Heritage of Ryukyu:The Bridge of the East Asian Maritime

The Ryukyu Kingdom was located at the western edge of the North Pacific. Surrounded by ocean on all sides, it was an archipelago comprising over six hundred islands large and small. Ryukyu’s northern reaches extended to Japan. At its southern extreme, it neighbored Taiwan, while the Chinese landmass lay to its west. This geographical positioning made the kingdom a hub of East Asian maritime travel and commerce. This section makes use of hand-painted maps of Ryukyu from the 15th through 19th centuries to explore the kingdom’s geohistorical circumstances. Additionally, as Ryukyu came increasingly into contact with countries beyond its borders, its history started to become a point of interest in those kingdoms. This special exhibition makes use of historical records created in the past to catch a glimpse of how the Ryukyu Kingdom developed over time.