was a legendary 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 ...

. According to Ryukyu's official history, Okinawa was split into three polities during the reign of Tamagusuku.Kerr, He was the third son of

Eiji Eiji is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Eiji can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *, "prosperity, peace" *, "great, peace" *, "great, second" *, "eternity, next" The name can also be written in ...

(r. 1309-1313), he was the fourth ruler of the Eiso dynasty. Succeeding his father

as paramount chief of Okinawa's territorial lords at the age of nineteen, Tamagusuku lacked the charisma and leadership skills to command respect and loyalty from those lords (the '' anji''). A number of these lords rebelled, and the island of Okinawa came to be divided into three kingdoms. Tamagusuku, remaining in Urasoe, became the chief of

Chūzan was one of three kingdoms which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more so ...

. His failure to institute reforms or innovations in governance is generally claimed as one of the causes of the fall of the dynasty, which ended with Tamagusuku's son and successor

Seii Sei may refer to: * the plural of Seia gens The gens Seia was a minor plebeian family of equestrian rank at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the time of Cicero, and a few of them held various magistracies under the late ...

. The Aji of Ōzato fled south from Tamagusuku's capital at

Urasoe is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The neighboring municipalities are Naha to the south, Ginowan to the north, and Nishihara to the east. As of November 2012, the city has an estimated population of 113,718 and a population den ...

and, along with his followers, became the King of

Nanzan Nanzan (), also known as Sannan (山南) before the 18th century, located in the south of Okinawa Island, was one of three independent political entities which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. The political entity was identified as a tiny ...

. The Lord of

Nakijin is a village located in Kunigami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 9,529 and a population density of 239.00 persons per km2. The total area is 39.87 km2. Education The village o ...

, based some distance to the north, declared himself King of Hokuzan.Kerr, He was succeeded by his only son

Notes

References

* Kerr, George H. (1965). ''Okinawa, the History of an Island People.'' Rutland, Vermont: C.E. Tuttle Co
OCLC 39242121
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002)
''Japan Encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

.
OCLC 48943301
{{Kings of Chūzan 1296 births 1336 deaths Kings of Ryūkyū 14th-century Ryukyuan people 13th-century Ryukyuan people