Changes

Later that year (in 1846/10), he conveyed to Ryûkyû that Satsuma would be providing the kingdom with 10-20,000 ''ryô'' to help finance the establishment of institutions for trade with France. Satsuma officials hoped they might be able to get the French to trade Chinese goods to Ryûkyû, thus further expanding the China trade; the Ryukyuan government rejected this idea, expressing a desire for a greater focus on Ryukyuan goods, and a concern about any scheme that would encourage foreigners to come to Ryûkyû.

Later that year (in 1846/10), he conveyed to Ryûkyû that Satsuma would be providing the kingdom with 10-20,000 ''ryô'' to help finance the establishment of institutions for trade with France. Satsuma officials hoped they might be able to get the French to trade Chinese goods to Ryûkyû, thus further expanding the China trade; the Ryukyuan government rejected this idea, expressing a desire for a greater focus on Ryukyuan goods, and a concern about any scheme that would encourage foreigners to come to Ryûkyû.

Tensions between the two factions within the domain heated up around this time, as Abe Masahiro placed the ''daimyô's'' son, Nariakira, in charge of the defense of Ryûkyû. For a brief time, Nariakira and Zusho worked independently from one another, pursuing their various schemes, sometimes working at cross-purposes and sometimes supporting one another without knowing it, as neither discussed their schemes with the other. As Nariakira and his father traveled back and forth between Edo and Kagoshima, their power within the domain ebbed and waned. Eventually, however, Nariakira gained the upper hand; in the eighth month of [[1848]], he shared with shogunate officials a plan proposed by Zusho in 1846 to expand Ryûkyû's trade at Fuzhou, and to use Satsuma funds to do it. The shogunate was particularly wary at this time of Satsuma trying to compete against the shogunate's own commercial activities at Nagasaki, and this plan had never been shared with, let alone approved by, the top shogunate officials. Abe confronted Zusho about the plan a few months later, in 1848/12, and Zusho, fearing that this would bring an official punishment to his lord, claimed all responsibility himself, by committing suicide.<ref>Hellyer, 161.</ref> Karô [[Shimazu Hisataka]] was named ''Ryûkyû-kakari'' in his place, and ''[[sobayaku]]'' [[Nikaido Shizuma|Nikaidô Shizuma]] was assigned responsibility for the matters under Shôzaemon's purview.<ref name=ishin/>

Tensions between the two factions within the domain heated up around this time, as Abe Masahiro placed the ''daimyô's'' son, Nariakira, in charge of the defense of Ryûkyû. For a brief time, Nariakira and Zusho worked independently from one another, pursuing their various schemes, sometimes working at cross-purposes and sometimes supporting one another without knowing it, as neither discussed their schemes with the other. As Nariakira and his father traveled back and forth between Edo and Kagoshima, their power within the domain ebbed and waned. Eventually, however, Nariakira gained the upper hand; in the eighth month of [[1848]], he shared with shogunate officials a plan proposed by Zusho in 1846 to expand Ryûkyû's trade at Fuzhou, and to use Satsuma funds to do it. The shogunate was particularly wary at this time of Satsuma trying to compete against the shogunate's own commercial activities at Nagasaki, and this plan had never been shared with, let alone approved by, the top shogunate officials. Abe confronted Zusho about the plan a few months later, in 1848/12, and Zusho, fearing that this would bring an official punishment to his lord, claimed all responsibility himself, by committing suicide at the [[Satsuma Edo mansion|domain's Edo mansion]].<ref>Hellyer, 161.; ''Ishin Shiryô Kôyô'' 維新史料綱要, vol 1 (1937), 177.</ref> Karô [[Shimazu Hisataka]] was named ''Ryûkyû-kakari'' in his place, and ''[[sobayaku]]'' [[Nikaido Shizuma|Nikaidô Shizuma]] was assigned responsibility for the matters under Shôzaemon's purview.<ref name=ishin/>