Facing Seiden, you can find Nanden on the right.. This is the building where the Satsuma government officials were entertained. It may appear that the color on the walls are fading, but this is not actually the case. The walls have been purposefully left unpainted, the natural wood represents the Japanese style design. The inside of the building also houses a large tatami room.

On the left of Seiden, stands Hokuden. This building is where the Chinese envoys would be greeted and its red walls and round pillars mirror the Chinese style architecture of the Forbidden City. The Japanese style Nanden and the Chinese style Hokuden sit glaring at each other across the plaza, as if to symbolize the state of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

However, the Chinese envoys would only come once every few years. In between their visits, this hall would be used by the cabinet and politicians to hold their daily meetings.

Here, we will turn our attention to another question.

At one point, the Satsuma ordered that an original textile be made for them in China, one which was to bear the mark of the Satsuma Clan. However, there were many obstacles to actually seeing this through. This was a very inconvenient request. Furthermore, this became a test for those wanting to become an official.

Candidates had to write a proposal to the government from the point of view of an official. You wouldn’t think this would cause any practical problems, but the test was only held once a year. Out of the 500 applicants, only 1 or 2 people would actually pass.

One must be extremely intelligent in the world of diplomacy. Only those who had the ability and power to develop the answers to the problems the Ryukyu Kingdom was facing on a daily basis could pass the exam.

Then came the 17th century. The Satsuma Regime of Japan, another superpower surrounding the seas of Ryukyu, invaded. Pinned down under sheer force, Ryukyu was forced into submission. However, Ryukyu continues to maintain its retainer status with China. The Satsuma’s aim in their invasion of Ryukyu was to gain the trade authority of the Chinese, so on the outside Ryukyu continued their relationship with China, while Satsuma pulled the strings behind the scenes.

Let’s explore this era a bit more.

At the time of Satsuma’s invasion, Ryukyu had been waiting for Chinese reinforcements. However, China was in a transition period between the Ming and Qing dynasties, and Ryukyu found themselves abandoned. Ryukyu, which as a kingdom had not known war and was forced into an unconditional surrender, would go on to be exploited by the Satsuma. However, in order to continue the relationship with China, they needed the capital to continue to host the Chinese. With no other choice, the kingdom was forced to borrow money from the Satsuma until they were nearly forced into economic collapse.
Many will believe this is the fault of the Satsuma, but that is not exactly the case. This economic collapse was already in the process before Ryukyu had been taken over by Satsuma. Ryukyu trade relationship in plain words was working as a “distributor for the Chinese”. However, once the Chinese policy changed to free trade, the distributor is no longer necessary. So just as this change was affecting the Ryukyu economy, the Satsuma chose to invade.

However, the kingdom of Ryukyu lived on for 250 years after the Satsuma invasion. This was thanks to the successive generations of government officials that passed the aforementioned exam and bureaucrats who tackled the unreasonable requests that would befall the kingdom everyday.