Editing Ryukyu Kingdom (section)

===Annexation by the Japanese Empire===
{{main|Ryūkyū Disposition}}
In 1872, [[Emperor Meiji]] unilaterally declared that the kingdom was then [[Ryukyu Domain]].<ref>Matsuo, Kanenori Sakon (2005). {{Google books|XeVUCjFVaYQC|''The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryukyu''|page=40}}.</ref>{{Sfn | Kerr | 1953 | p = 175}}<ref name = "lin2006">Lin, Man-houng. [http://www.japanfocus.org/-Man_houng-Lin/2258 "The Ryukyus and Taiwan in the East Asian Seas: A Longue Durée Perspective"], ''Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus''. 27 October 2006, translated and abridged from ''Academia Sinica Weekly'', No. 1084. 24 August 2006.</ref> At the same time, the appearance of independence was maintained for diplomatic reasons with Qing China<ref>Goodenough, Ward H. [http://ann.sagepub.com/content/323/1/165.1.extract 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.</ref> until the [[Meiji government]] abolished the Ryukyu Kingdom when the islands were incorporated as [[Okinawa Prefecture]] on 27 March 1879.{{Sfn | Kerr | 1953 | p = 381}} The Amami-Ōshima island group which had been integrated into Satsuma Domain became a part of [[Kagoshima Prefecture]].{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

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| image1            = Huang Qing Zhigong Tu - 011.jpg
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| footer            = Ryukyu people depicted in the Chinese paintings ''[[Portraits of Periodical Offering]]''
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The last king of Ryukyu was forced to relocate to Tokyo, and was given a compensating ''[[kazoku]]'' rank as [[Shō Tai|Marquis Shō Tai]].<ref name="papinot">{{Citation | last = Papinot | first = Jacques Edmond Joseph | year = 2003 | language = fr | chapter-url = http://www.unterstein.net/Toyoashihara-no-Chiaki-Nagaioaki-no-Mitsuho-no-Kuni/NobiliaireJapon.pdf | title = Nobiliare du Japon |trans-title=Nobility of Japan | chapter = Sho | page = 56 | chapter-format = [[Portable document format|PDF]]@60}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Papinot | first = Jacques Edmond Joseph | year = 1906 | language = fr | title = Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du Japon |trans-title=Dictionary of History & Geography of Japan}}.</ref>{{Page needed |date=June 2014}} Many royalist supporters fled to China.<ref>[http://wenku.baidu.com/view/b10e5b6c1eb91a37f1115c49.html 论战后琉球独立运动及琉球归属问题 – 百度文库]</ref> The king's death in 1901 diminished the historic connections with the former kingdom.{{Sfn | Kerr | 1953 | p = 236}} With the abolition of the aristocracy after World War II, the Sho family continues to live in Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.tofugu.com/2013/09/26/the-forgotten-dynasty-of-the-ryukyu-islands/|title = Forgotten Dynasty|date = 26 September 2013}}</ref>