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Ōōso (汪応祖) was a local ruler of Okinawa Island, who was given the title of King of Sannan. He first contacted the Chinese emperor in 1403, claiming himself to be a younger brother or cousin of Shōsatto, the late King of Sannan, who reportedly had no son. Ōōso was given the title in the next year. His last contact was of 1413. In 1415, Taromai, who styled himself Crown Prince, reported Ōōso's death. He claimed that Ōōso was killed by his elder brother Tabuchi, who had in turn been killed by local chiefs, in favor of Crown Prince Taromai.

His real name is unknown. The name Ōōso is enigmatic and highly un-Okinawan. A desperate attempt of decipherment relates it to Yaese (八重瀬), a fortress in southern Okinawa.

Historian Ikuta Shigeru speculates that the King of Sannan was a puppet of the King of Chūzan from the very beginning. According to his theory, Ōōso reported to the Chinese emperor that King Shōsatto had no son because Shōsatto and his offsprings actually defected to Korea in 1398. Before the recognition by the Chinese emperor, Ōōso was appointed as King of Sannan by the King of Chūzan.

Similarly, historian Wada Hisanori suspects that Ōōso was not a younger brother or cousin of King Shōsatto and that it was a made-up story to eliminate Chinese suspicion. Based on the assumption that by that time, Shō Hashi, the unifier of Okinawa Island, had already kept Sannan under his control, Wada claims that Ōōso was either a pseudonym of Shō Hashi or his puppet ruler.

The Chūzan Seikan (1650) and Sai Taku's edition of the Chūzan Seifu (1701) made no mention of Ōōso, suggesting that the name of Ōōso was not transmitted among the Okinawan society. Sai On's edition of the Chūzan Seifu (1725) drastically rewrote history. Having access to Chinese diplomatic records, he added the records of tributary missions sent under the name of Ōōso. Sai On dated Ōōso's death to 1414.

Notes

1. Dana Masayuki 田名真之 (2004). "Ko-Ryūkyū ōkoku no ōtō" 古琉球王国の王統. Okinawa ken no rekishi 沖縄県の歴史 (in Japanese). Yamakawa Shuppansha 山川出版社. pp. 59–96.
2. Harada Nobuo 原田禹雄 (2003). Ryūkyū to Chūgoku 琉球と中国 (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kobunkan 吉川弘文館.
3. ^ Ikuta Shigeru 生田滋 (1984). "Ryūkyū-koku no "Sanzan tōitsu"" 琉球国の「三山統一」 [The so-called "Unification of the Three Kingdoms" in Ryukyu History]. The Toyo Gakuho 東洋学報 (in Japanese). 65 (3–4): 341–372.
4. Wada Hisanori 和田久徳 (2006). "Ryūkyū-koku no Sanzan tōitsu" 琉球国の三山統一. Ryūkyū ōkoku no keisei: Sanzan tōitsu to sono zengo 琉球王国の形成: 三山統一とその前後 (in Japanese). Yōju Shorin 榕樹書林. pp. 7–64.

• Kings of Sannan