Visions of Ryukyu

Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics

Bibliographic Data

ID19190398
AuthorsGregory Smits (0000-0002-0436-9273, corresponding author)
Year2017
Pages224
Publication date2017-12-18
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueVisions of Ryukyu (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherUniversity of Hawaii Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1515/9780824865498
OpenAlexW1984453723
Open LibraryOL29357298M
ISBN9780824865498
LanguageEN
Citations received13

Between 1609 and 1879, the geographical, political, and ideological status of the Kingdom of Ryukyu (modern Okinawa) was characterized by its ambiguity. It was subordinate to its larger neighbors, China and Japan, yet an integral part of neither. In this innovative and provocative study, Gregory Smits explores early-modern perceptions of Ryukyu and their effect on its political culture and institutions. He describes the major historical circumstances that informed early-modern discourses of Ryukyuan identity and examines the strategies used by leading intellectual and political figures to fashion, promote, and implement their visions of Ryukyu. Visions of Ryukyu advances a new interpretation of Ryukyuan history. Rather than regarding early-modern Ryukyu as an appendage of China or Japan, it places the kingdom at the center, highlighting Ryukyuan subjectivity and agency and giving historical depth to modern and contemporary debates on Okinawan identity

Geography · Sociology · Vision · Anthropology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Chinese history and philosophy · Japanese History and Culture · History · Japan · politics and government · Ryukyu Islands

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