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King of Sannan
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King of Sannan
King of Sannan (山南王, Sannan-ō) was a title given to a line of local rulers on Okinawa Island from the late 14th century to the early 15th century. Contemporary sources on the kings of Sannan are scarce and mutually conflicting. The narratives on the kings have gradually been expanded over time. In historiography, the term Sannan conventionally refers to a realm supposedly under their control. Sannan is also known as Nanzan (南山). The new term was coined in the 18th century by Sai On by flipping the two-character title.
Contemporary Chinese sources claim that there were three "kings" in the State of Ryūkyū (i.e., Okinawa Island): the King of Chūzan, the King of Sannan, and the King of Sanhoku. In 1372, Satto, a ruler on Okinawa Island, greeted a Chinese envoy from the newly established Ming dynasty and was later given the title of King of Chūzan. He was followed by Shōsatto, King of Sannan, in 1380. In 1382, another Chinese envoy visited Okinawa and returned to China in the next year. According to an article of 1383 in the Chinese Veritable Records of the Ming, the envoy learned that there were three "kings" who were at war with each other. Accordingly, the Ming emperor issued an edict to the King of Sannan and the King of Sanhoku to end the conflict.
Thereafter, the kings of Sansan were primarily known by tributary missions sent under their names:
In addition to the kings, some relatives appeared in Chinese sources as the senders of independent tributary missions, indicating some political anomalies:
The last reference to King Taromai was of 1429. Chinese had no information on when and how the king disappeared. Because the King of Chūzan continued tributary missions, the Chinese later speculated that the kings of Sannan and Sanhoku had been removed by the King of Chūzan.
In 1415, Taromai reported to China that King Ōōso had been killed by his elder brother Tabuchi (達勃期), who had in turn been killed by local chiefs, in favor of Crown Prince Taromai. This report was highly unusual because Okinawans routinely deceived the Chinese into thinking that the throne was normally succeeded from the father to the son. Historian Dana Masayuki raises the possibility that it was a cover story for Taromai's illegitimate seizure of power.
Even more puzzling is an article of 1394 in the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, according to which an envoy of Satto, King of Chūzan, arrived at Korea and requested the extradition of Shōsatto, Crown Prince of Sannan (山南王子承察度). It is not clear whether the "crown prince" in the Korean source was the same person as the "king" in the Chinese sources, who supposedly sent a tributary mission to China even after the alleged defection to Korea. Mysterious connections to Korea continued for a couple of years. In 1398, Onsadō, King of Sannan (山南王温沙道), was reportedly driven away by the King of Chūzan and exiled himself to Korea, where he died in the same year. No such event was recorded in Chinese sources.
The King of Sannan's suspicious relationship with the King of Chūzan was also indicated by tributary missions to China. In 1383, the tributary missions by the kings of Chūzan and Sannan arrived at China on the very same day. This episode indicates that they shared the same vessel because a long sea voyage made it difficult even for a single group of ships to arrive at China on the same day. Historians also noted unnatural overlaps of envoys supposedly sent by the kings of Chūzan and Sannan. Six envoys sent by the King of Sannan later represented the King of Chūzan while five switched from Chūzan to Sannan, among which two later became the envoys of the King of Chūzan again.
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King of Sannan
King of Sannan (山南王, Sannan-ō) was a title given to a line of local rulers on Okinawa Island from the late 14th century to the early 15th century. Contemporary sources on the kings of Sannan are scarce and mutually conflicting. The narratives on the kings have gradually been expanded over time. In historiography, the term Sannan conventionally refers to a realm supposedly under their control. Sannan is also known as Nanzan (南山). The new term was coined in the 18th century by Sai On by flipping the two-character title.
Contemporary Chinese sources claim that there were three "kings" in the State of Ryūkyū (i.e., Okinawa Island): the King of Chūzan, the King of Sannan, and the King of Sanhoku. In 1372, Satto, a ruler on Okinawa Island, greeted a Chinese envoy from the newly established Ming dynasty and was later given the title of King of Chūzan. He was followed by Shōsatto, King of Sannan, in 1380. In 1382, another Chinese envoy visited Okinawa and returned to China in the next year. According to an article of 1383 in the Chinese Veritable Records of the Ming, the envoy learned that there were three "kings" who were at war with each other. Accordingly, the Ming emperor issued an edict to the King of Sannan and the King of Sanhoku to end the conflict.
Thereafter, the kings of Sansan were primarily known by tributary missions sent under their names:
In addition to the kings, some relatives appeared in Chinese sources as the senders of independent tributary missions, indicating some political anomalies:
The last reference to King Taromai was of 1429. Chinese had no information on when and how the king disappeared. Because the King of Chūzan continued tributary missions, the Chinese later speculated that the kings of Sannan and Sanhoku had been removed by the King of Chūzan.
In 1415, Taromai reported to China that King Ōōso had been killed by his elder brother Tabuchi (達勃期), who had in turn been killed by local chiefs, in favor of Crown Prince Taromai. This report was highly unusual because Okinawans routinely deceived the Chinese into thinking that the throne was normally succeeded from the father to the son. Historian Dana Masayuki raises the possibility that it was a cover story for Taromai's illegitimate seizure of power.
Even more puzzling is an article of 1394 in the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, according to which an envoy of Satto, King of Chūzan, arrived at Korea and requested the extradition of Shōsatto, Crown Prince of Sannan (山南王子承察度). It is not clear whether the "crown prince" in the Korean source was the same person as the "king" in the Chinese sources, who supposedly sent a tributary mission to China even after the alleged defection to Korea. Mysterious connections to Korea continued for a couple of years. In 1398, Onsadō, King of Sannan (山南王温沙道), was reportedly driven away by the King of Chūzan and exiled himself to Korea, where he died in the same year. No such event was recorded in Chinese sources.
The King of Sannan's suspicious relationship with the King of Chūzan was also indicated by tributary missions to China. In 1383, the tributary missions by the kings of Chūzan and Sannan arrived at China on the very same day. This episode indicates that they shared the same vessel because a long sea voyage made it difficult even for a single group of ships to arrive at China on the same day. Historians also noted unnatural overlaps of envoys supposedly sent by the kings of Chūzan and Sannan. Six envoys sent by the King of Sannan later represented the King of Chūzan while five switched from Chūzan to Sannan, among which two later became the envoys of the King of Chūzan again.