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The Kingdom of the Ryukyus reigned over Japan's southwestern islands for approximately 450 years from 1429 to 1879.
Since some 32,000 years ago, humans lived in the Ryukyu Archipelago, a chain of islands stretching from Amami-oshima in the north to Yaeyama Islands in the south. Political forces on these islands began to appear in the 12th century, a period corresponding to Japan's Kamakura era.
Through repeated fighting and reconciliation, local warlords known as "aji" were gradually reduced in number as power was consolidated by a few. Finally in 1429, Sho Hashi defeated the major ajis to establish a unified nation. This marks the birth of the Kingdom of the Ryukyus and the Sho Dynasty.
In the following years, the Ryukyus gradually evolved. Through trade and diplomatic ties with China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, the Ryukyus developed as an ocean-faring nation, with Shurijo Castle as its political, economic and cultural center.
In the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom, there came but one major power shift. In 1469, some 40 years after the Sho Dynasty assumed power, a farmer from the Izena Island named Kanamaru usurped the throne in a coup to start a new dynasty. However, in light of the vassal relationship with the Ming Emperor and out of respect for traditions, he assumed the title of King Sho En. In Rukyuan history, this power shift marks the divide between the first and second Sho Dynasties.
The second Sho Dynasty lasted for 400 years from its first king, Sho En, to its 19th king, Sho Tai. In 1609, the Satsuma Clan of Japan invaded the Ryukyus with a force of 3,000 men to seize Shurijo Castle. For the following 270 years, the Kingdom of the Ryukyus maintained a nominally tributary relationship with China, while in reality it was controlled by the Satsuma Clan of Japan, and ultimately the Tokugawa Shogunate. In 1879, the new Japanese government established with the Meiji Restoration dispatched troops to oust King Sho Tai from Shurijo Castle, declaring the official establishment of Okinawa Prefecture. Thus the Kingdom of the Ryukyus ceased to exist. |
