Satto

Satto ( ) was a king of the Okinawan kingdom of Chūzan. In the traditional histories of the Ryukyu Kingdom, he is described as the successor to King Seii, and as a virtuous ruler who later became decadent. He was born to peasant farmers near Urasoe, but was able to purchase iron agricultural tools from Japanese traders, which he distributed among the peasantry; as a result, he became acclaimed by the people and allowed agriculture to flourish. The first Okinawan ruler mentioned in Chinese sources, Satto accepted tributary status to Ming China, for which he was given lucrative trade license and declared the King of Ryukyu. Satto likely controlled only a small portion of central Okinawa, including his capitals of Urasoe and Shuri, and the main port of Naha. He established the temple of Gokoku-ji and may have begun construction on Shuri Castle. Historian Gregory Smits theorizes that he may have originated in Korea, due to political connections to Joseon and a name seemingly derived from a Korean term for a local official, . His purported son Bunei took the throne after his death and was later overthrown by the First Shō dynasty.

Satto ( ) was a king of the Okinawan kingdom of Chūzan. In the traditional histories of the Ryukyu Kingdom, he is described as the successor to King Seii, and as a virtuous ruler who later became decadent. He was born to peasant farmers near Urasoe, but was able to purchase iron agricultural tools from Japanese traders, which he distributed among the peasantry; as a result, he became acclaimed by the people and allowed agriculture to flourish. The first Okinawan ruler mentioned in Chinese sources, Satto accepted tributary status to Ming China, for which he was given lucrative trade license and declared the King of Ryukyu. Satto likely controlled only a small portion of central Okinawa, including his capitals of Urasoe and Shuri, and the main port of Naha. He established the temple of Gokoku-ji and may have begun construction on Shuri Castle. Historian Gregory Smits theorizes that he may have originated in Korea, due to political connections to Joseon and a name seemingly derived from a Korean term for a local official, . His purported son Bunei took the throne after his death and was later overthrown by the First Shō dynasty.

Biography

The traditional histories of the Ryukyu Kingdom claim the island of Okinawa split into three kingdoms under the reign of the legendary king Tamagusuku. Northern Okinawa was said to have become the lordship of Hokuzan, while southern Okinawa became the lordship of Sannan. Tamagusuku controlled the region of Chūzan in central Okinawa around the communities of Urasoe, Shuri, and Naha, owing the allegiance of a number of local lords and chieftains known as . Whether these three polities existed as territorial states is debated academically. Tamagusuku was said to have died in 1336¹, and left the kingdom to his ten-year-old son Seii. Seii's mother served as his regent.

Death and legacy

According to the official histories, Satto was cursed by heaven for his turn to decadence, and died after he touched a poisonous snake with his left hand. His purported son Bunei took the throne around 1397. Satto has no known tomb. Later official histories, such as the , describe Bunei as a decadent ruler. He was overthrown by Shō Hashi in 1405, who installed his father Shō Shishō as king, ending Satto's dynasty and beginning the First Shō dynasty. By the early 16th century and the reign of Shō Shin, Satto was acknowledged as part of a line of rulers which eventually formed the Ryukyu Kingdom. He was granted the divine name Oho-mamono . Smits describes his biographies in later official histories as hagiographical (adulatory and idealized), emphasizing his virtue to justify him taking over the throne from Seii's heir.

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Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370702819 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.