Changes

*''Born: [[1818]]/8/23''

*''Born: [[1818]]/8/23''

*''Died: [[1896]]/1/4''

*''Died: [[1896]]/1/4''

*''Titles'': 伊江王子 ''(Ie ouji / Prince Ie)''

*''Titles'': [[伊江]] 王子 ''(Ie ouji, O: Ii-wuuji / Prince Ie)''

*''Other Names'': [[尚]]健 ''(Shou Ken)''

*''Other Names'': [[尚]]健 ''(Shou Ken)'', 朝忠 ''(Chôchû)''

*''Japanese'': 朝直 ''(Chouchoku)''

*''Japanese'': 朝直 ''(Chouchoku)''

Prince Ie Chôchoku was the fifth son of King [[Sho Ko|Shô Kô]] of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. He played a prominent role in internal court politics of the kingdom in the 1860s, and led a mission to [[Tokyo]] in [[1872]] to formally pay respects to the [[Meiji Emperor]] on behalf of his nephew, King [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]].

Prince Ie Chôchoku was the fifth son of King [[Sho Ko (尚灝)|Shô Kô]] of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryûkyû Kingdom]]. He played a prominent role in internal court politics of the kingdom in the 1860s, and led a mission to [[Tokyo]] in [[1872]] to formally pay respects to the [[Meiji Emperor]] on behalf of his nephew, King [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]].

Following the death of his father, King Shô Kô, the young Chôchoku (then age 16) was adopted into the house of the ''[[anji]]'' of Ie, and thus came to be known as Prince Ie.

As a child, he was regarded as mere nobility, and not royalty. However, following the death of his father, King Shô Kô, in [[1834]], the young Chôchoku (then age 16) was adopted into the house of the ''[[anji]]'' of Ie, and was raised to the rank of "prince" (O: ''wuuji''). The following year, he was appointed ''[[Jito (Ryukyu)|sô-jitô]]'' over [[Iejima]], and took on the title of "Prince Ie."

After the [[Makishi-Onga Incident]] of [[1859]], in which a number of high-ranking officials were accused of conspiring with [[Satsuma han]] officials behind the back of the royal court, Prince Ie led the investigation, putting pressure on the pro-Satsuma faction at court.<ref>Marco Tinello, "The termination of the Ryukyuan embassies to Edo : an investigation of the bakumatsu period through the lens of a tripartite power relationship and its world," PhD thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (2014), 395.</ref>

After the [[Makishi-Onga Incident]] of [[1859]], in which a number of high-ranking officials were accused of conspiring with [[Satsuma han]] officials behind the back of the royal court, Prince Ie led the investigation as ''kyûmei sô bugyô''<!--糺明総奉行--> (Chief Investigation Magistrate), putting pressure on the pro-Satsuma faction at court.<ref>Marco Tinello, "The termination of the Ryukyuan embassies to Edo : an investigation of the bakumatsu period through the lens of a tripartite power relationship and its world," PhD thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (2014), 395.</ref>

He traveled to Tokyo in 1872 alongside [[Giwan Choho|Giwan Chôho]] and 35 others, meeting with the Meiji Emperor on 9/14, and being formally told that the kingdom was to be annexed by Japan as ''[[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]]'', and that King Shô Tai was to become "king" of that [[han|domain]]. Following his return to Ryûkyû, Ie was named ''[[sessei]]'' (prime minister, or regent).

 

He traveled to Tokyo in 1872 alongside [[Giwan Choho|Giwan Chôho]] and 35 others, meeting with the Meiji Emperor on 9/14, and being formally told that the kingdom was to be annexed by Japan as ''[[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]]'', and that King Shô Tai was to become "king" of that [[han|domain]]. While in Tokyo, he also attended the formal ceremony for the opening of Japan's first [[railroads|railway]], connecting [[Shinbashi]] and [[Sakuragicho Station|Yokohama]]. The embassy arrived back in Naha on [[1873]]/3/3 after being briefly castaway on [[Kikaijima]] earlier that year, while sailing from [[Kagoshima]] to Okinawa.<ref>''Shumi no Kikaijima shi'' 趣味の喜界島史, Tokyo: Kuroshio bunka kai (1960), 123-124.</ref> Following his return to Ryûkyû, Ie was named ''[[sessei]]'' (prime minister, or regent).

Prince Ie was admitted to the ''[[kazoku]]'' (Meiji Japan's European-style nobility) in [[1890]] as a Baron (''danshaku''). He died six years later, at age 79.

Prince Ie was admitted to the ''[[kazoku]]'' (Meiji Japan's European-style nobility) in [[1890]] as a Baron (''danshaku''). He died six years later, at age 79.

==References==

==References==

*"[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BC%8A%E6%B1%9F%E6%9C%9D%E7%9B%B4-1052107 Ie Chôchoku]," ''Nihon jinmei daijiten'', Kodansha 2015.

*"[https://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BC%8A%E6%B1%9F%E6%9C%9D%E7%9B%B4-1052107 Ie Chôchoku]," ''Nihon jinmei daijiten'', Kodansha 2015.

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