Archaeological Perspectives on the Rise of the Okinawan State

P1: VENDOR/GDX

Journal of Archaeological Research [jar] PP124-301010 July 19, 2001 11:4 Style file version Nov. 19th, 1999

Journal of Archaeological Research, Vol. 9, No. 3, 2001

Archaeological Perspectives on the Riseof the Okinawan State

Richard Pearson1

This paper presents an examination of processes of secondary state formation thatoccurred during the emergence of the Ryukyu Kingdom, in southwestern Japan,from the tenth to seventeenth centuries A.D. These processes include the influx ofnew populations, the appearance of new subsistence strategies and political group-ings, shifting patterns of long-distance trade, the development of new patterns offoreign relations with China and Japan, the creation of indigenous culture and newideology, and the transformation of gender hierarchy. I examine these processesfrom the perspective of political leadership and the nature of political hierarchy,concluding that the Okinawan case is distinctive in its heterarchical organiza-tion. The corporate, collective nature of Okinawan communities was overlain bya state-level network system that developed at the time of tributary linkages withChina in the fourteenth century A.D.

KEY WORDS: Okinawa; secondary state; political economy; trade.

INTRODUCTION

In this review of recent archaeological discoveries in Okinawa, Japan, I exam-ine processes of secondary state formation in light of site and artifact distributionand site plans. I also introduce selected secondary historical materials to providethe context of important recently excavated sites to fit them into a broad picture ofchanging social and political relations.

The Ryukyus, of which Okinawa is the largest island with an area of1283.5 km2, consist of over 100 subtropical islands extending southwest fromthe main islands of Japan to Taiwan (Fig. 1). They are part of a complexsubmerged mountain chain, distinct from the continental shelf. Although todaythey occupy the subtropical southwestern extremity of modern Japan, the central

11890 West 17th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 2M9, Canada.

243

1059-0161/01/0900-0243$19.50/0C© 2001 Plenum Publishing Corporation

P1: VENDOR/GDX


Fig. 1. Okinawa in the East China Sea region and major sites on Okinawa [1. NagarabaruHigashi, 2. Nakijin, 3. Umusa Furushima, 4. Hanna Fukuchikawa, 5. Hanna Uenuatai,6. Nakagawabaru, 7. Takachikuchibaru, 8. Zakimi, 9. Uken, 10. Gushikawa, 11. Katsuren,12. Henzairi, 13. Heshikiya Tobaru, 14. Goeku, 15. Kushikanikubaru, 16. Chatan, 17. Adaniya,18. Nakagusuku, 19. Azamabaru, 20. Morikawabaru, 21. Urasoe, 22. Shuri, 23. Yamashita-cho,24. Tomigusuku, 25. Inafuku, 26. Seifa Utaki, 27. Ahagon, 28. Kunindo, 29. Itokazu, 30. Tatana,31. Minatogawa, 32. Tamagusuku, 33. Kakinohana.]

244

P1: VENDOR/GDX


Archaeological Perspectives on the Rise of the Okinawan State 245

and southern parts of the chain were politically independent from Japan untilA.D. 1609.

Centered on Okinawa Island, the Chuzan or Ryukyu Kingdom arose in thethirteenth to fifteenth centuries A.D. Although its culture incorporated elementsof the surrounding cultures of East and Southeast Asia, it was distinctive from itsneighbors, China, Korea, and Japan. Extensive archaeological research in the pastthree decades by Okinawan archaeologists sheds light on aspects of the develop-ment of this secondary state. In particular, the relationship of state formation toagricultural wealth and overseas trade, the nature of political leadership in relationto current debates, the settlement pattern, and the use of ideology in state formationcan be examined in some detail. Okinawa also provides an excellent example of atributary state and illustrates some of the special features of the Chinese tributarysystem.

CULTURE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Before introducing state formation, I review briefly the prehistory of the re-gion. The Ryukyu Islands have been recognized as one of three distinctive culturalzones within the Japanese Islands, the others being Yamato and Ainu (Fujimoto,1988). In brief, the culture history of the archipelago has the following features: aPalaeolithic occupation characterized by seven sites bearingHomo sapiensskeletalremains; a hunter–gatherer occupation beginning around 5,000 B.C.; the late adop-tion of rice, barley, and wheat cultivation in the eighth to tenth centuries A.D.; andsecondary state formation in the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries A.D. (Pearson,1996, 1997, 1999).

The most importantHomo sapiensfossils from Okinawa have been found atMinatogawa, dated at 18,250+ 650 b.p. (TK-99) and 16,600+ 300 b.p. (TK-142).From Yamashita-cho a pooled radiocarbon date on charcoal gave a date of 32,100+1000 b.p (TK-78). Following the Paleolithic is the Shellmound period, from 5000B.C. to A.D. 1100, during which time the subsistence pattern consisted of reeffishing, shellfish collecting, wild boar hunting, and the gathering of plant resources.During the Middle Shellmound period an exchange system of shell bracelets andornaments from Okinawa and Kyushu Yayoi-type pottery vessels, possibly rice(Takamiya, 1997), and other prestige objects linked Okinawa with northern Kyushu(Pearson, 1990). Contemporary with the Middle and Late Shellmound periodsof Okinawa were the Yayoi period (400 B.C.–A.D. 250) and the Kofun period(A.D. 250–600) of the main islands of Japan. While the Yayoi period of the mainislands is characterized by social ranking, wet rice cultivation, fortified villages,and grave goods of Chinese bronze mirrors or daggers, these traits are absent inOkinawa (Pearson, 1996; Takamiya, 1999). Similarly while the Kofun period ofthe main islands features large mounded tombs marking increasingly complexchiefdoms, in Okinawa these characteristics are absent. This period is followed

P1: VENDOR/GDX


246 Pearson

by the Gusuku period from roughly A.D. 1100 to 1500, a period of competitivepolities based on mixed agriculture and stock breeding.

THE GUSUKU PERIOD

Based on a local subsistence pattern of mixed farming and livestock raising,networks of villages appeared at the end of the prehistoric Late Shellmound pe-riod (100 B.C.–A.D. 1100). The emergence of social complexity in Okinawa isassociated with the succeeding Gusuku period (A.D. 1100 to 1420), named forits characteristic fortified sites calledgusuku(castle) in Okinawan dialect (shiroin Japanese). Although a few of these sites may be purely religious structures,most are defensive—walled and elevated—and contain dwelling areas. Large, ex-tensively excavated sites such as Katsuren and Nakijin reveal a series of walledenclosures containing freestanding buildings reached through a main gate flankedwith defensive protruding walls, often with holes for fire cannons, for repellinginvaders. The main gate usually gives access to one or more large enclosures, someof which must have served for storage, although the archaeological indicators arenot clear; others served as residential areas and plazalike spaces for public gather-ings. The open plaza is located in front of the elite residential area whereas a ritualarea, often in the highest, least accessible part of the site, could only be reachedfrom the elite residence. Large storage jars were found in the ritual area of Katsuren(Pearson, in press), perhaps indicating the keeping of precious ritual food and drink.Typical of the period are diagnostic types of flat earthenware vessels, the shapesof which imitate trade ceramics and stoneware cauldrons, dry-field cultivation ofwheat and barley, and limited irrigated rice cultivation. The construction of thefortified sites appears to have begun in the thirteenth century A.D., yet the eco-nomic base of the period can be seen by the late tenth century A.D., according toAsato (1996a). Castle building required huge amounts of labor, and the presenceof so many defensive works indicates widespread warfare, conducted by localchiefs.

In the Gusuku period the forging of iron weapons and tools became wide-spread. From Amami Oshima to Sakishima, at least 149 sites have yielded ironartifacts and/or signs of iron smithing (Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan, 1997).Both iron ore and iron sand have been found, indicating that the metal was de-rived from both sources. Iron artifacts, often difficult to identify because of poorpreservation, include knives, arrowheads,tsubasword fittings, umbrella fittings,armor slats, sickles, hoes, nails, adzes, awls, and other unidentified types. Met-allurgical analysis suggests that while some iron raw material, in the form ofingots, came from Kyushu, other raw material could have come directly fromChina (Oshiro, 1997). Iron cauldrons and other finished goods may have comefrom Fujian, a place well known for producing utilitarian iron goods. According

P1: VENDOR/GDX



to some traditions, King Satto of Urasoe distributed iron tools. The demand for ironingots and finished tools provided a major push to social complexity. The majoruses of iron tools were for cultivation, stone cutting for castle construction, andwarfare.

In recent years there has been an increase in the investigation of sites fromthe Gusuku period. In 1994 there were 40 excavations in Okinawa Prefecture, 23of which were devoted to this period; in 1995, 31 out of a total of 57, and in 1996,23 out of a total of 42 (Shima, 1997; Toma, 1995, 1996).

Following the Gusuku period in A.D. 1420 are the First and Second Shodynasties, the latter ending with the Satsuma takeover of Okinawa in A.D. 1609.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

In Okinawa, two types of historical records allow us to reconstruct some ofthe struggles and victories that took place on sites that are now being excavated.There are local histories, surviving accounts that date from the seventeenth centuryA.D., and official dynastic annals of China and Korea that record diplomatic mis-sions and sometimes describe the nature of political units. Other types of records,such as theRekidai Hoan(literally, “Valuable Records of Successive Genera-tions”), a collection 269 volumes of diplomatic documents written in Chinese anddated from A.D. 1424 to 1867 (Okinawa Kenritsu Toshokan Shiryo Henshushitsu,1992), and the official court writs of investiture of the Ryukyu (Chuzan) Kingdom,are useful for reconstructing the structure of the state from the sixteenth century(Smits, 1999, p. 41; Takara, 1987a).

In general, there was a progression from many competing polities in thetwelfth and thirteenth centuries to three competing polities in the fourteenth cen-tury, to unification under the Chuzan Kingdom in A.D. 1429. The victoriousChuzan Kingdom compiled theChuzan Seikanas its history in the seventeenthcentury A.D., outlining a succession of three early dynasties (Haneiji, 1983). Thelist of kings and sites presented in Fig. 2 is based on secondary sources such asKin et al. (1988), which provide a digest of commonly available historical in-formation. It shows the most important castle sites, for which historical sourcesindicate at least some of the rulers, the dates and sequences of rulers, and, in somecases, their kin relationships. Broken or truncated lines of rulers are indicated forNakijin, Zakimi, Nakagusuku, Katsuren, and Nanzan, all sites where contendingelites who did not achieve dynastic succession lived, and three short successivelines for Urasoe, the first capital site of the Chuzan Kingdom. For Shuri, wherepower was consolidated in the Chuzan Kingdom, there are two successive dynasticlines.

From its beginning in legend, the first (Tenson) dynasty is said to have con-tinued for 25 generations, finally to be defeated by a local lord, Shunten, said to

P1: VENDOR/GDX


248 Pearson

Fig

.2.

Maj

orO

kina

wan

cast

lesi

tes,

desc

ent

lines

ofpr

otoh

isto

rican

dhi

stor

icru

lers

,an

ddy

nast

ies

tillA

.D.

1609

.D

ates

are

reig

nda

tes.

Num

bers

befo

rena

mes

indi

cate

orde

rof

rule

rfo

rth

epa

rtic

ular

site

,w

here

asna

mes

with

out

num

bers

indi

cate

post

ulat

edan

cest

ors

orde

scen

dent

s.[P

repa

red

from

info

rmat

ion

prov

ided

byK

ine

tal.

(198

8)an

dot

her

sour

ces.

]

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Fig

.2.

(Co

ntin

ue

d)

P1: VENDOR/GDX


250 Pearson

be the son of the daughter of the Lord of Ozato and a Japanese prince, MinamotoTametomo, who drifted to the Ryukyus after the defeat of the Minamoto clan bythe Taira clan in A.D. 1156 (Kerr, 1958, p. 58).

The link to Japanese rulers, through Minamoto Tametomo, a descendant ofthe Japanese Emperor Seiwa (r. A.D. 858–876), is thought by some scholars to bea creation of the seventeenth century A.D., to rationalize the Japanese subjugationof the Ryukyus after A.D. 1609. Kerr notes that the author of theChuzan Seikan,Haneji Choshu, was a regent whose policy centered on the need to reconcile andaccomodate Okinawan and Japanese interests (Kerr, 1958, p. 46).

In the late fourteenth century all three powerful polities sent diplomatic mis-sions to China, and Chuzan and Sannan established relations with Korea as well.Following the collapse of the Chinese Yuan dynasty in A.D. 1367, the Mingcourt sent missions throughout East and Southeast Asia to proclaim its legiti-macy. Chuzan, Sanhoku, and Sannan each sent their diplomatic missions in A.D.1374, 1380, and 1383, respectively. Satto, ruler of Urasoe, was the first Okinawanruler to be recorded in the Chinese records as a tribute sender. All rulers after himare mentioned in the Ming dynasty records, with the exception of Sho Sen-i whoruled for only a year in A.D. 1477. Rulers before Satto are not mentioned in theChinese records of either the Song or Ming dynasties, casting some doubt on earlyOkinawan documents such as theChuzan Seikan, which were not written as mod-ern historical chronicles. The period of the three contending polities lasted fromthe early fourteenth century until A.D. 1429. Asato (1990, p. 169) notes that inthe Sanzan period, it was common for a ruler to send a tribute mission to China inhis name, and then a subsequent mission in the name of his designated successor.Such a move was intended to create a feeling of stability and patrilineal successionto conform with the expectations of the Chinese court, and also legitimized theattempted transition of power. This practice occurred only during the period ofthe three contending polities. In A.D. 1403, Sho Shisho (r. A.D. 1406–1421), thefounder of the First Sho dynasty, reported to the Chinese Emperor that his father,Bunei, had died and requested confirmation as the King of Chuzan. Sho Shishoand his son, Sho Hashi, and the lords of Sashiki had defeated Bunei but werenot his descendants. They misrepresented the case to the Chinese court to avoiduncertainty over the succession.

The Chuzan Kingdom prospered during the prohibition of private trade atChinese ports by the Ming government, a policy termed the Ming Ban (A.D. 1368–1567), imposed to deter piracy and tax evasion. The Ryukyu government usedits special official trade status with China to bring goods from China for trans-shipment throughout East and Southeast Asia.

In the mid-fifteenth century fierce competition for the throne led to the deathof both incumbents and the burning of Shuri Castle. The Second Sho dynastybegan in A.D. 1469. The reign of Sho Shin (A.D. 1477–1526) was a period ofgreat prosperity for Chuzan. The conquest of Okinawa by Satsuma in A.D. 1609brought the end of independence.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



SOME PROCESSES OF STATE EMERGENCE

In the this section I introduce some perspectives on secondary state forma-tion, political economy, and settlement heterarchy, which provide a comparativeframework for considering the Okinawan example.

A secondary state can occur as the historical successor of preexisting statesor through the expansion of an existing state into areas that did not previously havestate-level organization. Such expansion can be in the form of a direct takeoveror through more indirect interaction, in which the infrastructure and institutionalarrangements change somewhat independently (Price, 1978, p. 161). In either case,the basis for secondary state development is a ranked society.

State evolution, the macroshift from kin to class structures, has technoenviron-mental, political, and ideological dimensions. Recent writers have considered thatpolitical actions, including competition, are primary movers in leading to socialcomplexity and state emergence. Feinman states “Resource abundance, scarcity,and risk can all create opportunities and stresses. But these factors do not pro-vide a necessary and sufficient explanation for the significant restructurings thatcharacterize the institutionalization of inequality” (1995, p. 259). Archaeologistssuch as Hirth (1996) and Blantonet al. (1996) have favored an approach that fo-cuses on the political economy defined as an “analytical approach that elucidatesthe interaction of types and sources of power” (Blantonet al., 1996, p. 3).

Does state evolution depend on wealth generated from agricultural produc-tion, or from wealth generated by exchange and trade, to finance new institutions?How is wealth generated and captured by elites? Various aspects of the generationof wealth from staple production and the circulation of luxury goods are importantin the transformation of power relations. Hirth speaks of the production and ex-change debate, noting that both are important. Although writers using Marxist andcultural ecological perspectives argue that control of production forms the foun-dation of political evolution, researchers following the work of economic anthro-pologists and world systems theorists have emphasized the role of long-distanceexchange. In fact these two approaches are mutually complementary (Hirth, 1996,p. 207). Earle has explored the relationship between staple and wealth finance(1994) and has also proposed that different societies employed different strategiesin the accumulation of wealth and power, such as trade of commodities, warfareand invasion, and staple production (1997). In an examination of Maya Postclassictexts, archaeological remains, and ethnohistory, Fox (1988) found an emphasis onalliances among segmentary lineages and associated rituals, rather than on long-distance trade and subsistence, and concluded, “as settlements grew. . .urbanismfor the Chontal derived peoples. . . seems to be a function of political aggrega-tion rather than specific ecological factors (e.g. strategic resources for trade, watercontrol)” (1988, p. 107). Similarly, Drennan and Qattrin (1995, p. 220) found thatClassic period sites in the Valle de le Plata, Colombia, owed their existence “moreto social and political factors than to strictly environmental ones.”

P1: VENDOR/GDX


252 Pearson

Long-distance exchange is usually thought to be devoted to luxury goods.Specialists in the long-distance trade of Teotihuacan have debated whether the tradewas in utilitarian products such as obsidian or prestige goods, or a combinationof both, and whether the trade fueled development or was a consequence of localwealth (Drennanet al., 1990). They found evidence that Aztec traders carriedutilitarian as well as luxury goods. Blanton and Feinman (1984) stated that thelong-distance exchange systems focused on luxury goods, the importance of whichwas social and political.

The nature of the political impetus for change is also a topic for debate. Re-cent studies have stressed the role of individual agents (Brumfiel, 1992) but, whencarried too far, this approach has been criticized for being reductionist and essen-tialist, a kind of methodological individualism (Saitta, 1994, p. 203). The structuralchange in class relations may provide a better perspective than the notion of individ-ual aggrandizers. Saitta (1994, p. 211) found that in the Mississippian developmentin the American subcontinent from A.D. 700 to 1700, even where hierarchy wasstrongly developed, the forms of surplus production and distribution may well becommunal. Saitta has argued that the archeological record at Cahokia, Illinois, be-tween A.D. 1000 and 1400, suggests a “political economy where labor extractionwas largely communal and prestige goods functioned not as instruments of polit-ical control but rather as means to reproduce communalism” (1994, p. 212). Henotes that Mississippian subsistence was based on domestic productive autonomyand that exotics were broadly distributed across sites and functioned as communalsocial entitlements (1994, pp. 213, 214).

Individual evolutionary trajectories may have involved complex and unpre-dictable mixtures of strategies, the expression of which changed in different partsof the polity and in different time periods. Social, economic, and settlement hier-archies were extremely diverse in their growth and final shape and reflect differentstrategies of political economy.

Blantonet al.(1996) propose two basic political-economic modes, network-based and corporate-based strategies. In the network strategy there is an emphasison exchange relations outside of one’s group. Outward-expanding partnershipsare created through the development of new, inclusive, authoritative “patrimonialstructures” (1996, p. 4), which are maintained and expanded through the manipu-lation of prestige goods systems to keep followers from changing their allegiance.Alliances are formed through patronage of events, payments, exotic goods, andtransmission of knowledge. Distant social relations are created and maintained,while the use of an international style facilitates cross-cultural exchanges andreconfirms the legitimacy of elites (1996, pp. 4, 5). In the corporate strategy (sim-ilar to what have been termed group-oriented forms of chiefdoms), the prestigegoods system is relatively unimportant. Emphasis is placed on impressive publicworks and the creation of large architectural spaces suitable for communal ritual.There is little evidence of domination by particular powerful individuals, such as

P1: VENDOR/GDX



single impressive tombs or architectural features highlighting an individual (1996,pp. 5, 6).

Rather than hierarchy, heterarchy may be the case in many instances. Crumley(1979, p. 166) advocated the use of a regional heterarchy model that subsumescentral place and gravity models of location. The regional heterarchy model isappropriate for heterogeneous terrain, open cultural systems, and shifting politicalboundaries. Crumley did not find a mathematical (gravity) or geometric (centralplace) model to be of universal utility in her study of the Burgundy region of France.Small (1995) has argued that a heterarchical model may be appropriate for lookingat overseas trade as well. He states that “external economic systems, which—according to varying historical circumstances—are never captured into an evolvingpolitical economy, represent important alternative bases for power that challengethe development of hierarchy in social evolution and create forms of social structurethat could be better analyzed with a heterarchical paradigm than a hierarchical one”(1995, p. 72). I would argue that these external economic systems are not “nevercaptured” but are imperfectly captured, leading to important dialectical powerrelations that are integral to the formation of the political economy. Small notedthat in the Trobriands wealth generated by the Kula ring exchange system wasnot channelled into an evolving central economy but instead provided an externalbasis for the construction of power, which weakened the ranking system and ledto negotiation of position (1995, pp. 72–76). In contrast, the Yapese CarolineIsland exchange system was tightly controlled, and the flow of goods reinforcedthe hierarchy dominated by the island of Yap. Small cites the Greek city-states asan example of heterarchical organization in which control over long-distance tradewas imperfect and regional hierarchies were weak and shifting (1995, pp. 77–79).

Ideology must be recognized as playing a critical role in the negotiation ofpower. Earle (1997, p. 143) states that “ideologies are worldviews associated withspecific social segments.” Ideological power may involve the mastery of esotericknowledge by elites. Helms (1991) noted that long-distance travel enhances thepower of the traveller through the acquisition of esoteric knowledge. Access to theknowledge of distant places was often restricted. Helms refers to the way in whichelites often create a “concentrated universe” where rare and precious and sacredthings from all directions testified to the extent of the ruler’s contacts and influence(1991, p. 345). Earle (1997, p. 194) refers to the way in which chiefs created culturallandscapes where the monuments they erected represented their divine power.

Recent writers have noted that one of the most striking changes created by stateformation is the transformation of gender relations. For instance, Silverblatt (1988)notes a link between state formation and the decline of women’s status, which maybe undermined in the shift from kin-group corporations to class alliances. Whenkin-group corporations are dismantled, the sister relation, which is characterizedby autonomy, adulthood, and possibilities of gender equality, loses importance inrelation to the wife relation, which is one of dependency.

P1: VENDOR/GDX


254 Pearson

OKINAWAN STATE FORMATION

With the issues mentioned earlier in mind, I investigate several aspects ofthe rise of the Okinawan secondary state. How did changes in ethnicity affectstate emergence, and how could the latter be linked to subsistence and settlement?What is the relationship between social hierarchy and trade? How did economicand political relationships with China and Japan affect Okinawan cultural devel-opment, and how did the new state create its own distinctive cultural identity? Thearchaeological study of two early capitals gives an impression of the creation of adistinctive Okinawan cultural landscape. Finally, how did the power of Okinawanfemales change with the development of the Chuzan Kingdom? Major sites andregions mentioned in the text are shown in Fig. 1.

Discussion of Processes

Influx of New Populations

Linguistic and physical anthropological data indicate that new populationsfrom the main Japanese Islands migrated to the Ryukyus in the early part of theGusuku period. Ryukyuan language appears to have split from its ancestor in thesixth to eighth centuries A.D., and subsequently the new language was broughtinto the Ryukyus. Studies of skeletal morphology suggest a similar or slightly laterdate for new population inputs (Hudson, 1999a). Although the Hanihara “dualstructure hypothesis” derives the earliest populations in Japan from the region ofSouth China and Southeast Asia (Hanihara, 1991; Hudson, 1999b, pp. 60–87), ithas been suggested that the founding population of the Ryukyus died out at leastonce (Takamiya, 1997) and that the modern Ryukyuan population shares manyphysical characteristics with the modern population of the main Japanese Islands,including mitochondrial DNA, gamma globulin, and skeletal morphology (Asato,1996b; Sasaki, 1991, p. 294). Doiet al. (1997) found that Okinawan populationsof the Shellmound period share significant cranial features with Japanese Jomonpopulations, but are very variable. Gusuku period human crania show a trendtoward increasing skull length and greater facial height. The same trend is observedin mainland Japanese populations of the same time period. However, Dodoet al.(1999) found cranial specimens from the central and southern Ryukyus of theseventeenth century A.D. to be closer to the modern Japanese than to Jomonor Ainu populations. This suggests that a substantial number of people movedinto the Ryukyus between the Shellmound period and the modern period. Thismovement probably occurred at the end of the Heian period (eleventh to twelfthcenturies A.D.) (Asato, 1996b), perhaps as a result of political upheavals thatoccurred in the main Japanese Islands at that time.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Okinawan state formation is part of a larger process of Japanese state forma-tion on both the eastern and western frontiers of the Yamato state, which arosefrom the sixth century A.D. in the Osaka-Kyoto region. Yiengpruksawan (1998)discusses the way in which the Hiraizumi Fujiwara elite from Yamato createda polity in northern Honshu in the twelfth century A.D., building upon a localconfederation. I believe that some elites from the Yamato court may also haveplayed a role in the rise of Ryukyu in the tenth to twelfth centuries A.D. At presentthere is clear linguistic and physical evidence of population inputs but the elitestatus of some of them is supported only by the legend of Minamoto Tametomo(mentioned earlier). The greater isolation of the Ryukyu Kingdom relative to thenorthern Kingdom of Hiraizumi allowed it to survive longer without suppressionby the center.

Subsistence Change

Cultivation of rice, wheat, and barley was initiated very late in Okinawan pre-history and seems to have led to very rapid population growth and a rise in socialcomplexity. Asato first found carbonized rice grains dating to the twelfth centuryA.D. at Yajiyagama, Kumejima (1996b). Recent flotation analyses indicate thatthe cultivation of rice, wheat, and barley did not begin in Okinawa until the seventhto tenth centuries A.D. (Takamiya, 1999, 2000). Takachikuchibaru, a site dated toabout A.D. 200–300, yielded a number of nut and wild seed remains but no culti-vated cereals. Hiroto Takamiya (1997, p. 154) concluded that the inhabitants wereforagers who did not engage in farming. Stable carbon isotope analysis of humanbone samples from Azamabaru, a large settlement of about the same period asTakachikuchibaru, failed to detect evidence of C4 plants and confirmed the diet ofreef shellfish and fish, wild boar, wild nuts, and land snails (Takamiyaet al., 1999).

So far the earliest rice remains from Okinawa are from Level V of theNagarabaru Higashi site, dated to about A.D. 650 (Hudson, 1999b; Takamiya,2000). The Nazakibaru site, dated from the eighth to tenth centuries A.D., yieldedremains of wheat, barley, foxtail millet, and rice as well as weed species. Wild plantremains from the site indicate that the immediate area around the site was open andimplies the existence of dry-field agriculture, which is also borne out by relatedfeatures such as hoe traces (dark linear features thought to be left in the light-colored subsoil by cultivation with iron hoes) (Takamiya, 1997, p. 176). At HannaFukuchikawa, Ginoza, a twelfth century A.D. rice field was also excavated (Toma,1994). At Umusa Furushima, dense rows of small pits of dark soil containing ricephytoliths seem to confirm the use of small iron spatula-like digging tools, laterfound in traditional Okinawan agriculture, which did not rely on plows (Asato,1998, p. 308). Without large tools like plows, agriculture appears to have beensmall in scale and not very intensive. Analysis of samples from Morikawabaru,an unfortified site dating from A.D. 1300 to 1400, traditionally said to be the

P1: VENDOR/GDX


256 Pearson

birthplace of King Satto of Chuzan, yielded a house and storage structure withelevated floors indicative of elite occupation. Takamiya, in his flotation analysisof samples from a single refuse or storage pit containing trade ceramics, iron arti-facts, and beads, discovered seeds of wheat, barley, rice, foxtail millet, broomcornmillet, and unidentified legumes (Takamiya, 1997, p. 183). He concluded that ricewas of minor importance because of its vulnerability to summer typhoons. Moreimportant were the two types of millet, which are summer crops, tolerant of awide range of soils, drought resistant, and relatively quickly maturing. Takamiyaspeculates that they matured before the arrival of the most destructive typhoonsin late summer. Wheat and barley are winter crops, growing at the time of yearwhen there is adequate moisture (Takamiya, 1997, p. 195). Takamiya noted thatthe plant remains found in Zakimi, Katsuren, Chatan, and Itokazu castle sites aredominated by wheat and barley. He concluded that the Gusuku period agriculturalsystem was centered around wheat, barley, and foxtail millet.

Raising of cattle and horses began in the Gusuku period, and some cut markson cow bones indicate that they were butchered. Both animals figured in the latertributary system, when Ryukyu horses and cow hides were important tributaryitems (Asato, 1985). Rough upland terrain may have been used for grazing, as itis today.

Settlement Data

What is known about the function of the fortified castles of the Gusuku periodand their distribution across the Okinawan landscape? Most of the large castlesites were used as defensive structures, elite residences, ritual areas, and centersfor political gatherings. They appear not to have been used for burial. The locationof centers of craft production is not clear, because kilns for local earthenwarehave not been located, and iron working areas are not usually found inside thecastle sites (Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan, 1997). The recovery of slag, burnedhearth areas, and tuyere fittings for bellows indicates that iron forging was carriedon in many village sites as well as castle sites during the Gusuku period. Toma hassuggested that certain villages may have specialized in the forging of tools (Toma,1997, pp. 21, 22), and Oshiro (1997) has found large and small iron-forging sites.The site of Hanna Uenuatai in Ginoza appears to be a special purpose site separatedfrom a residential site (Toma, 1997, p. 21). So far the archaeological evidence seemsto indicate widepread but simple technology. It is thought that elites controlled thedistribution of raw materials and perhaps some finished artifacts (Toma, 1997,p. 18). Similar features were discovered at the twelfth to thirteenth century A.D.site of Kushikanikubaru, near a cluster of overlapping house sites consisting ofwalls of limestone coral chunks sitting on the ground and supporting the thatchedroof, and an adjacent group of elevated storehouses. Evidence of iron tool makingwas also found (Chatan Cho Kyoiku Iinkai, 1997).

P1: VENDOR/GDX



A GIS study of site location in relation to Okinawan soil zones by Ladefogedand Pearson (2000) shows a general preference for forest soils, regosols, alluvium,and southern lithosols. A diversity of soils characterized the areas immediatelyaround the sites (circles of 500 m diameter). The strategy of site location was toutilize several soil types and not to rely on alluvium, which would be suitablefor hydraulic agriculture, in Price’s terms (shown earlier). Therefore, althoughthe Ryukyu secondary state was relatively stable, it was not based on hydraulicagriculture, as Price postulated. Figure 3 shows the distribution of castle sites andsoil types in southern Okinawa. Although the distribution is not solely within onezone, many sites occur on the Gravelly Dark Red Clay. They tend not to sit inthe middle, but on the edge of the zone. Potential site locations are many, and theactual spatial distribution shows groups or clusters that are thought to be politicallydetermined rather than determined by soil preference alone. This pattern can beseen in the southeastern and southwestern clusters of sites in Fig. 3.

Based on a study of the distance of each fortified site from all others,Ladefogedand Pearson (2000) found 12 site groupings (Fig. 4), which seem to approximateearlier prehistoric site groups and later political groupings according to Asato(1990, p. 133). We also found three large clusters (north, south, and central), whichapproximate the contending polities of Sanhoku, Chuzan, and Sannan (Fig. 4). Isubsequently examined the relationship between site size and location to deter-mine whether all large sites clustered in one part of the island. Of the 230 castlesites on Okinawa, 30 of them have published dimensions. They range in size from64,800 m2 to 50 m2. A problem with my investigation is that site size may berelated to temporal as well as spatial factors. Since the internal chronology ofthe castle sites has not been established, it is risky to speak of overall trends insite size over time. In the case of Urasoe and Shuri, discussed later, we knowfrom legend that Shuri superceded Urasoe, and the archaeology bears this out. Inrare cases where excavations have been undertaken outside of the walls, flankingramparts and ditches have been found. Since other features may have been lo-cated outside the wall, it may be inappropriate to use the area inside the wall asan indicator of the total castle size. Conversely, if there is a constant relationshipbetween the inner castle dimensions and the outer areas, it may be possible touse the inner dimensions as indicators of relative size for size-ranking purposes.No castle measurements are available for two of the 12 groupings, Nejana andHaneiji.

The 15 largest sites are distributed rather evenly across 10 of the group-ings found by Ladefoged and Pearson, one or two of them dominating almostevery postulated political group (see Table I). Within the measured sample, thelargest sites are not clustered together in one part of the island, but serve aslarge centers within their respective political clusters. More work remains to bedone to confirm these suggestive trends regarding site function, relative size, andlocation.

P1: VENDOR/GDX


258 Pearson

Fig

.3.

Cas

tlesi

tes

and

soil

type

sof

sout

hern

Oki

naw

a.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Fig. 4. Castle site distribution, showing site clusters.

For two of the clusters, Katsuren and Henza Hamahiga, a total survey isavailable. In a study of published survey data on 89 sites on the Yokatsu Peninsula,about 6.5 km long and 1.5 km wide, and a number of off-lying islands, I noted thatsite number increased in the Gusuku period compared with the Shellmound period.

P1: VENDOR/GDX


260 Pearson

Table I. Castle (Gusuku) Site Area and Distribution in Site Clusters Shown in Fig. 4

Site name Site area (m2) Site cluster Major reference

Nakijin 64,800 Nakijin Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, 1983a,cTomigusuku 53,000 Tomigusuku Takemoto and Asato, 1993, p. 69Tatana 39,000 Shimajiri Takemoto and Asato, 1993, p. 78Nakagusuku 33,200 Chatan Kinet al., 1988Shuri 33,000 Shuri Kinet al.,1988Henzairi 30,000 Henza Hamahiga Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, 1983aUrasoe 26,600 Shuri Takemoto and Asato, 1993, p. 63Katsuren 22,867 Katsuren Kinet al., 1988Tamagusuku 21,000 Shimazoe Ozato Takemoto and Asato, 1993, p. 83Itokazu 21,000 Shimajiri Takemoto and Asato, 1993, p. 78Chatan 13,500 Chatan Kinet al., 1988Kakinohana 12,000 Shimazoe Ozato Takemoto and Asato, 1993, p. 85Gushikawa 10,800 Iha Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, 1983aAdaniya 7,800 Chatan Kinet al., 1988Zakimi 7,385 Zakimi Kinet al., 1988

Clusters consist of agusukufortified site, old village site shellmounds (communalrefuse areas), and artifact scatters (indicating homesteads or hamlets) (Pearson,1999). In the Gusuku period these clusters appear where single sites or only afew sites existed in the Late Shellmound period. The whole region is dominatedby two large village sites and five largegusukusites. One of the village sitesyielded armor fragments, suggesting the presence of armed retainers. I proposedthat the two clusters were part of a polity, dominated by a large powerful center,Katsuren. It seems that this was first a chiefdom, later incorporated into the ChuzanKingdom.

Long-Distance Exchange

Trade Networks

Okinawa has been linked to Kyushu through exchange networks for severalmillennia. Jomon pottery, which was made in Kyushu, has been found in Okinawansites (Takamiya, 1988; Takamiyaet al., 1992), and an exchange of shell braceletsand other Yayoi artifacts took place from Middle Yayoi times (100 B.C.–A.D. 200).Small-scale iron tool making was transferred from Kyushu to Amami Oshima asearly as Middle Yayoi times in the first century A.D., and there are several sites inthe period from the ninth to eleventh centuries A.D. (Takamiya, 1997). Iron toolsfound in Okinawan Late Shellmound period sites such as Uken, Nakagawa, andKiyomizu probably came from Kyushu with Yayoi pottery as trade items (Oshiro,1997). Some early iron artifacts such as adzes were probably of continental origin,reaching Okinawa via Kyushu.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



From the tenth century A.D. or slightly later, two types of trade goods arefound. These are a distinctive type of gray stoneware produced on Tokunoshima,known asruisueki, nanto sueki, or kamuiyaki, and soapstone cooking cauldrons,which have been traced to quarry sites in Saga Prefecture. The stoneware ceramicsserved as elite ware, similar tosueware in the Japanese Islands. Locally producedflat-bottomed earthenware termedgusukupottery imitated the soapstone cauldronswith their external lug handles; some of thisgusukutype pottery was actuallytempered with ground steatite from broken stone cauldrons (Oshiro, 1997, p. 17).The concave open shapes and flat bottoms ofgusukupottery brought it withinthe total range of shapes of medieval ceramics of the Japanese Islands, indicatingstrong cultural continuities between the main Japanese Islands and the Ryukyus.Ryukyu products that were traded to Japan include turbo (yakogai) shell for inlay,red dye from theakagi tree (Bishofia javanica) (Mishima, 1987), and sulphur.Japanese medieval ceramics from kilns such as Bizen in Okayama and the Hizenregion of Kyushu were imported in small quantities in the Gusuku period.

Some sporadic indirect contact between China and Okinawa is indicated byrare finds of knife-shaped coins of the Kingdom of Yan (ca 265 B.C.), and WarringStates period and Wuzhu coins (Miyagi and Takamiya, 1983, p. 66). More numer-ous, however, areKaiyuan Tongbao(Japanese,Kaigen Tsuho) coins of ChineseTang (A.D. 618–906) origin, found in more than 30 sites. Despite this seem-ing abundance, the coins are actually fewer than in many areas of central Japan,where huge hoards have been uncovered. They were used as currency in Chinaand Japan and were dispersed from there to Okinawa. Although they were mintedas early as A.D. 621, their value for dating is often unclear because they are of-ten found together with coins of Northern Song date (A.D. 960–1126) (Pearsonet al., 2000). In addition, a Japanese version was minted in Sakai (Osaka area)and is found in medieval deposits in Japan (Shimatani, 1994). Hiroe Takamiya(1995) reached the following conclusions after a survey of finds of these coins.From about the eighth century to the twelfth century A.D. Okinawa remainedin the prehistoric period, was virtually never mentioned in documents, at theedge of the commercial sphere of East Asia, and was occasionally visited byChinese and Japanese ships. TheKaiyuan Tongbaocoins came from Kyushu shipsand very occasionally were used to buy things from outsiders. They may alsohave been used as ornaments and ritual objects in Okinawa (Takamiya, 1997,2000). Both Hiroe Takamiya (1995) and Shijun Asato (1991) have suggestedthat Japanese tribute ships to China occasionally took the southern route via theRyukyus, from the eighth century A.D. onward. This may be corroborated bythe discovery of a single cache of 33 coins from the Sakieda Akasaki site onIshigaki Island with no local pottery or trade ceramics. Takamiya has proposedthat Yaeyama was part of a network including South China and Taiwan, and thatChinese ships may have come for food and water and left theKaiyuan Tongbaocoins.

P1: VENDOR/GDX


262 Pearson

From the early twelfth century A.D. Chinese hard-fired ceramics began toflow into the Ryukyus. White wares from the first half of the twelfth century A.D.are found in Amami Oshima at the Kominato Tomb, whereas ceramics from themid-twelfth century and later periods are found throughout the Ryukyus includingthe Sakishima Islands. The volume of long-distance trade with China and laterSoutheast Asia increased dramatically at this time.

Even in Chinese Song dynasty (A.D. 960–1279) records, according to Higa(1970, p. 68), there is mention of Okinawan pirates who frequented Quanzhou,Fujian. Probably, the term “pirate” is a misnomer for those who were tradingprivately (and hence illegally in the eyes of the Chinese) (Kaneko and Melichar,1972).

The earliest historical document that refers to Ryukyu trade missions to South-east Asia is a Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1279–1368) record about more than 60 personsfrom Bora (Pura) Miyako, the southeastern tip of the island, “who went tradingto Malacca. They embarked in two ships but met with misfortune on their returnjourney. Their ships foundered in a typhoon and four crew members were pickedup drifting helplessly near Quanzhou on June 17, 1317” (Kaneko and Melichar,1972, p. 15).

George Kerr has stated that this ship may ultimately have been from Chuzanin Okinawa rather than from nearby Miyako (Kerr, 1958, p. 117), although thereseems to be no means of being sure from the brief entry.

During the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368–1644), Takara estimates that 100,000Okinawans travelled between Ryukyu and China, while 32,000 people travelledto China from Southeast Asia (1987b, p. 379). Although he does not provide thebasis for his calculation, I expect that it is based on the historical records of thefrequency of tribute missions, the size of the ships, and the number of voyagers.

The flow of Chinese and Southeast Asian ceramics into the Ryukyus is oneof the most dramatic aspects of Gusuku period archaeology because they areso abundant and conspicuous. Being hard fired and diverse in local and temporalstyles, they are useful for many kinds of archaeological analysis. Chinese ceramicsfirst appeared in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries A.D., as outlinedearlier. The Kurakisaki underwater site near Uken, southwestern Amami Oshima,has yielded twelfth to thirteenth century A.D. Chinese ceramics (Longquan-typeceladon, brown wares, Tong’an celadon, white, andqingbai wares) at a depthof 2–3 m of water. However, no remains of a ship have been found in the coralreef site, though stone anchors were recovered long ago (Kagoshima Ken UkenSon, 1998). Although underwater deposits of fourteenth to fifteenth century A.D.ceramics have been found in sites such as Kudo, Ishigaki, this early deposit isunique and raises many questions about the nature of trade at that time. At first,trade ceramics came to the Ryukyus via Kyushu, but after the beginning of thefourteenth century, the trade flowed from China to Okinawa and then to Kyushu(Kamei, 1993). By the latter half of the fourteenth century A.D., private trade tookmany forms, including transshipment of goods from Southeast Asia. After the

P1: VENDOR/GDX



establishment of the Ming dynasty in A.D. 1368, official tributary trade openeda second mode of trade with its own dynamics (Pearson, 1992, 1997). With theMing Ban (A.D. 1368–1567) came the official closing of Chinese ports to all buttributary trade. It might be expected that the flow of goods would have declined.However, ceramics from the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries are abundanton Okinawan sites. Chinese Hong Wu coins, minted from A.D. 1368 to 1398, arethe most common coins in the Kyonouchi sacred area of Shuri (mentioned later),and they are also found in sites such as Itokazu, in southern Okinawa.

One might expect, given the postulated processes of centralization and mo-nopolization that appear to occur in state emergence (Flannery, 1972), that accessto trade goods would become increasingly restricted. On the other hand, resistanceto centralized control in the form of smuggling is known to have been prevalent.Different distribution patterns of trade goods may be created by different degreesof control. I investigated these patterns of distribution in sites of different types,postulating that rare and precious ceramics might be concentrated in large forti-fied sites rather than in smaller or unfortified sites. The distribution of ceramicsin ten sites representing different social groups in the Gusuku period is presentedin Tables II and III, wherein the local term for the ceramics, to avoid ambiguity,and the sources of manufacture are indicated. An assumption is that ceramics fromdistant sources such as Jiangxi, Thailand, and Vietnam are more precious than localceramics. Background information on the sites being compared in Tables II andIII is presented in Table IV. The data have been taken from archaeological reportsand regrouped in some cases to make comparable categories. For Table II, I havenot given percentages since not all data are available in the same format. Table IIshows the distribution of wares in unfortified, fortified, and fortified capital sites.The unfortified sites are thought to be agricultural villages where common peoplelived. The fortified sites are the residential sites of elites. From Katsuren, ceramicsfrom the ritual area (Enclosure 1) and the residential area, the site of a tiled roofstructure (Enclosure 2), are presented. The following trends can be seen.

1. All three types of sites used local earthenware, although the ratio of earth-enware to trade ceramics was lower in the fortified and capital sites. Itappears that the local earthenware was used more extensively in the thir-teenth and fourteenth centuries, and declined in the fifteenth century A.D.

2. Celadon, white wares, and brown wares were used in all three types of sites.The brownware jars are difficult to identify from very small sherds. Proba-bly the majority of the brownware jars are of South Chinese manufacture,but a substantial number may be Southeast Asian. Beyond these types, therarer Chinese wares, such as green glazed, three color, red overglaze, anddark blue, occur in traces in all three types of sites.

3. Chinese blue and white wares occur in all three types of sites. In somesites Yuan blue and white has been identified. Other sherds are difficult todate because of their extremely small size.

P1: VENDOR/GDX


264 PearsonTa

ble

II.C

ompa

rison

ofT

rade

War

esfr

omTe

nR

yuky

uS

ites

Site

s

Unf

ortifi

edF

ortifi

edC

apita

lfor

tified

War

eTe

rmS

ourc

eIn

afuk

uH

.Tob

aru

Kun

indo

Aha

gon

Itoka

zuG

oeku

Kat

sure

nE

nc2

Kat

sure

nE

nc1

Ura

soe

Shi

gem

amon

Kyo

nouc

hia

Maj

orC

hine

sew

ares

Bro

wn

glaz

edK

atsu

yuF

ujia

n,S

ome

Man

y84

219

926

660

2,52

011

,276

10x

179

Gw

angd

ong

Cel

adon

Sei

jiZ

hejia

ng,

284

3012

81,

632

3,80

220

060

41,

528

6,74

17,

490

610

Fuj

ian

Whi

tew

are

Hak

uji

Fuj

ian

Man

y9

152

315

427

6891

130

494

2,03

475

Blu

ean

dw

hite

Som

etsu

keJi

angx

i,7

290

721

5021

5117

233

31,

649

116

Fuj

ian

Bla

ckgl

azed

Kok

uyu

Fuj

ian

63

211

569

7x4

Red

glaz

edK

oyu

Jian

gxi

1M

inor

Chi

nese

war

esQ

ingb

aiS

eiha

kuji

Fuj

ian

Som

e1

6O

ilS

pot

Tem

mok

uF

ujia

n20

Tea

cont

aine

rC

haire

Fuj

ian

17

Gre

engl

azed

Rok

uyu

Fuj

ian?

14

1712

410

Thr

eeco

lor

San

sai

Fuj

ian?

24

19

Yel

low

glaz

edO

yuF

ujia

n?Ja

deco

lor

glaz

edH

isui

yuF

ujia

n?1

42R

edov

ergl

aze

enam

elA

kae

Jian

gxi

13

44

1O

verg

laze

enam

elIr

oeJi

angx

iD

ark

blue

purp

leR

uriy

uS

outh

Chi

na2

513

142

Fiv

eco

lor

Gos

aiJi

angx

i?1

Jizh

ouK

ishu

Jian

gxi

1Ja

pane

sew

ares

Imar

iblu

ean

dw

hiteb

Imar

iK

yush

u1

Man

y74

62

1T

ilelik

egr

ayG

ashi

tsu

Japa

n37

435

7In

laid

ston

ewar

eZ

ogan

Tosh

itsu

Kyu

shu

11x

Kar

atsu

bK

arat

suK

yush

u2

101

Biz

enc

Biz

enH

onsh

u2

4xO

ther

Asi

anw

ares

Inla

idce

lado

n(K

oryo

)Z

ogan

seiji

Kor

ea12

39T

haie

arth

enw

are

Han

nera

Tha

iland

684

Iron

pain

ted

(Tha

i)S

unku

roku

Tha

iland

24

71x

Tha

ibro

wnw

are

TaiK

atsu

yuT

haila

nd2

1836

1xx

Vie

tnam

Bet

unam

uV

ietn

am1x

3

No

te.x

xin

dica

tes

sher

dco

unt,

only

for

Tha

iBro

wnw

are;

xin

dica

tes

that

tota

lis

notg

iven

,onl

yty

pica

lshe

rdis

desc

ribed

.aM

inim

umnu

mbe

rof

vess

els,

nots

herd

coun

ts.

bS

even

teen

thce

ntur

y.c S

urib

achi

,mor

tar

with

inte

riors

inci

sed.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Tabl

eIII

.T

rade

Cer

amic

s:F

unct

iona

lTyp

esof

Cel

adon

Vess

els

Fro

mTe

nR

yuky

uS

ites

(She

rdC

ount

sE

xcep

tWhe

reN

oted

)

Site

Unf

ortifi

edF

ortifi

edF

ortifi

edca

pita

l

Inaf

uku

H.T

obar

uK

unin

doA

hago

nIto

kazu

Goe

kuK

ats

Enc

1K

ats

Enc

2U

raso

eS

hige

mam

onK

yono

uchi

Fun

ctio

nalT

ype

Term

(n=

284)

(n=

30)

(n=

128)

(n=

1,63

2)(n=

3,80

2)(n=

200)

(n=

1,52

8)(n=

608)

(n=

1,57

5)∗

(n=

7,49

0)(n=

610)

Bow

lW

an85

752

2365

5859

2343

7133

Dis

hS

ara

73

2913

2213

312

1434

Pla

teB

an6

75

19

1217

1417

Dee

pbo

wl,

jar

Hac

hi1

174

1C

upH

ai3

00

0B

ottle

Hei

00

1W

ine

pres

enta

tion

Shu

kaiT

subo

11

10

jar

Pre

sent

atio

nja

rlid

Fut

a0

1N

arro

wne

cked

Tsu

bo0

11

03

jar

Jade

sprin

gbo

ttle

Yuhu

cun

0Li

dded

cont

aine

rF

ukur

omon

o0

Ince

nse

burn

erK

oro

11

03

00

0P

ourin

gve

ssel

Sui

chu

00

00

ewer

Sm

allb

oxG

osu

1La

rge

box

Dai

Gos

u0

Stir

rup

cup

Baj

ohai

0M

orta

rS

urib

achi

01

Flo

wer

vase

Mei

ping

00

Bot

tleB

in1

Lid

Fut

a1

4H

andl

eM

imi

1U

nide

ntifi

ed80

4045

114

6926

Tota

l10

010

010

010

010

010

010

010

010

010

010

0

No

te.P

erce

ntag

eva

lues

are

give

n.0

=le

ssth

an1%

.∗ B

ased

ona

sub

sam

ple

ofto

talc

elad

onsh

erds

.

P1: VENDOR/GDX


266 Pearson

Table IV. Site Information for Tables II and III

Site Date (A.D.) Description Major publication

Inafuku 13th century Inland agricultural community, Okinawa Ken, 1983b;cluster of 5 houses, Pearson, in presspopulation from 10 to 25

Heshikiya Tobaru 10th–16th century Coastal site, overlapping Okinawa Ken Kyoikuoccupations Iinkai, 1996;

Pearson, 1999Kunindo 12th–16th century Inland site on three flat topped Okinawa Ken Haebaru

hills, no stone outer walls Cho Kyoiku Iinkai,or enclosures, but defensive 1996ditch, palisades, earthbanks, post holes, houseremains

Ahagon 14th–15th century A satellite of Ahagon Castle Okinawa Ken Kyoiku(immediately adjacent), rock Iinkai, 1990concentrations, rectangularpavement stone alignments

Itokazu 12th–16th century Large site with extensive Okinawa Ken,fortifications Tamagusuku Son

Kyoiku Iinkai, 1991Goeku 14th–16th century Heavily damaged by Okinawa Shi Kyoiku

construction, important Iinkai, 1988regional center, residence ofSho Taikyu before hewas king

Urasoe 12th–16th century See description in text Okinawa Ken; Urasoefor details Shi Kyoiku Iinkai,

1985Katsuren 12th–16th century Major site with five or more Kamei, 1984; Katsuren

enclosures, extremely Cho Kyoiku Iinkai,impressive fortifications, 1984, 1988;east coast. The seat of Pearson, 2001Amawari, strategic forcontrolling northward traderoutes. Enclosure 1 isinnermost, sacred area,Enclosure 2 islocation of palace

Nakijin Shigemamon 13th–16th century Shigemamon area is elite Okinawa Ken, 1983c;residential area adjacent Pearson, 2001to ruler’s living area inNakijin, capital of SanhokuKingdom, subjugatedby Shuri

Kyonouchi (Shuri) 14th–15th century Sacred area of Shuri Okinawa Ken, 1998

4. Korean wares occur exclusively in the fortified capital sites. It ispossible that their low frequency is peculiar to this sample. It is also pos-sible that connections with Korea were limited to a few important centers.

5. Japanese wares are found in the three site types but they date from theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries A.D.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Can restricted access to trade goods be seen in the distribution of functionalor use types of vessels within the same ware, such as celadon? Celadon distributionby use type is shown in Table III. The following trends can be noted.

1. In some sites such as Heshikiya Tobaru and Katsuren, the functional vesseltype of a high percentage of sherds could not be determined. This skewsthe percentages of vessel types. In all the sites, however, bowls, flat dishes,and concave plates are the staple types.

2. Other functional types occur as traces throughout different types of sites,suggesting that they were not restricted to the most elite types of sites butwere always present in very small numbers. Of particular interest is the roleof incense burners, which are very widespread but always rare. Rokkumstates that on the island of Yonaguni, they are owned by many elderlywomen as precious items for worship, having been initiated during visitsto freshwater springs. Young female helpers receive ashes from their se-niors’ incense burners. They are ubiquitous in local ancestral shrines todayand appear to have been important religious artifacts for many centuries(Pearson, in press; Rokkum, 1998, p. 114).

These two tables show that, in general, access to imported ceramics wasnot restricted by ware or vessel type and that access to the overseas trade goodswas somewhat free or heterarchical. I expect that the abundance of trade goodswas created by unofficial trade, which created wealth for common people. Not allscholars acknowledge the significance of nonofficial trade. For instance, Kameicalculates the number of ceramic vessels carried on official Ming tribute missionsover a span of 270 years (111 missions out of 270 carried cargo), each vesselcarrying about 70,000 vessels. He proposes that, out of some 7,700,000 items thatflowed into Okinawa, about 300,000 stayed in Okinawa (based on sherd countsfrom sites), and 477,000 were transshipped to Southeast Asia and Japan (Kamei,1997). His calculations do not allow for an undetermined quantity of ceramics thatarrived in Okinawa through unofficial trade.

At the same time tributary trade brought rare and valuable items to the court.These can be seen in the Royal Storehouse in the Kyonouchi sacred area of ShuriCastle, which was burned in A.D. 1459 and has been excavated recently (see dis-cussion of Shuri given later), While the tributary trade with China may have beenfinancially profitable in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries A.D., the costs ofsending and receiving large delegations must have been very high. The consensusamong historians is that the tributary trade in the seventeenth century A.D. andlater created a net financial loss for the government and was maintained for politi-cal reasons. Despite this trend, the Kyonouchi Royal Storehouse ceramics includerare and precious types of large blue and white and other wares that were restrictedfor royal use. The overall impression is one of some hierarchy and control in thetrade created by tributary exchange of precious items (shown later), mitigated by

P1: VENDOR/GDX


268 Pearson

heterarchy that was created by the flow of goods through channels beyond centralcontrol.

Diplomatic Exchange

Documentary evidence from theRekidai Hoan(Okinawa Kenritsu ToshokanShiryo Henshushitsu, 1992) (see Cultural Historical Background, discussed earlier)provides an unusual glimpse into Okinawa’s interaction with other Asian politiesand the transshipping trade. The studies by Atsushi Kobata and Mitsugu Matsudaare most important (Kobata and Matsuda, 1969). In theirRyukyuan Relations withKorea and South Sea Countriesthey deal with all of the documents pertaining tothese regions, reproducing the originals. I have chosen a number of dispatches ofdifferent countries to show the kinds and quantities of materials that were sent.In addition to the gifts described in the diplomatic dispatches, large quantities ofgoods such as ceramics were sent for private sale.

Despatch to the Country of Choson (Korea)Chenghua 6/4/1 (May 1, 1470)Accompanying material:

wide cotton cloth 2 bolts, color patterned cotton cloth 2 bolts, checkered handkerchiefs indifferent colors 2 bolts, color patterned handkerchiefs 2 bolts, dyed cotton handkerchiefs2 bolts, long tapestries for brick steps or dais 2 bolts, blue brocade with peacock featherswoven into it 2 bolts, folding fans with black frame 20, rhinocerus horns 6, buffalo horns 20,glass vases 2, blue flower white bowls 20, big blue bowls 50, incense wood 50chin, sandalwood 50chin, cloves 50chin, nutmegs 20chin, sappanwood 200chin, barbarian tin 200chin, long swords 2 complete sets, parrot 1, white pigeon 1, ivory 4 pieces 100chin, peacocktail plumes 300 pieces, blue flower white vases 20, blue vases 20, small blue bowls 100,lakawood 100chin, putchuk 20chin, bean sprouts? 20chin, ebony 100chin, pepper 2000chin, mynah bird 1, Indian wine 1 jar (Kobata and Matsuda, 1969, p. 19) (1chin= 596.8 g).

To Siam:Xuande (3) 9/2 (October 10, 1428)white satin 20 bolts, small blue vases 400, sulphur 3,000chin (Chin-pao 2,500chin),folding paper fans 30, superior quality satin 5 bolts, big blue vases 20, small blue bowls2,000, swords 5 (1969, p. 61).

To Malacca:Chenghua 6/?/? (1470)dyed satin 5 bolts, swords 5, big blue vases 20, blue bowls 2,000, blue satin 20 bolts, fans30, small blue vases 400 (1969, p. 114).

To Java:Xuande 5/10/18 (November 3, 1430)gold satin 2 bolts, white satin 20 bolts, big blue vases 20, small blue bowls 2,000, goldengauze 3 bolts, swords 5, small blue vases 400 (1969, p. 156).

A number of points can be seen from these lists. Many of the items sent toKorea were not originally from the Ryukyus but were transshipped from SoutheastAsia and China. The objects from Okinawa itself include cow hides and sulphur,horses, and perhaps small quantities of subtropical woods. The sulphur may have

P1: VENDOR/GDX



come from the island of Torishima in the Ryukyus, or it may have come fromKyushu (1969, p. 56). What have been translated as blue bowls are celadons. Itshould be noted that only a token gift of celadons travelled to Korea, which had itsown highly sophisticated ceramic production, compared to the substantial quani-tities that were sent to Southeast Asia. From the documents at hand no ceramicswere sent to Palembang (1969, pp. 113–146) or Annam (1969, pp. 183–186). Thesecountries received primarily textiles. The records of theRekidai Hoanconcern of-ficial trade made by the Shuri court in the fifteenth century A.D. This trade tookthe form of diplomatic exchange between high officials so that other trade couldbe done smoothly. TheRekidai Hoandocuments are thus useful in the study of thetransshipment trade (chukei boeki) and also the tribute trade (choko boeki) to China.

Relations between Siam and the Chuzan Kingdom are covered in twenty-eightdocuments sent from Chuzan to Siam between A.D. 1425 and 1469, six documentsfrom Siam to Chuzan, and some twenty-three voyage certificates or licences forofficial Ryukyuan missions to travel to Siam (jizhao).

The major items that were carried from Siam to Okinawa were cloth,sappanwood, and wine. The wine was carried in jars, probably the Sawankhalok or“nanban” vessels, sherds of which are found in a number of Okinawan sites alongwith earthenware (hannera) lids.

Kobata and Matsuda believe that Siamese relations with Ryukyu must havebegun at about the same time as relations with Japan and Korea, in the fourteenthcentury A.D., and that the trade began on the initiative of Chinese merchants livingin Siam (1969, p. 54).

Throughout the period covered in the documents, the kinds of goods sent toSiam and their relative quantities remained virtually the same: 5 bolts of woven-gold satin, 20 bolts of white satin, 3,000chin xiaoof sulphur, 5 swords, 30 foldingpaper fans, 20 big blue vases, 400 small blue vases, and 2,000 small blue bowls.As noted earlier the blue vases and bowls refer to celadon.

It is interesting that the Okinawans appear to have carried only celadon, andnot blue and white wares, to Siam. These ceramics served both as gifts (reimotsu)and as objects for private sale.

Ethnogenesis: Okinawan Culture as Seen from the Archaeologyof Capital Sites

During the Gusuku period and the succeeding First and Second Sho dynasties,Okinawa developed as a unique polity within East Asia, with its own high cultureand configuration of kingship. Okinawan state ideology was made concrete incultural landscapes, monuments, and architectural features (Earle, 1997, p. 143).The creation of multifunctional royal capitals with ponds, attached temples, innerand outer enclosures, and the use of pan-East Asian elite symbols such as tiledroofs were expressions of a particular Ryukyu state ideology. Urasoe, the first

P1: VENDOR/GDX


270 Pearson

royal center of Chuzan, was succeeded by Shuri. These centers became the stagesfor architectural display and ideological negotiation. Both were heavily damagedduring and after World War II.

Urasoe

Urasoe was the residence of Shunten, Eiso, and Satto (Takemoto and Asato,1993, p. 69). The site is currently undergoing detailed survey and some excavationin preparation for possible reconstruction. It was the capital of Chuzan before theascendancy of Shuri and was the largest of the Okinawan castles in the fourteenthcentury A.D. It is located near the west central coast of Okinawa, on the northernedge of Naha City. In this area the ridges of Ryukyu limestone are low and gradual,the highest in the entire central region of Okinawa (Nakagami) being only 220 min elevation. The site lies behind Urasoe City at an elevation of 130 to 140 m. Atthe foot of the northern edge of this escarpment is the Machiminato River, at themouth of which was a small port, Machiminato. The main port for the castle wasTomari, a few kilometers to the south.

Lying in a northwest–southeasterly direction, the site’s maximum length is380 m and is only 60 to 70 m across. Unlike Nakijin or Katsuren, other prominentcastle sites, its walls and pavements have been extensively damaged, both in thepast and in more recent times, so that it is almost impossible to determine theoutline of the structures, except to say that in a general east–west direction therewas a series of adjoining enclosures. The high, eastern area is called the Kogusuku(literally old castle), while the west, lower area is called the Migusuku. Accordingto local beliefs, the residential area moved from the Kogusuku to the Migusuku(Urasoe Shi Shishi Henshu Iinkai, 1986), and building materials were carried awayfrom the site for the enlargement of Shuri Castle in the early sixteenth century A.D.(Takemoto and Asato, 1993, p. 98). In A.D. 1509, when the son of King Sho Shin,Sho Iko, moved from Shuri to Urasoe, it is said that Urasoe was in ruins and wasrefurbished (Urasoe Shi Shishi Henshu Iinkai, 1986). In A.D. 1609, at the timeof the invasion by the Satsuma fiefdom of Kyushu, the castle was burned, alongwith the Ryufukuji Temple, which was situated below it. The north side of thecastle, protected by steep cliffs, may have lacked a wall or ramparts, while thesouth side, which is more gradual, was protected by four separate ramparts withpalisades and a moat that has been dated to the latter half of the fourteenth centuryand the first half of the fifteenth century A.D. (Asato, 1997). There are also localshrines and sacred places, including two Buddhist temples, the Gokurakuji andthe Ryufukuji, the oldest Buddhist temples in Okinawa. Near the northwest cliffof the castle are the mausolea of King Eiso (r. A.D. 1260–1299), who resided inthe castle, and King Sho Nei, sovereign at the time of the Satsuma takeover in1609. Eiso’s mausoleum contains three royal coffins of carved andesite importedfrom China, probably from Fujian. It is thought that the largest coffin containsEiso’s remains, whereas the other two contain those of his father and grandfather.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Decoration on the four sides consists of birds and flowers, deer, lion dogs, andBuddhist figures and treasures. The lids are carved to imitate tiled roofs withfinials, and the tile ends have motifs of dragons and phoenixes. From the styleof the imitation roof tiles, the date of manufacture must be in the early fifteenthcentury, since the female tiles have a triangular flap that was unknown before thattime (Education Commission of Okinawa Prefecture, 1975, p. 38). The mausolea,excavated into the cliff, were flanked by two small oblong enclosures parallelingthe cliff that were reached by a ceremonial path descending from the castle alongthe cliff face (Urasoe Shi Kyoiku Iinkai, 1996). On the western side of the castlewas a large artificial pond, rediscovered in the 1990s. Three annual excavationsin 1982–1984 by the Urasoe City Board of Education uncovered a total area of1900 m2 (Urasoe Shi Shishi Henshu Iinkai, 1986, p. 171). Some 30,000 artifactswere recovered from the excavations, including architectural items and ceramicutensils, weapons, ornaments, and food remains. In 1998 a tunnel entrance, buriedin World War II, was uncovered on the north side. Also to the north, in a valleybelow the castle, a residence, thought to belong to an elite family associated withUrasoe, was uncovered (Kinjo, 1999, pp. 258, 259).

The occupation of the site can be divided into five periods (Urasoe Shi ShishiHenshu Iinkai, 1986, p. 161). Period 1, dating to the end of the thirteenth andearly fourteenth centuries A.D., can be distinguished by the presence of lowstone walls and buildings made with posts set in excavated holes. In Period 2,which probably dates to the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, the sizeof the castle was increased to include the Kogusuku area as well as the center.Structures roofed with inscribed Korean style earthenware unglazed tiles date tothis period. The Korean tiles indicate elite status and were found in the largestquantities at Urasoe, Shuri, Katsuren, and the Sakiyama Utaki shrine near Shuri(Uehara, 1999, p. 42). In Period 3, dating to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuriesA.D., the size of the center was drastically reduced. Two later periods were alsonoted.

Asato believes that the form for the royal capital of Shuri, which includeda central palace (seiden), a plaza for gathering allied elites and subjects, a ritualarea, a large external pond, and attached Buddhist temples, was already complete atUrasoe (Asato, 1997). Urasoe’s construction would have represented an enormouschange in the scale and complexity of such sites in Okinawa. Significant for thisdiscussion are the elite structures with Korean style roof tiles, attached mausoleawith coffins of Chinese andesite, possibly carved in Fujian, the large pond, also asign of power and prestige in East Asia, and attached Buddhist temples, indicatingthe flow of culture and political connections to Japan.

Shuri

Beginning with the First Sho dynasty (A.D. 1406–1469), Shuri was the res-idence of the King of Ryukyu, succeeding Urasoe as the capital. Its construction

P1: VENDOR/GDX


272 Pearson

began in the fourteenth century A.D. I have previously discussed the site in somedetail (Pearson, 1997). Here I present new data that will shed light on the culturaland political nature of the Chuzan state.

Near Shuri Castle is the royal mausoleum, the Tama Udun, which was con-structed in A.D. 1501, at the time of the consolidation of the power of the SecondSho dynasty. A recent description of the four Fujian andesite coffins by Uehara(1997) indicates that they are decorated with dragons, lion dogs, phoenixes, andcamellias; with the exception of one lotus decoration, there are no other Buddhistmotifs or deities, nor do they appear on the two coffins of the immediate ancestorsof the Second Sho dynasty on Izena Island. The court’s attitude toward Buddhismchanged during the fifteenth century A.D.

Despite the fact that Buddhism never became widely accepted by the commonpeople of Okinawa, both Urasoe and Shuri had multiple attached Japanese ZenBuddhist temples, and Zen priests served as important emissaries and negotiators.The attached Zen temples were manifestations of relations between the Japaneseestablishment and Okinawa. The relationship, mediated by priests, seems to havebeen indirect in comparison to the tributary relations with the Chinese centralgovernment. Shuri Castle had three temples: the Tenkaiji (currently undergoingexcavation), the Enkakuji, and the Tennoji, which were family temples for the Shofamily (Toma, 1996, p. 305). Buddhist sutras were given to the Tenkaiji from theKorean court in the mid-fifteenth century A.D. (Kerr, 1958, p. 112). Japanese Zenpriests such as Kai’in Shoko not only served as clerics but also acted as politicalenvoys of the King of Ryukyu (Murai, 1994). In A.D. 1527 the Japanese Zenpriest Dankei, who had been the chief priest of both the Tennoji and the Enkakujiin Okinawa, was sent from Japan to negotiate the restoration of relations betweenJapan and Ming after the Ningbo Incident of A.D. 1523 (Murai, 1994, p. 194). Thecurrent excavations of some of the Zen temples may well provide some interestingstories. Collcutt (1981, pp. 253–284) mentions that when the great Rinzai “FiveMountain” temples of Kyoto were deprived of their land holdings in the latterfifteenth and early sixteenth centuries they turned to the China trade. On most ofthe China trade missions sent by Kyoto power from A.D. 1401 to 1547, Zen monksacted as chief envoys, and in many cases they acted as traders as well.

Recent research on this site has shown that in A.D. 1508, under King Sho Shin,thekidan,central stone platform under the main palace building (the Seiden), wassurrounded with a Chinese greenstone balustrade, to follow the pattern of Chinesepalace architecture, and greenstone dragon pillars were set up on each side of theSeiden entrance. Excavations in 1994–1995 in the Kyonouchi area of Shuri Castleyielded the remains of a royal storehouse that contained very high-quality Chinese,Vietnamese, Thai, and Japanese ceramics when it was burned in A.D. 1459. Thesherds of about 1,300 vessels dating from the middle of the fourteenth centuryto the middle of the fifteenth century A.D. were recovered. These include largeexamples of Yuan and Early Ming celadons, blue and white wares, and brownwares. One red glazed ewer, dating from the end of the Yuan to Early Ming, is said

P1: VENDOR/GDX



to be unique in the world while a blue and white Yuan dynasty stirrup cup withstamped dragon decoration is one of about 20 examples in the world. Other vesseltypes unknown in Japan until now were recovered. The vessels were apparentlyused in royal investiture ceremonies (Kinjo, 1998).

Transformation of Gender Hierarchy

At various times in the history of Japan, Korea, and Okinawa, ruling femalesand males shared power. The conditions under which women assumed sovereigntyor males and females ruled jointly varied in different cases. Piggott proposes thatJapan developed an “indigenous tradition of rule by gender complementary chief-tain pairs during the Yayoi and Kofun Periods” (1999, p. 17). The female rolesemphasized sacral and ritual duties while the males tended to manage adminis-trative duties. Female sovereigns ruled in the seventh and eighth centuries A.D.,usually at particularly difficult political junctures when the available male suc-cessors were less acceptable. Six females ruled for almost half of the period fromA.D. 592 to 770. In the Heian period priestesses performed regular rituals for royaldeities inside the royal palace and for protective deities at the palace gates, and inlater times consorts and daughters of retired rulers maintained considerable powersubsequent to the rulers’ death or retirement (Piggott, 1999, pp. 18, 42).

In the Korean Silla Kingdom in the sixth and seventh centuries A.D., thehighest ranking indviduals, of the hallowed “bone rank” (kolp’umsystem), werethe ruling king and his siblings, parents, and brother’s children. Two queens ruledin the seventh century A.D. when there were no male heirs (Kim, 1965; Pearsonet al., 1989; Yi, 1984). In the Korean case, rank clearly took precedence overgender.

In Okinawa, the Chuzan Kingdom of the fifteenth to seventeenth centuriesA.D. developed its own state ideology and religion, centering on the king and hiscelibate sister, the chief priestess of the land, and the worship of ancestral deitiesin sacred groves (Lebra, 1966). Within Shuri Castle, Ryukyu kingship took ontwo attributes: elevation in a spirit grove and centricity as the Middle Mountain(Chuzan). Rokkum (1998, p. 38) states: “A precarious polity on the East Asianmargin allocates a role for women in governance. . . kingship could be realizedonly in virtue of sororal blessing.” Sacred shrines of the realm were located in theKyonouchi area of Shuri Castle until the late fifteenth century A.D., when theywere relocated outside the castle in the surrounding town of Shuri. They wereattended by high priestesses.

The chief priestess prayed for the health of the ruler and the prosperity of thecountry. The king was surrounded by a group of female functionaries, and femaleranks coexisted with male ranks. State rituals were carried out by high priestesses,other leading female religious officials, Buddhist priests, and the king (Smits, 1999,p. 101). In A.D. 1532 a system of local priestesses (noro) appointed by the central

P1: VENDOR/GDX


274 Pearson

government was formalized. These priestesses were not from the areas they servedand may have in fact balanced the power of prominent familes in their villages. Atthe same time Shuri dispatched a lay official to administer the village; this office,unlike that of the priestess, was not hereditary.Magatama(comma-shaped beads)became the symbols of the power of thenoro. They were often set in a string of 108rock crystal beads. Themagatamamust have come to Okinawa from Kofun periodJapan and become a powerful and ubiquitous religious symbol. Other symbols ofhigh religious power were large hairpins in ranks of gold, silver, and bronze. Smits(1999, p. 43) notes that, despite centuries of contact with China, Confucianismdid not become a form in upper-class Ryukyuan life until the seventeenth century.In A.D. 1673 Ryukyu’s first Confucian temple was constructed with support fromthe royal government.

Interaction with Confucian China and viri-centered Japan placed pressure onthe relationships of gender and power. By the late seventeenth century A.D., thesystem changed so that the king’s spouse was given the title of chief priestess.Contemporary gender relations show a dynamism between the roles of sister andspouse that is specific to the Ryukyu Islands in East Asia, which hearkens backto the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Rokkum suggests that “the Ryukyu Islandscould be said to mark the meeting point of two society paradigms; the one Chinese,the other Oceanic” (1998, p. 118), but he notes that one must examine the specificcauses of such flux rather than resort to describing kin types.

Joan Piggott has stated that an engendered approach to Japanese rulershipis requisite for understanding the “distinctive Japanese cultural matrix in whichJapanese state formation and the evolution of Japanese kingship occurred” (1999,p. 17). The Okinawan case is of great importance in understanding varying relationsbetween gender and the emergence of the state in East Asia.

Two recent discoveries illuminate early Okinawan religion. At Nakamamura,near the Yamashita-cho site and Naha Airport, salvage excavation in 1998 un-covered a postulated thirteenth century A.D. agricultural ritual site with a line offive cow mandibles near the roots of 25 Chinese fan palms (Livistona chinen-sis), traditionally associated with Okinawan sacred sites (Kinjo, 1999, p. 260).A seventeenth century A.D. site shows a religious transformation that occurredafter intensive East Asian contacts. It occurred at Seifa Utaki, in the southeasterncorner of the island, which is venerated by Okinawans as the place where theirfirst ancestors are thought to have arrived from the offshore island of Kudaka. Inthe fifteenth and sixteenth centuries A.D. the entire royal court may have made atour of the southeastern part of the island to perform rites, subsequently crossingto Kudaka Island. In late 1998, 6 celadon bowls and 3 plates (all intact), a groupof magatama(3 gold, 1 jade, 4 glass, and 1 jadeite,), and 534Kaigen TsuhoandKan’ei Tsuhocoins, which date from A.D. 1624–1643, were excavated from underthe pavement near ritual incense burners that are situated under a dramatic naturalrock cleft (Kinjo, 1999, p. 265).

P1: VENDOR/GDX



PERSPECTIVES ON OKINAWAN STATE FORMATION

From the archaeological and historical materials presented earlier, what canbe learned about secondary state formation and leadership, in general, and theOkinawan case, in particular?

Okinawan secondary state formation appears to be closely related to the ar-rival of new human populations from Kyushu who brought rice, wheat, and barley,as well as new techniques of cultivation, iron working, and Japanese/Ryukyuanlanguage. In language and culture, the society of the Gusuku period was definitelyJapanese derived. Basic technology, such as local utilitarian ceramics, falls withinthe range of main Japanese Islands ceramics, and features of social organizationsuch as the brother–sister pairs suggest affinities with Japan. Trade relations ac-celerated after the development of agrarian society in Okinawa, suggesting that arequisite level of social complexity was attained before Okinawans became activein trading and transshipping. External conditions also played a role; because of theeconomic and social conditions of the Yuan dynasty, China’s export trade peaked inthe thirteenth and fourteenth centuries A.D. The importance of local social com-plexity seems to be decisive, since communities on Taiwan, closer to mainlandChina but with less complexity, did not become involved in the offshore trade toany degree approaching that of Okinawa and Southeast Asian polities (Pearson,1989). Fortified sites dominated smaller settlements, suggesting a ranked soci-ety in the thirteenth century A.D., which led to state-level society in the fifteenthcentury A.D. Within a few centuries very rapid social change occurred under theinfluence of the main Japanese Islands, leading to the appearance of ranking andthe state.

Recently, anthropological archaeologists have emphasized social, political,and economic factors in the rise of social complexity rather than environment,subsistence production, and resource procurement. Evidence from Okinawa seemsto show that the elite residents of thegusukurelied on a diverse range of crops butthat the level of cultivation was not very intensive. It does not appear that powercame from agricultural production or that facilities for storage of large amountsof food were constructed. The Okinawan historian Sakihara Mitsugu commentedthat agricultural taxation seems not to have been well developed until the latesixteenth century A.D. (Pearson, 1992). Brumfiel and Earle conclude from severalstudies in other parts of the world that specialization in subsistence goods was notparticularly important for political development and that political elites often do notfunction as promoters of efficiency through redistribution or market management(Brumfiel and Earle, 1987, p. 6). They conclude that political elites “consciouslyand strategically employ specialization and change to create and maintain socialinequality, strengthen political coalitions, and fund new institutions of control”(1987, p. 3). The analysis of Okinawan site location and soil distribution led tosimilar conclusions, that the environment of Okinawa met necessary preconditions

P1: VENDOR/GDX


276 Pearson

for political development that actually was stimulated by certain political andeconomic factors.

Macro- and microsettlement pattern studies indicate the existence of smallcenters of power throughout the island in the Early Gusuku period (from A.D.1200 to 1350). Larger fortified sites were surrounded by clusters of satellites. Siteslocated in areas offering access to several soil types suggest a spectrum of dry-landand wet-land cultivation, to insure against crop failure. Based on a considerationof both site size and internal site structure, it appears that there was relativelylittle concentration of power in individuals, suggesting that communal relationswere important than personal aggrandizement. The distribution of exotic ceramicsacross sites seems to support this conclusion. In the terms used by Blantonet al.(1996), the pattern at the local level seems close to the corporate strategy, indicatedby the construction ofgusukuby communal labor. While each of the largestgusukustructures was dominated by an elite residence, the communal gathering space infront of the residence (theniwaoruna) was very important, and chiefly tombs wereoutside the castle structure and were often relatively inconspicuous. Since few ofthe smallergusukustructures have been excavated, we do not know the extent ofelite residences within them. The entire castle can be seen as a form of impressivepublic architecture. The collective nature of social relations in Okinawa has beennoted by ethnographers. Glacken (1960, p. 125) describes thejiwari seidosystemof land allotment in which community-owned land of different types was allottedto local villagers in small discontinuous parcels. He notes that “prior to the landreform of 1898–1903, almost 76% of the arable land in Okinawa was communallyowned by the villages, the remainder being held by the royal family, nobles, andpriestesses of thenoroorder (1960, p. 123). Tamura (1969, pp. 170–179) concludesfrom historical sources that this system was practiced at the time of the ChuzanKingdom.

However at the level of the capitals such as Urasoe and Shuri, the patternseems closer to that of the network strategy. The use of elite Chinese ceramicsin royal investiture, the incorporation of Chinese architectural features in palacearchitecture, and the writing of diplomatic documents in Chinese are a few of themany indications that Okinawan elites participated in the East Asian internationalstyle, building a wide set of international relations that made Ryukyu kings wealthyand powerful. Their skillful use of East Asian symbols can be seen in the changes indecoration on the andesite royal coffins. After a period of vigorous development ofthe state religion, depictions of Buddhist deities were no longer utilized. I believethat the network strategy was adopted to take advantage of conditions created bythe fall of the Yuan dynasty in A.D. 1367, the imposition of the Ming Ban, andother changes in the East China Sea region.

Why do leaders choose external coalition building rather than internal corpo-rate goals? Are these strategies mutually exclusive or simply different aspects ofevery political economy? I believe that the latter is the case. Vigorous trade with

P1: VENDOR/GDX



China via Japan began in the twelfth century A.D., becoming direct only in thefourteenth century. Exchange systems in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenthcenturies involved both highly organized tribute and shifting private trade. Goodstraded in the latter system were not hierarchically patterned but seem to display aheterarchical distribution. State control over trade with China and Southeast Asiawas loose and subject to local resistance to central authority. There is no evidence ofa royal monopoly beyond the exchange of diplomatic gifts. The private trade seemsto have brought together ceramics from many different production centers, possiblyreflecting a strategy of diversification similar to that employed in agriculture.

Trade-based wealth was of greater importance than land-based wealth, butOkinawa maintained a distinctive identity despite the intensive level of trade andinteraction. Although an old pattern of empowerment of women as sisters changedat the elite level under interaction with both Japan and China, the role of females ingovernment remained distinctive from comparable roles in surrounding countries.Okinawan state development appears to have been based on what is termed wealthfinance rather than staple finance. The wealth was generated by trade in iron, ce-ramics, and other Chinese and Southeast Asian goods, both luxury and utilitarian,which were exchanged for local products such as shells and plants, sulphur, andhorses. This trade had advantages over staple finance, since the goods were easilytransportable and could be used to control people over long distances. Wealth fi-nance had limitations as well as advantages. Goods could be smuggled outside ofestablished networks. In particular, smuggling and avoidance of Chinese customstariffs seem to have been significant in Okinawan relations with China. The over-flow of wealth from Chinese coastal trade was of great significance in Okinawa’sstate development. It appears to have played a significant role in the developmentof powerful cultural institutions in Kyoto as well.

I believe that the interplay between state and private trade is a key factor notonly in understanding Okinawa in thechusei(medieval) period but also for thewhole East China Sea region in the last millennium (Gates, 1996). Tributary, trans-shipping, and private trade, as well as outright smuggling, all proceeded togetherin a complex system that was fed upon by pirates on the sea and officials on theland. The later stages of the rise of Okinawa were linked to the offshore movementof trade from coastal China to avoid ethnic strife that occurred around A.D. 1350,trade prohibitions, and piracy.

Ideology plays a central role in the negotiation of power. Okinawa was aunique polity within East Asia, with its own high culture and configuration ofkingship. The special form of Okinawan religion that developed in the fourteenthand fifteenth centuries has continued to shape Okinawan consciousness in thetwentieth century A.D. (Rokkum, 1998, pp. 1–75). Helms (1991) noted that long-distance travel enhances the power of the traveller through the acquisition of es-oteric knowledge. Learning the traditional history, customs, and ritual of foreignlands and conquering geographical distance added power and social prestige to

P1: VENDOR/GDX


278 Pearson

elites in many societies. Okinawan elites controlled precious navigational knowl-edge of the routes to China and Southeast Asia as well as to Japan. Access tothe knowledge of distant places was often restricted, and the adoption of rulesof investiture and royal regalia is known to have been of great importance inmany areas including East Asia. The adoption of Chinese ceramics and rituals inOkinawan ceremonies of all kinds, including royal investiture, is a good exampleof the importance of the integration of foreign ideas into emerging state ideology.Helms refers to the creation of a “concentrated universe,” where rare and preciousand sacred things from all directions testified to the extent of the rulers contactsand influence (1991, p. 345). Such a universe was created in the royal capitals ofUrasoe and Shuri, with their precious goods from all of East Asia.

The Okinawan case sheds light on the rapid development of an East Asianmaritime entrepot and secondary state. In more general terms it raises questionsabout the relationships of different strategies of political economy, the relative rolesof staple and wealth finance, and the place of trade in secondary state developmentby using several different classes of data from site excavations, settlement distri-bution, trade ceramics, and documentary sources. How general is the Okinawanpattern in which a corporate kind of political economy was achieved first, followedby a push to expand network relations with the outside world? To make progressin the study of cultural complexity one must avoid reductionist models of agencyand aggrandizement and attempt to trace different patterns of political economy.For instance, this study confirms a pattern of heterarchy in which centralizationand hierarchy were not well developed, and this has been suggested by work inother parts of the world.

When different types of data from Okinawa are integrated, some prioritiesfor future research become evident. Refining the chronologies of castle sites andcorrelating them with total site plans and spatial and functional analysis wouldfacilitate studies of the economic and political roles of different regions and theircenters. Learning more about the organization of local pottery production andiron working would also help us understand the degree of control of the regionalcenters. More work on correlation of assemblages of trade ceramics with buildingsequences and the examination of intrasite variability of trade ceramics wouldalso clarify their use by Okinawans and different degrees of access to overseastrade. I have attempted this in a pilot project (Pearson, in press). The power oftrade ceramics studies will be realized when they are integrated with other kindsof archaeological data.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I offer sincere thanks to the Okinawan scholars on whose work this paper isbased and to Mr. Asato Shijun and his colleagues of the Historiographical Instituteof the Okinawan Provincial Archives, who worked so hard to enable me to receive

P1: VENDOR/GDX



recent archaeological reports. I also thank the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearch Council of Canada and the Humanities and Social Sciences ResearchGrants Committee of the University of British Columbia for supporting my re-search. Thanks are offered to Mark Blackham, Thegn Ladefoged, and Warren Hillfor assistance with secondary states, site distribution, and computer applications.

REFERENCES CITED

Asato, S. (1985). Okinawa gusuku jidai no bunka to dobutsu (The culture and animals of the Gusukuperiod in Okinawa and animals).Kikan Kokogaku11: 68–71.

Asato, S. (1990).Kokogaku Kara Mita Ryukyu Shi, Jo (Ryukyu History as Seen From Archaeology,Vol. 1), Okinawa Bunko, Naha.

Asato, S. (1991). Chugoku todai kasen(Kaigen Tsuho)to Ryukyuen no keisei (Tang Chinese coins(Kaiyuan Tongbao)and the formation of the Ryukyu region).Okinawa Kyoiku Iinkai Bunka KaKiyo 7: 1–10.

Asato, S. (1996a). Kokogaku kara mita gendai Ryukyujin no keisei (The formation of modernOkinawans as seen from archaeology).Chigaku Zasshi105(3): 364–371.

Asato, S. (1996b). Ogata gusuku shutsugen zenya: ishinabe ryutsuki no Ryukyu Retto (The eve of theappearance of large scale castles (gusuku): The Ryukyu archipelago at the time of exchange ofstone cauldrons). In Takara, K., Tomiyama, K., and Maehira, F. (eds.),Atarashii Ryukyu Shizo:Aragusuku Seisho Sensei Tsuito Ronshu (A New Image of Ryukyu History: Essays in Honor ofProfessor Seisho Aragusuku), Yojusha, Ginowan, pp. 7–26.

Asato, S. (1997). Shurijo izen no ogusuku, Urasoe gusuku no chosa (Investigation of Urasoe Castle,the royal castle before Shuri).Nihon Rekishi585: 116–113.

Asato, S. (1998). Toshi, jokan no saishin joho: Okinawa ( Recent news on studies of cities and castles:Okinawa).Chusei Toshi Kenkyu5: 306–315.

Blanton, R., and Feinman, G. (1984). The Mesoamerican world system.American Antiquity86: 673–682.

Blanton, R., Feinman G., Kowalewski, S., and Peregrine, P. (1996). A dual processual theory for theevolution of Mesoamerican civilization.Current Anthropology37(1): 1–14.

Brumfiel, E. (1992). Distinguished lecture in archaeology. Breaking and entering the ecosystem: Gen-der, class, and faction steal the show.American Anthropologist94: 551–567.

Brumfiel, E., and Earle, T. (eds.) (1987).Specialization, Exchange, and Complex Societies, CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge.

Chatan Cho Kyoiku Iinkai (1997).Kushikanikubaru Iseki (The Kushikanikubaru Site), Chatan ChoKyoiku Iinkai, Chatan.

Collcutt, M. (1981).Five Mountains: The Rinzai Zen Monastic Institution in Medieval Japan, HarvardUniversity Press, Cambridge.

Crumley, C. (1979). Three locational models: An epistemological assessment for anthropology andarchaeology.Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory2: 141–173.

Dodo, Y., Doi, N., and Kondo, O. (1998). Ainu and Ryukyuan cranial non-metric variation: Evidencewhich disputes the Ainu-Ryukyuan common origin theory.Anthropological Science106(2): 99–120.

Doi, N., Hirata, Y., Dodo, Y., Takamiya, H., and Mine, K. (1997). Okinawa chiho no okeru hitokotsukaku eishitsu no chiikiteki, jidaiteki, han’i ni tsuite (Spatial and temporal morphological vari-ability in human skeletons in the Okinawa region). Heisei 6–8 nendo kagakuhi hojokin kenkyuseika hokokusho (Research report to the research assistance fund, 1995–1996), University of theRyukyus, Naha.

Drennan, R., Fitzgibbons, P., and Dehn, H. (1990). Imports and exports in Classic Mesoamericanpolitical economy: The Tehuacan Valley and Teotihuacan obsidian industry.Research in EconomicAnthropology12: 177–199.

Drennan, R., and Quattrin, D. (1995). Social inequality and agricultural resources in the Valle de alPlata, Colombia. In Price, D., and Feinman, G. (eds.),Foundations of Social Inequality, PlenumPress, New York, pp. 207–233.

P1: VENDOR/GDX


280 Pearson

Earle, T. (1994). Wealth finance in the Inka Empire: Evidence from the Calachaqui Valley.AmericanAntiquity59: 443–470.

Earle, T. (1997).How Chiefs Come to Power: The Political Economy in Prehistory, Stanford UniversityPress, Stanford.

Education Commission of Okinawa Prefecture (1975).Cultural Assets of Okinawa, EducationCommission of Okinawa Prefecture, Naha.

Feinman, G. (1995). The emergence of inequality: A focus on strategies and processes. In Price, D.,and Feinman, G. (eds.),Foundations of Social Inequality, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 255–279.

Flannery, K. (1972). The cultural evolution of civilizations.Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics3: 399–426.

Fox, J. (1988). Hierarchization in Maya states. In Gledhill, J., Bender, B., and Larsen M. (eds.)Stateand Society, Unwin Hyman, London, pp. 103–112.

Fujimoto, T. (1988).Mo Futatsu no Nihon Bunka (Two More Japanese Cultures), University of TokyoPress, Tokyo.

Gates, H. (1996).China’s Motor: A Thousand Years of Petty Capitalism, Cornell University Press,Ithaca and London.

Glacken, C. (1960).The Great Loochoo: A Study of Okinawan Village Life, Tuttle and Company,Rutland, VT, and Tokyo.

Haneji, C. (1983).Chuzan Seikan (Mirror of the Ages of Chuzan), Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, Naha(Newly Edited Version by Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Cho Bunka ka, Original Published in 1765).

Hanihara, K. (1991). Dual structure model for the population history of the Japanese.Japan Review2:1–33.

Helms, M. (1991). Esoteric knowledge, geographical distance, and the elaboration of leadership sta-tus: Dynamics of resource control. In Rambo, T., and Gillogly, K. (eds.),Profiles in CulturalAnthropology, Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, pp. 333–350.

Higa, S. (1970).Okinawa no Rekishi (History of Okinawa), San’ichi Shobo, Tokyo. Tokyo.Hirth, W. (1996). Political economy and archaeology: Perspectives on exchange and production.

Journal of Archaeological Research4(3): 203–239.Hudson, M. (1999a).Ruins of Identity: Ethnogenesis in the Japanese Islands, University of Hawaii

Press, Honolulu.Hudson, M. (1999b). Gengo kara mita Nihon retto no senshi jidai (Japanese prehistoric period seen from

linguistics). In Yasuda, Y. (ed.),Hajimete de’au Nihon Kokogaku (Meeting Japanese Archaeologyfor the First Time), Yuhikaku Arma, Tokyo, pp. 191–211.

Kagoshima Ken Uken Son (1998).Kurakisaki Kaitei Iseki Hakkutsu Chosa Gaiho (Preliminary Reportof the Excavations of the Kurakisaki Undersea Site), Uken Son Kyoiku Iinkai, Uken.

Kamei, M. (1984). Katsuren joseki shutsudo no tojiki sosei (The composition of the ceramics from theKatsuren Castle Site).Boeki Toji Kenkyu4: 85–92.

Kamei, M. (1993). Nansei Shoto ni okeru boeki tojiki no ryutsu keiro (The changing circumstances ofthe flow of trade ceramics in the Southwest Islands).Jochi Ajiagaku11: 11–45.

Kamei, M. (1997). Ryukyu toki boeki no kozoteki rikai (Comprehending the structure of the Ryukyuceramic trade).Senshu Jimbun Rombunshu60: 41–66.

Kaneko, E., and Melichar, H. (1972).Pura Mutuzuma: Archaeological Work on Miyako Island,Ryukyus, Social Science Research Institute, University of Hawaii, Honolulu.

Katsuren Cho Kyoiku Iinkai (1984).Katsuren Joseki. Minami Kaizuka Oyobi Ninomaru Chiten noHakkutsu Chosa (Excavation of the South Midden and No. 2 Enclosure, Katsuren Castle Site),Katsuren Cho Kyoiku Iinkai, Naha.

Katsuren Cho, Kyoiku Iinkai (1988).Kuni Hitei Shiseki Katsuren Joseki: Kankyo Seibi Jigyo Hokokusho(Report on the Consolidation of the Environment of the National Historic Site Katsuren Castle),Vols. I and II, Katsuren Cho Kyoiku Iinkai, Okinawa.

Kerr, G. (1958).Okinawa: History of an Island People, Tuttle Publishers, Rutland, VT.Kim, C. (1965).The Emergence of Multi-centered Despotism in the Silla Kingdom: A Study of the

Origin of Factional Struggles in Korea, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle.Kin, S., Tana, M., Chinen, I., and Toma, S. (1988).Okinawa no Gusuku Monogatari (The Story of the

Castles of Okinawa), Mugisha, Naha.Kinjo, K. (1998). Shuri joseki (Kyonouchi) seki shutsudo no chugoku toji (Chinese ceramics from the

Kyonouchi site of Shuri Castle).Tosetsu544: 33–42.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Kinjo, K. (1999). Toshi, jokan no saishin joho: Okinawa (Recent news on studies of cities and castles:Okinawa).Chusei Toshi Kenkyu6: 258–275.

Kobata, A., and Matsuda, M. (1969).Ryukyuan Relations With Korea and South Sea Countries: AnAnnotated Translation of Documents in the Rekidai Hoan, Kobata Atsushi, Kyoto.

Ladefoged, T., and Pearson, R. (2000). Distribution of fortified sites (Gusuku) on Okinawa Island, A.D.1200 to 1600.Antiquity74: 404–412.

Lebra, W. (1966).Okinawan Religion, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.Mishima, I. (1987). Dazaifu to nanto (Dazaifu and the Southern Islands). In Okazaki Tadashi Sensei

Taikan Ronshu Henshu Iinkai (ed.),Higashi Ajia no Kokogaku to Rekishi—Ge (The Archaeologyand History of East Asia), Domeisha Shuppan, Kyoto, pp. 329–367.

Miyagi, E., and Takamiya, H., (1983).Okinawa Rekishi Chizu (Historical Atlas of Okinawa), KashiwaShobo, Tokyo.

Murai, S. (1994). Jugo-junana seiki no nichiryu kankei to gosanso (Relations between Japan and Ryukyuin the 15th to 17th centuries and priests from the five great temples of Kyoto). In Kanaseki, H., andTakamiya, H. (eds.),Okinawa no Rekishi to Bunka: Kaijo no Michi Tankyu (Culture and Historyof Okinawa: Research on the Sea Routes), Yoshikawa Kobunkan, Tokyo, pp. 189–203.

Okinawa Ken Haebaru Cho Kyoiku Iinkai (1996).Kunindo Iseki: Dai Ichi, Ni, Sanji Han’i KakuninChosa Hokokusho (The Kunindo Site: Site Report of Excavations to Determine the Extent of theSite, Nos. 1, 2, 3), Okinawa Ken Haebaru Cho Kyoiku Iinkai, Haebaru Cho.

Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai (1983a).Gusuku; Gusuku Bunpu Chosa Hokoku (7): Okinawa Honto OyobiShuhen Rito (Castle Sites; Report on Distribution (1): Okinawa Main Island and SurroundingOffshore Islands), Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, Naha.

Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai (1983b).Inafuku Iseki Hakkutsu Chosa Hokokusho (Iiutaki Chiku) (Reportof the Excavation of the Inafuku Site, Iiutaki Area), Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, Naha.

Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai (1983c).Nakijin Joseki Hakkutsu Chosa Hokoku 1 (Report of the Exca-vation of the Nakijin Castle Site, Vol. 1), Nakijin Son Kyoiku Iinkai, Naha.

Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai (1990).Ahagon Furushima Iseki (The Ahagon Old Village Site), OkinawaKen Kyoiku Iinkai, Naha.

Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai (1996).Heshikiya Tobaru Iseki. Howaitobichi Chikunai Kurasho KensetsuKoji ni Tomonau Kinkyu Hakkutsu Chosa Hokoku (The Heshikiya Tobaru Site: Report of Emer-gency Excavations for the Building of a Warehouse in the White Beach Area), Okinawa KenKyoiku Iinkai, Naha.

Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai (1998).Shuri Joseki, Kyonouchi Ato Hakkutsu Chosa Hokokusho (1) (TheShuri Castle Site: Report of the Excavations of the Site of the Kyonouchi(1)), Okinawa KenKyoiku Iinkai, Naha.

Okinawa Ken Tamagusuku Son Kyoiku Iinkai (1991).Itokazu Joseki, Hakkutsu Chosa HokokuI (Itokazu Castle Site, Excavation No. 1), Okinawa Ken Tamagusuku Son Kyoiku Iinkai,Okinawa.

Okinawa Ken Urasoe Shi Kyoiku Iinkai (1985).Urasoe Joseki Hakkutsu Chosa Hokokusho (Report ofExcavations of the Urasoe Castle Site), Okinawa Ken Urasoe Kyoiku Iinkai, Urasoe.

Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan (1997).Kokogaku Shiryo Yori Mita Okinawa no Tekki Bunka (The IronCulture of Okinawa as Seen From Archaeological Materials), Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan,Naha.

Okinawa Kenritsu Toshokan Shiryo Henshushitsu (1992).Rekidai Hoan (Valuable Records of Succes-sive Generations), Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai, Naha.

Okinawa Shi Kyoiku Iinkai (1988).Goeku Gusuku (Goeku Castle), Okinawa Shi Kyoiku Iinkai,Okinawa Shi.

Oshiro, K. (1997). Okinawa no tetsu to sono tokushitsu (The special characteristics of Okinawan iron).In Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan (ed.),Kokogaku Yori Mita Okinawa no Tekki Bunka (TheIron Culture of Okinawa as Seen From Archaeology), Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan, Naha,pp. 12–17.

Pearson, R. (1989). Taiwan and its place in East Asian prehistory. In Chang, K., Li, K., Wolf, A.,and Yin, A. (eds.),Anthropological Studies of the Taiwan Area: Accomplishments and Prospects,National Taiwan University, Taipei, pp. 111–141.

Pearson, R. (1990). Chiefly exchange between Kyushu and Okinawa, Japan, in the Yayoi period.Antiquity64: 912–922.

P1: VENDOR/GDX


282 Pearson

Pearson, R. (1992). Trade and the rise of the Okinawan state.Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific PrehistoryAssociation10: 263–281.

Pearson, R. (1996). The place of Okinawa in Japanese historical identity. In Denoon, M., Hudson, M.,McCormack, G. and Morris-Suzuki, T. (eds.),Multicultural Japan: Palaeolithic to Post Modern,Cambridge University Press, Sydney, pp. 95–116.

Pearson, R. (1997). The Chuzan Kingdom, Okinawa, as a city-state. In Charlton, T., and Nichols,D. (eds.),The Archaeology of City-States: Cross-Cultural Approaches, Smithsonian InstitutionPress, Washington, D.C., pp. 119–134.

Pearson, R. (1999). Regional settlement in Okinawa: The Yokatsu Peninsula and its offliers.Journalof East Asian Archaeology1: 277–323.

Pearson, R. (in press). Prestige and ritual in the ceramics of the Gusuku period in Okinawa A.D. 1100to A.D. 1609. In Ho, C., and Bronson, B. (eds.),Asian Ceramics, Functions and Forms, The FieldMuseum, Chicago.

Pearson, R., Lee, J., Koh, J, and Underhill, A. (1989). Social ranking in the kingdom of Old Silla,Korea: Analysis of burials.Journal of Anthropological Archaeology8: 1–50.

Pearson, R., Li, M., and Li, G. (2000). Port, city, and hinterlands: Archaeological perspectives onQuanzhou and its overseas trade. In Schottenhammer, A. (ed.),Quanzhou and Its Overseas Tradein the Song and Yuan Dynasties, E. J. Brill, Leiden.

Piggott, J. (1999). Chieftain pairs and corulers: Female sovereignty in early Japan. In Tonomura, H.,Whitehall, A., and Wakita, H. (eds.),Women and Class in Japanese History, Center for JapaneseStudies, Ann Arbor, pp. 7–52.

Price, B. (1978). Secondary state formation: An explanatory model. In Cohen, R., and Service E. (eds.),Origins of the State: The Anthropology of Political Evolution, Institute for the Study of HumanIssues, Philadelphia, pp. 161–186.

Rokkum, A. (1998).Goddesses, Priestesses, and Sisters: Mind, Gender, and Power in the MonarchicTradition of the Ryukyus, Scandinavian University Press, Stockholm.

Saitta, D. (1994). Agency, class, and archaeological interpretation.Journal of Anthropological Archae-ology13: 201–227.

Sasaki, K. (1991).Nihonshi Tanjo (The Birthday of Japanese History), Shueisha, Tokyo.Shima, H. (1997). Toshi, jokan no saishin joho; Okinawa (Recent news of cities and castles; Okinawa).

Chusei Toshi Kenkyu4: 313–321.Shimatani, K. (1994). Sakai shutsudo no senigata to chusei koki no mochusen seisan (Molds from Sakai

and the medieval production of imitation coins). In Nagai, K. (ed.),Chusei no Shutsudosen noChosa to Bunrui (The Study and Typology of Medieval Excavated Coins), Hyogo Ken MaizosenChosakai, Amagasaki, pp. 224–242.

Silverblatt, I. (1988). Women in States.Annual Reviews in Anthropology17: 427–460.Small, D. (1995). Heterarchical paths to evolution: The role of external economies. In

Ehrenreich, R., Crumley, C., and Levy, J. (eds.),Heterarchy and the Analysis of Complex Soci-eties, Washington, DC, pp. 71–85. Archeological Papers No. 6, American AnthropologicalAssociation.

Smits, G. (1999).Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early Modern Thought and Politics,University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.

Takamiya, H. (1995). Kaigen Tsuho kara mita senshi shumakki no Okinawa (Okinawa at the very endof the prehistoric period as seen fromKaigen Tsuhocoins). In Ogawa Kiyoshi Hakase Koki KinenRombun Shu Henshukai (eds.),Ocho no Kokogaku (The Archaeology of Kingdoms), Yuzankaku,Tokyo, pp. 267–286.

Takamiya, H. (1997). Kaigen Tsuho to aji no shutsugen [yosatsu](Kaigen Tsuhoand the emergenceof local chiefs [A working hypothesis]).Nanto Bunka19: 1–21.

Takamiya, H. (2000). Kinzoku kahei riyo kaishiki no minzoku rei (Ethnographic examples of the initialperiod of use of metal currency).Shutsudo Senka13: 1.

Takamiya, H. (1988).Neutron activation analysis of pottery sherds from the Murokawa shell midden,Okinawa, Japan, MA Thesis, Archaeology Program, University of California, Los Angeles.

Takamiya, H. (1997).Subsistence Adaptation Processes in the Prehistory of Okinawa, Ph.D. Disser-tation, University of California, Los Angeles.

Takamiya, H. (1999). Hito no kodo kara mita Okinawa no senshi jidai (Okinawan prehistory as seenfrom human strategies). In Yasuda, Y. (ed.),Hajimete de’au Nihon Kokogaku (Meeting JapaneseArchaeology for the First Time), Yuhikaku Arma, Tokyo, pp. 239–268.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Takamiya, H. (2000). Nagarabaru higashi kaizuka shutsudo no shokubutsu itai [1999 nendo] (Theplant remains from the Nagarabaru East Shellmound [1999 season]). In Tani, N. (ed.),NagarabaruHigashi Kaizuka 2, Kumamoto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokogaku Kenkyushitsu, Kumamoto, pp. 55–62.

Takamiya, H. Chisholm, B., Goya, Y., Matsushita T. (1999). Azamabaru kaizukajin wa nani o tabetaka? Chisso antei doritsu taibunseki ni yoru shokusei no fukugen (What did the Azamabarushellmound people eat? Reconstruction of diet based on stable isotope analysis).Nanto Bunka18: 1–14.

Takamiya, H. Pavlich, L., and Hancock, R. (1992). Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA)of Okinawan pottery: Can it be used to identify prehistoric contact?Bulletin of the Indo-PacificPrehistory Association10: 292–306.

Takara, K. (1987a).Ryukyu Okoku no Kozo (The Structure of the Ryukyu Kingdom), YoshikawaKobunkan, Tokyo.

Takara, K. (1987b). Ryukyu: Okinawa no rekishi to Nihon shakai (Ryukyu: History of Okinawa andJapanese society). In Amino, Y. (ed.),Retto Naigai no Kotsu to Kokka (Communications Insideand Outside of the Japanese Archipelago and the State), Nihon no Shakai Shi (History of JapaneseSociety), Vol. 1, lwanami, Tokyo, pp. 354–384.

Takemoto, S., and Asato, S. (1993).Okinawa: Nihon Kodai Iseki (Okinawa: Ancient Sites of JapanSeries), Vol. 47, Hoikusha, Osaka.

Tamura, K. (1969).Ryukyu Kyosan Buraku no Kenkyu (Study of the Communal Villages of Ryukyu),(2nd edn.), Okinawa Fudoki Sha, Naha.

Toma, S. (1994). Toshi, jokan no saishin joho: Okinawa. (Recent news on studies of cities and castles:Okinawa).Chusei Toshi Kenkyu1: 307–320.

Toma, S. (1995). Toshi, jokan no saishin joho: Okinawa (Recent news on studies of cities and castles:Okinawa).Chusei Toshi Kenkyu2: 336–346.

Toma, S. (1996). Toshi, jokan no saishin joho: Okinawa (Recent news on studies of cities and castles:Okinawa).Chusei Toshi Kenkyu3: 303–310.

Toma, S. (1997). Okinawa no tekki (Iron artifacts of Okinawa). In Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan(ed.),Kokogaku Yori Mita Okinawa no Tekki Bunka (The Iron Culture of Okinawa as Seen fromArchaeology), Okinawa Kenritsu Hakubutsukan, Naha, pp. 18–32.

Uehara, S. (1997). Urasoe Youdure Ryo gai ni okeru kisengansei sekkan no futa ni tsuite (Concerningthe lid of the andesite coffin found outside the Urasoe Youdure Mausoleum).Okinawa Ken KyoikuIinkai Bunka Ka Kiyo, 13: 7–18.

Uehara, S. (1999). Okinawa shoto shutsudo no kogawara to zoga gijutsu no dempa (Old roof tiles inthe Okinawa Islands and their methods of manufacture and diffusion). In Ajia Shigakkai (ed.),Ajia no Naka no Okinawa, Ajia Shigakkai, Shuri, pp. 42–47.

Urasoe Shi Kyoiku (1996).Shiseki Urasoe Joseki Seibi Kihon Keikaku Shu (Collection of BasicPlans for the Organization of the Historic Site of Urasoe Castle), Urasoe Shi Kyoiku Inkai,Urasoe.

Urasoe Shi Shishi Henshu Iinkai (1986). Urasoe no Kogawara (Ancient roof tiles of Urasoe) (Chapter5). In Urasoe Shi Kyoiku Iinkai (ed.),Urasoe Shishi, Daini Hen Koko (History of Urasoe City,part 2: Archaeology), Urasoe Shi Kyoiku Iinkai, Urasoe, pp. 173–206.

Yi, K. (1984). Silla’s kolp’um system and Japan’s kabane system.Korean Social Science JournalXI :7–24.

Yiengpruksawan, M. (1998).Hiraizumi: Buddhist Art and Regional Politics in Twelfth Century Japan,Harvard University Asia Center, Cambridge.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RECENT LITERATURE

Brumfiel, E., and Fox, J. (eds.) (1994).Factional Competition and Political Development in the NewWorld, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA.

Champion, T. (ed.) (1989).Centre and Periphery: Comparative Studies in Archaeology, Unwin Hyman,London.

Chan, C. (1967). The smuggling trade between China and Southeast Asia during the Ming dynasty.In Drake, F. (ed.),Symposium on Historical, Archaeological, and Linguistic Studies on Southern

P1: VENDOR/GDX


284 Pearson

China, Southeast Asia, and the Hong Kong Region, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, pp.223–227.

Ch’en, T. (1968). Investiture of Liu-ch’iu kings in the Ch’ing period. In Fairbank, J. (ed.),The Chi-nese World Order: Traditional China’s Foreign Relations, Harvard University Press, Cambridge,pp. 135–164.

Curtin, P. (1984).Cross-Cultural Trade in World History, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Earle, T. (1990). The evolution of chiefdoms. In Earle, T. (ed.),Chiefdoms, Power, Economy, and

Ideology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 1–15.Gent, H., and Dean, C. (1986). Catchment analysis and settlement hierarchy: A case study from

Pre-Roman Britain. In Grant, E. (ed.),Central Places: Archaeology and History, University ofSheffield, Sheffield, pp. 27–36.

Grant, E. (1986). Hill-forts, central places and territories. In Grant, E. (ed.),Central Places: Archaeo-logy and History, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, pp. 13–26.

Guy, J. (1986).Oriental Trade Ceramics in South-East Asia: Ninth to Sixteenth Centuries, OxfordUniversity Press, Singapore.

Helms, M. (1979).Ancient Panama. Chiefs in Search of Power, University of Texas Press, Austin.Kamei, M. (1986).Nihon Boeki Toji Shi no Kenkyu (The Study of the History of Trade Ceramics in

Japan), Dohosha, Kyoto.Kamei, M. (1995). Niso no Boeki Kankei no Tenkai (The evolution of trade relations between Japan

and Song China). In lwanami Koza Nihon Tsushi Henshukai (ed.),Nihon Tsushi: Kodai, Vol. 6,lwanami, Tokyo, pp. 109–140.

Kinjo, S. (1971). Mindai sho, chuki ni okeru kaigai boeki ni tsuite (Concerning Early and Middle Mingoverseas trade).Ryukyu Daigaku Bungakubu Hogakubu Kiyo, Rekishi Chirigaku, Shakaigaku15:111–128.

Knapp, A. (1990). Ethnicity, entrepreneurship, and exchange: Mediterranean inter-island relations inthe Late Bronze Age.Annual of the British School at Athens85: 115–153.

Kosse, K. (1994). The evolution of large, complex groups: A hypothesis.Journal of AnthropologicalArchaeology13: 35–50.

Ladefoged, T. (1995). The evolutionary ecology of Rotuman political integration.Journal of Anthro-pological Archaeology14: 341–358.

Lianheguo jiaoke wenzuzhi haishang sichou zhilu zonghe kaocha Quanzhou guoji xueshu taolunhuizhilu weiyuanhui (Quanzhou, International Seminar on China and the Maritime Routes of the SilkRoads Organization Committee) (1991).Zhongguo yu haishang sichou zhilu: Lianheguo jiaokewenzuzhi haishang sichou zilu zonghe kaocha Quanzhou guoji xueshu taolunhui wenji (China andthe Maritime Silk Route: UNESCO Quanzhou International Seminar on China and the MaritimeRoutes of the Silk Roads), Fujian People’s Publishing House, Quanzhou.

Okamoto, H. (1999). Mincho ni okeru chokokoku Ryukyu no ichizuke to sono henka (The position ofRyukyu as a tributary state of Ming and its changes).Toyoshi KenkyuL VII (4): 1–35.

Patterson, T. (1990). Processes in the formation of ancient world-systems.Dialectical Anthropology15: 1–18.

Pearson, R. (1969).The Archaeology of the Ryukyu Islands, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.Pearson, R. (1994). Development of social complexity in Okinawa: Contending lineages, site occu-

pation histories, and site area, Paper presented at the Indo Pacific Prehistory Association, 15thCongress, Chiangmai, Thailand.

Pearson, R. Li, M., and Li, G. (in press). Quanzhou: Archaeology and political economy of an ancientworld port city.Journal of Economic and Social History of the Orient.

Publ, H. (1990). Interaction spheres, merchants, and trade in prehispanic Mexico.Research in EconomicAnthropology12: 201–242.

Rawson, J. (ed.) (1992).The British Museum Book of Chinese Art, British Museum Press, London.Renfrew, C. (1972).The Emergence of Civilization: The Cyclades and the Aegean in the Third Millen-

nium B.C., Methuen, London.Renfrew, C. (1975). Trade as action at a distance. In Sabloff, G., and Lamberg-Karlovsky, C. (eds.),

Ancient Civilization and Trade, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, pp. 3–60.Rosenberg, M. (1994). Patterns, process, and hierarchy in the evolution of culture.Journal of Anthro-

pological Archaeology13: 307–340.Ryukyu Archaeological Research Team (1981).Subsistence and Settlement in Okinawan Prehistory:

Kume and Iriomote, Laboratory of Archaeology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

P1: VENDOR/GDX



Sakai, R. (1968). The Ryukyu (Liu Ch’iu) Islands as a fief of Satsuma. In Fairbank, J. (ed.),The Chi-nese World Order: Traditional China’s Foreign Relations, Harvard University Press, Cambridge,pp. 112–134.

Sakamaki, S. (1964). Ryukyu and Southeast Asia.Journal of Asian StudiesXXIII (3): 383–389.Sanders, W., and Nichols, D. (1988). Ecological theory and cultural evolution in the Valley of

Oaxaca.Current Anthropology29: 33–80.Santley, R., and Alexander, R. (1992). The political economy of core-periphery systems. In Urban,

E., and Schortman, P. (eds.),Resources, Power, and Interregional Interaction, Plenum Press,New York, pp. 23–50.

Schortman, E., and Urban P. (1992).Resources, Power, and Interregional Interaction, Plenum Press,New York.

Shiba, Y. (1983). Sung foreign trade: Its scope and organization. In Rossabi, M. (ed.),China AmongEquals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th–14th Centuries, University of CaliforniaPress, Berkeley, pp. 89–115.

Spriggs, M. (1988). The Hawaiian transformation of ancestral Polynesian society: Conceptualizingchiefly states. In Gledhill, J., Bender, B., and Larsen, M. (eds.),State and Society: The Emer-gence and Development of Social Hierarchy and Political Centralization, Unwin Hyman, London,pp. 57–73.

Stark, B. (1990). The gulf coasts and the central highlands of Mexico: Alternative models for interaction.Research in Economic Anthropology12: 243–285.

Vainker, S. (1991).Chinese Pottery and Porcelain from Prehistory to the Present, George Braziller,New York.

Wang, G. (1990). Merchants without empire: The Hokkien sojourning community. In Tracy, J. (ed.),The Rise of Merchant Empires: Long Distance Trade in the Early Modern World 1350–1750,Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 400–421.

Wenke, R. (1981). Exploring the origins of cultural complexity: A review.Advances in ArchaeologicalMethod and Theory4: 79–127.

Archaeological Perspectives on the Rise of the Okinawan State

Documents

Transcript of Archaeological Perspectives on the Rise of the Okinawan State