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Writing In The Ryukyu Kingdom
The Ryukyu Kingdom (1372–1879) on Okinawa Island used various writing conventions, all of which were markedly different from spoken registers. A unique feature of Ryūkyū's writing conventions is that in the Old Ryūkyū period (?–1609), it developed a predominantly kana writing convention that was based on sōrō-style Written Japanese but exhibited heavy Okinawan language, Okinawan influence. After Invasion of Ryukyu, the conquest by Satsuma Domain in 1609, however, this style of writing was replaced by standard sōrō-style Japanese that was written predominantly with kanji. Other than that, Okinawan features were confined to the recordings of songs to sing, Poetry, poems to read aloud, and Play (theatre), plays to perform verbally, and did not have an autonomous status as literary writing. Instead, the samurai class of the kingdom was aligned with the Japanese literature, literary tradition of mainland Japan that was established during the Heian period. Predominantly ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryukyu Kingdom
The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a Tributary system of China, tributary state of Ming dynasty, imperial Ming China by the King of Ryukyu, Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island to end the Sanzan period, and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands and Sakishima Islands. The Ryukyu Kingdom played a central role in the maritime history, maritime trade networks of medieval East Asia and Southeast Asia despite its small size. The Ryukyu Kingdom became a vassal state of the Satsuma Domain of Japan after the invasion of Ryukyu in 1609 but retained ''de jure'' independence until it was transformed into the Ryukyu Domain by the Empire of Japan in 1872. The Ryukyu Kingdom was Ryukyu Disposition, formally annexed and dissolved by Japan in 1879 to form Okinawa Prefecture, and the Ryukyuan monarchy was integrated into the new Kazoku, Japanese nobility. History Origins of the Kingdom In the 14th century small domains s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shuri, Okinawa
is a district of the city of Naha, Okinawa, Japan. Formerly a separate city in and of itself, it was once the royal capital of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, hence the name. A number of famous historical sites are located in Shuri, including Shuri Castle, the Shureimon gate, Sunuhyan-utaki (a sacred space of the native Ryukyuan religion), and royal mausoleum Tamaudun, all of which are designated World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Originally established as a castle town surrounding the royal palace, Shuri ceased to be the capital when the kingdom was abolished and incorporated into Japan as Okinawa prefecture. In 1896, Shuri was made a of the new prefectural capital, Naha, though it was made a separate city again in 1921. In 1954, it was merged again into Naha. History Medieval and early modern periods Shuri Castle was first built during the reign of Shunbajunki (r. 1237–1248), who ruled from nearby Urasoe Castle. Kerr, George H. (2000). '' Okinawa: the History of an Island People''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tales Of Ise
is a Japanese '' uta monogatari'', or collection of '' waka'' poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period. The current version collects 125 sections, with each combining poems and prose, giving a total of 209 poems in most versions. Concerning the exact date of composition and authorship there is only unresolved speculation. The identity of the nameless, idealised central character is unclear, though it is suggested to be Ariwara no Narihira (825–880). Thirty of the poems from ''The Tales of Ise'' appear in the '' Kokin Wakashū'' (905), with similar headnotes, all attributed to Narihira. The combination of these poems, and the similarity of some events in the tales to Narihira's life, have led to the additional suggestion that Narihira actually composed the work; however, the inclusion of material and events dating after 880 suggests otherwise. Title The late-eleventh centuryKeene 1999 : 518–519. work known as '' The Tale of Sagoromo'' refers to ''Ise'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tale Of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. It is one of history's first novels, the first by a woman to have won global recognition, and in Japan today has a stature like that of Shakespeare in England. The work is a depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period. It is written mostly in Japanese phonetic script (''hiragana''), in a vernacular style associated with women's writing of the time (not the same as "vernacular Japanese", which only appeared in late 19th century), not in Chinese characters (''kanji'') used for more prestigious literature, and its archaic language and poetic style require specialised study. The original manuscript no longer exists but there are more than 300 later manuscript copies of varying reliability. It was made in "Folded leaflet#Concertina fold, concertina" or style: several sheets of paper p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Konkōkenshū
is the first dictionary of the Okinawan language and the first of any Ryukyuan language. The dictionary was compiled by a group of seven people under the order of King Shō Tei, dated no later than 1711. ''Konkōkenshū'' contains many archaic words and expressions remembered by an elder woman of the royal court that served three kings, and cites works such as the '' Omoro Sōshi'', an Old Okinawan anthology, ''The Tale of Genji'', and '' The Tales of Ise'', which are works written in Early Middle Japanese. Volumes There are two volumes in Konkōkenshū, a ''kenkan'' (乾巻) and a ''konkan'' (坤巻), corresponding to the hexagrams in I Ching. The entries in each of the volumes are sorted by thematic order: * The ''kenkan'' includes the following 11 themes: heaven and earth (乾坤) humanity (人倫), seasons (時候), branches of the bodies (支体), types of feelings (気形), herbs (草木), tools (器材), housing (家屋), clothes (衣服), and food and drink/beverages ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omoro Sōshi
The is a compilation of ancient poems and songs from Okinawa and the Amami Islands, collected into 22 volumes and written primarily in hiragana with some simple kanji. There are 1,553 poems in the collection, but many are repeated; the number of unique pieces is 1,144. The hiragana used, however, is a traditional orthography which associates different sounds to the characters than their normal Japanese readings, due to it originally being based on an earlier stage of Northern Ryukyuan that has not yet undergone vowel raising characteristic of the modern languages. The characters used to write ''omoro'', for example (おもろ), would be written this same way, but pronounced as ''umuru'' in Okinawan. The poetry contained in the volumes extends from the 12th century, or possibly earlier, to some composed by the Queen of Shō Nei (1589-1619). Though formally composed and recorded at these times, most if not all are believed to derive from far earlier traditions, as a result of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokugawa Shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars of the Sengoku period following the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate. Ieyasu became the ''shōgun,'' and the Tokugawa clan governed Japan from Edo Castle in the eastern city of Edo (Tokyo), Edo (Tokyo) along with the ''daimyō'' lords of the ''samurai'' class. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Edo society, Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of ''Sakoku'' to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each ''daimyō'' administering a ''Han system, han'' (feudal domain), although the country was still nominally organized as provinces of Japan, imperial provinces. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Japan experienced rapid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Han System
(, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the Estate (land), estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji (era), Meiji period (1868–1912).Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 283. or (daimyo domain) served as a system of ''de facto'' administrative divisions of Japan alongside the ''de jure'' Provinces of Japan, provinces until they were abolished in the 1870s. History Pre-Edo period The concept of originated as the personal Estate (land), estates of prominent warriors after the rise of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1185, which also saw the rise of feudalism and the samurai noble warrior class in Japan. This situation existed for 400 years during the Kamakura Shogunate (1185–1333), the brief Kenmu Restoration (1333–1336), and the Ashikaga Shogunate (1336–1573). became increasingly important as ''de facto'' administrative divisions as subsequent Shoguns stripped the Imperial Provinces of Japan, pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Era Name
Chinese era names, also known as reign mottos, were titles used by various Dynasties of China, Chinese dynasties and regimes in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China for the purpose of regnal year, year identification and numbering. The first monarch to adopt era names was the Emperor Wu of Han in 140 BCE, and this system remained the official method of year identification and numbering until the establishment of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China in 1912 CE, when the era name system was superseded by the Republic of China calendar. Other polities in the Sinosphere—Korean era name, Korea, Vietnamese era name, Vietnam and Japanese era name, Japan—also adopted the concept of era name as a result of Chinese politico-cultural influence. Description Chinese era names were titles adopted for the purpose of identifying and numbering years in Imperial China. Era names originated as mottos or slogans chosen by the reigning List of Chinese monarchs, monarc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), honorary academic title. It is also often Conflation, conflated with systems of Honorifics (linguistics), honorific speech in linguistics, which are grammatical or morphology (linguistics), morphological ways of encoding the relative social status of speakers. Honorifics can be used as prefixes or suffixes depending on the appropriate occasion and presentation in accordance with Style (form of address), style and Convention (norm), customs. Typically, honorifics are used as a Style (manner of address), style in the grammatical third Grammatical person, person, and as a form of address in the second person. Some languages have anti-honorific (''despective'' or ''humilific'') first person forms (expressions such as "your most humble servant" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryukyuan Missions To Imperial China
Ryukyuan kings intermittently sent diplomatic missions to the Ming and Qing emperors. These diplomatic contacts were within the Sinocentric system of bilateral and multinational relationships in East Asia. A total of 347 Ryukyuan missions to China have been recorded. History King Satto of Chūzan established formal relations with China in 1374. Satto became the first Ryukyuan king to send a mission to China. He was also the first to receive investiture and to submit to Chinese suzerainty in 1372. The Ming and Qing archival records identify the Ryukyu Islands among the "unconquered barbarian countries" rather than among China's colonies. The Ryukyuan missions to China were managed by the Reception Department of the Board of Ceremonies rather than by some other Imperial bureau or agency.Kerr, The 500-years old tributary missions ended in the late 19th century when the Sinocentric tributary state system was superseded by the Westphalian multi-state system,Kang, David C. (2010). i. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Ship-naming Conventions
Japanese ship names follow different conventions from those typical in the West. Merchant ship names often contain the word ''maru'' at the end (meaning ''circle''), while warships are never named after people, but rather after objects such as mountains, islands, weather phenomena, or animals. Merchant ships The word is often attached to Japanese ship names. The first ship known to follow this practice was the ''Nippon Maru'', flagship of ''daimyō'' Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 16th century fleet. Several theories purport to explain this practice: *The most common is that ships were thought of as floating castles, and the word referred to the defensive "circles" or ''maru'' that protected the castle. *The suffix ''-maru'' is often applied to words representing something beloved, and sailors applied this suffix to their ships. *The term ''maru'' is used in divination and represents perfection or completeness, or the ship as "a small world of its own". *The myth of '' Hakudo Maru'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
