

If a student wished to go on beyond the middle school, he had to choose


beteeen the Provincial Normel School or the more expensive life of a student
overseas in other Provinces or in Taiwan. The Normal School played its most
important role during the opening years of provincial administration. After
1B90 there eere changes, adjustments and a steady enlargament of anroUiient
end facilities. More than 3000 men and eonsn had been graduated by ^e end of
the first fifty years of Provincial Govemmaiit.

Neither the vocational tndning schoole nor the bueinees schools were of '

a standard equal to similar schools in other Provinces, tut they were always
fully enrolled. In 1930 there rere nearly 4^500 students enrolled in the voca-
tional training courses. Of the twelve institutions then in existence, nine
had been established beteeen 1902 and 1907, the short period of intensive
rganization which followed land reform. The so-called auxiliary'
business schools had an enrollment of more than 12,000 hy 1930*

By 1937 t)h«a the ear in China had begun irtiich was to lead on to Ibrld
War II - there nere niore than 100,000 students enrolled in the primary schools

of Okinawa Prefecture, and these represented a new generation vhose assiailaF>


tloik to Japan seemed assured. Ihey were cn3y dimly smare of the treditlobe

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of Old Ryukyu, and of the experiences of their grandparents during the trou- >

Ued years of translticm from Kingdom to Province. They were learning to


speak and to read a standard language aj^roxlMiting language of the na-
tional capital at Tokyo end of all other Provinces. They T.-ere being taut^ht
to respect and observe the standards of conduct and loyalty established under
llie'ileijl Bsparor'^ Rescript on Education ,

..*'*,
A review of the history of education after 1S90 would be incomplete with--'
out 3ome notice of sports and of travel, and cf the part they were made to
piay in developing a new spirit in Okinawa, 'ilie Govemireat desired to improve
the ptqraieal eondition of. the nation* a youth, to teach it rigid discipline and
cooperation, arid to inculcate a sense of the unitj' of the Japanese people vis-
a-vis. other peoples in Asia'. Okinawa was included, of course, in the program
of calisthenics, competitive sports and school excursions. Setting-up exer- :

cises in the schools had laid the foundations for Ttiilitary drill. Kendo.
and karate were added to the curriculum in 1892, 1906 and 1909, respectively.
Athletic meetings were held to celebrate the en4 of the war with China in 1399
Baseball and tennis became popular* In 1903 the Qnited Statss naval vessel^
the Vicksburg . paid a courtesy call at Kjaha Harbor, vbiqh nas climaxed by a *

baseball match between the American sailors and the teams at Shu'ri Middle
School* In the years thereafter there was an increasing partipipation by Cki-
nanan students in athletic nwets and. conpstitiva exhibitionef at Tokyo, Osaka,
Kyoto and alsaidiare in other ProvlAoas*

The value of travel was not overlooked as a means to strwagthen Okina?/an


ties. vith Japan, and^ increase respect for Japan and Japanese leadership in.
Asia. In May, 1894, Middle School students were taken to Kyushu for the first
time, setting a precedent for later student excursions to all parts cf Japan,
to Taiwan (1899), to Manchuria and Korea (1906), to Shanghai and to Nanking.
(1910). Students In other provinces nsre sent dotn to tour the Byukyu Islands,
beginning with an eseifrSiui of Kumamoto Xomal School- ^ths in 189A«

An early beginning was made in developing a Library for public uSe> PlaHts
iiere 'laid in a Government order of 1899. Two years aater llarquis Sho Ten do-''
nated 2000 yen to be used in developing the Prefectural Library. This v,as
ultimately to house- the archiV'es of the Ryukyu Kingdom and the Royal House. The
Librarians w^re the most noted authorities on Ryukyuan History and culture,
for iha fnyu, llajikima Anko, and Shinabukoro Gcnlchiro succeeded one another
in that order. By 1940 this had become a general collection of approximately
25,000 volumes, and a special collection of unique manuscript?, some of '.vhich
dated from the 15th century. Tnese v;ere placed under the administration of
Professor Shiaabukuro Zao^atsu, a gradttate of KToto Im^ekrlal Uaiversity and an
antht^itg; oii local history and foiklora*

Traditions of Chinese study faded rapidly. In the summer of 1904. an


American visited Kvme village in a search for a<^lars of the old tradition
of Chinese classical studies, but discovered that they aere few in number, and
had ceased to exercise a vital leadership. They were no longer part oi' the
living educational tradition of the. Ryukyu Islands* The younger generation .

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was being taught to think, speak and act as Japanese, according to disciplines
and atandards aet up at tokjro.' Wlthiii the n«ir eantniy Okiaam naa deatinad
to produce distinguished writers and scholars whose careara aqply eotttvadletad
the narrow vlewa of Rodama Kihaobi and hia fellow crltica.

Twloa a year the people of Knmanura visited the Cbafucian temple ( Koahibyo )
with v.hich the academy of Chinese studleSy the Meiri n-do vras associated. There
,

they performed the k'o t'ou before the altar of Confucius, but this was a tra^
dltional academic gesture without political significance or social force, and
waa aoon to be given np entirely.

For the younger generation, the arrival of a- forelga (British) teacher


in I9O1& to Inatmet at the Shnxl Kiddle School ^was of far more interest and
importance. Ceremonies at the Temple of Confucius were vestiges of a past
that could not be recalled; lessons in English held promise that Okinara,
through Japan, would share in the limitless possibilities of the 2Qih century.

Cultural Affairs In Okinawa after the Sino-Jaoaneae War

In the years just after the war with China, some of Japan's most distin-
guished scientists visited the Ryukyu Islands. Publieationa which grew out
of their inquiries provided the Government at Tokyo rith important datn to us*
in drawing up programs of econoinic reform and development. Between 1B97 and
1905 anthropologists, botanists, zoologists, geologists, meteorologists, seis-
Bdlogists and medical men studied and wrote of phenomena In the^fiyokyu Islamdm
which were of interest in their fields. A beginning was made' in studies of
prehistory rhen the learned Dr. Torii Ryu 20 discovered and first e3g;)lored the
'

Ogido shell heaps (190^) . •

Studies in language, relifion and history came from the Japanese press
from time to time. A new generation of Okinav/an scholars began to appear, men
trained in the universities of Tokyo and Kyoto, and in the leading Normal
Schools of Japan. Professor Bigaonna Kanjun began his distinguished csraer la
1909 by publishing the Okinawan Section of a Geographical Dictionary of Japan*
Mr. Lanf^don Warner of the Boston .Museum of Fine Arts visited Okinawa in that
same year, lectored 00 FSr Bast^ arts and crafts, and made a collection of •

Okinawan textiles and fine lacquer. In 1910 the opening of the Okinawa Pre-
fectural Library building to general use under the learned Professor Iha
aerved to stimulate interest in old Ryukyu. The Sho Family assumed certain
responsiMlities for thiA maintenance of the ancient* and' historic temples of
Engakuji, Tennoji, Tenkaiji and Ryufukujl, which had suffered long and serious
neglect. In I9II Professor Iha Fuyu published his Important Ftudy entitled
"
Ancient Ryuk'/Tj " ( Ko Ryukyu) which provided people a new perspective on the
history and the culture of the Province.
. * * *

In 1915 a report on the importance of preserving historic Shinto shrines


and Buddhist temples was issued by the Government. This drew attention to the
structures which had survived thus far the wear of storm and the neglect of

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an. A Society for the Study of the Geography and History of Okinim «m
fomdod In 1919 proTed a forenmnar of an Aaaociatiou for the Pragenw.*
irtileh
tion of Historic flltaft apd Rallce of Oklnav.'a established three years later.
In the meantime a new series of anthropolog: cal, philological and historical
studies had been carried through t^' Matsumura Ryo, Kitazato Ran, Xenagida
Eunio and Origoehi Shiaobu. All of thaaa men found a prominent place In Ja-
panese scholarship through their many studies of local history, language and
folkways. In 19Z'3 Profei;sor Ma^ tkina A:iko published his monumental work "A
Thousand Yeais of Oklaawan History" ( Okinawa Ipser-nen Shi) . In 1924 Pro-
fesoor Miyara Toao visited Oklnana to make an ezteoaive Btndj- of certain lln*
guistie prolileait*

In 1925 two of Japsun's most distinp^'ished scr.olers visited the Islands.


Professor Kuroita Katsumi was Uien preparing his great text concerning the
study of Japanese History; Professor Ito Ghuta and his assistant, Tanabe 1!lai,
of Waseda University, were c^thering data and photo^aphs for the handsome
volume Rvukvu Architecture ( Rvukyu no Kenchiku ). This wil^. remain the most
definitive record of palaces » temples, gateT;ays, private, resldsnoos and gar-
dens ^hloh had survived from the l$th and l6th Ofloturiesx and ahidi now are
lost*

The year 1929 brought the fiftieth anniversary of Okinawa Provincial


Government end mas the occasion of much retrospective comment and publieaticD.
By this time a number of Okinawan scholars had established themselves promin-
ently in the intellectual life of Japan, as writers or teachers in the fields
of law, linguistics, folk-lore, and history. There beg^ to be increasing
reoognition of the special quality of the cultural, herltaga. ftom Old fiyulcyu*

Each new publication attracted vrider attention in the metropolitan areas-


of Japan, and it began to be realized that a study of the cultural heritage
of the Ryukyu Islands might throw Important light upon the eariy history and
development of the political, linguistic and religious past of the people of
Japan. Ultimately Okinawan studies became matters of interest In themselves.

Because recognition of the old values was so slow in coming, the Prefec-
ture and the nation had narrowly escaped loss of the entire physical heritaga
from the ancient K'.n^^dnm. At the tine of the King'p abdication, Shuri had
stood virtually undisturbed for more than five hundred years. Shuri and Naha
betwe«n them embraced nearly all the important architectural end historic
monuments surviving from Old Ryukyu. In the early days of hai-han chl-ken the
Court lacked funds to maintain its public buildings r,nd private residences in
good repair. Throughout the "Do-NothiAg" period the older generation lacked
both funds and authority to protect and preserve buildings erected by. their
ancestors in centuries past. The Japanese administrators, on their part, ware
ocadng down fr<m other iProvlnoes in nhloh an almost unbelievable destruction

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of «nei«nt eulturftl naciiiiMiittf -iias taking place at that- tliD»«' With little a|>-
p:^eciation of their om ottllAiral heritage, Japanese neilicomers to Okinawa had
none whatever for the monuments and relics of a distinguished past in fiyukyv.
No sentiment was allowed to stand in the vey of modernizing progress.

At Tokyo a foreigner nar'.ed Ernest FpnoMosa (of Harvard University) had


urged the Japanese Govemnent to recofjiize the speed with which Japan's ancient
cultural heritage was being destroyed. Out of bis suggestions and planning
grew a national Fine Arte CoaBlseioiiy mtpemw^A :to aear^ oat and register the
treasures of the Ikpire, in order that tiiey mli^t receive ^e Goven»ent*8 care
and protection.

When Fenolloea left Japan in 1890, the Melji Eteperor in person remarked
"You have taught my people to know their own art...." Thenceforth in other
Provinces great care was given to important works of aesthetic or bistoric
valne. Many yeare were to pees, however, before '^e heritage of the Rsrukyu
Kingdom was brought vmder this protection. Tihen tti 1891 the First Middle School
Mas rr.oved from the old Royal Academy Buildings to the site of Nakaf;;usuki3 Palace
at Shuri, box-h sites were "cleaned up", few relics survived on either eite.
fbxoo^hout Keha and Shuri old strocturee were levelled to make way for ood^nm
buildings and odexn roads.

In 1912 protective legal measures of the "National Treasure" system were


ejctended to an ancient Korean hell at Naminooe Shrine, hot for the noet pert
the buildings, gardens and monuments of Pyukjoj origin continued to suffer seri-
ous neglect. It was not until 1928 - three years after Professor Ito Chuta
Bade his [detailed studies of "-the architectural heritage > that Oniri Castle
was d»d±(saktBd a National Treasure*'. Ceremonies narked the beginning of a
four year prograa of repair and restoration to ovwcone the neglect of half a
century. •

In 1933 six: more ancient structures were added to the list of designated
National Treasures. Oldest among these was Engaku.H built in 1^9^, the year
,

in which Christopher Columbus discovered the New Viorld while searching for a
passage to Asia. The Spnoharan airine (1519) > the flog^r^i (1$23) , and fonr
great gates at tiae Castle were for the first time recognised, officially to rank
high among the nation's historic monuments. (1559

At the risk of over- simplification ee can say tha.t the interest of Japanese
intellectual leaders in matters concerning the Island Province shifted through
three periods and at last - Just before fliorld War J.1 - came into direct con-
flict With ul^ra-nationalist state policies lAilch ll^d Japan to ear and defeat.
Bougblj speaking f from 1890 until 1920 the focus of attention was upon matters
,

of pure and cpplied science. From 1920 \jntil 1935 history, language, folk-lore
and folkways attracted much attention because of their importance to the study
of the ancient history and culture of the naln islands.

A third and most important phase of intellectual and cultural life began
to be apparttit after 1930, one in which the artists and scholars of Japan proper

0L59) Later designations included: Sopenii Gehehi . Shikina Ba. ftnlfTTlfVtffP


^ukabokuki Hi. Banpi^flke Seki-non. Oki no Miva. Suereshi no Miva.

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began to recognize in the arts and orafts of OklBaMi ViovineB a apaeial quali-
ty to be valued and ctMTlahad as a thing in itaaXf, Iha story of this disoov^
ery ia iinportaot*

Shortly aftar World War I, tao young potters named Kawai Kanjiro and Ht-mada
Shoji set out to see for themf elves all the important kilns in the Einpire. Their
travels took them to the Tsuboya kilns at Naha. Hamada was sufficieatly inter-
astad to go a aaecnd tins for a year of oraatl-vo noxk on Oklnaiia. Aftar a third
trip (in 1928) the creative vork which he had done under the influence and in-
spiration cf OkiiiaT,an craftsmen, attracted the attention of Japan's fori-rnost
authority on iolk art. Professor Yanagi Soetsu. As a friend of Marquis Sho,
and in his capacity as Oireetor of tfaa J^ian Folk Arts IfnsaWy Pzofassor Tanagi
was invited to visit Okinava in 1939 as the guest of the Prefectural Education
fiuraau. In consequence of this visit, a party of twenty-six prominent members
of tha Fblk Art Association went to Okinawa to make a detailed and systematic
study of Bsrukyu culture. Soaia atudiad taxtila weaving and dyeing, soaa investi-
gated lacquer making, others .•'tudied ceramics. Out of all of this came exliibi-
tions and lectures and publications in other Pzt^vlncas which revealed to the
Japanese pubLie hitharto littla-knom qualitlas and oharaetaristios of tha arts
and crafts of I^jrukyn.

This investigation marked, in a sense, a cultural renaissance for the is-


Ittids* Many of tha traditional tadmiquas of tha artist and oraftsaan vara
ing forgotten. The competition of cheaper Tiachine-made goods v?es c'riving
handmade craft objects from the marketplace. Fun damen tail changes in the or-
ganizaiicm of Ryukyu economy after 1890 had made the craft professions <jnre-
warding. Thm administrators from otiiar Provineas iibo fiUad tha Ryukyu gj naimit
i

had been indifferent if not plainly hostile to the customs, traditions and phys-.
leal culture of the Okinawan people. In the interests of "progress" many fina
objaets had been destroyed at Shuri and Naha aftar 1879 • For more than fifty
years the children at school had been encouraged by their Japanese teachers tvom
other Provinces to look upon the objects and customs of mainland prafacturas as
being superior, ipso facto, to anything native to Okinawa.

Professor Yanagi and bis associates saw that the Okinawans lare giving up
their old standards and were attempting to create shapes, designs and color
combinations which would satisfy an ejqport market in Japan. (So long ago as
1894 tha caeinaiian lacquar artists had attao^ad to create soMthing "new" and
gaudy for the exhibitions and markets of the Chicago V.'orld's Fair in the Dnitad
States.) Members of the visiting cultural research tean urged their Okinawan
friends and the Okxnaffian public to preserve and continue the special attributes
of tlMir uaiqoa cultural haritaga. At a public aaetlng held In the Municipal
Hall at Naha in January, 19^0, a discussion of local dialects led to public
erlticisffl of official policies. This in turn led to strong reaction by the
Governor (Fuehigami Fusataro) idio rebuked the naabers of the Folk Art Associa-
tion, and stated vigorously the official view that every veatige of Okinawan
Provincial individuality rust be erased. His ill-advised remarks stirred up
an angry public discussion which brought out into the open once more the sore
probdaa of diserlaination, snd tha underlying tension and conflict batwaan

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natives of Okinawa and xuktlviw of othar PiMfaetures which had p«r«l»t0d
througbout tho sixty .jmn of PrOTlncial goromaent. Ofo}

Cl6o) For dasoriptioas of tbeao investigations ia Rjrnkyu and of the sub-


sequent film-making, exhibitions and lectures in other Provinces, see Shlkiba
Pyusaburo: On Rvukyu Culture ( Rvukyu no Bupka) . Tokyo 1941; Kogei (issues No.
A9f Jan. 1935; No. 99, Oet. 1939; No. 100, No. I03» Oot. 19A0); Gekkan Uingei,
(Ho. S, Nov. 1939) Mo. 12, llsrob 1940} Ho. 21, Dec. 1940).

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*

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Chapter XZ^

ASSnOUTIGII PRDBUaiS AHD THE OOM 10 OF i:OBLO WAR n


Problflns of National (kiity

Asaimllatlon to the lia,tloaal Military Frogre*

'StvB Bole of State Shinto

The InflueDce of Masa ComDunioatiooa and, Tranaport

BBpire Dnity after Vbrld Her I

ftorld liar II . • • .:. .


Chapter XIV

ASSnOLAHOI FROBEraiB AID THE GOMZNG OP WBLD MR 11

fyoblaap of National Unity

At Naha engry debates ccnceming official policy toward Okinawa continued


from January 19A0 until April 19^. Japan wao on the eve of war v.ith the
T/estem riorid. The military bureaucracy (the Gmbetsu) rere in control at
Tokyo, (kynmar Aiohlgaai's \Am% rouike clearly stated ih» ultnHuitioMliat
vier; that, for the sake of unity, all flpaoial regional idiaraeterlatlea peatllar
to Okinawa must be stamped outt

Henbers of the Folk-Art Association boldly took exception to this narrow


OOQcept of national solidarity. They believed that the local dialects, crafts-
anahipf folkways and traditions of Okiiiawa Province were no more a threat to
the solidarity of Japaoese ne.tioiial interests than similar local ^variants in
other Provinces. In their v:'ew, an Okinawan potter or wea er or lacquer-maker
could t€ a loyal subject vhile at the same time renaining true to his local
craft tradition.

These tvro positions represented extren^es of opinion; the general populaoa


Sb other Provinces were only vaguely informed of Okinawa or were indifferent
to its probleas and position vis-a-vls the 'SxAyo GowasfUDant* ddnawans vara
knoim to be less priodtiva than the Ainu living on Qoirenuteot reservations in
Hokkaido, and much more Japanese than the Forraosan-Chinese cr the Koreans. Be-
yond the fact that the Government had to spend large sums each year to main-
tain and snbsldisa this poorest of all Ftovlnoas, the question of sn Qkinanan
iBority mant little to the ann-in-tlia-streat.
In sunraary, the Okinawan people were ready to be recognized ana accepted
as loyal subjeets of the Ehqmor, but the people of other provinces ware not
yet wholly preparer" to accept them as fellow-subjects. The general attitude
toward Okinawans was that of a patronizing city man called on to acknowledge
the existence of unso{diistioated country oouslns. It has already been ob-
served that Japanese of the nalnland provinces adopted an attitude toward the
people of Okinawa which was quite analogous to the attitude of the old Shuri
gentry toward people from Miyako or Yaeyama. The processes of assimilation
mere analogous, too> though the probLans were proportionately greater, and
took a longer period of tine to reaolwa.

Looking back over the record of official policy from 1890 to 19^0 we can
see that the Govenwent mts not Iffiient toaard Qklnaaan desires to preserve
something of the heritage of their ancestors cr nemories end traditions of
the old Kingdom. Although Okinawan interest in China faded rapidly after the
Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed '(April, 1895) i the Government at Tokyo re-
alned suspioious of Chinese influenoa in Qkinaaa* As far as the majority of
Okinarans were concerned, Japan's prestige soared, as it did throu^out the
world, i^ile China's ancient prestige was dissolved by revelations of her weak-
nesses*

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At least thrse incidents occurred, homBWtp vhich kept the Tokyo Govern-
nent on guard for any possible Chinese wove to reopen +he Irritating Ryukyu
Question. Cn the day that the Shimonoseki Treaty was ratified, Japan was fura«d
to tedk to China tto Llaotung PMkinflolA which had beeo ceded to Japan ly
terns of the Treaty, Tris rap a hard blcr, "hronght about b^^ riccofsful Chinese
appeals to Rusaia, France and Gemaziy for Intervention and pressure upon Japan*
It «ft8 the kind of interventlan efaleh Qilna had attempted misueoessfully to
trtng about in the Ryukyu Incident yeare before, and set a precedent iriiloih
alarmed Tokyo. At about the same time it ras discovered that an unscrupulous
primary school teacher at Naha (a Kagoshima man named Xamanojo Hajiae)va8 8Y:iDd-
ling OI±ia'«miB hy repreeentlng himaelf as a aeeret agent for the Chinese Vic-
eroy, Li Hxjng-chang. Li was said to be ready to help pro-Chinese natives of
F.;.TJkyu in their resistance to Japan. Even this incident night have been dis-
missed, had it not been discovered that Chinese cfiiciais at. Peking were ac-
tively supporting a so-ceUed ^'RepnU.ie of Taleen", and en'oonraging local <

Chinese on Tainan to appeal to foreign powers to prevent Japan frob taking -over
that island as provided for in the new Treaty.

Taken together, these were felt to be threats to Japan's position in the


Ryukyu Islands. Official policy stiffened. There could be no leniency in the
effort to wipe out all traces of the old Kyukyu regime, and no tolerance of
seperatiaa in howevsr alld and scntiiiMntal a fon it night present itself.
Thus the Kjpdo-kai Ineident (the appeal to rattm i^M former King to a horedSr-
tary GovemcMrship) came at a time when Tokyo was especially sensitive. The
administration was unalterably determined that nothing should retard the program
irtiiA was to tranafom the islands into a province indistinguishable tnm all
other provinces of the Home Territory (Noichi) The official vier- thereafter
.

remained one of hostility toward local treditionB and folkways which narked off
Okinawans from o^her subjects of the £knpire.

Let us review briefly the assimilation of Okinarva in relation to the nlll'


tary and "spiritual nobilisation" policies of the Government.

i«^4^<i«t.4«n. t.^^
Mf^f onei Miiitarr Trii^n^nir Prppm
Soon after the Sino-Japenese ear anded, Ibkyo prepared to extend universal
military conscription to Okinawa Prefecture as it had been extended to other
Prefectures in 1873. Hitherto there had been a scattering of Okinarren volun-
teers ior training, tut public opinion was strongly opposed to military service
In any for*. It teas firoly believed by the oldisr gMieration that « military
force on Okinawa would simply attract enemies and invite invasion. Vvcmen went
daily, to the Shinto Shrine on Naminoue and to the Buddhist temple £nkaku-ji
to pray that their sons and husbands liould not be fit for military service. It
is not surprising therefore that the professional military men at Tokjro, heirs
to the fluting traditions of two-sworded samurai , were both mistrustful and
contemptuous of the Okinawan as a soldier. It was frequently charged by Oki- '

naaaas in later yeere that the physical standards for recruitMnt wwd set Just
hlgfi enough to exclude many Okinawan youths, who, in average height and weighty
came at the bottom of the list when judged according to averages .for all pr»- •

fectures* * •

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The Anry turned to the schools to prepare for conscription and general
education toward acceptance of military duties. In 1B96 graduates of the Nor-
mal School icere required to give six weeks of active Mrvie«-. Aa a gesture to
popular eenslbilltiesy the Kuaanoto I>etaeliBMnt quartered in Slnirl Castle vas
wltlidrain fron that revered spot*

111 1890 an OkiiunRun terrison Oletrlet Headquartere was eetabliahed mi


the conscription law put into force. If there vbs any risk in this at all, it
was overshadowed by vrhat Tokyo must have felt to be a pressing need to build -

defenses throughout the islands. In tiiis year oenuany leased Kiaochow •

Bay, Busaia leased tha^ Llaotms Fanlasula and Ebgland leased Ke^-hal-iiely' all
on the China coast, rhile the Dnlted States acquired Hawaii and Boved across
to occupy the Phllipplae Islands Just south of Taiwan •

Six years later the isolation and vulrerability of Okinawa Prefecture was
demonstrated when Japan went bo war with Russia and the threat of Russian naval
raids interrupted regular shipping between Naha and Kagoshima. Guard units
were stationed on the bea<^es to keep wattih over the sutaaarine cable landing
at Yomitanzan, and a general sense of watchfulness and danger pervaded the Is-
lands. I'o Fussian forces tore dctm upon the Ryukyjs, but five fishermen of
Hisamatsu Village in i^iiyako sighted the Baltic fleet as it moved northward
toward its doo» In the Straits of TsuShlna. Speeding to Yaejama as fast as
their srv.nl^ craft would take th-m, the five fishermen reported to the Yaeyama
cable office, from v.hich the news was flashed to naval headquarters. For this
act the Miyako fishermen earned great praise and were hailed thereafter as tlis
"ma. karoea of Hisanatso" ( Hisamatsu Go ttiahi ).
Jy 1907 Okinawa Prefecture was represented by enlistmaits in every service
branch. A Reservists' Association was formed In 1910. Belatlons between ttis
Armed Services and the people of Ryukyu gradually assumed the pattern to be
found throurhout the Einpire, Ideals of physical fitness were inculcated in the
schools and through the Okinawa Physical Culture Society founded by DivlBional
Headquarters. Athletic meetings were held from time to time. The tradititmal
Okinawan form of boxing (karate) was recognised, while study of the JfiDinese
arts of judo and kendo was encouraged. In 1^19 the towns and villages vhich
haa good conscript recoras were honored by citations granted from the Ministry
of lar. • > • •
;
-

From 1930 until 1945 the Influence of the military extreaiists at Tokyo '•'

began to vake itself f^t in {ncinswa as la all «tber ju'efeetures and possessloas
of the Aqpdre. By Amy staandards Okinawa was providing the smallest physical-,
specimais as candidates for conscription, and had the highest record of rejeo4i
tlons. Oklnawans .found themselves being used in high percentage as military .

labor« ;oe as lab(Mrea>» on eivllian eontracts in the military interest.

It is coemon knowledge that Trhat the Army lacked in physical equipment or


manpower it attempted to make up for in fanatic spirit. Between 1930 and' 1940
the ao-ealled "spiritual, obilisatlon" of the youth of Japan laid the foundaUon
for extraordinary sacrifices made in World War II, most prominently displayed
in the kamikaze units, but shared at all levels of military and civil organlaa-
tion. Okinawa had no long military tradition upon which to form this new •

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"spiritual training" pro^'ara. Nevertheless the youths of Okinawa identified
themselves with the youths o£ other f)refectures in facing Uxe demands of mil-
itary 8«rvlc0.

It came as a shock therefore in Januarj- 1935 when General Ishii Torao,


Commanding Officer of the local Gaarliion^ vehemently and passionately denounced
the spirit and conduct of yoimg metti of military age. Altfaou^ his language tai
his attitude nas common among the extreme militarists throDghout Japan, it was
taken as an affront among the Okinawan people Rnd a slur upon their loyalty, •

lio uiatter whet they did to demonstrate iheir belief in themselves as patriotic
aobjeete of tbe Biqwtor, this oritiein tij Geoeral lahll mus od echo of the
old traditions of diserlninatian toward Okliiaiia Provinoa.

Hha Bola of Stata Shinto

"Spiritual mobilisation'* for war depended not a little on the assimila-


tion of popular religious hidi«^» and praetiees to the cult of Stata Shinto^
whereby the Fhiperor was declared to be of divine descent, and the local di-
vinities of Okinawa Prefecture were declared to be members of a host of
guardian gods defending the Empire. Above all it was desired to promote tha
norship of Amatarasu OBUcani as a unifying element in tha national spiritual
life. The problem of using so unorr'onized a cult as Ryukyu Shinto in the po-
litical interests of a State relic-ion vras a grave one. This was esper,iElly
true for a society in whicn tne Confucian precepts of iaorai conduct and ances-
tor worship carried nore vei^t than tha ajstieal rites of State Shinto* .

fozaulated bgr, and prescribed fron, Tokj«.

In 1909 it was proposed to build -a Prefectural Shrine at Naha and to con-


struct official shrines in each administrative subdivision throughout the
Province. There was no enthusiasm for thi?; the plan was dropped until 1<^23,
when it was proposed again. In 1924 the Shinto Shrine od Kaninoue headland
was desi0iated the Provincial center for x^eligious affairs. Curiously enough,
the major spirits enshrined there vere four Kings of Ryukyu (Shunten, Sho En,
Sho Kei and Sho Tai) together ;7ith Minamoto Tametomo, believed in popular tra-
dition to be father of Shunten, the first King. Since by tradition, if not ty
proof, Tanetoao nas dcweradent in the seventh generation from the BDperer SeifAy
the people of Okinawa Province were encouraged to think of their Royal Faiailj
as having an association with the Inqperial Family in the remote past.

Shrines were establi Aed at Biyalro and Taeyaaa at this tine (1925) . At
Naha, in 1927, the Yomochl Shrine was dedicated to the merLcry and worship of
the three great agricultural heroes of Ryukyu, Noguni Sokan, Gima Shinjo, and
Sai On, rhose names are inseparably associated vidth the sweet potato plant,
sugar cultivation, and forestry.

All those who died in the service of the State were included in the pan-
theon of national heroes, to he accorded the respect and worship of guardian
spirits of the nation. As early as 1898 the bodies of the OkinaTrans who had
died in Taiwan in December 1B71 were entombed anew in the Gokokvi temple at
Naha* This was done with a view to creating a sense of veneration for men v^ose

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deaths had been the immediate excuse fbr the Taiwan Expedition* l!his act im-
plied that they had died in the service of the State.

The outbreak of tiie Shanghai Ineld«nt In 1932 ga-ve a new inpetus to the
growth of State Shinto throughout the Empire. In Ckinav.a pressure was brourht
to bear on the local to»ns and villages to build new Shinto Shrines, and there
was a considerable expenditure for this purpose between 1935 and 1941* In an
tndeavof to bring all -the Miglous sentlaent of the people to focus upon the
worship of ttu- Stale, Bita^ for new Shinto J^rines were seleetf^d adjacent to
ancient Ryvkyu sorlnes of local eignlficance.

The death of Marquis £ho Xai in 1901 marked axi importaut loosening of old
ties with the Kingdom and its traditions. After tvc years of nounlng the nem-
bers of his e^1«isive household at Toikapo gave up their old-style costume, hair-
dress, court language, and daily ceremony. Their children began to attend the
regular schools in ^'okgro and the par^ts began to adopt a pattern of social
life whidi could not be distinguished fron that of other residents in the capi-
tal. The Boat luportant synbol of the old Kingdm had ceased to exist.

It was necessary to introduce and develop the symbolism of the Imperial


Family of Japan as the vital center of national life, and to develop, if pos-
sible, an unquestioning belief in the Bnperor as the source of all authority
and all honor. Although it had been proposed at one time that the Meiji
Ikperor should visit Okinawa, he did not do so. In his place members of the
Imperial Family end chamberlains of the Imperial Household acting on the Ein-
peror's behaxf, travelled to OkinaTra frequently to give evidence of Imperial
ooncezn for the \.eirare of the Okinawan people, iiherever possible the Imperial
nana* was associated with acts of public benevolence or with symbols of inilitaTy
strength and authority. Thus in 1897 Imperial Prince General Komatsu Akihito
attended the peneral meeting of the Okinawa Red Cross Society. A rr.unisipal
park was opened in I'ana in 1901 to celebrate the narriagc of an Imperial Prince.
The widow of imperial Prince' General' Kltasfairakawa visited Raha wile enroute
to TaiT&n, 7;here her ^te fatttfMmd'ii iQiirit' was snshritted as the guardian deity
in the new colony.

The deaths of the Meiji Bgoperor (July 30, 1912) and of his ;7idor, the
Eirpress Shoker (in 191/+) , were made occasions for dr;ijiiatic and Impressive cere-
monies of "worship from afar*^ throughout Okinawa, v-hen all Government officialSt
all sdiool diildren and the general publib. Insofar as possible^ were required'
to tuin their thoughts and attoation to the distant Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
The accesEion of the new Fmperor, Taisho, was narked by celebrations in which
every hamlet throughout the Ryukyu Islands was required to take part.

In 1921 a war.ship bearing the Crov.-n Prince to Europe dropped anchor in


NaksgunukT] B?y to afford the Prince an opportunity to visit Naha and Shuri. It
was a matter of great local pride that Vice Admiral Kanna Kenva, a native of
Okinawa Province, was in the Crom P)rince* s suite, and captain of the vessel.'

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After each dlflastrous typhoon, drou^t or epidemic, tokon gifts of maaajf
were granted in the name of the Ekperor for the relief of the common people,
and in 1911 a grant of 1,500,000 yen waa made to establieh the Okinavia Public
7,^lfare Foundation in a tijM of grMt •oonomlo dlatr^M and gtmral political
unr«8t«

The Inflnancw of liasa Co—iuiiicatiima md Traneiiort

Gradually thousands left Ryukyu to settle in metropolitan Japan. There


they experienced little or no difficulty in their personal relations in the .

adopted community. Friction was more connon in the islands, rising between
officials of haughty bearing' and the people amonp v.hom they were required to
work, or between members of the "Resident Uerchants." group and the rising Oki-.
nawan bustnessnan* The story is told of the first natives of Sakishina to
visit Tokyo (in 1893) v?ho want to the capital to appeal for settlement of a
local dispute ever land, taxes ar.d representation. They were sent off from
Hirara with acclaim, songs conposed in their honor and mass meetings reflected
the aaBOitamaot of thia first direct relationship with the nation's capital.
On their return, they were e^conpenied ty a native cf Kii^-ata Prefecture named
Nakamura Jissaku. The occasion watj important, for the local men came back
with great prestige bearing gifts from important officials at Tokyo. Their
reception at iUyako waa marred only by the arrogant and pompous Nakamura, whose
behavior stcod in strong contrast to the courteous reception the local men had
esqierienced in Tokyo, where tbey had been received by such distinguished moa
as Olcuna Shlnsenobu, Minister of State and. founder of Kaseda University, and
Prlnee Kbnoe Atsumaro.

Officials who had migrated from Japan in earlier years, and members of
the "Resident Merchants" cAiqne found it bard to fox^t the old days of un-
challenged sunremacy among the unsophisticeted Okinawans. The emergence of a
propertied cIpss of TAnjiy.; trjsiressmen, rapidly gaining experience in managing
their ov.n affairs in OKir;cwa and at Kagoshima, Osaka and Tokyo, forcea the
"Besident llerehants" to draw together in defense of the monopolies they had
so long enjoyed. Any Okinnwan '^ho obiccted to thoir hi^h-handod behavior waa
exposed to abuse, and sometimes even to charges of disloyalty to Japan. In
an atteirpt to defent^ their economic interests the "Resident Uerchants" organized
a trade paper, the CVin>n w£; ShialTun* In- 1905* ^t that time there were only
2,618 Japanese resiaent in JNaha.

V Convoeatdon of an e3.eetod Assembly with powers of the local budget meant

inevitably tbft Okiravffu.r' 'vcild i.i i bol/^-^r pcjJitJ.on to p.sj'jrt bh&ir in-

terests vir-a vir t'^o .•;'rj.?.---5ntrc'iChed "Rcftlci-it >.firit:>"


. Ti e laltr-r there-

fore organiasd a net. Acsjt in-iou xn 1911 to pupport and defend their position
in ^e Assembly. Despite these moves, as the years passed, they were doomed .

to disappear as a "oolonialHainded" group of residonts from other Provinces.

Aseimilation was not exclusively dependent upon education of the Okinawen


people ccncemlng the main ielait^as of lionshu, ShiX Vu and Kyua}<ii. T> ere was
an increasintT sense of P"^ovincic.l solidarity as w.ll, tncjgh t\.e ti,i.(".itional
preeminence of Shuri and Nalia remained a noteworthy feature of social and

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politleal life anong the islands. The extension of newspaper, motion pic-
ture and radio services to the ot-tlying communis? eL- tended to draw them eloper
together, to provide them with coimson infoannatlon, end to give them a common
outlook on daily orents on Okinaiia and at Toksro* Ih«r« tias a roelprocal tliou^
less intensive process through vthich the people of oilier Provinces osbs gnuit-
ueiUy to know more about Okinaiia.

An OkinaTO Prefectural Ae^ciation was fotned In 1899 to pronote unifi-


cation through a wider knowledge of administrative cffeirr. PuMication of
"Notes on Current Events in Okinawa" served to spread some knowledge of the
Prefecture in Japan as well as to provide a common fund of information for
Minor officials throughout the islands. A "Society for the laprovwBent of
Manners and Customs" was formed soon after (in 1902) with branches in each
local district. Throu^ this semi-official organisation it was proposed to in-
troduce and aneourage Japanese aannere and oustoats standard Asealiere in Japan
taut aa yet unfaadllar to the (Alnaaan people.

As schools took the lead in promoting the "Japanisation" of the Okinanan


people at hone, so the newspapers of Maha and of other Prowlnoes imdertook to
' .

promote mutual understanding through competitive economic contests and the


tourist industry. Inmediately after the first Prefecti:ral Assen.bly met for the
first time, tours were arrancjed for Okinawans wishing to visit the Kiiiki dis-
trlet la Honshu* As msny as ei^ty persons from eduoattooal circles alone want
up to visit other Prefectures in 1910, and a touring party of 170 CBme down
from the main islands to have a look at Okinawa. Thereafter annual excursions
hy students and tourists beeaas common.

ftnrllT !?r^^y after V«orld Wer I

^y the end of Vforld War I the major obstacles of £.s3lJttllatlon had been
overcome. There was strong sentiirental atticbrTient to local scenes and every-
day habits of living, but in matters of politics and economics, the younger
faneratlon thought In terms of nationwide Japaaeee Interest. Hhe stories of
the Old Kingdom were tne teles of grandparents. For ambitious youth, Tokyo
or Osaka or an emigrant community overseas held the promise of the future. ,

The tide of political end social affairs had set toward a liberal era»
nation-wide in character, which no local organization could stem. With the
admission of laayaaa and aiiyako to full voting privileges in 19^1t the inter-
nal imlfleatlon process could be said to be eo^ilete* It irlll be remembered
that the Manhood Suffrage Act was passed in the XlQierial Diet on March 29,
1925. By this Act the total electorate in Japan was more than quadrupled.
From Yaeyama in the south to Hokkaido in the far norths 12,500,000 men now had
the opportunity to vote representatlwes Into the Parlisnent.

The Cabinet and the bureaucracy ( Kambatsu ) were reluctant to countenance


this change, taut they could no longer resist popular pressure, and yielded to
it. There was strong reaction among oonserwatlve military and police organi-
zations. The Government sought to counter the Diet's action. In 1928 a
special division of "Thought Police" was created to keep watch on all popular

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organizations and leaders of public opinion. The developing threat of commun-
isai an obvious danger, but the ultra-natloneliet nlxitary organizrations,
planniag the invMlon of China and tbs oonqoast of Southaaat -Asia, extandad
their repraasive actions indiscriminantly to include any critics of govemmant
or military policy. Ihalr vlgUanca axtanded to the ramoteet parts of tha
Eicpire.

As the 1r.ni;encG cf civil govemL'^ent ft.ded at Tokyo, the number of fanatic


nationalist crgtiniEations increased. A "National Self-Regeneration Movement"
was launched in Okinawa. Ten teachers in laeyama nere placed under arrest for
"idaologlcal raaaons". Iha poUle was urgad to contribute savlnga to tha pur-
chase of a worplane to be contribjted to the State (1933) • Regulations govem-
ir.g a "Natlcoaal Spiritual Mobilization Training School" cere issued in early
193ii.

These extreme nationeliet movements were not popular in Okinawa. The


people of Ryukyu had no tradition glorifying war as the samurai tradition of
Japan ^oriflad tha aaord and tha fighting nan. Tha ealB wd aaay-going Old-
nawan of the older generation could not rise to a pitch of emotional anthoa-
iasm in service for the Bnpsror, even thou-:h the younper generation rr.i'ht be
awept along in the tide of nation-wide admiration for heroic deeds and great
acbievamota raportad from tha China battla^front*

After the attempted coup d'etat by Young Officers at Tokyo in 1936 (the
so-called ni-ni-roku .liken) , Japan retained the fornis of representative Govern-
nant but novad rapidly into totalitarian organisation.

In March, 1938, the Diet passed a National General Mobilization Law ( ^okkA
Sodoin Ho ) and fdth this act aurrMidarad rapraaantatlTe govenunant and nany of
the individual freedoms guaranteed in tha Maiji Constitution. In October 1940
the Imperial Rule Assistrnce Association mr-.s fomed to provide Japan with a
single political orgaiiiz&tion to support the Army and the Cabinet.

By mid-year 19^^ virtMally all the provisions of the General Mobilization


La-7 were inefrect in Okinawa as in the other Provinces. Ihla was "national
solidarity" at its maximum development short of war.

The outbraak of war in the Pacific placed Oklnaaa once again on the sea
frontiers of Japan. The Province had little to contribute in foodstuffs or
material. The youth of the islands entered conscript service or volunteered
for special duties. Girls and young woaian foxinad nursing corps and working
mlts able to take over many tasks nornnlly performed by r.en 4 tw Okina^
.

wans held important posts in the Central Government during these jrears of
crisis. Thousands saw service in the armed forces. £very resource was mobil-
isad to Bupport the war effort directed ftom Tokyo.

By February 19^A Prefoctural Government staff families began to return


to their homes in other provinces. In i^ril many men holding offices in the

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Cop>iiylited material
civil government and police forces were transferred to Neva3 Administration,
under ueirtiai lavj. fly July a general movement of people to the relative aaiety
of lUimn or of l^oahu had bogim to take plaoe. Gblldrao of soliool a|re vara .

sent on ahead of fathers rnd mothers, with older children placed is\ charge cf
younger. For toe first time In 350 years Oklnava was actually threatened with
invasion.

In October 19^ the first air atteck Dpon Kaha took place. Minoty per-
cent of the city was burned. Shuri came under bombardm^t; after ^30 years
of poaoafttl ezlstenee. It nov becane the site of one of the noat viplent bat*
ties the world has ever known. On the evening of March 31, the students of
Shuri High School acsembled for graduation exercises in blacked-oi't ceremony,".
As they were handed their diplomas, tiicy were at the same time handed theii' .

unitary oYdera. There nere rtaaora of a landing up Hie eoaat. The oeeaalonal
"lirnraer of liph^s at sea warned of a great fleet assembled on the horizon.
Storms greater than any recorded, in ft, thousand years of history were about to
meep across the frontier islands. '
:

npn April I,. 1945» the Invaaloa began*

1. i »

.. -240-

Copyrighted matarial
1400
no. 9 National Research Council.
Pacific Science Board.
Ryukyu - kingdom and province
before 1945.

DS895 R9 K4 1953
Ryukyu Kingdom and
Province before 1945

lUturnrd

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