Editing Ryūkyū Disposition (section)

== Biography ==

=== Edo era ===
In 1609, the Ryukyu Kingdom was invaded by the Satsuma Clan, which established relations with the Satsuma Clan as a tributary and suzerain state. Since then, clear diplomatic relations between Ryukyu and the Edo shogunate have occurred, and Ryukyu has sent Ryukyuan envoys to Japan. In the other hand, Ryukyu also sent missions to Qing China, and this relationship was expressed in the term "Nisshi Ryōzoku (日支両属, Belonging to both Japan and China)". This diplomatic relationship was an exception by Japan compared to other countries, and diplomatic relations with Ryukyu were not restricted even during the period of national seclusion.

=== Meiji era ===
After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the Ryukyu Islands were placed under the jurisdiction of Kagoshima Prefecture in the {{W|Abolition of han system}}, but Ryukyu became an issue in determining the borders for the formation of a nation-state. At that time, the massacre of shipwrecked Ryukyuans in Taiwan by Taiwanese aborigines triggered a full-scale issue between the Qing and Japan regarding the Ryukyu Islands. In May of the following year, while negotiations with the Qing over the incident were still ongoing, Kaoru Inoue of the Ministry of Finance proposed the annexation of Ryukyu to the Japanese side, given the background that Ryukyu had long been subordinate to the Satsuma Domain.

In January 1872, Japan held talks with the Ryukyu, and it was decided that the Ryukyuan government would be incorporated as a substantial part of Japan as the Ryukyu Domain, and that Japan would succeed to treaties that the Ryukyu had signed with foreign countries in 1850s. This decision was not criticized internationally at the time.

In March 1875, Japan decided disposition of the Ryukyu domain. In September 1876, Japan established a barracks near the port of Naha. At this point, Ryukyu had warned Japan and demanded a return to relations with Nisshi Ryouzoku, but in March 1879, Japan declared the establishment of Okinawa Prefecture, and on April 5, 1879, announced that Okinawa Prefecture had been established. The Qing strongly protested against this, and the issue of Ryukyu spurred the Qing hardliners of the time to become a part of the factor in the [[First Sino-Japanese War]]. 1880 saw diplomatic negotiations between Japan and the Qing, with Ulysses S. Grant, who had come to Japan, as an intermediary, and negotiations were held on the partial revision of the Amity Treaty of Qing and Japan and the islands around Ryukyu. However, the Qing continued to refuse to ratify the agreement, effectively maintaining the status quo. Eventually, Japan told the Qing what had led to the disposition of Ryukyu and placed it under central government control as Okinawa Prefecture.

=== After Ryūkyū Disposition ===
After the Ryukyu Islands were declared Japanese territory, the people living in the islands underwent rapid modernization, and some of the islanders welcomed such modernization. On the other hand, the people in the archipelago were forced to speak Japanese, and those who could not speak Japanese were subject to discrimination, mainly estrangement. Japan also popularized Shinto in the islands, and existing shrines and temples were converted to Shinto. The international community at the time did not criticize these actions in particular, and the territorial dispute with the Qing had been come to a settlement through the First Sino-Japanese War.