Ryukyu Kingdom

Ryukyu Kingdom
琉球國
Ruuchuu-kuku
1429–1879
Flag of Ryukyu
Merchant flag
Anthem: Ishinagu no Uta[1]
Royal seal:
The Ryukyu Kingdom at its maximum extent (present-day Okinawa Prefecture and the Amami Islands)
The Ryukyu Kingdom at its maximum extent (present-day Okinawa Prefecture and the Amami Islands)
Status
CapitalShuri
Common languagesRyukyuan languages (indigenous), Classical Chinese, Classical Japanese
Religion
Ryukyuan religion (State Religion),
Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism
Demonym(s)Ryukyuan
GovernmentMonarchy
King (國王) 
• 1429–1439
Shō Hashi
• 1477–1526
Shō Shin
• 1587–1620
Shō Nei
• 1848–1879
Shō Tai
Sessei (摂政) 
• 1666–1673
Shō Shōken
Regent (國師) 
• 1751–1752
Sai On
LegislatureShuri cabinet (首里王府), Sanshikan (三司官)
History 
• Unification
1429
5 April 1609
• Reorganized into Ryukyu Domain
1872
27 March 1879
CurrencyRyukyuan, Chinese, and Japanese mon coins[3]
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Hokuzan
Chūzan
Nanzan
Empire of Japan
Satsuma Domain
Ryukyu Domain
Today part ofJapan

The Ryukyu Kingdom[a] was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a tributary state of imperial Ming China by the Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island to end the Sanzan period, and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands and Sakishima Islands. The Ryukyu Kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East Asia and Southeast Asia despite its small size. The Ryukyu Kingdom became a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain of Japan after the invasion of Ryukyu in 1609 but retained de jure independence until it was transformed into the Ryukyu Domain by the Empire of Japan in 1872.[b] The Ryukyu Kingdom was formally annexed and dissolved by Japan in 1879 to form Okinawa Prefecture, and the Ryukyuan monarchy was integrated into the new Japanese nobility.

  1. ^ Seisai Tokuchi『日本文学から見た琉歌概論』(Musashinoshoin1972),299-300
  2. ^ Kikō, Nishizato. "明清交替期の中琉日関係再考" (PDF) (in Japanese). pp. 23–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Ryuukyuuan coins". Luke Roberts at the Department of History – University of California at Santa Barbara. 24 October 2003. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  4. ^ "琉球国金石文献述略" (in Chinese). Ancient History Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 25 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "旧条約彙纂. 第3巻(朝鮮・琉球)" (in Japanese). National Diet Library. Retrieved 20 April 2021.


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