Ryukyu Disposition

Cartoon from Marumaru Chinbun [ja], 24 May 1879, with the caption 'Japan trying to obtain sole possession of the "Colossus of Riukiu" by pulling China's leg'; playing upon the Colossus of Rhodes, the figure stands with one foot in China one in Japan, and carries a jar, identifiable from its label (泡盛), of the distinctive Ryūkyūan awamori[1]

The Ryukyu Disposition (琉球処分, Ryūkyū shobun),[2][3] also called the Ryukyu Annexation (琉球併合, Ryūkyū heigō)[4][5][6] or the annexation of Okinawa,[7][8] was the political process during the early years of the Meiji period that saw the incorporation of the former Ryukyu Kingdom into the Empire of Japan as Okinawa Prefecture (i.e., one of Japan's "home" prefectures) and its decoupling from the Chinese tributary system.[9][10] These processes began with the creation of the Ryukyu Domain in 1872 and culminated in the kingdom's annexation and final dissolution in 1879; immediate diplomatic fallout and consequent negotiations with Qing China, brokered by Ulysses S. Grant, effectively came to an end late the following year.[1][11] The term is also sometimes used more narrowly in relation to the events and changes of 1879 alone.[12] The Ryūkyū Disposition has been "alternatively characterized as aggression, annexation, national unification, or internal reform".[9]

  1. ^ a b Tze May Loo (2014). Heritage Politics: Shuri Castle and Okinawa's Incorporation into Modern Japan, 1879–2000. Lexington Books. pp. 2–39, 50. ISBN 978-0739182482.
  2. ^ "Okinawa: History (The Birth of Okinawa Prefecture/World War II/Post World War II Okinawa to the Present)". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  3. ^ Iwao Seiichi; et al., eds. (1991). "Ryūkyū-han". Dictionnaire historique du Japon (in French). Vol. XVII (Lettres R (2) et S (1)). Kinokuniya. pp. 61–62.
  4. ^ 琉球王国の歴史的事実と認識に関する質問主意書. Official site of the House of Representatives (in Japanese).
  5. ^ 琉球併合は「国際法違反」 独立学会、日本政府に謝罪要求 (in Japanese). Ryūkyū Shimpō. February 4, 2015.
  6. ^ "The Ryukyu Annexation in Modern East Asian History". 14 November 2019.
  7. ^ Uemura, Hideaki (2003). "The colonial annexation of Okinawa and the logic of international law: the formation of an 'indigenous people' in East Asia". Japanese Studies. 23 (2): 213–222. doi:10.1080/1037139032000154867. S2CID 144934970.
  8. ^ Uemura, Hideaki (3 June 2010). Stevens, Carolyn S.; Nakamura, Ellen; Kawaguchi, Satomi; Suter, Rebecca; Wilkins, Tom; Chenhall, Richard; Mauch, Peter; Trefalt, Beatrice; Tipton, Elise (eds.). "The colonial annexation of Okinawa and the logic of international law: the formation of an 'indigenous people' in East Asia". Japanese Studies. 23 (2). Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Japanese Studies Association of Australia (JSAA)/Carfax Publishing (Taylor & Francis): 107–124. doi:10.1080/1037139032000154867. ISSN 1037-1397. S2CID 144934970. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b Yanagihara, Masaharu (2018). "7. "Shioki (Control)," "Fuyo (Dependency)," and Sovereignty: The Status of the Ryukyu Kingdom in Early-Modern and Modern Times". In Roberts, Anthea; Stephan, Paul B.; Verdier, Pierre-Hughes; Versteeg, Mila (eds.). Comparative International Law. New York City, New York, United States of America: Oxford University Press (OUP). pp. 141–160, esp. 155 f. ISBN 9780190697570. Retrieved 18 June 2021 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ 琉球処分 [Ryūkyū Shobun]. Kokushi Daijiten (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbunkan 吉川弘文館. 1979–1997.
  11. ^ Smits, Gregory (1999). Visions of Ryukyu. University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 143–146. ISBN 0-8248-2037-1.
  12. ^ 琉球処分 [Ryūkyū Shobun]. Encyclopedia Nipponica (in Japanese). Shōgakukan. 2001.