Before Okinawa, the unified and independent Ryukyu Kingdom existed for four hundred years-from the fifteenth century until the kingdom’s annexation by the Meiji government in 1879. What was this island nation like and what kind of world did it exist in? With maritime trade from China and Korea connecting Malacca and Siam at the heart of the kingdom’s golden age, this book centers on the ancient Ryukyu period. Passionate historian and Okinawa native, Takara Kurayoshi plumbs the depths of Okinawa’s distant and obscure past to piece together a comprehensive image of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Legacy of the Ryukyu Kingdom is an ambitious work that raises penetrating questions with profound implications for contemporary concerns.

一五世紀に成立し、明治政府に併合されるまで、四百年に及んだ「琉球王国」とはどのような世界であったのか。中国・朝鮮からマラッカ・シャムをむすぶ「海の道」の中核となった琉球王国の黄金時代、「古琉球時代」を中心に、気鋭の歴史家がその全体像をときあかしていく。現代的関心と切り結ぶ、鋭い問題提起にみちた意欲作。
Foreword
Preface to the English Edition
Introduction
CHAPTER I Discovering the Kingdom
CHAPTER II Ancient Ryukyu
CHAPTER III Ryukyu in Asia
CHAPTER IV The Kingdom of Writs
CHAPTER V The Organization of the Kingdom
Conclusion
Postscript
Historical Timeline for Ryukyu/ Okinawa
Key References
About the Author and Translator