Glimpses of Ryukyu

The 19th century Meji Gvernment's annexation of Hokkaido and Ryukyu proved lasting. Unlike Penghu, Taiwan, Laiodong Penisunlar, Shakalin and Korea, these two territories remain firmly within the Japanese border despite the WW II's unconditional surrender.

Ryukyu Kingdom, once a small yet independent maritime nation, is now just Okinawa Prefecture. I had always been mystefied by this special island nation.

Her merchant ships had traded as far as Annam, Siam and Malacca. Her diplomats had successfully maneuvered between two empires paying tribute to both without irking either.

Her land saw the fiercest battle in the Pacific war theater with thousand of her civilians were herded to jump off the cliff seemingly for the dignity of her emperor who was but a foreign ruler just 70 years earlier.

Being a small nation sandwiched between two giants, they are destined to be swallowed by either one. I have this profound sympathy for her and her peoples.

My recent trip to Okinawa was predominantly a children-centric tour. We visited the Churaimi Ocean Expo and sampled the local diets that were commonly attributed as the reason of longetivity among the locals.

That gave me very little opportunities to have a deeper glimpse of Okinawa.

At the downtown fish market in Naha, a trader told me that the younger generation could probably understand bits of Ryukyuan language but could barely speak the tongue. They have largely been Japanized though are conscious of their difference from the mainland Yamato.

This is not surprising given that she had been annexed by Japan 130 years ago and first came under the Japanese Shogun's suzerainty 4 centuries earlier.

Further, genetically they are both Mongoloid and religiously there is no conflict. After such a long period of subjugation, it is actually surprising to see any surviving Ryukyu culture and language.

Another young and handsome trader at Okinawa World, a theme park built on top of a 900 meter underground cave with amazing columns of stalactites and stalagmites, selling dragon-fly souvenier told me that if at all any facial feature that distinguish them from the Yamato is their dark and thick eyebrow. I wondered how objectiev this could be?

It was also interesting that the same chap told me his name is 6 Chinese characters in length, 3 each made up his surname and first name, that is a wholesome 6 characters compared to the typical 4-5 characters in a Japanese name.

Another cultural relic that is prevailent all over the island is the shishi (read in Hokkien, you can perhaps figure out what it is). It is a Ryukyuan lion figurine that is commonly seen on top of the roof or stood in pair just outside the gate or the door. The function is to expel the evil spirits.

At the Shuri castle in Naha where the last Ryukyu Kings resided, we could still see plague gifted by the various Qing emperors as late as Tongzhi.

The modern Sino-Japanese conflict started with a Ryukyu ship wreckage off Taiwan in 1871 where scores of Ryukyuan subjects were killed by the Taiwanese aborigine. The Meiji smelt blood and claimed compensation against the Qing government. A small and unsuccessful expedition was launched in 1874.

It is unimaginable that the millions of dead that followed in the ensuing 70 years had direct link to this Pacific Island. A monument commenmorating the deads stood elegantly silent just below the principla Shinto temple in Naha. I was able to stand before the monument to reflect for a few minutes the historical significant of a marine mishap.

The island is slow-paced ( the speed limit on the highway is 80 km/ph and around 40-50 km/ph off the highway) and the peoples like the Japanese are courteous and well-mannered. English, suprizingly is not widely spoken despite a huge American military presence in the island taking up almost 20% of land mass in Okinawa island.

Okinawa is a beautiful island with sandy beaches and scenic coastal line. The seafood is abundant and there is a type of seaweed that taste like fish roe. It is called the green cavier. I don't remember the name but it is surely one of the dedicacy my younger boy and I remember.

The weather in December is mild with 15-20 celcius but it is the low season for tourist to this Japanese's Hawaii.

There are reasons to come back for this island that is riched in history.