Changes

16 bytes added ,  18:58, 1 February 2019
Line 32: Line 32:  
Having secured Amami Ôshima, a portion of the invaders moved on to [[Tokunoshima]] on 3/18, where significant skirmishes occurred at Akitoku<!--秋徳--> and Kametsu<!--亀津-->. The invaders met with fierce resistance from formal Ryukyu guardsmen or warriors, led by [[Yonabaru Chochi|Yonabaru ''peechin'' Chôchi]]<ref>Many sources suggest that Yonabaru was the son-in-law of top royal advisor [[Tei Do|Tei Dô]], in order to tie Tei Dô more strongly into the history, connecting him as a "hero" to the fact that resistance on Tokunoshima was so strong. However, Gregory Smits, citing Uehara Kenzen, suggests that it's unlikely that there was any such relation between Yonabaru and Tei Dô. Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2018), 229.</ref> and by two unnamed brothers, accompanied by locals armed with farming implements, kitchen knives and the like. A group led by Kabayama Hisataka was stuck on Amami Ôshima, waiting for good winds, finally arriving on Tokunoshima on 3/20.<ref name=miyako24>''Miyakonojô to Ryûkyû ôkoku'', 24.</ref> The invaders, armed with ''[[teppo|teppô]]'' (arquebuses), eventually defeated the island's defenders on 3/22; at least six or seven samurai were killed in the clashes, along with 200-300 Ryukyuan warriors.
 
Having secured Amami Ôshima, a portion of the invaders moved on to [[Tokunoshima]] on 3/18, where significant skirmishes occurred at Akitoku<!--秋徳--> and Kametsu<!--亀津-->. The invaders met with fierce resistance from formal Ryukyu guardsmen or warriors, led by [[Yonabaru Chochi|Yonabaru ''peechin'' Chôchi]]<ref>Many sources suggest that Yonabaru was the son-in-law of top royal advisor [[Tei Do|Tei Dô]], in order to tie Tei Dô more strongly into the history, connecting him as a "hero" to the fact that resistance on Tokunoshima was so strong. However, Gregory Smits, citing Uehara Kenzen, suggests that it's unlikely that there was any such relation between Yonabaru and Tei Dô. Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2018), 229.</ref> and by two unnamed brothers, accompanied by locals armed with farming implements, kitchen knives and the like. A group led by Kabayama Hisataka was stuck on Amami Ôshima, waiting for good winds, finally arriving on Tokunoshima on 3/20.<ref name=miyako24>''Miyakonojô to Ryûkyû ôkoku'', 24.</ref> The invaders, armed with ''[[teppo|teppô]]'' (arquebuses), eventually defeated the island's defenders on 3/22; at least six or seven samurai were killed in the clashes, along with 200-300 Ryukyuan warriors.
   −
A number of Ryukyuan ships, sent from Okinawa on 3/10, upon word of the attacks on Ôshima, skirted past Tokunoshima on 3/23. The Satsuma forces failed to intercept them. The following day, the samurai seized [[Okinoerabujima]]; though the rocky shore looked as though it would prove a landing difficult, in the end the tides carried the Japanese ships over the obstacles, and the island surrendered with little or no fighting.
+
A number of Ryukyuan ships, sent from Okinawa on 3/10, upon word of the attacks on Ôshima, skirted past Tokunoshima on 3/23. The Satsuma forces failed to intercept them. The following day, the samurai seized [[Okinoerabujima]]; though the coral reefs surrounding the island would normally have made a landing difficult, unusually high tides carried the Japanese ships over the obstacles, and the island surrendered with little or no fighting.
    
After these skirmishes on these smaller, more northern islands of the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryukyu archipelago]], the fleet skipped [[Yoronto|Yorontô]] and landed at Unten Harbor on the Motobu Peninsula of [[Okinawa Island]] on 3/25.
 
After these skirmishes on these smaller, more northern islands of the [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryukyu archipelago]], the fleet skipped [[Yoronto|Yorontô]] and landed at Unten Harbor on the Motobu Peninsula of [[Okinawa Island]] on 3/25.
contributor
26,977

edits