, read variously as Ōzato, Ofosato, and Ufusatu, was a local ruler of

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

, who was given the title of

King of Sannan was a title given to a line of local rulers on Okinawa Island from the late 14th century to the early 15th century. Contemporary sources on the Kings of Sannan are scarce and mutually conflicting. The narratives on the kings have gradually been ex ...

. Contemporary sources on Shōsatto are very scarce. Following a visit of a Chinese envoy on Okinawa Island, he first sent a tributary mission in 1380. His last contact was of 1396. His "reign" deviated too much from the ideological ideal. Only the "king" should have a tributary relationship with the Chinese emperor, but the "King's father's younger brother" (王叔) Ōeishi also sent envoys from 1388 to 1397. In 1403,

Ōōso was a local ruler of Okinawa Island, who was given the title of King of Sannan. He first contacted the Chinese emperor in 1403, claiming himself to be a younger brother or cousin of Shōsatto, the late King of Sannan, who reportedly had no son. Ō ...

, who claimed to be Shōsatto's younger brother or cousin, reported Shōsatto's death in 1403 and was recognized as King of Sannan the next year. His real name is unknown. Modern attempts to decipher the enigmatic un-Okinawan name ''Shōsatto'' point to Ōzato (大里), a toponym with multiple referents. There were two candidates in southern Okinawa: Shimasoe-Ōzato in modern-day Nanjō City and Shimajiri-Ōzato in modern-day Itoman City. The ''

Annals of the Joseon Dynasty The ''Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty'' (also known as the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty'' or the ''True Record of the Joseon Dynasty''; ko, 조선왕조실록 and ) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule ...

'' of Korea records mysterious events about the King of Sannan. In 1394, Satto, King of Chūzan, requested Korea to return Shōsatto, Prince of Sannan (山南王子承察度), who had supposedly fled to Korea. In 1398, Onsadō, King of Sannan (山南王温沙道), fled to Korea after reportedly being banished by the King of Chūzan. He died there in the same year. These records clearly contradict the ''Veritable Records'', raising questions about the reliability of Okinawa's diplomatic correspondence to foreign countries. Historian Ikuta Shigeru speculates that the King of Sannan was a puppet of the King of Chūzan from the very beginning. He re-interpretes the phrase "Prince of Sannan" (山南王子) as a title given by the King of Chūzan to his senior retainer, possibly his blood relative. Historian Wada Hisanori criticized Ikuta's hypothesis, arguing that the King of Chūzan's subjugation of the King of Sannan began later, during the reign of King Ōōso. The ''

Chūzan Seikan , compiled in 1650 by Shō Shōken, is the first official history of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. In six scrolls, the main text occupies five and an accompanying summary the sixth. Unlike later official histories such as ''Chūzan Seifu'' and ''Kyūyō'' ...

'' (1650), Ryūkyū's first official history book, identified the King of Sannan as the Aji of Ōzato. The ''Chūzan Seikan'' only made a single reference to Shōsatto: It claimed that Shōsatto, King of Sannan, together with the Kings of Chūzan and Sanhoku, paid tribute to the Chinese emperor for the first time in 1372. This statement clearly contradicts Chinese records, which dated the first mission to 1380.

Sai Taku , also known by his Japanese-style name , was a Ryukyuan aristocrat and bureaucrat in the royal government of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Sai Taku was born in Kumemura on January 4, 1645. He descended from Cai Xiang. He took part in the compilation of ...

's edition of the ''

Chūzan Seifu was an official history of the Ryūkyū Kingdom compiled between 1697 and 1701 by a group of scholar-officials led by Sai Taku. It was a Kanbun translated version of ''Chūzan Seikan''. Later, it was rewritten into Classical Chinese by Sai Tak ...

'' (1701) generally followed the ''Chūzan Seikan'' but

Sai On (1682–1762), or Cai Wen in Chinese, also known as , was a scholar-bureaucrat official of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, serving as regent, instructor, and advisor to King Shō Kei. He is renowned for the many reforms he initiated and oversaw, and is amon ...

's edition of the ''Chūzan Seifu'' (1725) drastically rewrote history. Having access to Chinese diplomatic records, he added the records of tributary missions sent under the name of Shōsatto. Sai On naïvely inferred that Shōsatto died in 1403, the year Ōōso reported his death to the Chinese emperor.

Notes

{{authority control Kings of Sannan