was the highest government post of the Ryūkyū Kingdom below the king; the sessei served the function of royal or national advisor. In the Ryukyuan language at the time, the pronunciation was closer to shisshii, and has only changed relatively recently. Though the same Chinese characters which compose the modern Okinawan word sessei are read as sesshō in Japanese, the position is not quite the same, and the Ryukyuan post is not derived from the Japanese model or system.
The sessei worked alongside the king and the Sanshikan (Council of Three) to draft and enact laws, though the king gradually became more and more of a figurehead over the course of the period when Ryūkyū was a subsidiary of the Japanese feudal domain of Satsuma (1609–1870s). Like most Ryukyuan government officials at the time, most sessei were appointed from the elite class of yukatchu, scholars of Chinese subjects from the town of Kumemura.
According to the, the classical Ryukyuan history text by sessei Shō Shōken, the sessei have always been a part of the system of the Ryukyuan Kingdom and were originally appointed by Eiso. The three men who held the position of sessei during the first Shō Dynasty of Ryukyuan kings were Chinese, but beginning with the Second Shō Dynasty, sessei were native Ryukyuans. Royal officials, sometimes princes, would select the sessei, and the appointment would come with an appropriate rank and title, often that of "prince", despite the sessei being in essence a bureaucrat and not royalty himself. It was not uncommon for such a title to be conferred upon anyone who performed great service to the kingdom, though right of succession and other such royal rights implied by the title of "prince" did not accompany such an honor.
While most sessei essentially played the role of a bureaucrat and privileged member of the royal entourage, Shō Shōken, who held the post from 1666 to 1673, is particularly known for acting as a lawmaker, issuing a great many important and beneficial reforms during his short tenure.
| Name | In office | Kings |
|---|---|---|
| Eiso Japanese: 英祖 | 1253–1259 | |
| Aranpō Japanese: 亜蘭匏 | ? – 1406? | |
| Tei Fuku Japanese: 程復 | 1411 – ? | |
| Ō Mō Japanese: 王茂 | 1411 – ? | Shō Shishō |
| Kaiki Japanese: 懐機 | 1428 – ? | |
| Shō Kō Gushichan Wōji Chōsei Japanese: 尚宏 具志頭 王子 朝盛 | 1589–1610 | |
| Kikuin Sōi Japanese: 菊隠宗意 | 1611 – ? | |
| Shō Hō Sashiki Wōji Chōshō Japanese: 尚豊 佐敷 王子 朝昌 | 1617–1621 | Shō Nei |
| Shō Sei Kin Wōji Chōtei Japanese: 尚盛 金武 王子 朝貞 | 1629–1654 | |
| Shō Kyō Gushikawa Wōji Chōei Japanese: 尚亨 具志川 王子 朝盈 | 1654–1666 | Shō Shitsu |
| Shō Shōken Haneji Wōji Chōshū Japanese: 尚象賢 羽地 王子 朝秀 | 1666–1675 | |
| Shō Kōki Ōzato Wōji Chōryō Japanese: 尚弘毅 大里 王子 朝亮 | 1676–1686 | Shō Tei |
| Shō Ki Kin Wōji Chōkō Japanese: 尚凞 金武 王子 朝興 | 1688–1688 | Shō Tei |
| Shō Kōsai Chatan Wōji Chōai Japanese: 尚弘才 北谷 王子 朝愛 | 1689–1705 | Shō Tei |
| Shō Kō Oroku Wōji Chōki Japanese: 尚綱 小禄 王子 朝奇 | 1705–1712 | |
| Shō Yū Tomigusuku Wōji Chōkyō Japanese: 尚祐 豊見城 王子 朝匡 | 1712–1722 | Shō Kei |
| Shō Tetsu Chatan Wōji Chōki Japanese: 尚徹 北谷 王子 朝騎 | 1722–1739 | Shō Kei |
| Shō Seibo Nakijin Wōji Chōgi Japanese: 尚宣謨 今帰仁 王子 朝義 | 1755–1770 | |
| Shō Wa Yuntanza Wōji Chōkō Japanese: 尚和 読谷山 王子 朝恒 | 1770–1785 | Shō Boku |
| Shō To Urasoe Wōji Chōō Japanese: 尚図 浦添 王子 朝央 | 1794–1797 | |
| Shō Shū Yoshimura Wōji Chōgi Japanese: 尚周 義村 王子 朝宜 | 1798–1802 | Shō On |
| Shō Tairetsu Yuntanza Wōji Chōei Japanese: 尚太烈 読谷山 王子 朝英 | 1803–1816 | |
| Shō Yō Ginowan Wōji Chōshō Japanese: 尚容 宜野湾 王子 朝祥 | 1817–1820 | Shō Kō |
| Shō Teihan Haneji Wōji Chōbi Japanese: 尚廷範 羽地 王子 朝美 | 1822–1831 | Shō Kō |
| Shō Kai Tomigusuku Wōji Chōshun Japanese: 尚楷 豊見城 王子 朝春 | 1831–1832 | Shō Kō |
| Shō Genro Urasoe Wōji Chōki Japanese: 尚元魯 浦添 王子 朝憙 | 1835–1852 | |
| Shō Ton Ōzato Wōji Chōkyō Japanese: 尚惇 大里 王子 朝教 | 1852–1861 | Shō Tai |
| Shō Kōkun Yonagusuku Wōji Chōki Japanese: 尚宏勲 与那城 王子 朝紀 | 1861–1872 | Shō Tai |
| Shō Ken Ie Wōji Chōchoku Japanese: 尚健 伊江 王子 朝直 | 1872–1875 | Shō Tai |