4. Kuninda in the Early Modern Ryukyu Kingdom

Introduction

As the Satsuma Domain used the tribute trade of the Ryukyu Kingdom to conceal smuggling, the tribute trade grew in importance, and ironically, Kuninda came to be restored.

In addition, as explained in the previous article, “Renaissance of Kuninda”, Kuninda went from its original society centered on overseas Chinese merchants to a new form that embraced the samurai families of Shuri, Naha, and Satsuma and was incorporated into the royal government organization.

So how did Kuninda come to receive preferential treatment and exert influence over the upper echelons of the royal government of Ryukyu?  

To go further, why was Ryukyu able to continue trading as a tributary state of China while being a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain?

I would like to explain in detail how Kuninda played an active role in the Ryukyu Kingdom and enjoyed such a renaissance that the 18th century came to be called the “Age of Kuninda”.

Dual subordination

Although Ryukyu became a vassal state of Satsuma, it was not annexed by the shogunate, which wanted to avoid friction with China, and was able to continue trading as China’s tributary state.

The King of Ryukyu was recognized by the Satsuma Domain and the Edo Shogunate as king, but in order to engage in tribute trade on a sustainable basis, he had to be appointed King of Ryukyu based on imperial edict from China.

The King of Ryukyu had to show loyalty to both Japan and China, and feared that he would be treated as a “renegade vassal” and removed as a tributary state if the Chinese emperor learned of both affiliations.

In order to successfully complete the tribute and the imperial edict rituals, Ryukyu had to convince China that the Satsuma forces would eventually withdraw from Ryukyu and that Japanese rule would no longer extend to the islands.

Therefore, the King of Ryukyu sought to thoroughly conceal Japan’s effective control over the Ryukyu Islands from China.

Thorough concealment

Since the King of Ryukyu was appointed by the Emperor of China based on imperial edict, it was necessary to receive the emperor’s approval to establish the trade system required by the Edo Shogunate, in other words, to continue the tribute trade. Each time a new king acceded to the throne, China sent an envoy to Ryukyu.

Meanwhile, in Naha, a kariya (magistrate’s office) was established by the Satsuma Domain to monitor Ryukyu’s internal affairs, foreign relations, and tribute trade. Samurai of the Satsuma Domain would stay here, and Satsuma ships sometimes docked at the port of Naha.

Accordingly, the Ryukyu government compiled procedures for responding to visits by the Chinese envoys and thoroughly dealing with every possible scenario.  

For example, when the Chinese envoy was in Ryukyu, officials of the Satsuma Domain were asked to evacuate to the castle. Even the graves of Satsuma officials were covered with soil during visits by the envoy and uncovered after the envoy returned to China.

It was even decided that if a Satsuma ship were spotted by the envoy, the Ryukyu officials should make up a story by saying, “That ship belongs to the island of Takarajima located between Japan and Ryukyu”.

What is even more amazing is that the Satsuma Domain’s ships at that time were sometimes manned by Ryukyu sailors who were skilled navigators, and there was even a manual explaining what to do if a ship was wrecked and washed up in China.

Was China aware of this?

Was the Satsuma Domain’s governance never actually exposed to China? In fact, it is said that China may have been aware of the actual situation but tacitly approved of it.

At that time, Chinese merchants traded in Nagasaki in spite of the restrictions imposed by Japan’s policy of national isolation, and they sometimes found themselves in competition with Chinese goods from Ryukyu in Nagasaki. The Chinese merchants who came to Nagasaki must have known about the Satsuma Domain’s governance in Ryukyu.

Korea also dispatched envoys to Edo, and since they were aware of the Ryukyuan missions that also came to Edo, they knew about Satsuma’s governance in Ryukyu.

There is no way that China would not have known about them, even the countries surrounding China knew about them, and this information must have reached the heart of Beijing.

So why did China pretend not to notice?

Why China remained silent

The reason for China’s silence was its judgment that the Ryukyu Islands were a buffer zone between China and Japan, and that both sides wanted to avoid a conflict over their exclusive rights to the islands.

With Ryukyu being under the effective control of the Satsuma Domain, the Tokugawa Shogunate did not claim exclusive rights of the Ryukyu’s against China. Moreover, since the shogunate hid its control of Ryukyu from China through a policy of concealment while avoiding any political conflicts and enjoying prosperous trade, there was no need for it to clash with China over Ryukyu.

Also, from China’s viewpoint, whereas it could be invaded if there was a land connection like Korea or Vietnam, such danger did not exist in the case of Ryukyu, so there was no need for China to go to the trouble of provoking military confrontation.

So long as the rituals of tribute and imperial edict were carried out properly, China’s domination of the vassal states was established, and as long as China maintained its status as the absolute autocratic regime of East Asia, there were no questions about the reality of its rule.

In fact, even though some of the Chinese envoys were informed of the Satsuma Domain’s governance by the envoys traveling to Beijing from Korea, they limited such facts to their own writings and didn’t report them to the emperor.

The Age of Kuninda

It was expedient for the Satsuma Domain to treat Ryukyu as a foreign state so that it could be retained as a vassal state, while strengthening the official diplomatic ceremonies of tributes and imperial edicts was also convenient for the Ryukyu Kingdom.

The royal government sought to balance political power between China and Japan by, on the one hand, domestically promoting Sinicization as a foreign state unbeknownst to the envoys, and on the other, utilizing the prestige of China to avoid being absorbed by the Satsuma Domain and the shogunate.

Under these circumstances, the Kuninda samurai not only took initiative in undertaking the practical business of tributes and imperial edicts, but they also played an important role in introducing and establishing Chinese culture in the Ryukyus.

One aspect of this was the acceptance of Confucianism.

Confucianism in the Ryukyus

In 1671, Kim Jong Chun was granted permission by King Shō Tei to build a mausoleum to honor Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. Construction work began in Kuninda the following year, and statues of Confucius and four other sacred figures were erected in 1676.

From this year, the biannual spring and autumn ritual of Sekitensairei was held to deify Confucius, Mencius, and other figures. In 1678, lecturer and exegete positions for interpreting the meaning of texts and phrases in the sutras were established in Kuninda.

In 1686, the custom of dispatching government-sponsored students to Japan was restored. When these students returned to Ryukyu, they were appointed as lecturers and exegetes, and they began to play a central role in Confucian education.

In 1718, Meirindo, a school for conducting lectures mainly on Confucianism, was established (as the first public school in Ryukyu) inside the Confucian Mausoleum in Kuninda.

From Meirindo, teachers were dispatched to Kokugaku (National Academy), the highest educational institution in Shuri, Shuri Mifira Gakko, and schools in Naha and Tomari, and Confucian studies took root in the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Kuninda in Ryukyu

The people of Kuninda learned various fields of culture in China, for example, calendar, feng shui, medical science, family law, painting, and Chinese song and music, and they played a role in disseminating this culture in Ryukyu.

As a result, Kuninda became the most advanced area in the Ryukyus, and it produced many Confucian scholars and politicians.

For example, Tei Junsoku, a samurai from Kuninda, was known as the most outstanding Confucian scholar. Another example was Sai On, a great politician from Kuninda who established the Ryukyu Kingdom’s approach to politics based on Confucianism to ensure the continued existence of Ryukyu as a nation dually subordinate to Japan and China. Sai On rose to the post of Sanshikan, which was the highest administrative position in the royal government.

Many Confucian scholars and politicians came from Kuninda, and the Kuninda samurai held numerous positions that promoted the Sinicization of the royal government. This is why the 18th century in Ryukyuan history is called the “Age of Kuninda”.

Summary

The Ryukyu Islands, which had become a nation dually subordinate to Japan and China, continued to pay tribute to China as permitted by the shogunate, while at the same time thoroughly concealing the Satsuma Domain’s control over the Ryukyu Islands. Meanwhile, as a foreign state under the feudal system of the shogunate, it actively advanced Sinicization on land and sea, even going so far as the use Chinese junks for conducting tribute trade.

Under such circumstances, it was the people of Kuninda in the early modern period who were responsible for conducting the official diplomatic ceremonies of tributes and imperial edicts, dispatching official students as exchange students, acting as a gateway for accepting Chinese culture, and establishing Kuninda in the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Many Confucian scholars and politicians were born in Kuninda, and the 18th century in Ryukyuan history is known as the “Age of Kuninda”.

However, Kuninda was to come to an end with the birth of the Meiji state. The demise of Kuninda came as Japan strived to become a modern nation.

So, how did the Ryukyu Kingdom and Kuninda come to an end? This will be explained in more detail in the next article, “End of the Kingdom of Ryukyu and Kuninda“.