1611

Keichô 16 (慶長十六年)

Timeline of 1611

Keichô 15/12/16 Hayashi Razan sends a letter to the Ming court, on behalf of the shogunate and via Honda Masazumi and the governor of Fukien, seeking to normalize relations. The letter portrays Ieyasu and Japan as a central political and cultural authority, to which other countries send tribute.
1611/3/28 Tokugawa Ieyasu meets with Toyotomi Hideyori at Nijô castle in Kyoto.
1611/4/29 Sebastián Vizcaíno arrives at Uraga.
1611/7/25 Bakufu gives Red Seal to Jacques Specx.
1611/7 Bakufu allows trading with Portugal.
1611/8/9 Satsuma han completes land survey in Ryûkyû.
1611/8/13 A big earthquake in Aizu; Wakamatsu castle collapses.
1611/10/28 A big tsunami in Mutsu. The death toll is 1783.
1611/11/28 Ieyasu allows trading with Ming China.

King Shô Nei of Ryûkyû signs formal surrender documents, affirming his vassal status under the Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma han.
Royal councillors of Ryûkyû sign oaths of loyalty to Satsuma han; one councillor, Tei Dô, refuses to sign and is beheaded.
The Amami Islands are annexed by Satsuma han.
King Shô Nei of Ryûkyû is returned to Shuri after an absence of roughly two years and resumes his rule.
Gima Shinjô introduces momen weaving to Okinawa from Satsuma.
The outer moat of Kanazawa castle is completed.
The Takasegawa canal in Kyoto is completed.

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