 The Ryukyu's aristocratic class resisted annexation for almost two decades but after the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), factions pushing for Chinese and Ryukyuan sovereignty faded as China renounced its claims to the island.In the Meiji period, the government continuously and formally suppressed Ryukyuan ethnic identity, culture, tradition, and language while assimilating them as ethnic Japanese (Yamato).Since the formation of the prefecture, its relationship with the Japanese nation-state has been continually contested and changed.