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or perhaps not venturing, to interfere with the conquest made by Iyéhisa. The only marks of homage which were required by the House of Tokugawa from the Kings were a submission to re-investiture upon the accession of a new Shôgun, conveyed through the medium of the Prince of Satsuma, and the despatch of embassies to Yedo to return thanks on the succession of each Loochoan Sovereign. We find from the chronological tables entitled Shinsen Nempiô that fifteen embassies, mostly undertaken for that purpose, came to the Shôgun’s capital, beginning with the year 1611 and ending with 1850. Considering the proximity of Loochoo to China, it is no cause for surprise that investiture should also have been received from the Court of Peking. Full descriptions of this ceremony are to be found in the Riukiu Kokushi riaku (Liukiu Kuosei liao) a Chinese work reprinted in Japan.
Very little appears to be known of the history of Loochoo anterior to the 12th century, and its real annals commence with Sunten, who ascended the throne in 1187. Shunten is said to have been the son of the famous warrior Tamétomo, who after the defeat of his party in the civil war of 1156, was exiled to Vries Island, and fled some years later to Loochoo. Shunten was succeeded by his son and grandson, after whom the throne was occupied by descendants of the ancient sovereigns during five generations. The son of the last being a child only five years old, the people set him aside, and elected the governor of Urasoyé, named Satto, to be their King. From him is descended in a direct line the present sovereign Shôtai, who is the 34th since Shunten.
The climate of Loochoo, as we should expect from its position, is very warm. Ice is never seen, and snow falls but rarely. The vegetation is green throughout the year, and resembles for the most part that of the south of China. Of rice six kinds are produced, of barley and wheat three, and six sorts of beans. The sweet potato is cultivated in large quantities, though not indigenous, and forms one half of the sustenance of the people. Each
