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*''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 [[ryukyu shobun|abolition]] of the [[Ryukyu Kingdom|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 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.

Education in Ryukyuan languages and customs was permitted to continue through the end of the 19th century, alongside the [[education in the Meiji period|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==
*"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41098-storytopic-121.html Kyûkan Onzon]." ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典. Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.
*[[Gregory Smits|Smits, Gregory]]. ''Visions of Ryukyu''. University of Hawaii Press, 1999. pp147-148.

[[Category:Ryukyu]]
[[Category:Meiji Period]]
[[Category:Political Institutions]]
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