Shō Tai

Infobox Monarch|majesty
name =Shō Tai
linktext|尚|泰


caption =King Shō Tai
reign =1848 – 1879
predecessor = Shō Iku
successor =None
suc-type =Successor
royal house =
date of birth = 1843
date of death =1901|

nihongo|Shō Tai|尚泰|extra=Chinese "pinyin": "Shang Tai" (1843–1901) was the last king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom (r. 1848–11 March 1879). His reign saw greatly increased interactions with travelers from abroad, particularly from Europe and the United States, as well as the eventual end of the kingdom and its annexation by Japan as Okinawa Prefecture"Shō Tai." "Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten" (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p 42.] . Following these events in 1879, Shō Tai was made a nihongo|marquis|侯爵|kōshaku as the royal family of the former kingdom was incorporated into the new Japanese system of peerage ("kazoku").

Reign

Shō Tai became king of Ryūkyū at the age of six, and reigned for 32 years. Developments surrounding pressures from Western powers to open the kingdom up to trade, formal relations, and the free coming and going and settlement of Westerners in the Ryukyu Islands dominated the first decade or two of his reign.

While Westerners had been coming to the Ryukyus for several decades prior to Shō Tai's accession in 1848, and were almost always greeted warmly and provided with supplies, it was not until the 1850s that formal policies allowed and encouraged trade and relations with Europeans and Americans. Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry made port at Naha several times, both before and immediately after his famous landing at Uraga Harbor in 1853; the commodore was never permitted to meet with the young king, despite his demands and his forced march to, and entry into, Shuri Castle. He did, however, meet with the royal regent and other high officials of the royal government, eventually yielding the Lew Chew Compact of 1854 [Kerr, George H. "Okinawa: The History of an Island People" (revised ed.). Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2003. pp. 330–6.] , along with other agreements, which could be said to parallel the Convention of Kanagawa signed that same year by representatives of the Tokugawa shogunate, and to represent the "opening" of Ryūkyū to trade and relations with the United States. Trade and relations with other Western powers soon followed, backed by Shimazu Nariakira, lord of Satsuma, who saw in the process opportunities to gain wealth and power. Relations with France were particularly strong; a French Mission was established in Naha, which in 1857 formally granted a number of items of field artillery to Shō Tai [Kerr. pp. 342–5.] .

Nariakira died suddenly in 1858. He was succeeded by his half-brother Shimazu Hisamitsu, to whom Shō Tai was obliged to formally swear anew the oath of loyalty to the Shimazu clan that he and his ancestors had sworn since 1611. Hisamitsu reversed his half-brother's policies regarding Ryūkyū's interactions with the West [Kerr. p. 347.] ; Satsuma's radical opposition to foreign influence would be a driving force in the events of the following decade in Japan [See Namamugi Incident, Bombardment of Kagoshima, Meiji Restoration.] .

It was not until 1864, after Shō Tai had been on the throne for sixteen years, that the customary mission was sent to China to formally request investiture from the Chinese Imperial Court. Chinese representatives journeyed to Ryūkyū two years later, formally granting on behalf of the Emperor recognition of Shō Tai's authority as king [Kerr. p 352.] .

Following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, and the abolition of the han system four years later, a great many issues regarding the relationship of the kingdom to the former Satsuma Domain (now Kagoshima Prefecture) and to the new Japanese central government at Tokyo arose; various factions in the Tokyo government argued over the outcome, never consulting Shō Tai or his advisors or officials for advice, consent, or opinions. At the same time, in 1871, there occurred an incident in which a Ryukyuan ship crashed on Taiwan and its crew was killed by the local natives. Kagoshima pressured Shō Tai to send a formal petition to Tokyo, asking for redress [Kerr. pp. 362–3.] ; the event would blossom into an international incident and eventually lead to the dispatch of a Japanese military expedition to Taiwan in 1874. In order to help resolve this problem and others concerning the relationship between Ryūkyū and Japan, Shō Tai was advised to journey to Tokyo and formally pay his respects to Emperor Meiji, acknowledging at the same time his (and therefore his kingdom's) subordination to the Emperor of Japan. Shō Tai refused, and sent Prince Ie, his uncle, and Ginowan Ueekata, one of the kingdom's top ministers, in his place, claiming illness prevented him from making the journey himself. At Tokyo, the envoys were presented, on behalf of their king, with a proclamation declaring the kingdom to now be "Ryūkyū han", that is, a feudal domain under the Japanese emperor in the manner of those which had been abolished the previous year in the Japan mainland. This new arrangement meant freedom from subordination to Satsuma, but it also meant incorporation into Japan and subordination to the Imperial government in Tokyo [Kerr. p. 363.] . A pair of missions led by Matsuda Michiyuki, Chief Secretary of the Home Ministry, in 1875 and 1879 were aimed at reorganizing the administrative structure of Ryūkyū. Shō Tai and several of his chief ministers were granted formal ranks in the Japanese Imperial Court, and the king was ordered to appear in person in Tokyo to formally express thanks for Japan's benevolence; he again claimed illness. Prince Nakijin led a small group of officials to express the domain's gratitude in his place [Kerr. p. 372.] .

Abdication and exile

On March 11, 1879, Shō Tai formally abdicated upon the orders of Tokyo, which abolished the kingdom, transformed "Ryūkyū han" into Okinawa Prefecture, and appointed officials to administer the islandsKerr. p381.] The former king was made to leave his palace, which he did on March 30Kerr. p382.] , and to move to Tokyo, which he did after some delays owing to supposed illness and inability to travel, leaving Okinawa finally on May 27, and arriving in Yokohma on June 8, from whence he traveled with his entourage of 96 courtiers to Tokyo [Kerr. p383.] . He and his family were then incorporated into the newly established Japanese system of peerage, based on various models employed by the European nobility, and called "kazoku" (華族, "flowery lineage"). Shō Tai himself held the title of nihongo|marquis|侯爵|kōshaku. In the rest of his life he returned to Okinawa only once, to pay formal respects to his ancestors at Tamaudun, the royal mausoleum in Shuri.

Shortly after his arrival in Tokyo, Shō Tai was brought before Emperor Meiji, his submission to the authority of the new imperial government serving an important role in legitimizing the power of that government. The kingdom's numerous previous delays on account of the king's supposed illness represented successful opposition to this authority, something which is said to have been a major factor in the Tokyo government's decisions to abolish the kingdom, to demand the king's immediate departure for Tokyo, and his appearance before the emperor shortly after arriving. Yet, efforts were made once more by the former kingdom to make it appear that its cooperation with Tokyo's demands was based upon the exercise of the king's free will, and upon the advice of the Chinese imperial court, which the Ryukyuan officials claimed was consulted on the matter, and which they said was consumed with internal affairs and unable or unwilling to aid the Ryūkyū KingdomKerr. p384.] . In fact, Chinese official Viceroy Li Hongzhang endeavored at that time, without the request of the former kingdom, to reopen the question of Ryūkyū's sovereignty, entering into discussions with former US president Ulysses S. Grant and officials in Tokyo. He suggested a number of provisions, including the possibility that Shō Tai could be replaced (succeeded) by Kochi Oyakata, an Okinawan prince then resident in China, a proposition which ultimately failed.

Tokyo statesman Ōkubo Toshimichi suggested in 1875 that if Marquis Shō Tai were to be made hereditary governor of Okinawa, it would help quiet anti-Japanese elements in Okinawa and would help the prefecture better assimilate into the nation. A major Okinawan movement called the "Kōdō-kai" proposed the same some years later, but the idea was ultimately rejected by Tokyo as it could represent a failure of the current administration and could reignite issues over sovereignty of the islands [Kerr. p425.] .

Though now a Marquis, much of the same formalities and rituals appropriate for the Ryukyuan king were performed for Shō Tai. He moved in the elite circles of Tokyo, and became involved in business. Interests associated with the Shō family attempted to develop a copper mining operation on Okinawa in 1887, a prospect which yielded little. The Marquis' business managers, however, did succeed in establishing an Osaka-based company called "Maruichi Shōten" which dealt in native Okinawan products, selling them in Osaka and distributing them across the country [Kerr. p407.] .

Shō Tai died in 1901, at the age of 58, and was entombed in the royal mausoleum at Shuri, Tamaudun. His family observed traditional Ryukyuan mourning rituals for two years, after which they gave up traditional costume, rituals, court language, and ways of life, adopting those of the rest of the Japanese "kazoku" aristocracy [Kerr. pp452-3.] .

Notes

References

* Kerr, George H. Okinawa: The History of an Island People (revised ed.). Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2003.
* "Shō Tai." "Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten" (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p 42.