The Yuan, Ming and Qing emperors of China intermittently sent diplomatic missions (Okinawan: sappūshi) to Shuri, Okinawa, in the Ryukyu Islands. These diplomatic contacts were within the Sinocentric system of bilateral and multinational relationships in the Sinosphere. Some missions were sent to perform investiture ceremonies for the King of Ryukyu, formally acknowledging him as King on behalf of the Chinese Imperial Court, and as a tributary subordinate.

The envoys in Shuri Shuri was the royal capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It is today part of the city of Naha, Okinawa.

Upon the accession of a new king, the news was generally communicated to the Chinese capital, along with a petition for the investiture, by a formal Ryukyuan tribute mission. Following the 1609 invasion of Ryukyu, beginning with the succession of Shō Hō, the Satsuma Domain also had to be notified and asked for approval and confirmation of the new king.Kerr, George. (2000).

Chinese envoys would then be dispatched - sometimes quite quickly, sometimes not until over a decade later - arriving in ships called in Okinawan. The mission would usually consist of two official envoy ships, separate crafts carrying the chief envoy and his deputy, as some uncertainty accompanied the journey;Kerr, these would be accompanied by a number of merchant ships. During Japan's Edo period, an agent from Satsuma known as a would be sent down to Ryukyu to supervise the exchanges and interactions between Chinese and Ryukyuan officials, albeit from somewhat of a distance, given the policy of hiding Satsuma's involvement in Ryukyu from the Chinese.Matsuda, Mitsugu. The Government of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, 1609-1872. Gushikawa: Yui Publishing, Co., 2001. pp46-47.

Envoys generally stayed in Ryukyu for four to eight months, and were extensively entertained by the Ryukyuan royal court. A number of structures built for this purpose, including the Ryūtan pond and the Hokuden (North Hall) of Shuri Castle, can still be seen today on the castle grounds. The total Chinese entourage generally numbered between 300 and 800 people, and hosting and entertaining the Chinese envoys was an extremely expensive endeavor for the Ryukyuan court.

A "" oversaw these entertainments; kumi odori, a traditional form of Ryukyuan dance-drama, was first created and performed for entertaining an investiture envoy and his fellows, in 1719.Foley, Kathy. "Kumi Odori's Historical Context and Performance Practice." in Ryukyu Geino: The Legacy of Kin Ryosho. Jimpu Kai USA Kin Ryosho Ryukyu Geino Kenkyusho Hawaii Shibu, 2008. pp45-56.

Timeline of missions King Satto became, in 1372, the first Ryukyuan king to submit to Chinese suzerainty.Kerr, Beginning with the investiture of Satto's successor, Bunei, in 1404,Shinzato, Keiji et al. Okinawa ken no rekishi (沖縄県の歴史, "History of Okinawa Prefecture"). Tokyo: Yamakawa Publishers, 1996. Appendix: Chronology. twenty-two such missions traveled to Ryukyu in total,"Sappôshi ." Okinawa konpakuto jiten (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia"). 1 March 2003. Accessed 7 November 2009. the last in 1866, for the investiture of Shō Tai.Kerr,

Year Emperor of China Chinese envoys Ryūkyū king Comments 1373 Jianwen Yang Zai Chūzan Seifu, vol 3. Satto mission purpose is to bring islands into Sinitic system.Suganuma, Unryu. (2000). 1404 Yongle Shi Zhong Bunei investiture (cefeng) mission confirms Bunei as king in Ryukyu. 1415 Yongle Chen Xiuro Shō Shishō 1427 Xuande Chai Shan ; Ruan Jian Chūzan Seifu, vol 4. Shō Hashi 1443 Zhengtong Yu Bian ; Liu Xun Chūzan Seifu, vol 5. Shō Chū 1448 Zhengtong Chen Chuan ; Wan Xiang Shō Shitatsu 1452 Jingtai Qiao Yi ; Tong Shouhong Shō Kinpuku 1456 Jingtai Yan Cheng ; Liu Jian Shō Taikyū 1464 Chenghua Pang Rong ; Cai Zhe Shō Toku 1472 Hongzhi Guang Rong ; Han Wen Chūzan Seifu, vol 6.Goodrich, L. Carrington et al. (1976). Shō En installation of the new king.1479 Hongzhi Dong Min ; Zhang Xiang Shō Shin 1534 Jiajing Chen Kan ; Gao Cheng Chūzan Seifu, vol 7. Shō Sei mission encompassed a retinue of over 200 persons travelling in two ships which were specially constructed for this diplomatic purpose. The ambassador recorded details of the voyage and the reception the Chinese encountered in Shuri, the capital of the kingdom. This book, Shi Liu-ch'iu lu (), still exists in transcription Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions.Goodrich, 1561 Jiajing Guo Rulin ; Li Jichun Shō Gen 1576 Wanli Shō Ei Hseieh Chieh was a member of the 1576 mission to the Ryukyu Islands. He published an account of his experiences.Goodrich, 1579 Wanli Xiao Chongye ; Hseieh Chieh Shō Ei 1606 Wanli Xia Ziyang ; Wang Shizhen Shō Nei 1633 Chongzhen Du Sance ; Yang Lun Shō Hō investitutre of king 1663 Kangxi Zhang Xueli ; Wang Gai Shō Shitsu investitutre of king 1683 Kangxi Wang Ji ; Lin Linchang Chūzan Seifu, vol 8. Shō Tei investitutre of king. 1719 Kangxi Haibao ;Xu Baoguang Chūzan Seifu, vol 9. Shō KeiKumi odori, a new form of dance-drama, created by Tamagusuku Chōkun for the entertainment of the Chinese envoys, is first performed for the envoys for the investiture of King Shō Kei. 1757 Qianlong Quan Kui ; Chou Huang , Hirata, Tsugumasa (trans.). Chou, Huang. Ryûkyû-koku shiryaku. Tokyo: San-ichi Shobô, 1977. pp. 1-2. Shō BokuChou Huang compiles the Ryūkyū-koku shiryaku (), an account of Ryukyuan history and customs based on the records and reports of earlier Chinese envoys, Ryukyuan records, and Chou's own observations 1800 Jiaqing Zhao Wenkai ; Li Dingyuan Chūzan Seifu, vol 10. Shō On investitutre of king. 1808 Jiaqing Qikun ; Fei Xizhang Chūzan Seifu, vol 11. Shō Kō investitutre of king. 1838 Daoguang Lin Hongnian ; Gao Renjian Chūzan Seifu, vol 12. Shō Iku investitutre of king. 1866 Tongzhi Zhao Xin ;Yu Guangjia Chūzan Seifu, vol 13. Shō Tai final investiture mission confirms Shō Tai as King of Ryukyu.

In the late 19th century, the Sinocentric tributary state system was superseded by the Westphalian multi-state system.Kang, David C. (2010).

See also Ryukyuan missions to Edo Ryukyuan missions to Imperial China Foreign relations of Imperial China Ryukyuan missions to Joseon Joseon missions to the Ryukyu Kingdom Kōchi Chōjō Rin Seikō

Notes

References Goodrich, Luther Carrington and Zhaoying Fang. (1976). Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644 (明代名人傳), Vol. I; Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644 (明代名人傳), Vol. II. New York: Columbia University Press. ; ; OCLC 1622199 Kang, David C. (2010). East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute. New York : Columbia University Press. / ; OCLC 562768984 Kerr, George H. (1965). Okinawa, the History of an Island People. Rutland, Vermont: C.E. Tuttle Co. OCLC 39242121 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 48943301 Suganuma, Unryu. (2000). Sovereign Rights and Territorial Space in Sino-Japanese Relations: Irredentism and the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ; OCLC 170955369 Chūzan Seifu (:ja:中山世譜)

Further reading Mizuno, Norihito. (2003). China in Tokugawa Foreign Relations: The Tokugawa Bakufu’s Perception of and Attitudes toward Ming-Qing China, p. 109. excerpt from Japan and Its East Asian Neighbors: Japan's Perception of China and Korea and the Making of Foreign Policy from the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century, Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 2004, as cited in Tsutsui, William M. (2009). A Companion to Japanese History, p. 83. Toby, Ronald P. (1991). State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan: Asia in the Development of the Tokugawa Bakufu. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Yoda, Yoshiie. (1996). The Foundations of Japan's Modernization: a comparison with China's Path towards Modernization. Leiden: Brill. ; OCLC 246732011