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Noro (priestess)
(, sometimes or ) ( ryu, ヌール, nuuru) are priestesses of the Ryukyuan religion at Utaki. They have existed since at least the beginning of the Gusuku period (late 12th century) and continue to perform rituals even today. They are distinct from (psychics), but are classified as ("godly people"). History According to the and , the first were the daughters of Tentei-shi, who was a descendant of the creation goddess, Amamikyu. The first daughter became the first (), and the second daughter became the first village priestess (). The god of fire gave a piece of fire from Ryūgū-jō to each to create a village hearth, from which each family in the village would take fire to maintain their own family hearths. The maintained the royal hearth. The were charged with conducting official rituals and ceremonies for their respective village. The was charged with conducting rituals and ceremonies on behalf of the entire kingdom, and traveled with the king to Sefa-utaki to worshi ...
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Noro
Noro may refer to: * Noro, Solomon Islands * , in the Cíes Islands, Spain * Noro (priestess), within the Magiri system of the Ryukyu Kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands * "Noro", a song on the 2009 album '' Daisy'' by Brand New People with the surname *, Japanese economic historian * Masamichi Noro, aikido master and founder of kinomichi * , Japanese metallurgist See also * Eisaku Noro Company, a Japanese manufacturer of color-transitioning yarn * Norovirus * Norro (other) Norro may refer to: In Sweden * Norrö, Österåkers Municipality, in Österåker Municipality People * Norro Wilson Norris Denton "Norro" Wilson (April 4, 1938 – June 8, 2017) was an American country music singer-songwriter, produce ... {{disambiguation, surname Japanese-language surnames ...
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Shō Shōken
, also known as , was a Ryukyuan scholar and served as ''sessei'', a post often translated as "prime minister," from 1666 to 1673. Shō wrote the first history of the Ryukyu Kingdom, , and enacted a number of practical political reforms aimed at improving Ryukyu's prosperity and dignity in the eyes of China and Japan. Background Shō Shōken was born as the first son of Haneji Ōji Chōtai (Prince Chōtai Haneji), the third head of Haneji Udun (Palace). Haneji Udun was one of the cadet branches of Royal House. Shō Shōken inherited the position of from Chōtai in 1640, and began compiling the Mirror of Chūzan in 1650, by the orders of the king Shō Shitsu. According to ''Haneji shioki'' (The Directives of Haneji), one of his chief collections of reforms, he was approached in 1666 by a royal messenger, who was sent to offer him the position of ''sessei'' (prime minister). Shō refused, demanding that it was inappropriate for such an important appointment to be conveyed by such a ...
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Ryukyuan Culture
Ryukyuan culture (琉球の文化, ''Ryūkyū no bunka'') are the cultural elements of the indigenous Ryukyuan people, an ethnic group native to Okinawa Prefecture and parts of Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan. The cultural elements of the Ryukyuans are far from a unified entity, with different islands having their own distinct subculture and practices. Furthermore, the inhabitants of the Tokara and Ōsumi Islands are of Yamato Japanese descent, akin to the inhabitants of mainland Japan. Music There are many styles of music exclusive to the Ryukyu Islands. The most popular one is arguably the genre of eisa from the Okinawa Islands. It typically incorporates dancing, taiko drums and the three-stringed sanshin (Okinawan shamisen). In the Amami Islands of Kagoshima, a musical style known as shima-uta has gained recent popularity in mainland Japan as a result of its usage by contemporary singers. Besides eisa and shima-uta, there are many more traditional styles of Ryu ...
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Religion In The Ryukyu Islands
Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements; however, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith,Tillich, P. (1957) ''Dynamics of faith''. Harper Perennial; (p. 1). a supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions have sa ...
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Magiri
The administrative divisions of the Ryukyu Kingdom were a hierarchy composed of districts, ''magiri'', cities, villages, and islands established by the Ryukyu Kingdom throughout the Ryukyu Islands. Divisions There were three or ''hō'': , , and , which roughly correspond to the borders of the three Okinawan kingdoms during the Sanzan period. There were 57 throughout the kingdom including the Amami Islands. In concept they were similar to present-day Japanese prefectures, but in size they were closer to Japanese cities, towns and villages. There were four cities: , , , and . They were comparable to Japanese urban prefectures. There were over 600 throughout the kingdom including the Amami Islands. There were approximately 24 or "outlying islands", but only including islands that weren't already part of a ''magiri''. History The three districts are based on the three kingdoms of Hokuzan, Chūzan, and Nanzan. The origin of the ''magiri'' system is unclear, but was solidified by ...
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Administrative Divisions Of The Ryukyu Kingdom
The administrative divisions of the Ryukyu Kingdom were a hierarchy composed of districts, ''magiri'', cities, villages, and islands established by the Ryukyu Kingdom throughout the Ryukyu Islands. Divisions There were three or ''hō'': , , and , which roughly correspond to the borders of the three Okinawan kingdoms during the Sanzan period. There were 57 throughout the kingdom including the Amami Islands. In concept they were similar to present-day Japanese prefectures, but in size they were closer to Japanese cities, towns and villages. There were four cities: , , , and . They were comparable to Japanese urban prefectures. There were over 600 throughout the kingdom including the Amami Islands. There were approximately 24 or "outlying islands", but only including islands that weren't already part of a ''magiri''. History The three districts are based on the three kingdoms of Hokuzan, Chūzan, and Nanzan. The origin of the ''magiri'' system is unclear, but was solidified by ...
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Kudaka Island
Kudaka Island (久高島, Japanese: くだかじま, Ryukyuan: ''Kudaka-shima'') is an island in Ryukyu Islands, located in Nanjō, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and 5.3 kilometers away from Cape Chinen, Nanjō. From Nanjō, Kudaka Island can be reached by high-speed boat in 15 minutes and by ferry in 20 minutes. It is only about three miles off the southeast coast of Okinawa. Kudaka Island is a slender island running from the northeast to the southwest, with an area of 1.38 square kilometers and a coastline of 7.8 kilometers. The terrain is flat and the highest point is 17.4 meters. The soil of Kudaka Island is terracotta, with poor water retention. In addition, coral reefs are constantly being formed along the coast, resulting in lagoons. According to the ''Chūzan Seikan'', the Emperor of Heaven ordered Amamikyu, the god of Ryukyu development, to descend on Cape Kapur on Kudaka Island and founded the Ryukyu Islands. Therefore, Kudaka Island is worshipped as a holy place by the R ...
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Kikoe-ōgimi
チフィジン
首里・那覇方言データベース was the highest ranking priestess of the Ryukyuan religion during the period of the . The position of was formally established during the reign of King () in order to centralize the religious order. Only a royal woman could be appointed to the position of . After Ryukyu's annexation by Japan in 1879, this position was formally abolished, but the last continued her role until her death in 1944.


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Magatama
are curved, comma-shaped beads that appeared in prehistoric Japan from the Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE. The beads, also described as "jewels", were made of primitive stone and earthen materials in the early period, but by the end of the Kofun period were made almost exclusively of jade. originally served as decorative jewelry, but by the end of the Kofun period functioned as ceremonial and religious objects. Archaeological evidence suggests that were produced in specific areas of Japan and were widely dispersed throughout the Japanese archipelago to the Southern Koreanic kingdoms via trade routes. Jōmon period first appeared in Japan in the Final Jōmon period (1000–300 BCE), and in this period were made from relatively simple, naturally occurring materials, including clay, talc, slate, quartz, gneiss, jadeite, nephrite, and serpentinite. from the Jōmon period were irregularly shaped, lacked continuity in f ...
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Utaki
Utaki (御嶽) is an Okinawan term for a sacred place, often a grove, cave, or mountain. They are central to the Ryukyuan religion and the former noro priestess system. Although the term ''utaki'' is used throughout the Ryukyu Islands, the terms ''suku'' and ''on'' are heard in the Miyako and Yaeyama regions respectively. Utaki are usually located on the outskirts of villages and are places for the veneration of gods and ancestors. Most gusuku have places of worship, and it is theorized that the origins of both ''gusuku'' and ''utaki'' are closely related. Important Utaki * Biinudaki (弁ヶ嶽), Naha * Misaki-on (美崎御嶽), Ishigaki * Miyatori-on (宮鳥御嶽), Nago * Pyarumizu-utaki (漲水御嶽), Miyako * Sefa-utaki (斎場御嶽), Nanjō * Sunuhyan-utaki ''Sunufan-utaki'' is a sacred grove of trees and plants (''utaki'') of the traditional indigenous Ryukyuan religion. It is located on the grounds of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa, a few paces away from t ...
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