Sessei
Ryūkyū Kingdom government position
title: "Sessei" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["sessei"] description: "Ryūkyū Kingdom government position" topic_path: "general/sessei" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sessei" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Ryūkyū Kingdom government position ::
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, 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''
::data[format=table]
| 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
- 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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