In the Ryukyu kingdom, one’s
genealogical record was an important status symbol. Genealogy determined social status and the types of work one could get in the government. It was so important that in 1690 a
genealogical bureau called Chizuza (Keizuza in Japanese) was formed. All aristocrats were ordered by the
government to submit their records showing their lineage from the old territorial leaders.
The government considered
there to be two types of people: those who had genealogy (aristocracy) and those who did not
(commoners). This bureau’s job was to
keep track of those with genealogy and to control official records of genuine genealogy.
Ryukyu Social Hierarchy
The social ranking of the
Okinawan kingdom was as follows (from highest to lowest):
1. The King and his lineage -
Sho family
2. Noble houses - Shizoku or privileged classes
3. Commoners – Heimin, those with no genealogy
Originally, the aristocracy
were called samure, or samurai.
After 1609 a more common phrase used was chimuchi or “possessors of genealogy”. Common
people were termed muchii or those
people “without genealogies”.
Throughout the Satsuma period
of Ryukyu, about one third of the population was royalty, and living in the tax
free urban areas. That made a 2-to-1
ratio of peasants to royalty. The peasants had to work and pay taxes to support
the royal families who did not pay any taxes.
Rising from Commoner Status to Aristocrat
In Ryukyu, attainment of genealogy by a commoner was a means to social status, and was highly sought after. The benefits of having a genealogy were many, including prestige and influence, ability to obtain a government job with a stipend, and freedom from working on farmlands and producing tax grains.
The government, however, did not want too many commoners to be converted to aristocrats since this would reduce the labor force needed for production of goods to support the noble families.
Genealogy was sought by both legal and illegal pathways.
Legal ways to obtain a genealogy normally involved the performance of "meritorious service" for the kingdom. However, a person could also contribute monetary donations for “public purposes.” In other words, you could legally buy a genealogy for the right price.
Illegal methods to become a person of genealogy involved commoners conspiring with corrupt officials to have forged genealogies created. Aristocrats also would try to bribe officials to create “improved” genealogies.
Commoners who were granted genealogies were known as shinzan or “newly entered (into aristocracy)”. They were distinguished from fudai or “hereditary” aristocrats. Therefore even with an aristocratic title and the same rank, there were two different classes of aristocracy, with “new aristocrats” inferior to “hereditary aristocrats”.
Royal Sho
Family – the King
The name Sho was for
exclusive use of the royal family, having been given to Ryukyu by the Ming dynasty in 1372 when Satto was recognized as
King of Chuzan. No
one but the king could use that name or character. Those in the Sho lineage
would designate their royal status by having a “cho” in their name, Examples from Matsuda's book: Higa Shuncho, Kabira Chosei, etc.
The rules of succession for the King’s
throne were as follows:
1. the King’s oldest son
2. If the oldest son is dead,
the King's next oldest living son
3. If no sons are alive, the
King's oldest living grandson
4. If no grandsons are alive, the State Council decides on a next of
kin to succeed
Shizoku Privileged Class – Fief Holders
Having a fiefdom, or assigned
territory, entitled the fief holder to usually about one third of that land’s
yield. It also gave him administrative
rights, and the labor of a limited number of peasants under his control. It also gave him the right to use the name of
the village or district as his surname. Fief
holders were also entitled to a government salary if employed by the
government.
Woji were
the sons of the kings of the old territories, as well as aji who were promoted
in rank.
Aji were the
eldest sons of men with the title woji. It
was a hereditary position.
The woji and aji were men of
exceptional status.
This was the highest social level below the King’s family, and distinct from other levels. Woji and aji were entitled to one majiri, or district, of land.
Wekata or
Oyakata ranks were obtained through meritorious service, or given to the younger
sons of aji and wekata. These positions
were a step below aji. People of this rank also held one majiri of land.
Pechin were the “gentry” class. A pechin held one mura,
or village, within a majiri. This was the lowest rank of fief holder.
Fief holders had to live in one
of the four urban districts, not in
their own lands. Actual local control of the district or
village was handled directly by the Shuri government.
Other Aristocratic Classes
Satonushi
included family members of fief holders and commoners who had demonstrated
meritorious service. This was the rank
of soldiers, scholars, priests, and clerical workers. Members of this class could rise via
meritorious service to the status of pechin – which would then give them grants of
small fiefs (a village or mura), or the higher status of wekata which would entitle them to grants of large
districts (majiri).
Chikudun
class included those hereditary aristocrats who were not entitled to any grants
of fiefs. It also included the “new”
aristocracy.
Commoners
Heimin were
those “without a genealogy”. They were
the people who provided the labor to support the noble families and pay
taxes. This group was about two thirds
of the kingdom’s population, and included farmers, fishermen, and laborers, as
well as drifters, pig butchers, beggars, and prostitutes.
Court Ranking System
The Shuri
government provided certain privileges to aristocrats, including land and stipends depending on one’s
social rank.
In the early 1500’s King Sho
Shin had started a ranking system for the nobility. He stipulated different headdresses and
hairpins be worn by different social levels.
This was basis of the formalized system put into place after 1609.
It was a nine-grade system,
copied after the Chinese. Each grade was
divided into upper (a) and lower (b) classes.
Here is a summary from
Matsuda. Compare to my previous blog on Sho Shin's ranking system:
Title
|
Grade
|
Headdress
|
Hairpin
|
Clothing
|
Woji, Aji, Sessei
|
High status
|
5-color
|
Red or purple
|
Gold green
|
Wekata
|
1a-2b
|
Purple
|
Silver
|
Blue
|
Pechin
|
3a-6b
|
Yellow
|
Silver
|
Blue
|
Satunushi
|
7a,8a,8b
|
Red -> Yellow
|
Silver
|
Blue
|
Chikudun
|
7b,9a,9b
|
Red -> Yellow
|
Silver
|
Blue
|
Heimin
|
No rank
| |||
Government Service
Generally, the level one
served in government depended on one’s social level. The Sessei
or Chief Councillor was ranked in the woji/aji class, meaning that he also came
from these classes. The Three Councillors,
or Sanshikan, were ranked as wekata, again meaning that they came from these levels
of society.
This was generally true for
all levels of government.
Wekata and pechin held the
important positions in almost every agency, grades 2a-6b.
The lower levels, grades
7a-9b, included clerical and secretarial workers. They were typically younger members of
fief-holding families, or members of non-fief holding families, both young and
old.
The lowest levels in
government, those with no rank, included pages, and manual laborer. These jobs
were filled by urban commoners, and people from aristocratic families who were not
yet old enough to be given the lowest rank of 9b or 8b.
In all, there were about
1,400 officials plus another 260 non-bureaucrat fief holders who received
stipends totaling about 25% of the kingdom’s general expenditures.
Promotion through the Ranks
Promotion in rank occurred
based on a person’s age, then followed by any recognition for meritorious
services, character, work experience, and exemplary conduct. The higher one’s social status and age, the
higher ranks one could reach and the faster one could move up the ladder. Older
men were ranked higher than younger men.
Lower ranks took civil service exams.
Those persons of hereditary aristocracy moved up more quickly than those who
were “new” aristocracy.
References: