Ryukyu Domain
Ryūkyū Domain (琉球藩, Ryūkyū han)[1] was a short-lived domain (han) of Japan in the area of the current Okinawa Prefecture and other islands at the Pacific edge of the East China Sea. The history of the domain only extends from 1872 through 1879.[2]
Geography
The Domain occupied the same area as the former Ryūkyū Kingdom, comprising a chain of islands south of Kyushu which extends from Tanegashima to Hateruma which lies close to the 24th parallel of north latitude.[3] It encompassed the Ryūkyū Islands, including the Amami Islands, the Okinawa Islands, the Miyako Islands and the Yaeyama Islands.
History
In 1872, the Emperor of Japan appointed Shō Tai, King of Ryūkyū (Ryūkyū-koku-ō), as the King of the Ryūkyū Domain (Ryūkyū-han-ō) and listed him in kazoku peerage without his consent. By this event, the Ryūkyū Kingdom was reconfigured as the Ryūkyū Domain (Ryūkyū-han).[4][5] The King and Ryūkyūan aristocrats were granted lands and stipends of support in this period.[6] The administration of the Ryūkyū Domain was established under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Ministry.[5]
After the Taiwan Expedition of 1874, Japan's role as the protector of the Ryūkyūan people was acknowledged; but the sovereignty of the Ryūkyū islands remained indeterminate. The fiction of independence was maintained for diplomatic reasons.[7]
In 1875, administrative jurisdiction over the Ryūkyūs was transferred from the Foreign Ministry to the Home Ministry.[5]
After 1879, the Ryūkyū Islands became an integral part of Japan.[8] The administration of the archipelago was reorganized as Okinawa Prefecture (Okinawa-ken).[9]
Notes
- ^ Sometimes translated as Ryūkyū Province although "province" in Japan is usually a translation of kuni in current usage.
- ^ Kerr, George H. (1953). Ryukyu Kingdom and Province before 1945, p. 156.
- ^ Satow, Ernest. (1882). "The Geography of Japan" in Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Vols. 1-2, p. 89., p. 34, at Google Books
- ^ Matsuo, Kanenori Sakon. (2005). The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryūkyū, p. 40., p. 40, at Google Books; Kerr, George H. (1953). Ryukyu Kingdom and Province before 1945, p. 175.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ Matsuo, p. 81., p. 81, at Google Books
- ^ Goodenough, Ward H. Book Review: "George H. Kerr. Okinawa: the History of an Island People ...," The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, May 1959, Vol. 323, No. 1, p. 165.
- ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Ryūkyū Islands" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 801, p. 801, at Google Books.
- ^ Nussbaum, "Okinawa-ken" in Japan Encyclopedia, pp. 746-747, p. 746, at Google Books.
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. 10-ISBN 0-674-01753-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128
Other websites
Media related to Ryukyu Province at Wikimedia Commons