Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.8, 2013

The Japanese Satsuma Invasion of Ryukyu and the Changes in East Asian Geopolitics

(Abstract)

Yuan Jiadong

Toward the close of the 16th century and into the 17th century, a change of power dynamics was taking place in East Asian geopolitics. On one hand, the Ming dynasty found itself mired in financial trouble and domestic and international conflicts, and was witnessing an ever weakening national strength. On the other hand, Japan was on the steady rise with its unification by Hideyoshi Toyotomi. The traditional East Asian order established under the vassal state system of the Ming dynasty was facing a challenge from Japan. Against this background, the Japanese Satsuma Invasion of Ryukyu had an important influence on East Asian geopolitics. With the establishment of the Ryūkyū Kingdom’s dual status as a vassal state under China and Japan, the geopolitical pattern characterized by Sino-Japanese struggle began to take shape in East Asia. The Ming government had a weak maritime tradition, and did not realize the strategic importance of the Ryūkyū Islands. As a result, it adopted a passive attitude towards Satsuma’s invasion of Ryūkyū. In particular, its tolerance of the Ryūkyū Kingdom’s dual status as a vassal state intensified Japan’s wild ambition for further expansion to the Ryūkyū Islands, and led to the forcible seizure of the Ryūkyū Kingdom by modern Japan. In a sense, the Japanese Satsuma’s military occupation of the Ryūkyū Kingdom portends the decline of the Ming dynasty and the rise of Japan.