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Shō Tai
was the last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom (8 June 1848 – 10 October 1872) and the head of the Ryukyu Domain (10 October 1872 – 27 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 Ryukyu Domain (later 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. In 1879, the deposed king was forced to relocate to Tokyo. In May 1885, in compensation, he was made a ''Kōshaku'' (, Marquess), the second tier of nobility within the Kazoku peerage system. Early reign Shō Tai became King of Ryukyu at the age of six and reigned for nearly 31 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 th ...
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Shō Iku
was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1835 to 1847. He was the eldest son of Shō Kō. According to ''Chūzan Seifu'', he was appointed regent in 1828, in place of his ailing father who was supposedly afflicted by a mental illness. Shō Kō died in 1834, and Shō Iku was installed as the king. Shō Iku was a Confucian scholar, and had dedicated his life to education. But during his reign, the financial crisis grew more and more serious. When a French ship arrived in Naha in 1844, Ryukyu was forced to trade with France. It was the first contact with Western countries. Théodore-Augustin Forcade, a French priest sent by Paris Foreign Missions Society, came to Ryukyu to spread the Christian Gospel. Bernard Jean Bettelheim, a British Protestant missionary, also arrived in Ryukyu in 1846. Bettelheim established the first foreign hospital on the island at the Naminoue Gokoku-ji Temple. The king died in 1847, and his second son Shō Tai was the last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom ...
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Second Shō Dynasty
The was the last dynasty of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1469 to 1879, ruled by the under the title of King of Chūzan. This family took the family name from the earlier rulers of the kingdom, the first Shō family, even though the new royal family has no blood relation to the previous one. Until the abolition of Japanese peerage in 1947, the head of the family was given the rank of marquess while several cadet branches held the title of baron. Kings of Chūzan The second Shō family claims Izena Island to be its ancestral home."Shō En." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (沖縄歴史人名事典, "Encyclopedia of People of Okinawan History"). Naha: Okinawa Bunka-sha, 1996. p39."Shō En." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia")Ryukyu Shimpo(琉球新報). 1 March 2003. Born on the small island lying off the northwestern coast of Okinawa Island, its founder Kanemaru traveled to Shuri in 1441, and became a retainer of Prince Shō ...
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Tokugawa Shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 978.Nussbaum"''Edo-jidai''"at p. 167. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars of the Sengoku period following the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate. Ieyasu became the ''shōgun,'' and the Tokugawa clan governed Japan from Edo Castle in the eastern city of Edo (Tokyo) along with the ''daimyō'' lords of the ''samurai'' class.Nussbaum"Tokugawa"at p. 976. The Tokugawa shogunate organized Japanese society under the strict Tokugawa class system and banned most foreigners under the isolationist policies of ''Sakoku'' to promote political stability. The Tokugawa shoguns governed Japan in a feudal system, with each ''daimyō'' administering a ''han'' (f ...
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Convention Of Kanagawa
The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty (, ''Kanagawa Jōyaku'') or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity (, ''Nichibei Washin Jōyaku''), was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March 31, 1854. Signed under threat of force, it effectively meant the end of Japan's 220-year-old policy of national seclusion (''sakoku'') by opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American vessels. It also ensured the safety of American castaways and established the position of an American consul in Japan. The treaty precipitated the signing of similar treaties establishing diplomatic relations with other Western powers. Isolation of Japan Since the beginning of the 17th century, the Tokugawa Shogunate pursued a policy of isolating the country from outside influences. Foreign trade was maintained only with the Dutch and the Chinese and was conducted exclusively at Nagasaki under a strict government monopoly. This "Pax Tokugawa" perio ...
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Lew Chew Compact
Lew or LEW may refer to: People * Lew (given name) * Lew (surname) Places * Lew, Oxfordshire, England * River Lew, in Devon, England Transport * LEW Hennigsdorf, a rail vehicle factory in Hennigsdorf, Germany * Lew (locomotive), a British narrow gauge railway locomotive built in 1897 for the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway * Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport, by IATA airport code * Lewisham station, by National Rail station code Other uses * An ancient manor now within the parish of Northlew, Devon * Irene Lew, the main female character in the ''Ninja Gaiden'' trilogy See also * * * Lou (other) * Loo (other) * Lieu (other) Lieu is French for a ''length'', ''location'', or a ''place''. In English language, English it refers to: *''in lieu of'' comes from the French expression ''au lieu de'' and means “in place of” or “instead of” *obituaries sometimes contain ...
{{Disambiguation, geo ...
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Shuri Castle
was a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' castle in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed. After the war, the castle was re-purposed as a university campus. Beginning in 1992, the central citadel and walls were largely reconstructed on the original site based on historical records, photographs, and memory. In 2000, Shuri Castle was designated as a World Heritage Site, as a part of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. On the morning of 31 October 2019, the main courtyard structures of the castle were again destroyed in a fire. History The date of construction is uncertain, but it was clearly in use as a castle during the Sanzan period (1322–1429). It is thought that it was probably built during the Gusuku period, like many other castles of Okinawa. When King Shō Hashi unified the three princi ...
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Uraga Harbor
is a subdivision of the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located on the south eastern side of the Miura Peninsula, at the northern end of the Uraga Channel, at the entrance of Tokyo Bay. History With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate based in Edo at the start of the 17th century, the small village of Uraga developed rapidly due to its sheltered harbor and strategic location at the entrance of Edo Bay. The area was ''tenryō'' territory under direct control of the shogunate, and the increase in maritime traffic led to the development of merchant and trading firms in the area. In 1720, the shogunate established the post of '' Uraga bugyō'', whose responsibility was to police traffic and to organize coastal defenses, and the entrances to the harbor were fortified with cannon against possible incursions by foreign ships in violation of Japan’s national isolation policy. Still, in 1812, the British whaler stopped at Uraga and took on water, food, an ...
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Naha
is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is Naha is located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of Okinawa Prefecture. The modern city was officially founded on May 20, 1921. Before that, Naha had been for centuries one of the most important and populous sites in Okinawa. Naha is the political, economic and education center of Okinawa Prefecture. In the medieval and early modern periods, it was the commercial center of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Geography City center Central Naha consists of the Palette Kumoji shopping mall, the Okinawa Prefecture Office, Naha City Hall, and many banks and corporations, located at the west end of Kokusai-dōri, the city's main street. boasts a 1.6 kilometer (1 mile) long stretch of stores, restaurants ...
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Matthew Calbraith Perry
Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the opening of Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. Perry was interested in the education of naval officers and assisted in the development of an apprentice system that helped establish the curriculum at the United States Naval Academy. With the advent of the steam engine, he became a leading advocate of modernizing the U.S. Navy and came to be considered "The Father of the Steam Navy" in the United States. Lineage Matthew Perry was a member of the Perry family, a son of Sarah Wallace ( née Alexander) (1768–1830) and Navy Captain Christopher Raymond Perry (1761–1818). He was born April 10, 1794, South Kingstown, Rhode Island. His siblings included Oliver Hazard Perry, Raymond Henry Jones Perry, Sarah Wallace Perry, A ...
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Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni the westernmost. The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island. The climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') in the north to tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification ''Af'') in the south. Precipitation is very high and is affected by the rainy season and typhoons. Except the outlying Daitō Islands, the island chain has two major geologic boundaries, the Tokara Strait (between the Tokara and Amami Islands) and the Kerama Gap (between the Okinawa and Miyako Islands). The islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Ōsumi and Tokara Islands, the northernmost of the islands, fall un ...
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Kazoku
The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ''"kazoku ( 家族)"'', which is pronounced the same in Japanese, but with a different character reading that means "immediate family" (as in the film ''Kazoku'' above). Origins Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto, the , regained some of its lost status. Several members of the , such as Iwakura Tomomi and Nakayama Tadayasu, played a crucial role in the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the early Meiji government nominated to head all seven of the newly established administrative departments. The Meiji oligarchs, as part of their Westernizing reforms, merged the with the former into an expanded aristocratic class on 25 July 1869, to recognize that the and former were a social class d ...
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Marquess
A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) of a marquess is a marchioness or marquise. These titles are also used to translate equivalent Asian styles, as in Imperial China and Imperial Japan. Etymology The word ''marquess'' entered the English language from the Old French ("ruler of a border area") in the late 13th or early 14th century. The French word was derived from ("frontier"), itself descended from the Middle Latin ("frontier"), from which the modern English word ''march'' also descends. The distinction between governors of frontier territories and interior territories was made as early as the founding of the Roman Empire when some provinces were set aside for administration by the senate and more unpacified or vulnerab ...
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