Ryukyu Before 1945
Ryukyu Before 1945
Ryukyu Before 1945
RYUKYU
KINGDOM AND PROVINCE BEFORE 1945
GEORGE H. KERR
Hoover Institute and Library
Stanford University
Issued by
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.
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Klngdaa tod Ftorinoe Befor* 1945
George H. Kerr
Hoover Institute and Library
Stanford DnlvwrBltgr
lasued tgr
Acknov.ledg'jents i
Foreword ii
PART I
PART TI ' . ..
.
DtlAL SHEnPDTNATTOW
Chapter IZ: RYUKYD AND THE OPENING OF JAPAN TO THE TOSTERN TORLD. . 120
—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*
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.
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 ; .
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Copyrighted material
PiBi m
OKINAWiL PBOyUCE
1879
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
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.
'
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
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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
)
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 .
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*
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.
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> ...
Copyrighlea inaienal
Chapter X
Copyrighted material
NOTE
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.
(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*
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.
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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." .
•. ••
. .
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.
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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,
'
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*
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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 '
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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Copyrighted material
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.
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
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islands as the "Queen Country." (6) •
• -
' •"»'"* ..!,». r , . •• ;<». • • . -
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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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,
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
*
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)
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)*
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-
-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-
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-
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-
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 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)
- , • - ,
..•
.
fff
(16) shall see in later pages that the question became one of major
T.e
-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 .
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
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 ,
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.
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. • • •
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 .
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,
'
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-
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.
-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
.
Tra^ations of Centralization imder King Eiso, end thair PosnibTo SI ttiII J crmce
'
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.
(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.
'3. Okinawa: A I^lng Base Linking China, Japan and' Korea with the
East Indies
Copyrighteu iriaicrial
Chapter III
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-
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.
-26-
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 -
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.
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
'
-27-
Copyrighted material
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.
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.
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- . .
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.
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
'
-30-
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.
(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*
-3U
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) . . .
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
*
(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
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1
I
Open thoir ithdrar.al from the capital enrcutc to Okinara once az-^ir, •'ihe
• •
[.
•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*
-33-
Copyrighted matsrial
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 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
-34-
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 -
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
• • - «
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
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.
(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.
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,
3* Ti*aidlng Ihtouc^out Fai* EastaTn Sees, from Japan and Koroa to Sumatra
-
•
*
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
'
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)
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-
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
'
•
(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)
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
-
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)..
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 - .
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
Shocun the for::ial title "Lord of the Tivelve Southern Islands." The ShlMaStt-^
]
I '
-42-
Copyrighted
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.
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*
-43-
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:- •
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
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.
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
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
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 |
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
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*
^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*
(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.
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 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^
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*
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*
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
'
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-
'
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
'
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Copyrighted inaicnal
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
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.
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
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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Copyrightea inaicnal
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)
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
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3. Royal control wta assartml and conflnMd in Xa^rm and
Ulyako;
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 ,
Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of this time was the thoroughpoinj '
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- |
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
.
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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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 ' .
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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.
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
.
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- |
.
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 ;
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 |
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, |
(>(9)''' The rtu^bs were the flliua-^dMpehl . the InKim-f^r****^ and the Qlha>-
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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
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.
• <
. .
, ^
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(aiapt«r V
1. Chuzan and the Distant Islands: Ulyako, Yae^'aioa and Amaml Oshima
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Chapter V
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*
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
'
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>
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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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.
- . - . ,
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 • .'.
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* .
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
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step, thou^ not without ssrious opposition. In recognition of hXa preeaiaMit
position Nakasone was given the title of Miyako-.iima Ktxshira or "Chieftain
,
,.
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-
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 .
thfir direction.
It required many years for Shuri to establish unchallenged conLrol in -
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
-65-
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,
*
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.
(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. |
' -67-
I
Copyrighted inaicnal
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.
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.
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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
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.)
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.
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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.
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
.
(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.
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*
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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.
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.
Copyriytiioa material
Copyriyiiiuj
PART TfflO
DUAL SUfiOBDINATION
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.
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CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
iiSixJl* " So «aoliMmt« .of office dull bo gim to a mistress of the
Ghieftsla.
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. 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-
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*
,
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.
(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.
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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
.
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
'
stood tetreen Shuri and Yedo, and Ryukyu policies Here determined principally- '
in the Shimazu headquarters at Kagoshima. (61) ^ <
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*
' . ...
•
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.
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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*
For two and a half centuries the people of Rjoikju ere required to neoQW
v.
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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.
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
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^
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- .
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)
(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 • .
-
- • , • . .
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 -
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.
(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
,..»..
, .
'
-
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-
.
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
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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.
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 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.)
-65-
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
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.
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)
(74) "the King of Xaxma, ^atsuma,^ v/hose vassall the King of the
Liqueas is..." Cocks Diary . Vol. II, pp. 58-59.
'
-8d-
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
" ^
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
* . , « •
'
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.
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.
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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- *
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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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. -
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.
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
-^3-
-94-
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*
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.' -
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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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 .
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.
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«. '
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-
.
(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.
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.
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,
.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.
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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.
'
1 •
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3. Overseas Relations
{...
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Gbapter VIII
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.
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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. , ,
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*
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 .
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.
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) •
* • . •
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.
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.-
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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)*
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. * "
' '
. \.
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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.
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. .
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. ;
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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.
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.
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)
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.
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
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Copyrighted material
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.
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)
• • • • • . . .
.
,
(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.
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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)
'
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
>
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.
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,
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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*
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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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)
. • •
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.
'
(97) Curzon, George N.: Problems of the Far East London, 1894 • p. 291.
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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.
(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.
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 •
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 '
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
BDSSlA
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)
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
• • •• . .
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.
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 .
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
•
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1 iicd material
Chapter IX
?• Foreien Visitors before ISMy and the Effect of the First ia^Lo-
Chinese War
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".
•120-
CopyriyiiiUJ i;;a.uliai
1824) Two typboooe
1825) ' FanlJAtt 3,355
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
'
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.
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) .,
*.
- ., ..
(loo) On Tosses and dangers enroute see: "Death of an Jbvoy from Lewchew**
Chinese Repository Vol. X No. 12, Dec. 1841, p. 688
..
-122-
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 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.
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.
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Copyriytiioa material
the ruler end the people are hard^preseed, and are robbed .
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*
-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.)
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
-
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.
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.
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*
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. •• •
.
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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*
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
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 '
'
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-
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. .. .
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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
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
(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. ^
~^ *
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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)
• •
•{ .
• - . , .
' • J* . . . . "
i<
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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
'
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
.
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
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.
"
' • • • . • .
-136-
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.
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,
.
(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*
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.
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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»
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.
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(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;'
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-
'
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
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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. -
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
-
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.
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Chapter X
Copyrighted matsrial
Chapter X
• ••
"'
PTJkru. Perry, aad the Riae of Batlmiallsm In the 19th Century '
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- .
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.
(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 ^
*
.
'
. (120) .See I.brce, Hjfea BcJlau: The International Relations f^f'thy q^ ^yfipffy
QpDire . Vol. I Period of ConfUct; 183^-1860 London. 1910.
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
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. 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.
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:
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Cop>iiylited material
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.
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-
'
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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Copyrighted material
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)
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.
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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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
. ..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*
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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.
Makishi and his escort set sail in July, 1862, but h«ti only a few miles
'
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 '
. . * -
• •. • •• 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..
.. , ' . 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*
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-
•
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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^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 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.
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.
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I
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.. ..... J
PART THAEE
OCDIAIIi FBOnNGB
(Sgi^t^St^^SS^ 1372-1879)
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Ghaptar U
TB^SlpXM TBtm KXHGOQM ID FBOVmCB
^ r
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.
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.
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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.
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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?
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*
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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
,
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.
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 <
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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.
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
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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, . •
« •
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.
CON TRACT
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.
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. ..'
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 .
^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)
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.
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.
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*
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.
(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.
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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.
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
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.
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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.
(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. •
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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.
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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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.
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*
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.
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
..
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
- •
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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.
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,
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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*
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. .
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)
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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 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:
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.
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,
.
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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^«
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.
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,
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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
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>
[
•
?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
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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.
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.
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*.
be forthcoming.
•
t
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
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.
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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.
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.
(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^
Admiaiatrati^e Change
6. Econofflic Change
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Chapter HI
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*
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«.«>
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»
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.
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*
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^.'"
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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
.188-
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.
, . ^ . • .' *,• •
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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^
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
'
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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. * *
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.
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 '
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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
.
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*
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.
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. ' '
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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.
;
% ..... •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*
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-
|
"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. '
-
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.
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. *
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 . ;
.
,
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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* .
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;^ . .
;
.: -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-
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 .
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.
T.here progress in nodernization wac being made, with ever- increasing speed end
effectiveness, looked upon. Okinawa ana the Okinawan people as retarded coun-
.
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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*
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.
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
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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.. .
-205-
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. ^'
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.
'
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.
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
I
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Chapter nU
PROGRESS in OKINAM, 1890>I940
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*
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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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.
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*
(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. . •
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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
'
(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*
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.
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 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*
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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.
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
'
•,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 '
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-
**
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;-
'
*
" •
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 •
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
,
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.
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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*
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^ *
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 . ,
• .
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
- - •
1 ,
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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.
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.
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*
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 «
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
'
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*
• * .* .
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.
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
•
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of Old Ryukyu, and of the experiences of their grandparents during the trou- >
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*
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*
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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.
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
'
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.
. * * *
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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*
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.
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 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
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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.
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}
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Chapter XZ^
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.
remained one of hostility toward local treditionB and folkways which narked off
Okinawans from o^her subjects of the £knpire.
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*
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 .
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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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«
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.
inevitably tbft Okiravffu.r' 'vcild i.i i bol/^-^r pcjJitJ.on to p.sj'jrt bh&ir in-
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 .
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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.
^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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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. '
:
1. i »
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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