Sanzan Period

The Sanzan Period (三山時代, Sanzan-jidai^?) is a period in the history of the Okinawa Islands when three polities, namely Hokuzan (北山^?, lit. northern mountain), Chūzan (中山^?, lit. middle mountain) and Nanzan (南山^?, lit. southern mountain), are said to have co-existed on Okinawa. It is said to have started during King Tamagusuku's reign (traditional dates: 1314–1336) and, according to Sai On's edition of the Chūzan Seifu, ended in 1429 when Shō Hashi unified the island. Historical records of the period are fragmentary and mutually conflicting. Some even question the co-existence of the three polities.

Okinawa does not have their own contemporary records of the Sanzan period. Contemporary sources are limited to Chinese and, to a far lesser extent, Korean diplomatic records. They are in a fragmentary fashion and probably overshadowed by diplomatic fictions. Since the Chinese sources simply records local rulers who contacted China, they do not rule out the possibility that some other local rulers co-existed without establishing diplomatic contacts. For this reason, Okinawa's real situation remains largely a mystery.

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