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Over the course of Japan's Edo period, the Ryūkyū Kingdom sent eighteen〔Nineteen, if the 1609–11 journey of King Shō Nei and his advisors to Sunpu as prisoners of war following the 1609 invasion of Ryukyu is counted.〕 , the capital of Tokugawa Japan. The unique pattern of these diplomatic exchanges evolved from models established by the Chinese, but without denoting any predetermined relationship to China or to the Chinese world order.〔Toby, Ronald P. (1991). 〕 The Kingdom became a vassal to the Japanese feudal domain (''han'') of Satsuma following Satsuma's 1609 invasion of Ryūkyū, and as such were expected to pay tribute to the shogunate; the missions also served as a great source of prestige for Satsuma, the only ''han'' to claim any foreign polity, let alone a kingdom, as its vassal.〔.〕 ==Evolving relationships== Royal princes or top-ranking officials in the royal government served as chief envoys, and were accompanied by merchants, craftsmen, scholars, and other government officials as they journeyed first by sea to the ''Ryūkyū-kan'' (琉球館) in Kagoshima, an institution which served a role similar to a consulate for the Ryūkyū Kingdom, and then on by land to Edo.〔Kerr, George H. (2000). 〕 Missions traveled as a part of Satsuma's regular missions to Edo under the ''sankin kōtai'' system, the Ryūkyūan envoys and their entourage considerably outnumbered by the Japanese envoys and entourage from Satsuma, and were housed in the Shimazu clan residences during their time in Edo.〔Toby, 〕 Even so, they were still regarded as diplomatic missions from a foreign country. This was reflected in the envoys' reception in Edo, in the associated rituals and meetings.〔Toby, 〕 Ryūkyū was, however, regarded as being quite low in the hierarchy of foreign countries in the shogunate's world view. While the Ryūkyūan embassies paralleled in many ways those sent by Joseon Dynasty Korea in the same period, various aspects of the Ryūkyūan envoys' reception reflected their lower status in the shogunate's view. Since envoys from both Korea and Ryūkyū were not equals with the shogun, intermediaries represented the shogunate in meetings with the envoys; while Korean envoys met with members of various high-ranking families (the ''kōke''), envoys from Ryūkyū were met by a lower-ranking master of ceremonies, the ''sōshaban''〔Toby, 〕 The nature and composition of these Ryūkyūan missions to Edo evolved over the course of time. The earliest Ryūkyūan mission was received in Kyoto in 1451 (''Hōtoku 3, 7th month '')〔Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). .〕 Mention of this diplomatic event is among the first of its type to be published in the West in an 1832 French version of by Hayashi Shihei.〔WorldCat, ( ''Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu'' ); alternate romaji ( ''Sankoku Tsūran Zusetsu'' ); Klaproth, Julius. (1832). 〕 The essential character of these diplomatic expeditions mirrored the Ryūkyūan embassies to the Qing court in Beijing. The best extant description of these embassies is found in ''Tsūkō ichiran'', compiled by Hayashi Akira in 1853.〔Smits, Gregory. (1999). 〕 Japanese modifications to the well-established concepts and patterns of foreign relations of Imperial China developed as conditions changed. Every mission was conducted either to congratulate a new shogun on his succession or in connection with the accession of a new king of Ryūkyū.〔Smits, 〕 In the latter case, approval and formal recognition of the new king would be formally requested of both the Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma and of the shogunate, but the request was essentially simply a matter of ritual, and none were ever denied. Extensive efforts were made to stress the foreignness of the costume, language, customs and art of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, emphasizing the glory and power of the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma Domain, the only daimyo (feudal lords) in Japan to enjoy the fealty of a foreign kingdom. The missions served a similar function for the shogunate at times, helping to create the image that the shogun's power and influence extended overseas.〔 The third Tokugawa shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, called for an embassy to be sent from Ryūkyū in 1634, as his predecessor Tokugawa Hidetada had done with a Korean embassy in 1617, in order to provide a show for the Imperial court and daimyō of the shogun's power.〔Toby, 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ryukyuan missions to Edo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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