Changes

Matsuda was originally from a [[Tottori han]] retainer family.

Matsuda was originally from a [[Tottori han]] retainer family.

After serving as governor of [[Shiga prefecture]] for some time after the [[Meiji Restoration]], Matsuda stepped down from that position in March [[1875]] to become Chief Secretary of the Home Ministry. Acting in accordance with "disposal of Ryûkyû" plans articulated by [[Minister of the Interior]] [[Okubo Toshimichi|Ôkubo Toshimichi]], Matsuda met with Ryukyuan officials in March through May that same year, rebuking them for their disloyalty to the Empire of Japan in continuing [[tribute|tributary]] relations with [[Qing Dynasty]] China. In June, he was named "''Shobun-kan''," or "Disposal Officer," by the [[Meiji Emperor]]. He left for Okinawa two days later, arriving in July and beginning the implementation of a number of political and other systematic changes, following the declaration in [[1872]] that the Ryûkyû Kingdom was now [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]], a feudal domain under the Emperor, and thus subject more directly to Japanese law. While the Ryukyuan royal court rejected many of Tokyo's demands (as conveyed by Matsuda), and even sent [[Ikegusuku ueekata]] and several other officials to Tokyo where they remained for a year, continuing to reject Tokyo's demands, on behalf of their king, Matsuda still managed to implement numerous policy changes in Ryûkyû, including the imposition of Japanese criminal codes and law enforcement, and the establishment of a permanent [[Kumamoto Garrison|army garrison]] in the islands, which actually arrived the following year.<ref>Kerr, George. Okinawa: The History of an Island People (revised ed.). Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000, 371-373.</ref>

After serving as governor of [[Shiga prefecture]] for some time after the [[Meiji Restoration]], Matsuda stepped down from that position in March [[1875]] to become Chief Secretary of the Home Ministry (''Naimu daijô'' 内務大丞). Acting in accordance with "disposal of Ryûkyû" plans articulated by [[Minister of the Interior]] [[Okubo Toshimichi|Ôkubo Toshimichi]], Matsuda met with Ryukyuan officials in March through May that same year, rebuking them for their disloyalty to the Empire of Japan in continuing [[tribute|tributary]] relations with [[Qing Dynasty]] China. In June, he was named "''Shobun-kan''," or "Disposal Officer," by the [[Meiji Emperor]]. He left for Okinawa two days later, arriving in July and beginning the implementation of a number of political and other systematic changes, following the declaration in [[1872]] that the Ryûkyû Kingdom was now [[Ryukyu han|Ryûkyû han]], a feudal domain under the Emperor, and thus subject more directly to Japanese law. While the Ryukyuan royal court rejected many of Tokyo's demands (as conveyed by Matsuda), and even sent [[Ikegusuku ueekata]] and several other officials to Tokyo where they remained for a year, continuing to reject Tokyo's demands, on behalf of their king, Matsuda still managed to implement numerous policy changes in Ryûkyû, including the imposition of Japanese criminal codes and law enforcement, and the establishment of a permanent [[Kumamoto Garrison|army garrison]] in the islands, which actually arrived the following year.<ref>Kerr, George. Okinawa: The History of an Island People (revised ed.). Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000, 371-373.</ref>

Meanwhile, back in Tokyo, Matsuda was in [[1876]] named the head of a committee put together by the Home Ministry to organize urban planning in Tokyo. He presented a plan in [[1880]] which proposed boosting the city's economic development through the elimination of slums, improving the city's safety and hygiene, and improving infrastructure, including roads, canals, the water system, and the port facilities.<ref name=goddard>Timothy Unverzagt Goddard, "Teito Tokyo: Empire, Modernity, and the Metropolitan Imagination," PhD Dissertation, UCLA, 2013, p7.</ref> His plan advocated explicitly focusing on a designated core of the city, and giving little attention to the development of other neighborhoods.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', UC Press (1998), 72.</ref> Matsuda was succeeded as governor of Tokyo by [[Yoshikawa Akimasa]]<!--芳川顕正, 1841-1920-->.<ref name=goddard/>

Meanwhile, back in Tokyo, Matsuda was in [[1876]] named the head of a committee put together by the Home Ministry to organize urban planning in Tokyo. He presented a plan in [[1880]] which proposed boosting the city's economic development through the elimination of slums, improving the city's safety and hygiene, and improving infrastructure, including roads, canals, the water system, and the port facilities.<ref name=goddard>Timothy Unverzagt Goddard, "Teito Tokyo: Empire, Modernity, and the Metropolitan Imagination," PhD Dissertation, UCLA, 2013, p7.</ref> His plan advocated explicitly focusing on a designated core of the city, and giving little attention to the development of other neighborhoods.<ref>Takashi Fujitani, ''Splendid Monarchy'', UC Press (1998), 72.</ref> Matsuda was succeeded as governor of Tokyo by [[Yoshikawa Akimasa]]<!--芳川顕正, 1841-1920-->.<ref name=goddard/>