History of the Ryukyu Islands
| Ryukyu Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||
| 琉球國 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Capital | Shuri | |||||||||||||||
| Languages | Ryukyuan (native languages), Classical Chinese | |||||||||||||||
| Religion | native Ryukyuan religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto, Taoism | |||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||||||||
| King (国王) | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1429–1439 | Shō Hashi | ||||||||||||||
| • | 1477–1526 | Shō Shin | ||||||||||||||
| • | 1587–1620 | Shō Nei | ||||||||||||||
| • | 1848–1879 | Shō Tai | ||||||||||||||
| Sessei (摂政) | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1666–1673 | Shō Shōken | ||||||||||||||
| Kokushi (国司) | ||||||||||||||||
| • | 1751–52 | Sai On | ||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Shuri Ō-fu (首里王府), Sanshikan (三司官) | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| • | Unification | 1429 | ||||||||||||||
| • | Satsuma invasion | April 5, 1609 | ||||||||||||||
| • | Reorganized into Ryukyu Domain | 1875 | ||||||||||||||
| • | Annexed by Japan | March 11, 1879 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 2,271 km² (877 sq mi) | |||||||||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Japan
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This article is about the history of the Ryukyu Islands southwest of the main islands of Japan.
The name "Ryūkyū" originates from Chinese writings, while "Okinawa" (Okinawan: Uchinaa) was coined in Okinawa. The earliest references to "Ryūkyū" write the name as 琉虬 and 流求 (pinyin: Liúqiú; Jyutping: Lau4kau4) in the Chinese history Book of Sui in 607. It is a descriptive name, meaning "glazed horn-dragon".
The origin of the term "Okinawa" remains unclear, though there was a divine woman named "Uchinaa" in the book Omoro Sōshi, a compilation of ancient poems and songs from Okinawa Island. This suggests the presence of a divine place named Okinawa. The Chinese monk Jianzhen, who traveled to Japan in the mid-8th century CE to promote Buddhism, wrote "Okinawa" as 阿児奈波 (Hanyu Pinyin: A'érnàibō; Cantonese Jyutping: Aa2ngai4noi6bo1; Japanese: Ajinawa, Aninawa). The Japanese map series Ryukyu Kuniezu labeled the island as 悪鬼納 (Wokinaha?) in 1644. The current Chinese characters (kanji) for Okinawa (沖縄) were first written in the 1702 version of Ryukyu Kuniezu.
The ancestry of the modern-day Ryukyuan people is disputed. One theory claims that the earliest inhabitants of these islands crossed a prehistoric land bridge from modern-day China, with later additions of Austronesians, Micronesians, and Japanese merging with the population.
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