Changes

The 1870s were a very busy and complex time for Ryukyuan-Japanese relations, and for Japanese territorial and border issues more broadly.<ref>For more thorough chronological details, see the [[:Category:Meiji Period Timeline|Timeline]] pages for each individual year.</ref> The [[Meiji Restoration]] in [[1868]] brought the end of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] and the establishment of a [[Meiji government|new Imperial government]] organized with strong influence from Western models. The [[abolition of the han]] brought a need for a re-assessment or redefinition of Ryûkyû's relationship to Japan, and the Taiwan Incident of 1871, in which a number of [[Miyako Islands|Miyako Islanders]] were killed by [[Taiwanese aborigines]], led to disputes with China over claims to Taiwan and Ryûkyû, and spurred the Japanese government's desire to settle the Ryûkyû situation decisively.

The 1870s were a very busy and complex time for Ryukyuan-Japanese relations, and for Japanese territorial and border issues more broadly.<ref>For more thorough chronological details, see the [[:Category:Meiji Period Timeline|Timeline]] pages for each individual year.</ref> The [[Meiji Restoration]] in [[1868]] brought the end of the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] and the establishment of a [[Meiji government|new Imperial government]] organized with strong influence from Western models. The [[abolition of the han]] brought a need for a re-assessment or redefinition of Ryûkyû's relationship to Japan, and the Taiwan Incident of 1871, in which a number of [[Miyako Islands|Miyako Islanders]] were killed by [[Taiwanese aborigines]], led to disputes with China over claims to Taiwan and Ryûkyû, and spurred the Japanese government's desire to settle the Ryûkyû situation decisively.

In 1872, the Ryûkyû Kingdom was declared to be "Ryûkyû han," and its king, [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]], to now no longer be ''koku-ô'' (国王, king of a country), but ''han-ô'' (藩王, lord of a domain), despite the fact that all the Japanese ''[[han]]'' (domains) had already been [[abolition of the han|abolished]] the previous year. Ryûkyû was placed under the purview of the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], and [[tribute]] payments previously made to Satsuma were now to be paid to the [[Ministry of Finance]]. The original copies of treaties the Ryûkyû Kingdom had signed with [[Treaty of Amity (Ryukyu-France)|France]], [[Treaty of Amity (Ryukyu-Holland)|the Netherlands]], and the [[Treaty of Amity (Ryukyu-US)|United States]], were handed over into the possession of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,<ref name=shisetsu48/> and then, in the summer of [[1873]], Ryûkyû was transferred from being under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry, to being under the newly established Ministry of the Interior. The domain was granted 30,000 yen to help cover the kingdom's debts; 50,000 yen of debt owed to the [[Shimazu clan]] had already been forgiven the previous year, in order to help provide relief to the people of the islands.<ref>Hellyer, 238-239.</ref>

In 1872, the Ryûkyû Kingdom was declared to be "Ryûkyû han," and its king, [[Sho Tai|Shô Tai]], to now no longer be ''koku-ô'' (国王, king of a country), but ''han-ô'' (藩王, lord of a domain), despite the fact that all the Japanese ''[[han]]'' (domains) had already been [[abolition of the han|abolished]] the previous year. Ryûkyû was placed under the purview of the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], and [[tribute]] payments previously made to Satsuma were now to be paid to the [[Ministry of Finance]]. The original copies of treaties the Ryûkyû Kingdom had signed with [[Treaty of Amity (Ryukyu-France)|France]], [[Treaty of Amity (Ryukyu-Holland)|the Netherlands]], and the [[Treaty of Amity (Ryukyu-US)|United States]], were handed over into the possession of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,<ref name=shisetsu48/> and then, in the summer of [[1873]], Ryûkyû was transferred from being under the auspices of the Foreign Ministry, to being under the newly established Ministry of the Interior. The domain was granted 30,000 yen to help cover the kingdom's debts; 50,000 yen of debt owed to the [[Shimazu clan]] had already been forgiven the previous year, in order to help provide relief to the people of the islands.<ref>Hellyer, 238-239.</ref> Though these shifts were initially celebrated by some in the Ryukyuan royal court as representing freedom from the overlordship of the [[Shimazu clan]], it soon became apparent that incorporation into the Meiji state was to lead to even less Ryukyuan freedom or sovereignty than under the Shimazu.<ref name=kinen20>''Okinawa ken heiwa kinen shiryôkan sôgô annai'' 沖縄県平和祈念資料館総合案内 ("General Catalog of Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum"), Nanjô, Okinawa: Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum (2004), 20.</ref>

Japan launched a [[Taiwan Expedition of 1874|punitive military expedition to Taiwan]] in 1874, and by the end of that year settled a treaty with China in which the latter officially acknowledged the [[Ryukyuan people]] as Japanese subjects. Ryukyuan envoys regularly met with Japanese officials, and were assured that (for now) Ryûkyû continued to have authority over its own internal affairs, and over its relations with China. However, after Ryûkyû sent a tribute mission to Beijing in [[1875]], and in light of a myriad of other developments, Ôkubo Toshimichi began to push for the full annexation of Ryûkyû's territory, a plan and a process which today is known as the ''Ryûkyû shobun''.

Japan launched a [[Taiwan Expedition of 1874|punitive military expedition to Taiwan]] in 1874, and by the end of that year settled a treaty with China in which the latter officially acknowledged the [[Ryukyuan people]] as Japanese subjects. Ryukyuan envoys regularly met with Japanese officials, and were assured that (for now) Ryûkyû continued to have authority over its own internal affairs, and over its relations with China. However, after Ryûkyû sent a tribute mission to Beijing in [[1875]], and in light of a myriad of other developments, Ôkubo Toshimichi began to push for the full annexation of Ryûkyû's territory, a plan and a process which today is known as the ''Ryûkyû shobun''.

Matsuda Michiyuki returned to Ryûkyû in January 1879, and again in March, this time bringing with him a considerable entourage including 160 military police, and 400 soldiers from the Kumamoto Garrison. In February, Beijing sent diplomatic communications formally urging Tokyo to not unilaterally annex the Ryukyus. On March 27, Matsuda presented to Prince Nakijin the formal document declaring the abolition of the Ryûkyû Kingdom and the annexation of its lands as Okinawa Prefecture. King Shô Tai was given until March 31 to vacate the castle and leave for Tokyo; there, he would officially submit to the Emperor, be stripped of his title as "King" (or, by this time, ''han'ô''), and be absorbed into the [[kazoku|Japanese peerage]] as a Marquis (''kôshaku''). The king vacated the castle sometime during that month of March, and Japanese authorities immediately took over [[Shuri castle]], installing a military garrison there. Though Matsuda initially insisted that the king's departure for Tokyo would be scheduled for April 18, after multiple petitions or appeals from literally hundreds of Ryukyuan court officials, he eventually relented, agreeing to postpone the king's departure for Tokyo to an as-yet-undetermined future date, but that Crown Prince [[Sho Ten|Shô Ten]] would have to come to Tokyo in the meantime. As [[Donald Keene]] explains, Matsuda and others believed that Ryukyuan efforts to delay the king's departure were a tactic to play for time in the hopes that Beijing might come to the kingdom's defense; Matsuda and others also believed that even if the king were to go to Tokyo, the crown prince, if left behind in Ryûkyû, could become the focal point of a resistance or rebellion. This way, Shô Ten could serve as a hostage in Tokyo, forcing Shô Tai to behave more cooperatively even if his own journey to Tokyo were postponed.<ref>Keene, 305.</ref>

Matsuda Michiyuki returned to Ryûkyû in January 1879, and again in March, this time bringing with him a considerable entourage including 160 military police, and 400 soldiers from the Kumamoto Garrison. In February, Beijing sent diplomatic communications formally urging Tokyo to not unilaterally annex the Ryukyus. On March 27, Matsuda presented to Prince Nakijin the formal document declaring the abolition of the Ryûkyû Kingdom and the annexation of its lands as Okinawa Prefecture. King Shô Tai was given until March 31 to vacate the castle and leave for Tokyo; there, he would officially submit to the Emperor, be stripped of his title as "King" (or, by this time, ''han'ô''), and be absorbed into the [[kazoku|Japanese peerage]] as a Marquis (''kôshaku''). The king vacated the castle sometime during that month of March, and Japanese authorities immediately took over [[Shuri castle]], installing a military garrison there. Though Matsuda initially insisted that the king's departure for Tokyo would be scheduled for April 18, after multiple petitions or appeals from literally hundreds of Ryukyuan court officials, he eventually relented, agreeing to postpone the king's departure for Tokyo to an as-yet-undetermined future date, but that Crown Prince [[Sho Ten|Shô Ten]] would have to come to Tokyo in the meantime. As [[Donald Keene]] explains, Matsuda and others believed that Ryukyuan efforts to delay the king's departure were a tactic to play for time in the hopes that Beijing might come to the kingdom's defense; Matsuda and others also believed that even if the king were to go to Tokyo, the crown prince, if left behind in Ryûkyû, could become the focal point of a resistance or rebellion. This way, Shô Ten could serve as a hostage in Tokyo, forcing Shô Tai to behave more cooperatively even if his own journey to Tokyo were postponed.<ref>Keene, 305.</ref>

Shô Ten had an audience with the Meiji Emperor on 5/5 of that year, during which his request for the postponement of his father's relocation to Tokyo was formally denied. Physician [[Takashina Tsunenori]] was meanwhile dispatched to Okinawa and determined that Shô Tai's condition, while real, was neither dangerous nor likely to be cured within months or even years; Matsuda Michiyuki then reported the emperor's formal rejection of requests for any postponement, and declared that the king should prepare to depart for Tokyo within a week. He finally did so on May 27, departing Ryûkyû along with his son [[Sho In|Shô In]] and some 96 members of the court. After arriving in Tokyo on June 7 or 8 and taking up residence at a mansion provided by the [[Imperial Household Ministry]], the king (along with Crown Prince Shô Ten and ten courtiers) was granted an audience with the Meiji Emperor on June 17; he and Shô Ten were granted formal Japanese court rank.<ref>Keene, 305-306.</ref>

Shô Ten had an audience with the Meiji Emperor on 5/5 of that year, during which his request for the postponement of his father's relocation to Tokyo was formally denied. Physician [[Takashina Tsunenori]] was meanwhile dispatched to Okinawa and determined that Shô Tai's condition, while real, was neither dangerous nor likely to be cured within months or even years; Matsuda Michiyuki then reported the emperor's formal rejection of requests for any postponement, and declared that the king should prepare to depart for Tokyo within a week. He finally did so on May 27, departing Ryûkyû along with his son [[Sho In|Shô In]] and some 96 members of the court. After arriving in Tokyo on June 7 or 8 and taking up residence at a mansion provided by the [[Imperial Household Ministry]], the king (along with Crown Prince Shô Ten and ten courtiers) was granted an audience with the Meiji Emperor on June 17; he and Shô Ten were granted formal Japanese court rank.<ref>Keene, 305-306.</ref> Meanwhile, in Shuri, [[Sanshikan]] [[Giwan Choho|Giwan Chôho]] and a number of other high-ranking court officials came under heavy criticism, and resigned their positions.<ref name=kinen20/>

Over the ensuing months and years, Japanese control and administration would be, step by step, further expanded in the islands. Prefectural administration was dominated by Japanese officials, especially those from [[Satsuma han]] (now [[Kagoshima prefecture]]), and not by native Ryukyuans, least of all anyone formerly involved in the royal or ''han'' bureaucracy. [[Kinashi Seiichiro|Kinashi Seiichirô]] had been named Acting Governor of the not-yet-existent prefecture on March 3rd, but was replaced a few months later by [[Nabeshima Naoyoshi]], who is counted as the first Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, arriving on May 18th and serving in that capacity for almost exactly two years (until May 19, [[1881]]). Meanwhile, in March [[1880]], Tokyo communicated to the governments of the Western powers that Japan would now be taking on the responsibility of repaying any debts still owed to the Western powers by the Ryûkyû Kingdom.

Over the ensuing months and years, Japanese control and administration would be, step by step, further expanded in the islands. Prefectural administration was dominated by Japanese officials, especially those from [[Satsuma han]] (now [[Kagoshima prefecture]]), and not by native Ryukyuans, least of all anyone formerly involved in the royal or ''han'' bureaucracy. [[Kinashi Seiichiro|Kinashi Seiichirô]] had been named Acting Governor of the not-yet-existent prefecture on March 3rd, but was replaced a few months later by [[Nabeshima Naoyoshi]], who is counted as the first Governor of Okinawa Prefecture, arriving on May 18th and serving in that capacity for almost exactly two years (until May 19, [[1881]]). Meanwhile, in March [[1880]], Tokyo communicated to the governments of the Western powers that Japan would now be taking on the responsibility of repaying any debts still owed to the Western powers by the Ryûkyû Kingdom.