The Ryukyu Kingdom prospered thanks to trade with the Ming Dynasty (current China), Japan, and Southeast Asia.
The people who actually conducted this trade lived in the town of Kuninda, which today is the district of Kume in Naha City.
The culture and learning that the people of Kuninda brought home with them exerted a major influence on Okinawa's unique culture and development, making this district an essential area for understanding the Ryukyu Kingdom.
So, in what ways did Kuninda contribute to the cultural formation and development of Okinawa?
Let's take a look at its roots and the vestiges of Kuninda that remain today.
Kuninda's Cultural Influence
Kume, Naha, which was previously Kuninda, undertook the Ryukyu Kingdom's trade and brought in cultures from various countries.
These cultures coalesced to become the unique culture of Okinawa, which has been passed on to the present day.
For example, Okinawa's unique dialect originated out of Japanese but incorporated expressions from various countries. The Indonesian word campur became the Okinawan stir-fry dish champuru, hinting at Okinawa's trading past.
Another example is the famous Okinawan confectionery of sata andagi. There was a similar confectionery in China known as kaikosho, and it is thought that this was introduced to Okinawa during the Ryukyu Kingdom era and subsequently evolved into its present day form.
Take the example of Shimi, which is well known in Okinawa as a memorial service where people drink alcohol at their ancestral tombs. This ceremony was originally held by the Ryukyu nobility in accordance with Confucian culture brought in from the Ming Dynasty, but it subsequently came to be copied and popularized among the ordinary people.
Trading by Kuninda imparted a major influence on Okinawa's culture, and the area's importance for the Ryukyu Kingdom can be gathered today.
Development of the Ryukyu Kingdom Supported by Kuninda
As a trading hub, Kuninda had many people skilled in languages, and the area sent numerous students to study at the Ming Dynasty, which was the most advanced civilization at that time.
As a result, because Kuninda produced many politicians and scholars, it contributed greatly to the development of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Tei Do (Jana Ueekata Rizan) was renowned as a hero who resisted the invasion of Ryukyu by Shimazu, the Lord of Satsuma Domain and fought to protect the Ryukyu Kingdom's dignity until the end. Born in Kuninda, he was a member of the Sanshikan Council of Three (a government body of the Ryukyu Kingdom).
The Rikuyuengi, which was used as a textbook at the Terakoya schools in Edo (former Tokyo), was translated into Japanese with an addendum by the scholar Tei Junsoku (Nago Ueekata Chobun), an aristocrat from Kuninda, who was known as the "Sage of Nago."
Sai On (Gushi-chan Bunjaku), another native of Kuninda who served on the Sanshikan Council of Three, was known as a great politician who established the Ryukyu Kingdom's approach to politics based on Confucianism to ensure that Ryukyu could continue as an independent nation ruled neither by China nor Japan following the invasion of Ryukyu by the Satsuma Domain.
Kuninda was deeply connected to politics of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and from this we can gather just how big a role Confucianism played in the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Roots of Kuninda
The roots of Kuninda are said to date back to the immigration of a professional group of families to Ryukyu at the behest of the Ming Emperor. The professional group of families was dispatched in response to a request made by Satto, the King of Chuzan, during the Sanzan period (the Muromachi period on mainland Japan) before the establishment of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Members of the professional group introduced shipbuilding and navigational techniques to Ryukyu, resulting in greater seafaring safety and subsequently enabling the Ryukyu Kingdom to enjoy an age of navigation.
Immigrants from the Ming Dynasty continued to move to the village of Kuninda, which was designated by the Ryukyu Kingdom, and they made major contributions to Ryukyu's development and cultural formation in diplomatic roles.
The Ming emigrants and their descendants who moved to Ryukyu from the Muromachi period to the start of the Edo period and were welcomed by the nobility of Shuri and Naha were known as the "thirty-six families from Min."
Kume Shiseibyo is a facility where one can sense the culture of Kuninda and the Ryukyu Kingdom's relationship with Confucianism.
How about getting a feel for the Ryukyu Kingdom at Kume Shiseibyo?
