Key Facts
- Period
- 1314–1429
- Location
- Southern Okinawa Island
- Sanzan period
- One of three polities dividing Okinawa
- End
- Conquered by Chūzan's Shō Hashi, 1429
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
Around 1314, Okinawa Island, previously held together under a loose paramount chieftain, fragmented into three more distinctly defined political entities. Nanzan emerged as the southern polity, ruled not by a formal king but by petty lords commanding their own retainers and estates. This division initiated the Sanzan period, during which Nanzan, Chūzan, and Hokuzan each governed separate portions of the island.
Phase II: Zenith
During the Sanzan period, Nanzan maintained its autonomy as a southern lordship on Okinawa. Its rulers controlled local estates and commanded direct retainer loyalty, participating in the broader political and trading environment of the Ryukyuan archipelago. The polity coexisted and competed with the central Chūzan and northern Hokuzan domains for influence over the island.
Phase III: Decline
Chūzan's King Shō Hashi systematically unified Okinawa, conquering Hokuzan in 1419 and then Nanzan in 1429, ending the Sanzan period. Nanzan was absorbed into the newly consolidated Ryukyu Kingdom and reduced to a nominal administrative designation, one of three ceremonial fu, retaining no real governing function within the unified realm.