ANJI (RYūKYū)

An was a ruler of a petty kingdom in the history of the Ryukyu Islands. The word later became a title and rank of nobility in the Ryūkyū Kingdom. It is said to be related to the Japanese ''aruji'' ("master"), and the pronunciation varied throughout the islands. It ranked next below a prince among nobility. The sons of princes and the eldest sons of ''anji'' became ''anji.'' An ''anji'' established a noble family equivalent to a ''miyake'' of Japan.
The ''anji'' arose around the twelfth century as local leaders began to build ''gusuku'' (castles in the Ryūkyū style). Shō Hashi was an ''anji'' who later unified the Ryūkyūs as king. The title ''anji'' variously designated sons of the king and regional leaders. During the Second Shō Kingdom, when the ''anji'' settled near Shuri Castle, the word came to denote an aristocrat in the castle town.
A pattern for addressing a male ''anji'' began with the place he ruled and ended with the word ''anji'', for example, "Nago ''Anji''." For women, the suffix ''kanashi'' (加那志) followed: "Nago ''Anji Kanashi.''"