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Okinawa is the southern most prefecture of Japan and
the main island of the Ryukyu island chain. Because Okinawa had been the
half-independent Ryukyu Kingdom until 1879, Okinawa has a culture and a
language that are different from mainland Japanese. The Okinawan language,
known locally as Uchinaguchi, is only used by older Okinawan people. Most of
the younger Okinawan people prefer to speak Japanese.
Climate and Nature:
Okinawa is said to have the most beautiful beaches in all of Japan and
normally enjoys above 20 degree Celsius weather throughout the year. Many
coral reefs are found in this region of Japan and wildlife is abundant. Sea
turtles return yearly to the southern islands of Okinawa to lay their eggs.
The summer months carry warnings to swimmers regarding poisonous jelly fish
and other dangerous sea creatures. Okinawa is a major producer of sugar cane
and tropical fruits.
 Architecture:
Whereas most homes in Japan are made with wood and allow free-flow of air to
combat humidity, homes in Okinawa are typically made from concrete to deal
with regular typhoons. Roof styles also hint at resisting high gusts with
each tile cemented on and not merely layered on as seen with most homes in
Japan. Many roofs also display a roundish dragon statue called a Shisa which
is said to protect the home from danger. Roofs are typically red in color
and are inspired by Chinese design.
History:
Okinawan history up to 1945:
When Commodore Perry visited Okinawa in 1854, he noted: It would be
difficult for you to imagine the beauties of this island with respect to the
charming scenery and the marvelous perfection of cultivation. Sadly, the
island's history has not been all as pleasant as that scenery.
 The source of modern-day Okinawans is disputed. Evidence suggests the
island was never part of formal Japanese territory until annexation in 1872.
The earliest inhabitants were likely descended from crossovers via a
prehistoric land bridge from modern-day China, with a later mixture of
Malaysians, Micronesians, and Japanese. Early Chinese visitors noted the
hospitality of the islanders, and its brutal poverty.
Pressed between two powerful neighbors — China and Japan — it suited
them well to be polite. After the European explorers of the 19th century,
they had greedy Dutch, Portugese, English, and others, who always noted the
hospitality of the natives. The Okinawan language seems to be a scion of
Japanese, having split off long ago.
The dominant economy was farming of sugar cane, and later on, the
potato, without which far more Okinawans would have died in the 1945 battle.
This writer has seen much foliage while there, including guava, banana,
papaya, tobacco, and the ubiquitous sugar cane, that grows wild everywhere.
But Okinawans were not always poor. In the fifteenth and sixteenth
century, they traded from Java to Japan, to China and Korea.
At about the end of the sixteenth century, the Japanese feudal leader
ordered Okinawa to give men and arms for a Chinese invasion. Okinawans
generally opposed military adventures; there is a widespread (and possibly
false) story that during the huge (and failed) Mongol invasions of Japan in
the 13th century, that the Okinawans refused to help the Mongols, being
later ravaged by them. Nor did they wish to ruin their Korean trade; the
Japanese planned its attack via this peninsula. They did not wish to offend
China, to whom they had strong trade and cultural ties.
The attack went without Okinawa's help, and the Japanese ruler
meanwhile died. There was a ferocious battle of succession; the Shimazu
family of Kyushu Island won — the Satsumas, the Okinawans nearest Japanese
neighbors.
The Shimazu's wanted Okinawa's trade, and wanted favor with the regime
in Edo (modern-day Tokyo), and the Okinawans (presumably) had not paid
respects to the new regime in Kyushu. Permission to punish Okinawa was
granted the rulers in Edo, doubtless happy that the murderous Satsuma clan
was causing trouble elsewhere, to the south — not north in Tokyo.
The Okinawan invasion was in 1609. Three thousand men and more than
one hundred war junks sailed from Kagoshima at the southern tip of Kyushu.
The Okinawans were nearly weaponless; many treasures were taken to
Kagoshima.
The Satsuma rulers never permitted Okinawans to own arms, leading to
Okinawa's most famous contribution to world culture — karate (below).
The Satsumas enacted crippling taxes, taking over the island trade; we
note Japan had been closed in 1636. Okinawans sometimes couldn't eat the
fish they caught.
After Perry's "black ships" came by, the Meiji Restoration proceeded
after the Meiji Emperor attained the throne in 1867. Tokyo told China that
Okinawans were Japanese — dubious at best. A pawn in a great game of chess,
the weaker Chinese gave in, though the ignored Okinawans themselves would
have preferred Chinese rule to Japanese.
The island were formally annexed to Japan in 1879, the monarchy in
Shuri Castle abolished. While they were ostensibly Japanese, Okinawans
experienced (and sometimes still do) extreme racism. The island grew poorer.
Tokyo mandated Japanese language in the slowly-expanding school
system, wanting to render the islanders Japanese citizens. By 1939 there was
compulsory military training. Some educated Okinawans wanted to end
Okinawa's culture and become Japanese. As the Japanese rolled from one
military victory to another from 1931 to 1941, when they made the arguably
worst military mistake in all history at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese did seem
God's chosen people; perhaps the Japanese would one day sit astride the
entire world. Had they attached themselves to the right master?
Into the 1940s, Okinawans were fed a constant stream of propaganda. By
1944, Okinawans were befuddled by their Japanese masters. There were wartime
shortages, women were raped, and civilian products commandeered for military
use.
Long subject to typhoons, powerful neighbors, and disease, they now
faced a new and truly deadly enemy — the Americans.
The crucial year 1945:
The year 1945 was defined by the Battle of Okinawa (which see), and the
consequent annexation of Okinawa by the Americans.
The Battle of Okinawa, fought in 1945, was one of the last major
battles of World War II, claiming the lives of an estimated 120,000 people.
Okinawa was the only place where there was a land battle in Japan during WW
II, and it was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. In addition to the
Japanese military people who died fighting in the Battle of Okinawa, more
than one third of the civilian population, 100,000 people, died. The Okinawa
victims were not only killed by bombs and shells, but also by the Japanese
military.
The Americans were under strict orders not to harm civilians, but
there were atrocities such as the Cave of the Virgins, where many Okinawan
school girls were killed. This writer has been there, it has sadly become
something of a tourist site.
The island was occupied by the United States as a result of World War
II. After 1945:
This history is at the present writing still fragmentary; any knowledgeable
persons would be welcomed to contribute more. Okinawa remains the poorest
prefecture of Japan as of this writing (August 2003).
The 1972 reversion of Okinawa completed the return of control of the
main islands to Japan. The United States military still controls about 19%
of the island, and this presence is subject to much controversy: while the
Americans give jobs to the locals and pay much rent on land, some Americans
have committed serious crimes on the island.
Karate:
Okinawa is also considered the birth place of karate. The origins of this
form of martial art are not clear, but were likely born from the synthesis
of an external style of kung fu brought from China and native Okinawan
fighting techniques, known as Okinawa-te or simply Te. A ban on weapons in
Okinawa for two long periods in its history very likely contributed to the
purely weaponless nature of karate.
American service men and woman stationed in Okinawa after World War II
learned karate there and took the martial art to America where it grew in
popularity.
Okinawan Tension with Japan:
Many Okinawans refuse to raise the Japanese flag at official events, because
of the flag's perceived link to Japan's emperor, the Japanese Imperial
Military, and the World War II Battle of Okinawa. The Japanese flag reminds
many Okinawans of the worst aspects of Japanese imperialism.
On October of 1987, Mr. Syoichi Chibana burned the Japanese flag while it
was being raised for the Kaiho National Athletic meet in Yomitan, Okinawa.
This incident not only shocked Okinawans, but also Japanese.
During the Battle of Okinawa, Japanese soldiers killed Okinawan
civilians. One reason was due to non combatants disturbing the Japanese
military in their hiding places. During the battle, people hid in the many
caves on Okinawa. At first, there were only civilians, but the soldiers also
took refuge in the caves after the fighting became intense. During the many
fierce battles, the babies in the caves started crying. Their mothers tried
to stop the crying, but the soldiers, being afraid of being found by the
enemy, murdered the babies at once. This brutality was not unusual to the
Okinawans. They were also killed over small amounts of food. "At midnight,
soldiers would wake up Okinawans and take them to the beach. Then they chose
Okinawans at random and threw hand grenades at them." (Moriguchi, 1992)
The suspicion of being a spy was another reason why Okinawans were
killed. Classified World War II Japanese military documents describe
punishment for Okinawans who didn't speak Japanese. They were declared
spies, and killed for speaking their own language. Additionally, Japanese
soldiers shot Okinawans who wanted to surrender to Allied Forces appealing
to them to quit fighting. The Japanese military commanders were afraid of
their subordinates losing their fighting spirit while watching civilians
surrender. So they killed civilians to prevent their troops from losing
morale.
During March 1945, there was an intense battle on Yaeyama Island. The
Japanese military forced people to evacuate from their towns to the
mountains even though malaria was prevalent there. Okinawans, without food
and medicine, lost 54% of the island's population to starvation and disease.
After WW II, the government stated that the Japanese military didn't know
that malaria was prevalent on Yaeyama Island, however there is some evidence
that this was known before evacuating the Okinawans to the mountains. The
bereaved families of the malaria victims filed a lawsuit against the
government for its responsibility.
The Princess Lilies:
Another point of Okinawan resentment is due to that the WWII Japanese
military forced school girls to join a group known as the Princess Lilies
and go to the battle front as nurses. The Princess Lilies was an
organization made up of girl students, 15 to 16 years old, who participated
in the battle as nurses. There were seven girl's high schools in Okinawa at
the time of WW II. The Princess Lilies were organized at two of them, and a
total of 297 students and teachers joined the group and eventually served
the Army as nurses. Two hundred and eleven died. Most of the girls were put
into caves, which served as temporary clinics, and took care of injured
soldiers. There was no medicine, food or water. Many of the young girls died
while trying to get water for the wounded soldiers. The Japanese military
also told these girls that if they were taken prisoner the enemy would rape
and then kill them, and then gave the girls hand grenades to commit suicide
with before being taken prisoner. One of the Princess Lilies explains this
by saying, "We had a strict imperial education, so being taken prisoner was
the same a being a traitor. We were taught to prefer suicide to becoming a
captive." --(Moriguchi, 1992) Many students died saying "Tenno Banzai."
which means "Long live the Emperor." The board of education, made up
entirely of mainland Japanese, required the girls' participation. Teachers
opposed to the board of education, insisting the students be evacuated to
somewhere safe, were accused of being traitors.
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