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Satsuma Invasion of Ryukyu

Type Event Region Japan Time 1609

In 1609 the Satsuma domain's Shimazu clan, with the tacit approval of the Tokugawa shogunate, invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom, capturing Shuri Castle and …

Timeline

  1. 1609Kagoshima · SatsumaShimazu Hisanaga led roughly 3,000 Satsuma troops by ship from Kagoshima, launching a military expedition against the Ryukyu Kingdom on the pretext that Ryukyu had not sufficiently assisted in suppressing the remnants of the Azato clan.
  2. 1609Shuri Castle · OkinawaSatsuma forces broke through Ryukyu's defenses, captured Shuri Castle, and took King Shō Nei and members of the royal family prisoner; the Ryukyu Kingdom lost its substantive independence.
  3. 1609–1611Ryukyu Kingdom · Ryukyu IslandsKing Shō Nei was forced to sign a treaty of submission; Ryukyu paid tribute to Satsuma and came under its diplomatic supervision, forming a 'two-country rule of Ryukyu' arrangement that lasted until the Meiji Restoration.

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