Ryūkyū Domain 琉球藩 | |||||||||
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Domain of Japan Tributary state of Qing China (until 1875) | |||||||||
1872–1879 | |||||||||
Mon of the Second Shō family
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Ryukyu Domain included the southern-half of the Ryukyu Islands. | |||||||||
Capital | Shuri Castle | ||||||||
Government | |||||||||
• Type | Monarchy | ||||||||
Domain head | |||||||||
• 1872–1879 | Shō Tai | ||||||||
Sanshikan | |||||||||
• 1872–1879 | Urasoe Chōshō | ||||||||
• 1875–1879 | Tomikawa Seikei | ||||||||
• 1877–1879 | Yonabaru Ryōketsu | ||||||||
Historical era | Meiji period | ||||||||
• Established | 1872 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1879 | ||||||||
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Today part of | Okinawa Prefecture |
History of Ryukyu |
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The Ryukyu Domain (琉球藩, Ryūkyū han) was a short-lived domain of the Empire of Japan, lasting from 1872 to 1879, before becoming the current Okinawa Prefecture and other islands[citation needed] at the Pacific edge of the East China Sea.
When the domain was created in 1872, Japan's feudal han system had developed in unique ways. The domain was a political and economic abstraction based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields.[1] In other words, the domain was defined in terms of kokudaka, not land area.[2] This was different from the feudalism of the West.