A Cuisine to Welcome the Chinese Sappo Envoys.
The cuisine of the Ryukyu royal court, known as hospitality cuisine, emerged and took shape in the course of relations with China and Japan's Satsuma fief during the era of the Ryukyu Kingdom, from the 14th - 19th centuries.
Before discussing the cuisine itself, a brief account of the historical relations between Ryukyu and China will be useful.
Even before the actual formation of the Ryukyu Kingdom, toward the end of the era of warring chieftains, Ryukyu entered into a tributary arrangement with China. In 1372, Satto, king of the Chuzan region in central Okinawa Island, received a summons from the first Ming emperor. The king sent his younger brother to China with an offering of tribute goods. In response to this offering, the Ming emperor issued an imperial rescript conferring on Satto exclusive designation as monarch of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Thus Ryukyu entered the Sappo, or Chinese tributary system, and envoys from the imperial government, called "Sapposhi," journeyed to Ryukyu with the imperial rescript.
China first sent Sappo envoys to the Ryukyus in 1404, and from then on during both the Ming and Manchu dynasties, when a Ryukyu king died, a party of envoys would visit the Ryukyus to crown the new king. This system continued down to the coronation of the last king of the Ryukyus, Sho Tai, in 1866. This was the Sappo system. It did indeed require the offering of tribute goods, but in fact the kingdom reaped profits in trade with China greatly exceeding the value of tribute. In becoming subordinate to China, The Ryukyus showed itself ready to trade nominal independence for tangible benefits. And for that matter, China's overlordship itself was more nominal than real, for during the more than 400 years of the Sappo system, China exhibited no wish to interfere in the domestic affairs of the kingdom. On the other hand, The Ryukyus sent scholars to China to study new advances. It was a cultural, economic and ceremonial relationship.
This notwithstanding, The Ryukyus spared no effort in trying to give the Sappo envoys a most cordial reception when they visited the kingdom.
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