The was a short-lived domain of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, lasting from 1872 to 1879, and simultaneously a

tributary state A tributary state is a pre-modern state in a particular type of subordinate relationship to a more powerful state which involved the sending of a regular token of submission, or tribute, to the superior power (the suzerain). This token often ...

of the Qing Empire, until 1875, before being fully incorporated into Japan as the current

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

and other islands at the Pacific edge of the East China Sea. When the domain was created in 1872, Japan's feudal

han system (, "domain") is a Japanese historical term for the Estate (land), estate of a daimyo in the Edo period (1603–1868) and early Meiji (era), Meiji period (1868–1912).Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Han"in ''Japan Encycloped ...

had developed in unique ways. The domain was a

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

and

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

abstraction based on periodic

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represente ...

surveys and projected agricultural yields. In other words, the domain was defined in terms of '' kokudaka'', not land area. This was different from the

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

of the West.

History

In 1609, the invasion of Ryukyu caused a change in the relationship of the island nation and Japan. After 1609, the Ryukyuan kings were forced to be

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma and the islands were occasionally viewed as a province of Japan. At the same time, the kingdom and its rulers remained carefully independent, and also paid tribute to China. The dual nature of the kingdom and its rulers was eliminated with the creation of the Ryukyu Domain which existed from 1872 through 1879. In 1872, the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

, after reaching a compromise with his advisors, created

Shō Tai was the final King of Ryukyu, initially as Second Shō dynasty, hereditary king of the Tributary system of China#Ryukyu Kingdom, Qing tributary Ryukyu Kingdom from 8 June 1848 until 10 October 1872 and finally as the Empire of Japan, Japanese a ...

, who held the title of

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom was a kingdom in the Ryukyu Islands from 1429 to 1879. It was ruled as a Tributary system of China, tributary state of Ming dynasty, imperial Ming China by the King of Ryukyu, Ryukyuan monarchy, who unified Okinawa Island t ...

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

(琉球国王 ''Ryūkyū-koku-ō''), Domain King (琉球藩王 ''Ryūkyū-han-ō''). As a result, the Ryukyu Kingdom was no longer a kingdom in its own right but henceforth recognized as a '' han,'' an

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

of Japan.Lin, Man-houng
"The Ryukyus and Taiwan in the East Asian Seas: A Longue Durée Perspective,"
''Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus.'' October 27, 2006, translated and abridged from ''Academia Sinica Weekly,'' No. 1084. 24 August 2006. It is worth noting that the Meiji Emperor's advisors advocated for the dissolution of the Ryukyuan monarchy entirely, just as had been done with the deposition of the ''daimyo'''s, however the Emperor felt a great sympathy for Shō Tai and, in a rare and reign defining moment, exerted his newly restored Imperial Authority to ensure the continuation of the monarchy. Ultimately, however, the Emperor was cognisant of the methodical and progressive dispossession by his government of Ryukyuan sovereignty in favour of Imperial rule. The king and Ryukyuan aristocrats were granted lands and stipends of support in this period. The administration of the Ryukyus was established under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Ministry. After the Taiwan Expedition of 1874, Japan's role as the protector of the

Ryukyuan people The are a Japonic-speaking East Asian ethnic group indigenous to the Ryukyu Islands, which stretch from the island of Kyushu to the island of Taiwan. With Japan, most Ryukyuans live in the Okinawa Prefecture or Kagoshima Prefecture. They sp ...

was acknowledged; but fiction of the Ryukyu Kingdom's independence was partially maintained until 1879. In 1875, administrative jurisdiction over the Ryukyus was transferred from the Foreign Ministry to the

Home Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...

. In 1879, Shō Tai was forced to abdicate and move to Tokyo, Ryukyu Domain was abolished, and

was established. Shō Tai was given the title of Marquis and added to the list of Japan's peerage.

Resistance against the decision

In 1876, Kōchi Chōjō gathered other Ryukyuans who, like himself, had fled for China, including Rin Seikō (林世功) and Sai Taitei (蔡大鼎)."Kōchi Chōjō." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia")
Ryukyu Shimpo
1 March 2003. Accessed 17 September 2009. Together, they submitted numerous petitions to the Qing officials asking for help on behalf of the kingdom. Though there was little, if any, positive response for a long time, Chōjō and others refused to give up."Kōchi Chōjō." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p 28.

Notes

References

* Kerr, George H. (1958). ''Okinawa: the History of an Island People.'' Rutland, Vermont: Charles Tuttle Co
OCLC 722356
* ___________. (1953). ''Ryukyu Kingdom and Province before 1945.'' Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council
OCLC 5455582
* Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005)
''Japan encyclopedia.''
Cambridge:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

.
OCLC 58053128
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryukyu Domain Domains of Japan History of Okinawa Prefecture Ryukyu Kingdom Ryukyu Islands 1870s in Asia 1870s in Japan 1872 establishments in Japan 1879 disestablishments in Japan

History

Resistance against the decision

See also

Notes

References