was King of

Chūzan was one of three kingdoms which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more so ...

. He was the second and last ruler of the Satto dynasty.

Biography

Bunei inherited the throne upon the death of his father, King

Satto Satto (察度) (1321 – November 17, 1395) was King of Chūzan. He is the first ruler of Okinawa Island who was recorded by contemporary sources. His reign was marked by expansion and development of Chūzan's trade relations with other states, ...

. His reign saw the continuation of many of the previous trends and developments; in particular, Bunei sought to continue to develop commercial ties between Ryūkyū and China. A special headquarters was built in

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

for Chinese envoys and similar missions, and a trading center was established nearby. In addition, the royal annals began to be compiled; the '' Rekidai Hoan'' (Treasury of Royal Succession) was first compiled in 1403. This period saw a great proliferation of trade and cultural interaction between the three Okinawan polities and other states in the region; sources seem to indicate, however, that only Chūzan successfully established relations with the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establis ...

of Japan in this period. An embassy was sent to Siam in 1409, and relations with kingdoms in Java and Sumatra remained strong, having been established some time earlier by traders. All three kings of Okinawan, Chūzan, Sanhoku, and Sannan, sent emissaries to Korea in 1397, likely separately, and established strong friendly relations with the newly formed

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and ...

. From Korea, Chūzan saw a great influx of Buddhist ideas and objects, and it is believed that

Shintō Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

first entered Okinawa in a significant way at this time as well, from Japan. Naha became the busiest port on the island at this time, bringing wealth and prestige to Chūzan over its neighboring polities, and enhancing already heightened tensions. The Kings of Sanhoku and Sannan died around the same time as Bunei's father Satto, and since China never recognized more than one chief (or prince, in the Chinese view) of Okinawa, all three clamored to be officially invested by the Chinese Imperial Court as the sole ruler of all of Okinawa. However, due to the recent chaos in

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. ...

, which was taken by force by

Zhu Di The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyna ...

, installing himself as Ming Emperor, Bunei's request lay unanswered for eleven years. A missive was finally sent in 1406. Meanwhile, a local lord (''

anji Anji may refer to: Places * Hu Prefecture, known as Anji Prefecture between 1225 and 1276 *Anji County, in Huzhou, Zhejiang, China *Anji Bridge, or Zhaozhou Bridge, an ancient stone bridge in Hebei, China *Anji, a village in Balasore (Orissa), Ind ...

'') named Hashi led a small rebellion in 1402, and brought down the lord of Azato district, near the site of the Chūzan palace at

Urasoe is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The neighboring municipalities are Naha to the south, Ginowan to the north, and Nishihara to the east. As of November 2012, the city has an estimated population of 113,718 and a population den ...

. It is not clear exactly what discussions took place inside the royal court, or what actions were considered, but nothing was done for five years. On 30 January 1406, the Yongle Emperor expressed horror when the Ryukyuans castrated some of their own children to become eunuchs to serve in the Ming imperial palace. The emperor said that the boys who were castrated were innocent and did not deserve castration, and he returned the boys to Ryukyu and instructed them not to send eunuchs again. This

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