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He was a son of [[Okubo Toshiyo|Ôkubo Toshiyo]], a Satsuma official who at one time served as an official attached to the ''[[Ryukyu-kan|Ryûkyû-kan]]''. As a result, Toshimichi is known from his diary to have on occasion eaten pork, an exceptional rarity for Japanese of the [[Edo period]].<ref>Plaque on-site at former site of the Ryûkyû-kan, Nagata Middle School, Kagoshima.</ref>
He was a son of [[Okubo Toshiyo|Ôkubo Toshiyo]], a Satsuma official who at one time served as an official attached to the ''[[Ryukyu-kan|Ryûkyû-kan]]''. As a result, Toshimichi is known from his diary to have on occasion eaten pork, an exceptional rarity for Japanese of the [[Edo period]].<ref>Plaque on-site at former site of the Ryûkyû-kan, Nagata Middle School, Kagoshima.</ref>
Following the assassination of [[Ii Naosuke]] in the [[1860]] [[Sakuradamongai Incident]], Toshimichi unsuccessfully tried on several occasions to get loyalists (supporters of those who planned and committed the assassination) incorporated into the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' entourage of lord of [[Satsuma han|Kagoshima domain]] [[Shimazu Tadayoshi|Shimazu Mochihisa]].<ref>Ishin Shiryô Kôyô 維新史料綱要, vol 3 (1937), 282, 285.</ref>
After successfully arranging for the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] (then, already known as [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]]) to come under the jurisdiction of his Home Ministry (Ministry of the Interior), and no longer under the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], in [[1874]], in March [[1875]], Home Minister Ôkubo first articulated a plan to fully abolish the kingdom and to fully absorb its territory into Japan's "home" territory. Later that same month (March 1875), the [[Meiji government|government]] rejected suggestions to implement some form of colonial administration, in favor of Ôkubo's plan, albeit with some changes. One of the key changes was that Ôkubo's plan had included that the [[Second Sho Dynasty|former royal family]] would hold the governorship of [[Okinawa prefecture]] as a hereditary post; this was not implemented, and former samurai were instead appointed Governor of the prefecture, while the former royal family was removed to [[Tokyo]]. Ôkubo also criticized the continuation of Ryukyuan [[tribute]] relations with China, which had continued, briefly, in the early [[Meiji period]], but ended soon afterwards.
After successfully arranging for the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]] (then, already known as [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]]) to come under the jurisdiction of his Home Ministry (Ministry of the Interior), and no longer under the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], in [[1874]], in March [[1875]], Home Minister Ôkubo first articulated a plan to fully abolish the kingdom and to fully absorb its territory into Japan's "home" territory. Later that same month (March 1875), the [[Meiji government|government]] rejected suggestions to implement some form of colonial administration, in favor of Ôkubo's plan, albeit with some changes. One of the key changes was that Ôkubo's plan had included that the [[Second Sho Dynasty|former royal family]] would hold the governorship of [[Okinawa prefecture]] as a hereditary post; this was not implemented, and former samurai were instead appointed Governor of the prefecture, while the former royal family was removed to [[Tokyo]]. Ôkubo also criticized the continuation of Ryukyuan [[tribute]] relations with China, which had continued, briefly, in the early [[Meiji period]], but ended soon afterwards.