King of Sanhoku

Contemporary sources on the Kings of Sanhoku are extremely scarce, and narratives on them have gradually been expanded over time.

In 1372, Satto, a ruler on Okinawa Island, greeted a Chinese envoy from the newly-established Ming Dynasty and was later given the title of King of Chūzan.

Historian Ikuta Shigeru even speculated that the conflict between the three kings was a cover story created by Chinese merchants to increase the number of name-lenders.

Modern historians generally treat Hanishi as a corrupt form of Haneji, a place name of northern Okinawa.

Modern historians question this narrative, favoring a progressive view of history, in which numerous chiefdoms were gradually unified into a kingdom.

[4] The Chūzan Seikan identified the King of Sanhou as Aji (local ruler) of Nakijin, who supposedly subjected to his rule Haneji, Nago, Kunigami, Kin, Ie and Iheya.

However, it remains a matter of debate whether they corresponded to the later administrative divisions of Shimajiri (south), Nakagami (central), and Kunigami (north).

[4] The Chūzan Seikan did not mention how many rulers had assumed the title of Aji of Nakijin, or King of Sanhoku.

Although this statement contradicts contemporary Chinese sources, it was apparently based on Haneji Chōshū's limited access to diplomatic records.

Ethnologist Ōbayashi Taryō argued that the story of the downfall of the King of Sanhoku was part of Ryūkyū's tripartite ideology.

The King of Sanhoku's sacred Japanese sword (blade) named Chiyoganemaru can be regarded as part of the regalia.

This modification created an unnatural gap between the downfall of the King of Sanhoku (1416) and the appointment of Shō Chū as Nakijin Ōji (1422).