was a Ryukyuan Lord ( Aji) of

Katsuren Castle is a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' in Uruma, Okinawa. In 2000, Katsuren Castle was designated as a World Heritage Site, as a part of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. History Katsuren Castle was built on a large hill o ...

, known for his ambitions for the throne of the

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 t ...

and scheme and attack against

Gosamaru was a Ryukyuan people, Ryukyuan Lord (aji (Ryukyu), Aji)"Gosamaru." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia")Ryukyu Shimpo (琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 25 July 2009. of Yomitan, Okinawa, Yom ...

, Aji of Yomitanzan and Nakagusuku.

Life

Amawari was born to a peasant family in Yara, in Chatan

Magiri The administrative divisions of the Ryukyu Kingdom were a hierarchy composed of districts, ''magiri'', or cities, villages, and islands established by the Ryukyu Kingdom throughout the Ryukyu Islands. Divisions There were three or ''hō'': , , ...

(now Kadena)."Amawari." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p10. Overthrowing the Katsuren Aji, Amawari seized his domain. Taking advantage of opportunities for maritime trade, he gained a degree of wealth and power, and married Momoto-fumiagari, daughter of King

Shō Taikyū Shō Taikyū (1410–1460) was a king of the first Shō dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom of the western Pacific island of Okinawa, reigning from 1454 to 1460. Although described in the official histories of Ryukyu and the Ming annals as a relative ...

, further solidifying his power. Anxious about Amawari's power, King Shō Taikyū asked Gosamaru, who had helped Shō Taikyū's father invade

Hokuzan , also known as before the 18th century, located in the north of Okinawa Island, was one of three independent political entities which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century during Sanzan period. The political entity was identified as a tiny c ...

in 1416, to build

Nakagusuku Castle is a ''gusuku'' in the village of Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan. It is one of a number of castles built on the island of Okinawa by the Ryukyu Kingdom now in ruins. History The legendary Ryukyuan commander, Gosamaru, built the fortress in t ...

between Katsuren and the royal capital of Shuri.Uezato, Takashi. ''Ryūkyū Sengoku Rekidan'' (in Japanese). Naha: Border Ink Publishing, 2015. 17, 22-29, 40-43, 58-67. In 1458, Amawari accused Gosamaru of plotting to overthrow the king, and as a result came to lead the royal armies in an attack on Nakagusuku which ended in Gosamaru's death by suicide. The King discovered Amawari's treachery, and sent his army, led by Uni-Ufugusuku, to Katsuren Castle, where Amawari was defeated and executed. It has been theorized that the entire affair was organized by the royal government, in order to remove both Gosamaru and Amawari as powerful rivals and potential threats to the succession."Gosamaru-Amawari no hen." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia")
Ryukyu Shimpo
(琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Accessed 25 July 2009.

References

{{Authority control 1458 deaths Aji (Ryukyu) Year of birth unknown 15th-century Ryukyuan people