He had previously made five trips to Japan, stopping in both Satsuma and Edo (today's Tokyo). Appointed to the position in 1715, his main responsibility was to commission entertainment for the lavish banquets held for the visiting emissaries. It was essential that these important visitors be entertained, so kumi odori was developed in 1719 by the odori bugyo, or minister of dance, Tamagusuku Chokun. In 1372, King Satto of Chūzan consented to follow the tribute system with China and, as part of this system, Chinese envoys settled in Okinawa for approximately six months out of the year whenever the succession of a new king needed to be confirmed by the Chinese emperor (Foley 2). Kumi odori was born out of the necessity of diplomatic acts. In 1972 it was finally returned to Japan as a result of years of friction between the Okinawans and the U.S. Emperor Meiji forced the Kingdom to become a Japanese feudal domain in 1872, and in 1879 it was made a prefecture of Japan, and then it was occupied by the United States from 1945-1972 following World War II and the Battle of Okinawa. By this time, Ryūkyū began to come under more formal Japanese control. Even though it was under Japanese domination and its leaders were aware of this, it maintained its autonomy until 1879 (Smits 107). The ambiguity of Ryūkyū's political status while under Japanese control was a debate that concerned most of the elite. Coincidentally, this actually served to promote Chinese culture. In 1609, the Satsuma domain invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom and forced the King to become their vassal in order to take advantage of its connections with China, and ruled only indirectly until the 1872 (Smits 91). Once trade diminished, Ryūkyū faced the threat of invasion by Japan. Trade was booming in East Asia in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries and Ryūkyū's position as a middleman helped foster relationships with Japan and China. Eventually Okinawa conquered the rest of the Ryūkyū Islands, expanding its small kingdom. The island of Okinawa was first ruled by warlords, called either aji or anji, and was unified under the rule of Shō Hashi in the early fifteenth century (Smits 90).

A point of contention throughout the years, ownership of Ryūkyū was often disputed by major powers.

The Ryūkyū Islands are composed of more than 140 islands, 40 of which inhabited, that lie beneath the southernmost Japanese main islands. It remains today a prime example of native art sustained by the people of Okinawa. In 2010 it was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. An amalgamation of several different types of East Asian dance, the kumi odori has continued to hold a place in Okinawan culture, and is now recognized by the Japanese government as an Important Intangible Cultural Property. Tamagusuku Chokun, a Ryūkyūan courtier who lived from 1684–1734, is credited with the establishment of kumi odori as a frequently presented court demonstration. Originating in the Ryūkyūan capital of Shuri, Okinawa in 1719, the original purpose of this dance was to provide amusement and diversions, which were termed ukwanshin, for the Chinese diplomats who traveled to Ryūkyū.

Kumi odori or Kumi wudui means 'combination dance' or 'ensemble dance'. Kumi odori ( 組踊, Okinawan: Kumi wudui) is a form of narrative traditional Ryūkyūan dance.

Kumi omori