Ryukyuan missions to Edo
[3] Royal princes or top-ranking officials in the royal government served as chief envoys, and were accompanied by merchants, craftsmen, scholars, and other government officials as they journeyed first by sea to the Ryūkyū-kan (琉球館) in Kagoshima, an institution which served a role similar to a consulate for the Ryūkyū Kingdom, and then on by land to Edo.The earliest Ryūkyūan mission was received in Kyoto in 1451 (Hōtoku 3, 7th month )[8] Mention of this diplomatic event is among the first of its type to be published in the West in an 1832 French version of Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu (三国通覧図説, An Illustrated Description of Three Countries) by Hayashi Shihei.The missions served a similar function for the shogunate at times, helping to create the image that the shōgun's power and influence extended overseas.[12] Numerous woodblock prints and paintings of the exotic and brightly colored costumes and banners of the Ryūkyū delegation were produced, and bought and sold by commoners and samurai alike.[14] King Shō Nei and a number of royal advisors and government officials were taken back to Kagoshima and then to Sunpu, where they met with retired shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu.No formal tribute/diplomatic mission was sent in this year, but three high-ranking officials from the Ryūkyū government journeyed to Edo to perform before shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu.He alone of the members of the mission was granted an audience with the shōgun; by contrast, the Korean representatives received several months later included three ambassadors and seven or so aides and pages.
Edo periodRyūkyū KingdomTokugawa JapanSatsumainvasion of RyūkyūtributeRyūkyū-kanKagoshimasankin kōtaithose sent by Joseon Dynasty KoreashōgunSangoku Tsūran ZusetsuHayashi ShiheiQing courtTsūkō ichiranHayashi Akiraforeign relations of Imperial ChinaShimazu clandaimyōsTokugawa IemitsuTokugawa Hidetadawoodblock printsKeichōShō NeiTokugawa IeyasuShō GenTokugawa TsunayoshiShō TeiRonald TobyrōjūSai OnTei JunsokuConfucianArai HakusekiOgyū SoraiKan'enHōrekiEmpress Go-SakuramachiShō HōShō KenShō ShitsuTokugawa IetsunaTokugawa IenobuShō EkiTokugawa IetsuguShō KeiTokugawa YoshimuneTokugawa IeshigeShō BokuTokugawa IeharuTokugawa IenariShō OnShō KōShō IkuTokugawa IeyoshiShō TaiGoogle BooksromajiWayback MachineJapanese missions to JoseonJoseon missions to JapanDutch missions to EdoJoseon tongsinsaRyukyuan missions to Imperial ChinaRyukyuan missions to JoseonHua-Yi distinctionSankin-kōtaiHayashi, ShiheiKerr, George H.Tuttle PublishingKlaproth, JuliusOriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and IrelandUniversity of Hawaii PressTitsingh, IsaacNihon Odai IchiranToby, Ronald P.Stanford University PressNational Archives of JapanWaseda UniversityKing of RyukyuYukatchuUeekataPekumiSatunushi PechinChikudun PechinSesseiKikoe-ōgimiNoro priestessesSanshikanMilitary of RyukyuKumemuraTributary systemFirst Shō dynastySecond Shō dynastyForeign relations of JapanBilateralAlgeriaAngolaBotswanaDjiboutiEthiopiaMozambiqueNamibiaNigeriaSomaliaSouth AfricaArgentinaBarbadosBoliviaBrazilCanadaColombiaEcuadorHondurasMexicoParaguayTrinidad and TobagoUnited StatesUruguayVenezuelaAfghanistanArmeniaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBhutan