was the highest government post of the
Ryūkyū Kingdom
The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English language, English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' wa ...
below the king; the ''sessei'' served the function of royal or national advisor. In the
Ryukyuan language
The , also Lewchewan or Luchuan (), are the indigenous languages of the Ryukyu Islands, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. Along with the Japanese language and the Hachijō language, they make up the Japonic language family.
A ...
at the time, the pronunciation was closer to ''shisshii'', and has only changed relatively recently. Though the same
Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
which compose the
modern Okinawan word ''sessei'' are read as ''
sesshō'' in
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
, the position is not quite the same, and the Ryukyuan post is not derived from the Japanese model or system.
The ''sessei'' worked alongside the king and the ''
Sanshikan
The ''Sanshikan'' (), or Council of Three, was a government body of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, which originally developed out of a council of regents.
It emerged in 1556, when the young Shō Gen, who was speech disorder, mute, ascended to the throne of ...
'' (Council of Three) to draft and enact laws, though the king gradually became more and more of a figurehead over the course of the period when Ryūkyū was a subsidiary of the Japanese
feudal domain
A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
of
Satsuma Satsuma may refer to:
* Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit
* ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails
Places Japan
* Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town
* Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture
* Satsuma Domain, a sou ...
(1609–1870s). Like most Ryukyuan government officials at the time, most ''sessei'' were appointed from the elite class of ''
yukatchu
''Yukatchu'' (), also known as ''Samuree'' (), were the aristocracy of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The scholar-bureaucrats of classical Chinese studies living in Kumemura held the majority of government positions.
Ryukyuan Caste System
The ''Yukatchu'' ...
'', scholars of Chinese subjects from the town of
Kumemura
was an Okinawan community of scholars, bureaucrats, and diplomats in the port city of Naha near the royal capital of Shuri, which was a center of culture and learning during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The people of Kumemura, traditionally ...
.
According to the , the classical Ryukyuan history text by ''sessei''
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 i ...
, the ''sessei'' have always been a part of the system of the Ryukyuan Kingdom and were originally appointed by
Eiso. The three men who held the position of ''sessei'' during the first Shō Dynasty of Ryukyuan kings were
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
, but beginning with the Second Shō Dynasty, ''sessei'' were native Ryukyuans. Royal officials, sometimes princes, would select the ''sessei'', and the appointment would come with an appropriate rank and title, often that of "prince", despite the ''sessei'' being in essence a bureaucrat and not royalty himself. It was not uncommon for such a title to be conferred upon anyone who performed great service to the kingdom, though right of succession and other such royal rights implied by the title of "prince" did not accompany such an honor.
While most ''sessei'' essentially played the role of a bureaucrat and privileged member of the royal entourage, Shō Shōken, who held the post from 1666 to 1673, is particularly known for acting as a lawmaker, issuing a great many important and beneficial reforms during his short tenure.
List of ''sessei''
References
*Smits, Gregory (1999). ''Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
External links
中山王府相卿伝職年譜 向祐等著写本
{{Sessei