Brief introduction of Kumi's thirty-six surnames

According to the Biography of Ryukyu in the Ming Dynasty, 1372, Chadu, King of Zhongshan in Ryukyu, paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty. 1392 (25th year of Hongwu), Ming Taizu gave the boatman a surname of 36 in Fujian for the convenience of envoys. Whether the 36 surname refers to 36 households or 36 people, or whether "36" is just an imaginary number, is still controversial.

After these immigrants arrived in Ryukyu, they established Kumi Village on the floating island near Naha Port and settled here. The 36 surnames of Fujian people are mostly navigators, scholars or other people with special skills. They are responsible for navigation, shipbuilding, writing and translating diplomatic documents, trade with China and other affairs in Ryukyu, so they have a high status in Ryukyu society.

During the 500 years since Min 36 moved to Ryukyu and Ryukyu was annexed by Japan, most of Min 36' s descendants held important positions in Wang Fu, Ryukyu, and a large number of third secretaries emerged. The famous three officials, Zheng Jiong and Cai Wen, are descendants of thirty-six surnames of Min people. In the book "Five Heroes of Ryukyu" published by Okinawa scholar Yi Popo and Zhen Jing Ming 'an Xing Yu 19 16, five historical figures who have made great contributions to the history of Ryukyu are listed, namely, Ma Balance, Xiang Xiangxian, Cheng Shunze and Xiang Youheng, among whom Cheng Shunze is a descendant of 36 surnames of Min people.

In the early Edo period, there were also 36 Kumi surnames among those executed when Samoans conquered Ryukyu. Of these 36 surnames, 5 surnames were eliminated for a period of time, leaving only 25 surnames now.