Ryukyu Self-help Movement Research

Ryukyu Kingdom was once a small state in the east of Taiwan (China) and southwest of Kyushu in Japan. In 1383, it accepted the conferment by ZHU Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, to become a vassal state of China and be included in the China-centered East Asia tributary system, In 1609, it was invaded by Satsuma Domain in Japan, and turned to pay tributes and subject itself to its administration. Then, it was included in the bakuhan system of Japan. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan started re-compiling its territory and including Ryukyu Kingdom into its territory. However, in order to sustain the state’s governance, people of Ryukyu Kingdom presented petitions in Japan, Ryukyu and China to oppose Japan’s annexing of Ryukyu. A series of elf-help movements waged by people of Ryukyu Kingdom were regarded as the most important historical event of the Sino-Japanese relations in modern times. This paper studies the self-help movement of Ryukyu Kingdom against the backdrop of changed international situations in East Asia in the mid-and late-19th century, and analyzes the process of these self-help movements based on petitions of Ryukyu people and its influence on development of international situations in East Asia. At the end of this paper, the author also objectively evaluates these self-help movements in Ryukyu Kingdom.This paper consists of four parts. Part 1 is the introduction part, which mainly introduces research purpose and significance of this paper; research findings both at home and abroad; basic structure and research methods of this paper; and definition of the self-help movement in Ryukyu Kingdom. Part 2 is the first chapter of the body part, which analyzes the Japan-Ryukyu relations after the Meiji Restoration. Japanese started their annexing plan of Ryukyu Kingdom after the Meiji Restoration. Ryukyu people went to Tokyo to petition to the Japanese government to safeguard their state. After annexing plan was implemented, Ryukyu people, especially the literati in the bottom of society, launched a series of self-help movements. Part 3 is the second chapter of the body part. It analyzes the interference of the Japanese government and the Qing Dynasty in the issue of Ryukyu, and studies petitions of Ryukyu people in China. Besides, the influence of petitions of Ryukyu on China’s decision-making about the issue of Ryukyu is analyzed. Part 4 is the conclusion part, which is a refinement and sublimation of the above parts. It analyzes characteristics of Ryukyu’s self-help movements, pointing out the series of self-help movements were protracted, large-scale and international. However, as the Western treaty system gradually replaced the tributary system in East Asia, self-help movements of Ryukyu transferred their goal from restoration of the state to self-governance under the ruling of Japan. Up to now, Ryukyu has become a part of Okinawa Prefecture, but it still strongly appeals to self-governance.