Maritime tributary kingdom unifying Okinawa's three princedoms (Hokuzan, Chuzan, Nanzan) under Sho Hashi, who completed unification by conquering Nanzan in 1429; flourished as an entrepot linking Ming/Qing China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
Brought under dual subordination to the Satsuma domain after the 1609 invasion while remaining a Chinese tributary; the Meiji government abolished the Ryukyu Domain and annexed the islands as Okinawa Prefecture on 27 March 1879, exiling the last king, Sho Tai, to Tokyo.
English translation of the standard Okinawan-authored history of the kingdom, drawing on Chinese and Korean sources to place Ryukyu within its regional tributary network.