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'': , , and , which roughly correspond to the borders of the three Okinawan kingdoms during the Sanzan period. There were 57 throughout the kingdom including the Amami Islands. In concept they were similar to present-day Japanese prefectures, but in size they were closer to Japanese cities, towns and villages. There were four cities: , , , and . They were comparable to Japanese urban prefectures. There were over 600 throughout the kingdom including the Amami Islands. There were approximately 24 or "outlying islands", but only including islands that weren't already part of a ''magiri''.

History

The three districts are based on the three kingdoms of Hokuzan, Chūzan, and Nanzan. The origin of the ''magiri'' system is unclear, but was solidified by the beginning of the reign of Shō Shin, the third king of the Second Shō Dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom who ruled between 1477 and 1526. The ''magiri'' were originally controlled by individual '' aji'' and ''oyakata'', whose ruling area overwrapped in parts. While as the Ryukyu Kingdom centralized at the turn of the 15th century, the ''aji'' relocated to the capital of the kingdom at Shuri. After this period the title of ''aji'' became symbolic, and low-ranking officials were assigned the day-to-day administration of the ''magiri''.

Each ''magiri'' had several villages, sometimes referred to as ''shima'', which represented an administrative unit similar to the ''mura'', or village, in feudal Japan. Each ''magiri'' had five to ten villages. Ryukyuan commoners were registered to a particular village, and movement to or from the administrative areas was generally not permitted. Under the system of Shō Shin the central government at Shuri assigned each village a ''noro'' priestess to carry out the religious functions of the settlement. The area was mapped on the ''Ryukyu kuni-ezu'' ( of 1696 or 9th year of Genroku) was compiled. That made it possible for the first time, to clarify the geopolitical location of ancient place names.

The ''magiri'' system continued to varying degrees in the Amami Islands even after they were ceded to Satsuma Domain in 1624. On Okinawa Island, there were 27 ''magiri'' at the turn of the 17th century, but by the 19th century Misato, Kushi, Motobu, Ginowan, Oroku, Onna, Ōgimi, and Yonagusuku were created, bringing the total to 35. The ''magiri'' system continued after the end of the Ryukyu Kingdom and annexation of the islands by Japan in 1879. In 1907, under , the Japanese administrative system of cities, towns, and village organization was extended to Okinawa. The ''magiri'' system was officially abolished on April 1, 1908.

List of ''magiri''

The following is a list of ''magiri'' by district:

Kunigami District

, also known as and Kunigami or in Kanbun, ''Chūzan Seifu'', preamble roughly correspond to the territory of Hokuzan during the Sanzan period.

Nakagami District

or in Kanbun, roughly correspond to the territory of Chūzan during the Sanzan period.

Shimajiri District

or in Kanbun, roughly correspond to the territory of Nanzan during the Sanzan period.

Sakishima Islands

Northern Amami Islands

See also

*Prefectures of Japan

References

Notes

References

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{{cite encyclopedia, encyclopedia=Nihon Kokugo Daijiten , title=間切 , trans-title=Magiri , url=http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ , access-date=2013-05-02 , year=2013 , publisher=Shogakukan , location=Tokyo , language=Japanese , oclc=56431036 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ , archive-date=2007-08-25

{{cite encyclopedia, encyclopedia=Kokushi Daijiten , title=間切 , url=http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ , access-date=2013-05-02 , year=2013 , publisher=Shogakukan , location=Tokyo , language=Japanese , trans-title=Magiri , oclc=683276033 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825113418/http://rekishi.jkn21.com/ , archive-date=2007-08-25

{{cite journal, last=Nakae, first=Jun'ichi, title=Meiji zenki okinawa hōken-nōgyō no kōsei, journal=Tochi Seido Shigaku, volume=16, issue=3, publisher=Seiji keizaigaku - Keizaishi gakkai, ref={{harvid, Nakae, 1974, year=1974, pages=43–53, doi=10.20633/tochiseido.16.3_43, language=ja

{{cite journal , last1 = Takara , first1 = Kurayoshi , date = Winter 1994–1995 , title = King and Priestess: Spiritual and Political Power in Ancient Ryukyu , journal = The Ryukyuanist , issue = 27 , pages = 1–2 , location = Naha, Okinawa Prefecture , publisher = International Society of Ryukyuan Studies , url = http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/ryukyuanist/ryukyuanist27.pdf , access-date = 2013-05-02 , archive-date = 2011-09-27 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110927042019/http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/ryukyuanist/ryukyuanist27.pdf

{{cite book, last=Tana, first=Sinji, author2={{lang, ja, 田名真之, title=Nantō chimei-kō: omoro kara Okinawa-shi tanjō made, publisher=Hirugisha, series= Okinawa-bunko, ref={{harvid, Tana, 2014, year=2014, language=ja

Ryukyu Kingdom
Ryukyu Kingdom
Historical geography of Japan