Changes

==As Daimyô==

==As Daimyô==

As ''daimyô'', Nariakira continued his efforts towards a guarded Satsuma/Ryûkyû engagement with the Westerners. In [[1855]], Ryukyuan [[scholar-official]] [[Makishi Chochu|Itarashiki Chôchû]], acting within Nariakira's intentions and designs, acted as chief royal representative and interpreter, engaging with Frenchmen who arrived in Ryûkyû that year; when the French gifted the King of Ryûkyû with an artillery piece two years later, Nariakira ordered Itarashiki to study the object and its use.<ref>[[George Kerr]], ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People'', Revised Edition, Tuttle Publishing (2000), 344-345.</ref>

As ''daimyô'', Nariakira continued his efforts towards a guarded Satsuma/Ryûkyû engagement with the Westerners. Out of a combination of motivations, likely both because he sought to expand Satsuma's commercial activities & revenues, and because he recognized the impossibility of defending Ryûkyû from Western military attacks, Nariakira encouraged Ryûkyû to allow a series of concessions to Westerners calling at Naha.

 

A [[Treaty of Amity (Ryukyu-US)|Treaty of Amity]] signed by [[Commodore Matthew Perry]] and ''[[sessei]]'' (royal regent) [[Ozato Chokyo|Ôzato Chôkyô]] in [[1854]] obliged the kingdom to provide a number of types of aid or privileges to Americans calling at [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], and marked the first time Ryûkyû entered into a formal treaty with a Western power.

 

The following year, Ryukyuan [[scholar-official]] [[Makishi Chochu|Itarashiki Chôchû]], acting within Nariakira's intentions and designs, acted as chief royal representative and interpreter, engaging with Frenchmen who arrived in Ryûkyû that year; a [[Treaty of Amity (Ryukyu-France)|Treaty of Amity]] was signed between Ryûkyû and France at that time, granting the French free movement throughout [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]], and permission to establish a Catholic mission on the island.<ref name=hellyer166>Hellyer, 166-167.</ref> When the French gifted the King of Ryûkyû with an artillery piece two years later, Nariakira ordered Itarashiki to study the object and its use.<ref>[[George Kerr]], ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People'', Revised Edition, Tuttle Publishing (2000), 344-345.</ref> In [[1857]]/6, [[VOC|Dutch]] ships arrived in the islands as well, seeking the establishment of formal trade relations; the shogunate ordered Nariakira to strengthen the kingdom's defenses in anticipation of the Dutch arrival, but Nariakira instead instructed Ryukyuan officials to enter into negotiations, but to keep it secret, as the shogunate would surely be opposed to the competition this would represent for its own revenues from Dutch trade at Nagasaki. Documents discovered after his death revealed that Nariakira also envisioned welcoming Western trade at [[Unten]] and [[Amami Oshima|Amami Ôshima]], with the explicit aim of competing against Nagasaki.<ref name=hellyer166/>

The marriage of Nariakira's adopted daughter Atsu-hime to Shogun Tokugawa Iesada in 1856 contributed to Nariakira's influence within the shogunate; he was one of a number of figures who encouraged the selection of [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] as next in line to become shogun, as Iesada had yet to produce any heirs at that time. In the end, Iesada did produce an heir, [[Tokugawa Iemochi]], who reigned as shogun from 1858 to [[1866]], after which Yoshinobu succeeded him.

The marriage of Nariakira's adopted daughter Atsu-hime to Shogun Tokugawa Iesada in 1856 contributed to Nariakira's influence within the shogunate; he was one of a number of figures who encouraged the selection of [[Tokugawa Yoshinobu]] as next in line to become shogun, as Iesada had yet to produce any heirs at that time. In the end, Iesada did produce an heir, [[Tokugawa Iemochi]], who reigned as shogun from 1858 to [[1866]], after which Yoshinobu succeeded him.

Nariakira died on 1858/7/16 of food poisoning.

Nariakira also took steps to acquire Western weaponry for the domain, sending [[Ichiki Shiro|Ichiki Shirô]] on a secret mission to Ryûkyû in 1858/1 with the objective of obtaining 1,000 rifles and a steam-powered warship from the French; this had to be kept secret from both the shogunate and from Beijing, but was so important to Nariakira that if the French were uncooperative, he planned to have a Ryukyuan official procure such equipment for him from the Dutch or British in Fuzhou. Neither of these plans were carried through, due to Nariakira's sudden death on 1858/7/16, said to have been the result of food poisoning. However, a factory complex he ordered constructed for the military and industrial strengthening of the domain was completed, ultimately, in [[1865]]. The complex employed 1,200 men, and included reverberating furnaces, blast furnaces, a smithy, a foundry, and a glass workshop for the industrial production of [[porcelain]]s, cannon, rifles, agricultural implements, and glassware.<ref name=hellyer166/> Parts of the complex survive today as the [[Shokoshuseikan|Shôkoshûseikan]] museum, the main hall of which has been designated an [[Important Cultural Property]].<ref>Pamphlets available on-site at Shôkôshûseikan; [http://www.shuseikan.jp/eng/index.html Shoko Shuseikan official website] (English).</ref>

==Legacy==

==Legacy==

Following Nariakira's death, his brother Shimazu Hisamitsu, acting as regent for his son, the ''daimyô'' [[Shimazu Tadayoshi]], reversed many of Nariakira's policies, especially those pertaining to Ryûkyû, and acted in strong support of the shogunate and of samurai privilege through the Bakumatsu and into the Meiji period.

Following Nariakira's death, his brother Shimazu Hisamitsu, acting as regent for his son, the ''daimyô'' [[Shimazu Tadayoshi]], reversed many of Nariakira's policies, especially those pertaining to Ryûkyû, and acted in strong support of the shogunate and of samurai privilege through the Bakumatsu and into the Meiji period.

Nariakira had four biological daughters, three of whom ([[Teru-hime]], [[Nori-hime]], and [[Yasu-hime]]) married other members of the [[Shimazu clan]], and one of whom, [[Sada-hime]], married into the [[Konoe family]] of [[kuge|court nobles]].

Nariakira had four biological daughters, three of whom ([[Teru-hime]], [[Nori-hime]], and [[Yasu-hime]]) married other members of the [[Shimazu clan]], and one of whom, [[Sada-hime]], married into the [[Konoe family]] of [[kuge|court nobles]].