Okinawa

     For those who have been on Okinawa, perhaps you may have noticed that the people of Okinawa were different from those of main islands of Japan.  The Japanese islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku are populated by a homogeneous group of people who refer to themselves as Yamato people.  Of course the original inhabitants of these islands, the indigenous people, were Ainu.  However, the Ainu were pushed out even before the island nation was known as Japan, limiting their territory to parts of Hokkaido.  Although Okinawa is considered a Japanese prefecture, therefore, a part of Japan, and its inhabitants Japanese, this has only been the case in more recent times.
     The island chain of Ryukyus, of which Okinawa is the largest, has had a long and illustrious history of its own, before Japanese take over.  Initially, the tiny island group was separated by several kingdoms, but the kingdom on Okinawa, the largest island, eventually conquered the rest.  Early Chinese traders landed on Okinawan shores and developed a thriving trading relationship dating back a thousand years or so. In time, China developed a tributary relationship with the kingdom of Ryukyus, with its king in his palace in Shuri Castle on the largest island of Okinawa.  The Chinese did not "rule" the islands, but it was understood that the Ryukyu King and his court was subject to the Chinese Emperor.  The Chinese introduced many things to the Ryukyus: silk, glass making, paper making, etc., just to name a few.  The Ryukyus became a thriving small, independent kingdom.  
     Around 1395 AD, the Chosun Dynasty in Korea established contact with the Ryukyus.  The Chosun Dynasty was known as the "hermit kingdom" for it refused to have any relations with other foreign countries. Its experience with the outside world was always negative.  The Manchus in the north were always a pain, and Japan was constantly invading, devastating the country, so there were no ties with that island nation. Korea (Chosun Dynasty) only maintained relations with China, and now the Ryukyus became the second country with which it had relations.  A diplomatic mission was sent to the Ryukyus and the Chosun Dynasty developed a very active trading relationship.  Korean lacquer-ware, as well as porcelain was introduced by the Chosuen Dynasty.  The famous Okinawan Benbo lacquer-ware is a direct descendant of those early Okinawans who learned the art of lacquer-making from Chosun Dynasty masters.
     The Okinawan native language is distinct and has nothing in common with Japanese language.  Naturally, it was influenced by Chinese because of the long relationship that the small island chain had with China. When Chosun Dynasty established ties with the Ryukyus, naturally some artisans from Korea remained on the island of Okinawa.  Some were there to teach the various arts and techniques of making things, but others simply settled on the island to live.  Korean language has had an impact on the Okinawan or Ryukyuan language.  There are many examples and some words were modified in their pronunciation and usage, but one word that has remained the same is the word for what or who.  In Okinawan dialect, nuga means what or who.  Sometimes the word is lengthened by saying nundiga.  But basically it is nuga.  In Korean, nuga means who!
     The thriving trading relationship between Korea and Okinawa lasted for many years, centuries.  China didn't object to it because China traded with Korea as well.  However, with the appearance of the first Japanese raiders of the Satsuma Clan, Okinawa began to experience different influences.  The Chinese and the Japanese preferred not to have a direct physical confrontation, so whenever the Chinese arrived, the Japanese would leave or go into hiding.  When Japanese arrived, the Chinese also stayed away.  However, during all this time, Okinawa was still considered to be under the Chinese sphere of influence.
     At the conclusion of the first Sino-Japanese War and the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, China relinquished all claim on the Ryukyu Islands.  However, even prior to the treaty, in 1879, Emperor Meiji announced the annexation of the Ryukyus and making the islands a Japanese prefecture.  The king of Ryukyus was forcibly moved from Shuri to Tokyo, and Okinawa no longer had a king or was an independent kingdom.
     At the conclusion of World War Two, Okinawa was under U.S.administration until reversion took place in 1972.  However, despite the U.S. administration, for a brief period of about 27 years, Okinawa and its people enjoyed some degree of independence, at least from the standpoint of identity.  They were identified as Okinawans, not Japanese.  When talks of reversion became more common in the late 1960s, there were many Okinawans who were dismayed at the prospect.  These were usually those of older generation, who remembered how they were treated as second class citizens.  The younger generation welcomed the reversion.  Prior to the reversion, in the 1950s and 60s, if you asked an Okinawan who they were, you would invariably get a reply that they were Okinawan, never Japanese!
     Today, some 40 years after the reversion, there is still talk in some circles of secession from Japan.  Many are not happy with the current situation.  The main Japanese islands are still referred to as naichi (homeland), thereby leaving out Okinawa from "real" Japan!  The people from Okinawa and the Japanese from naichi refer to mainland Japanese as people of Yamato. Okinawans themselves, especially those who still speak the native dialect, refer to themselves in Okinawan language as ochinaanchu (people of Okinawa).  To see this marked distinction between people from Okinawa and naichi, all you have to do is read some of the current literature that is coming out of Okinawa.  Short stories written by contemporary Okinawan writers invariably tackle the subject of the difference between Okinawans and the Japanese.  Older writers often discuss discrimination experienced by Okinawans, and the younger writers too, seem to want to stress that they are not accepted by Yamato people!  Whether that is true or not, it does appear frequently today in Okinawan literature.  One thing is for sure, ethnically and culturally, people from Okinawa are distinct and have few similarities with those from naichi.