Okinawa’s Buddhism

Abstract

The Satsuma Domain (Satsuma-han) invaded and controlled the Ryūkyū Kingdom in 1609, and after the fifteen rules (掟十五条) had been issued in 1611, by which the Satsuma dominated the Ryūkyū Kingdom, Buddhism was restricted. This made Buddhism stagnate and gradually decline. In 1910, Buddhism in the Ryūkyū Islands was unified with mainland Japanese Buddhism, and the five temples of the old royal domain of the Shō family, who ruled until 1879, were forced to become private temples. Accordingly, there was no danka (parishioner) system which needed to be abolished. Temple management met financial difficulties at that time. Here I give consideration to this process, consulting a wide variety of sources from the region itself, as well as diplomatic reports.