Okinawa prefecture

Okinawa (沖縄) is the southern most prefecture of Japan and the main island of the Ryukyu (琉球) 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 Japan. The Okinawan language, known locally as Uchinaguchi, is only used by older Okinawan people. Most of the younger Okinawan people prefer to speak Japanese; while a few phrases like mensore (welcome) are still heard, the language is dying.

The name Okinawa is reputed to mean pearls on a rope in Chinese, presumably due to the chain of islands stretching from Japan's Kyushu island almost to Taiwan, of which Okinawa is the largest and most important. Senkaku Islands are administered as part of this prefecture.

Okinawa was directly controlled by the United States Armed Forces from the end of World War II (see also Battle of Okinawa), in 1945, to the islands' repatriation in 1972. The prefecture still hosts many bases of the United States Forces Japan (Kadena Air Base being the US's largest airbase in Asia), and there is still some tension between native Okinawans and the American personnel stationed there. While providing an important source of revenue to Japan's poorest prefecture, U.S. bases take up close to 20% of the main island of Okinawa. There have also been a number of incidents that have strained relations. In particular, the rape of a 12-year Okinawan girl by three American servicemen in early 1996 was a low-point for American-Japanese relations.

Okinawa's location in the East China Sea, within a few hundred kilometres of China, the Korean peninsula, Taiwan, and the Phillipines enabled the Ryukyu Kingdom to become a prosperous trading nation, and also accounts for Okinawa's current strategic importance to the US.

Table of contents

1 Climate and Nature 2 Architecture 3 History 4 Geography 5 Culture 6 Karate

Climate and Nature

The island is largely composed of coral rock, and rainwater filtering through that coral has given the island many caves, which played an important role in the Battle of Okinawa.

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

History

Geography

Culture

Since Okinawa did not become part of Japan until relatively recently, and for several hundred years was the independent Ryukyu Kingdom, there are considerable differences between Okinawan culture and that of mainland Japan. Examples of traditional Okinawan culture include Eisa dancing (a traditional drumming dance), the sanshin (a three-stringed Okinawan instrument, somewhat similar to a banjo, whose body is often bound using the skin of Okinawa's poisonous Habu snake), and the ubiquitous Awamori (an Okinawan spirit made from Thai rice).

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.