Kyukan onzon

• Dates: 1879-1903
• Japanese: 旧慣温存 (kyuukan onzon)

Kyûkan onzon, or the "preserving of old customs," was a policy philosophy employed in Okinawa prefecture from 1879 to 1903.

Following the abolition of the Ryûkyû Kingdom and establishment of the prefecture in 1879, it was believed that elements of the kingdom's administrative structure, and certain other traditions or customs, should be kept in place for a time, in order to guard against widespread dissatisfaction within Ryukyu, and to avoid angering China.

The "preserving of old customs" policies covered, largely, four spheres: land tenure, taxes, local administration, and education. The yukatchu (low-ranking aristocrats) and other local officials were allowed to keep their positions, and some their government stipends, and the magiri and jiwari systems of land division was kept in place for a time. Under this system, agricultural production was assessed by village, and within each village, land was occasionally redistributed among the villagers, albeit unequally. The taxation structure and local laws, similarly, were left in place initially, and only later abandoned and reformed. Stipends were paid out of the prefecture's budget, and not out of any additional funds from Tokyo; no Ryukyuan aristocrats were incorporated into the kazoku or shizoku nobilities under which former daimyô, other samurai, and the king of Ryûkyû had been able to retain much of their prestige.

Education in Ryukyuan languages and customs was permitted to continue through the end of the 19th century, alongside the public school system that was being put into place nationwide.

The kyûkan onzon policy was ended, and widespread reforms and changes in the prefecture's administration imposed in the early years of the 20th century. Land reform was undertaken in 1903, and yukatchu stipends ended in 1909.

References

• "Kyûkan Onzon." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.
• Smits, Gregory. Visions of Ryukyu. University of Hawaii Press, 1999. pp147-148.