Gihon (Ryukyu)

Gihon (義本, 1206–?) was a legendary local ruler of Okinawa Island.

Gihon 義本
Tomb of King Gihon
King of Ryūkyū
Reign	1248–1259
Predecessor	Shunbajunki
Successor	Eiso
Born	1206[1] Urasoe, Okinawa
Died	? Hedo Point
Burial	Kunigami, Okinawa
Father	Shunbajunki

Gihon was the third and last ruler of the Shunten dynasty. He succeeded his father Shunbajunki at the age of 44, in 1248.

Gihon's reign was marked by terrible disasters, including famine, epidemics, and devastating typhoons. Around 1254, he appointed a young lord by the name of Eiso to be Regent (Sessei), and to aid in managing these disasters. Gihon felt personally responsible for the disasters and abdicated in 1259 or 1260, and shortly thereafter "withdrew into the forest alone."^[2] Eiso succeeded him as king and established a new dynasty. The precise location, date, and circumstances of Gihon's death are unknown, though it is safe to assume he died shortly after his abdication. Local legends allege that he was last seen at the cliffs of Hedo Point, the northernmost point on Okinawa Island, and his tomb is located nearby.

Notes

1. "「中山世譜」全文テキストデータベース". 義本王童名・神號、不傳。宋、開禧二年丙寅、降誕。……宋、淳祐九年己酉、即位。……義本。遂讓位于英祖而隱。其隱處。今無可考。故壽薨不傳。
2. Kerr, p51.

References

• Kerr, George H. (1965). Okinawa, the History of an Island People. Rutland, Vermont: C.E. Tuttle Co. OCLC 39242121
• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2002). Japan Encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 48943301
• Shinzato, Keiji, et al. Okinawa-ken no rekishi (History of Okinawa Prefecture). Tokyo: Yamakawa Publishing, 1996. p38.

Preceded by Shunbajunki	King of Ryūkyū 1248–1259	Succeeded by Eiso