“Shioki (Control),” “Fuyo (Dependency),” and Sovereignty

This chapter’s purpose is to investigate the status of the Ryukyu Kingdom in early-modern and modern times, from the perspectives of specific periods rather than a contemporary viewpoint. The goal is to compare the traditional status of the Kingdom, peculiar to the region at that time, namely “shioki” or “fuyo,” to the idea of “sovereignty” or “independence” in modern European international law. Section I deals with the period from 1609 to the 1830s, before Western people rushed suddenly toward Ryukyu, whereas Section II discusses the status of the Ryukyu Kingdom in the 1840s and 1850s, in particular the nature of the Conventions concluded by the Kingdom with the United States (1854), France (1855), and the Netherlands (1859). Section III deals with a series of administrative regulations from 1872 to 1879 by the New Meiji government bearing on the status of Ryukyu, which is known as the “Ryukyu shobun (Ryukyu Disposition).”