Visions of Ryukyu (Gregory Smits) Book Review
Unpublished academic-style book review of "Visions of Ryukyu" by Gregory Smits, written for a Masters' level historiography course in Japanese Modernity taken at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Visions of Ryukyu is one of the few books widely available in English covering the history of the early modern Ryukyu... more
Visions of Ryukyu is one of the few books widely available in English covering the history of the early modern Ryukyu Kingdom. It claims as its intention to address differing views of Ryukyu's identity through the writings of several prominent Ryukyuan thinkers. In that, for the most part, it succeeds, providing one of the only extensive glimpses into Ryukyuan intellectual history available in English, and probably the most thorough and detailed English-language source on the biographies and writings of Shō Shōken, Tei Junsoku, and Sai On.
It fails, however, to address the most glaring and obvious aspect of Ryukyuan identity in this period, namely that of Ryukyu's position vis-a-vis China and Japan, its identity as a vassal state and a tributary state, and the extent to which it might be considered independent. Perhaps these writers did not address those issues; Smits' work focuses more exclusively on domestic issues of how Ryukyuan domestic policy ought to be conducted, based on the thinkers' respective pro-Chinese or pro-Japanese views, etc.
Literature Review - Ryukyu Kingdom
Unpublished brief literature review, written for a Masters' level historiography course in Japanese Modernity taken at the School of Oriental and African Studies.
A brief, academic literature review evaluating the extent of English-language sources on the early modern Ryukyu... more
A brief, academic literature review evaluating the extent of English-language sources on the early modern Ryukyu Kingdom, primarily focusing upon sources which address the details of the history of Ryukyu's relationships with China & Japan (specifically Satsuma province), and its pseudo-independence.
Works discussed include:
Kerr, George H. (2000). Okinawa: The History of an Island People. Boston: Tuttle Publishing. (revised ed.)
Matsuda, Mitsugu (2001). The Government of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, 1609-1872. Gushikawa, Okinawa: Yui Publishing Co.
Ravina, Mark. “State-Building and Political Economy in Early-Modern Japan,” Journal of Asian Studies 54.4 (1995)
Sakai, Robert (1968). “The Consolidation of Power in Satsuma-han.” Studies in the Institutional History of Early Modern Japan. (John W. Hall & Marius Jansen eds.) Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Smits, Gregory (1999). Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Toby, Ronald. "Rescuing the Nation from History," Monumenta Nipponica 56.2 (2001).
Toby, Ronald (1984). State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

