Shō Tai

Common card · No. 321575

Shō Tai (尚 泰; 3 August 1843 – 19 August 1901) was the final King of Ryukyu, initially as hereditary king of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 8 June 1848 until 10 October 1872 and finally as the Japanese appointed Domain King by Emperor Meiji, ultimately leading to his deposition and relocation to Tokyo by the Meiji Government on 11 March 1879. In May 1885, in compensation, he was made a Kōshaku (侯爵, marquess), the second tier of nobility in the kazoku peerage system. This entitled him to a hereditary seat in the House of Peers as well as a stipend from the government. Overall, his reign saw the eradication of the dual-loyalty system of the supposedly independent Ryukyuan kingdom in favour of the Japanese rather than that of the Qing dynasty or the Satsuma Domain specifically, and the annexation of Ryukyu into Okinawa Prefecture. His time as sovereign featured greatly increased interactions with travelers from abroad, particularly from Europe and the United States. The descendants of Shō continue...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain