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Ryukyu Islands is the name of the
island group between the islands of
Kyushu and
Taiwan. Ryukyu Islands in Japanese is Nansei Shoto or
Ryūkyū Retto. The northern half is known as Satsunan Shoto,
belonging to
Kagoshima prefecture,
Japan, while the southern half is known as Ryūkyū Shoto,
belonging to
Okinawa prefecture, Japan.
The Ryukyu Kingdom was a semi-independent kingdom,
located between
China and
Japan. The Chinese government viewed them as a
tributary state (and therefore theoretically should come to their aid
if necessary). A
1609 expedition from
Kyushu captured the island of
Okinawa and from then on, the kings of the Ryukyus sent tribute to
both China and the
Satsuma domain of the Japanese.
In
1879, the
Meiji government announced the
annexation of the Ryukyus. China objected and the ex-President of the
United States
Ulysses S. Grant was asked to arbitrate. He decided that Japan's claim
to the islands was stronger and ruled in Japan's favor.
Today the Ryukyu islands are collectively
Okinawa prefecture. There are a host of problems arising from the
Ryukyu's less than completely Japanese history. Some people (a small
number perhaps) feel that people from Okinawa Prefecture are not "real"
Japanese. Also, some natives of the Ryukyus claim that the central
government is discriminating against them by allowing so many American
soldiers to be stationed in Okinawa, a far higher percentage than are
stationed anywhere else in Japan.
Many popular singers and musical groups come from Okinawa Prefecture.
These include (among many others) singer
Amuro Namie and the group
Da Pump.
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