A hill above the sea on the south-west plateau of Okinawa where, by the later tradition, the first king of Chūzan lived.
In 1200 the evidence is a plateau with a chiefly settlement and the royal burial cave (Urasoe yōdore) cut in the cliff; the first low stone walls and post-holes of the castle date to the late 13th or early 14th century, and Korean roof tiles come in the next century (English Wikipedia, Urasoe Castle). Whoever ruled Urasoe on 1 January 1200 is not known. The tale that the Minamoto hero Tametomo fathered the king was carried into Japan by Ryukyuan envoys in the 1520s; it is not a record of 1187.
Who he is
- Name
- not known; Shunten is the Chūzan seikan's name (1650) and is almost certainly fictional (English Wikipedia)
- Title
- Local chief (aji in later usage)
- Since
- The tradition gives 1187 to 1237; we give no king as fact
- Family
- The tradition makes Shunten a son of Minamoto no Tametomo (1139-1170) and a daughter of the Ōzato chief, aji of Urasoe at fifteen
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia (Shunten; Urasoe Castle). The Chūzan seikan is of 1650; the Omoro sōshi (early 1500s) never names Shunten.
What it holds
- The Urasoe plateau and the harbour below it
- The cliff-burial caves (yōdore)
How things stand that morning
A chiefly settlement; no stone castle; no king.
Wealth
Farmland of the plateau, fishing, trade ceramics reaching the coast.
Places of note
- Urasoe yōdore: Cliff burial cave of the later Chūzan kings
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology as reported by English Wikipedia; the tradition is late.
On the map: A point of high ground, not a drawn state.
Primary sources for Ryukyu
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of the Song, the chapters on Xia and on foreign states, Toqto'a (脫脫) and the Yuan history office (1343 to 1345). The Song court's accounts of its neighbours, each arranged as an annal of embassies and wars. Read online
- Description of the Foreign Peoples (Chau Ju-kua), Zhao Rukuo (趙汝适) (about 1225, while superintendent of maritime trade at Quanzhou). The Song customs officer's survey of the overseas world, compiled from merchants and from Zhou Qufei, a generation after 1200 but describing trade routes that were the same in 1200. Read online
Sources and studies
- OMNIA kja regional brief (KJA_BRIEF.md), the campaign's dated traps and realm table
- Shunten, English Wikipedia
- Urasoe Castle, English Wikipedia
- Gregory Smits, Visions of Ryukyu (background reading, not re-read in this session)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.