琉球事件 / Affairs of Ryūkyū

This book was edited by MATSUI Yoritoki, published by MATSUI Chubee, and proofread by WATANABE Shūjiro. During the period of the Ryukyu Shobun (1872-1879,　Ryukyu disposition), many books on the history and legislative system of the Ryukyu published successively by the bureaucrats of Meiji government and those involved. The most well-known works include KAWARADA Morimi's Ryukyu Bibōroku (1875), Okinawa Shi (1877) by IJICHI Sadaka, and MATSUTA Michiyuki’s Ryukyu Shobun (1879), etc. These publications were not only for academic interest but were also more like reports compiled for the practical purpose of contributing to the governance of Okinawa. The tendency of this time was to bring the Ryukyu disposition into alignment. This book was published in 1880, the year right after the Ryukyu disposition. It consists of five sections: "Brief history of Ryukyu," "manners and customs," "Ryukyu Shobun," "Relations with China," and "President Grant’s mediation on the Ryukyu case". The latter three sections devote the greater part of pages to discuss about the act of abolishing Ryukyu and establishing Okinawa Prefecture, and the dispute relating the sovereignty over the Ryukyu islands. The book is featured on its focus on the history of Ryukyu (including Ryukyu disposition), Ryukyu’s diplomatic history between Japan and China, and the developments of the mediation made by the former U.S. President Grant.