Ryukyu Kingdom

historical kingdom in parts of present-day Japan

okinawan martial arts

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is one of the three royal mausoleums of the Second Shō Dynasty of kings of the Ryukyu Kingdom, along with Urasoe yōdore at Urasoe Castle and Izena Tamaudun near Izena Castle in Izena, Okinawa. The mausoleum is located in Shuri, Okinawa, and was built in 1501 by King Shō Shin, the third king (reigned 1477–1527), to bury his father, King Shō En a short distance from Shuri Castle. The Tamaudun complex was designated a National Historic Site in 1972. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on December 2, 2000, as a part of the site group Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom

, 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 country, a kingdom, or a principality by modern historians, however the rulers of Hokuzan were in fact not "kings" at all, but petty lords with their own retainers owing their direct service, and their own estates.

was one of three kingdoms which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more solidly defined kingdoms within a few years after 1314; the Sanzan period thus began, and would end roughly one hundred years later, when Chūzan's King Shō Hashi conquered Hokuzan in 1419 and Nanzan in 1429.

thumb|250px|View of Kudaka Island from Sefa-utaki

, or , historically Opoyakomoi, was a rank among the Yukatchu class of the former Ryukyu Kingdom (modern-day Okinawa, Japan), above the rank of Satunushi and below the rank of Ueekata. As scholar-officials, they often served in administrative positions in the Ryukyuan government. Placed in the upper class, the Pechin would often travel with a servant at their side.

, also known as before the 18th century, located in the south of Okinawa Island, was one of three independent political entities which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. The political entity was identified as a tiny country, a kingdom, or a principality by modern historians; however, the rulers of Nanzan were not "kings", but petty lords with their own retainers owing their direct service, and their own estates.

right|thumb|250px|The stone gates of Sonohyan-utaki. right|thumb|250px|The Grove of Sonohyan-utaki is a sacred grove of trees and plants (utaki) of the traditional indigenous Ryukyuan religion. It is located on the grounds of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa, a few paces away from the Shureimon castle gate. The utaki, or more specifically its stone gate (), is one of a number of sites which together comprise the UNESCO World Heritage Site officially described as Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, and has been designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese na

Japanese annexation of the Ryukyu Kingdom

1872–1879 domain of the Japanese Empire

was an Okinawan community of scholars, bureaucrats, and diplomats in the port city of Naha near the royal capital of Shuri, which was a center of culture and learning during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The people of Kumemura, traditionally believed to all be descendants of the Chinese immigrants who first settled there in 1392, came to form an important and aristocratic class of scholar-bureaucrats, the yukatchu, who dominated the royal bureaucracy, and served as government officials at home, and as diplomats in relations with China, Japan, and others.

thumb|Tattoo-marks on the hands of a Ryukyuan woman are traditional tattoos worn on the hands of Ryukyuan (mainly Okinawan) women.

currency used in Ryukyu kingdom

15th century bronze bell in Okinawa, Japan

Royal mausoleum in Okinawa

17th-century Japanese coastal observatory structures

() was a Buddhist temple located in the Tomari neighborhood of the city of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It belonged to the Rinzai school sect of Japanese Zen. The temple's full name is (). It was the Royal ancestral shrine of the kings of Second Shō dynasty of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. The site of the temple was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2025.

Buddhist temple in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

(dates of birth and death unknown, 15th century) was a princess of the first Shō dynasty of the Ryūkyū Kingdom.

thumb|right|250px|Example of warazan at the Museum of Science, Tokyo University of Science thumb|right|250px|Instruction to use warazan to record the level of tax assessed, in the Yaeyama-jima Kuramoto Kujichō (1873 copy of the 1857 original); the fourth to sixth characters in the fifth line from the right read「わら算」(University of the Ryukyus Library) was a system of record-keeping using knotted straw at the time of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. In the Southern Ryukyuan languages of the Sakishima Islands it was known as barazan and on Okinawa Island as warazani or warazai. Formerly used in particular in

pottery made on the Ryukyu Islands

'''', in the Okinawan language, was the highest rank in the yukatchu aristocracy of the former Ryukyu Kingdom (modern-day Okinawa, Japan), though it was still below the aji nobility. Members of the , a very high-ranking governmental body, were chosen from among the ueekata''.