Sessei (摂政) shishii was the highest government post of the Ryūkyū Kingdom below the king; the sessei served the function of royal or national advisor. In the Ryukyuan language at the time, the pronunciation was closer to shisshii, and has only changed relatively recently. Though the same Chinese characters which compose the modern Okinawan word sessei are read as sesshō in Japanese, 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 (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 of Satsuma (1609–1870s). Like most Ryukyuan government officials at the time, most sessei were appointed from the elite class of yukatchu, scholars of Chinese subjects from the town of Kumemura.

According to the Chūzan Seikan (中山世鑑, "Mirror of Chūzan"), the classical Ryukyuan history text by sessei Shō Shōken, 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, 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

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Name In office Kings
Eiso
英祖
1253–1259 Gihon  
Aranpō
亜蘭匏
? – 1406? Satto, Bunei
Tei Fuku
程復
1411 – ? Shō Shishō
Ō Mō
王茂
1411 – ? Shō Shishō
Kaiki
懐機
1428 – ? Shō Hashi, Shō Shitatsu
Shō Kō Gushichan Wōji Chōsei
尚宏 具志頭 王子 朝盛
1589–1610 Shō Nei
Kikuin Sōi
菊隠宗意
1611 – ? Shō Nei
Shō Hō Sashiki Wōji Chōshō
尚豊 佐敷 王子 朝昌
1617–1621 Shō Nei
Shō Sei Kin Wōji Chōtei
尚盛 金武 王子 朝貞
1629–1654 Shō Hō, Shō Shitsu
Shō Kyō Gushikawa Wōji Chōei
尚亨 具志川 王子 朝盈
1654–1666 Shō Shitsu
Shō Shōken Haneji Wōji Chōshū
尚象賢 羽地 王子 朝秀
1666–1675 Shō Shitsu, Shō Tei
Shō Kōki Ōzato Wōji Chōryō
尚弘毅 大里 王子 朝亮
1676–1686 Shō Tei
Shō Ki Kin Wōji Chōkō
尚凞 金武 王子 朝興
1688–1688 Shō Tei
Shō Kōsai Chatan Wōji Chōai
尚弘才 北谷 王子 朝愛
1689–1705 Shō Tei
Shō Kō Oroku Wōji Chōki
尚綱 小禄 王子 朝奇
1705–1712 Shō Tei, Shō Kei
Shō Yū Tomigusuku Wōji Chōkyō
尚祐 豊見城 王子 朝匡
1712–1722 Shō Kei
Shō Tetsu Chatan Wōji Chōki
尚徹 北谷 王子 朝騎
1722–1739 Shō Kei
Shō Seibo Nakijin Wōji Chōgi
尚宣謨 今帰仁 王子 朝義
1755–1770 Shō Boku
Shō Wa Yuntanza Wōji Chōkō
尚和 読谷山 王子 朝恒
1770–1785 Shō Boku
Shō To Urasoe Wōji Chōō
尚図 浦添 王子 朝央
1794–1797 Shō Boku, Shō On
Shō Shū Yoshimura Wōji Chōgi
尚周 義村 王子 朝宜
1798–1802 Shō On  
Shō Tairetsu Yuntanza Wōji Chōei
尚太烈 読谷山 王子 朝英
1803–1816 Shō Sei, Shō Kō
Shō Yō Ginowan Wōji Chōshō
尚容 宜野湾 王子 朝祥
1817–1820 Shō Kō
Shō Teihan Haneji Wōji Chōbi
尚廷範 羽地 王子 朝美
1822–1831 Shō Kō
Shō Kai Tomigusuku Wōji Chōshun
尚楷 豊見城 王子 朝春
1831–1832 Shō Kō
Shō Genro Urasoe Wōji Chōki
尚元魯 浦添 王子 朝憙
1835–1852 Shō Iku, Shō Tai
Shō Ton Ōzato Wōji Chōkyō
尚惇 大里 王子 朝教
1852–1861 Shō Tai
Shō Kōkun Yonagusuku Wōji Chōki
尚宏勲 与那城 王子 朝紀
1861–1872 Shō Tai
Shō Ken Ie Wōji Chōchoku
尚健 伊江 王子 朝直
1872–1875 Shō Tai

References

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  • Smits, Gregory (1999). Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.
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