The Ryukyu Islands lie along the invisible line where the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean overlap.

Historically, the Ryukyu Kingdom was located along the trade route that served Korea, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia, and because of this fact, there were many explorers, traders and missionaries who passed through or spent a period of time at the port of Ryukyu. Some travelers succeeded in arriving at their final destinations; others were claimed by the sea during their long ocean voyage, and yet others spent many years on okinawa. Some from this last group spent a large part of their lives trying to find a way back to their home country. There is another group of travelers, who by their fate, happened to pass away while on okinawa. These visitors from abroad were buried at the International Cemetery near Tomari Port. In past times, the Ryukyuan Court would graciously take care of funeral arrangements.

The number of foreigners interred in the cemetery prior to WWII is twenty-two, including 6 Chinese, 11 Americans, 2 Englishmen, 1 Frenchman, 1 Swede and 1 person of unknown origin.

The oldest grave is that of a Chinese. The inscription on the tombstone reads that the individual died in the 57th year of Koki in the Chinese Calendar, which corresponds to 1718 in the Gregorian, or Western Calendar.

A graveyard is a place where one may learn of historical events. One of the graves in the cemetery belongs to William Hares, a British seaman who sailed aboard the Alceste. Hares died on okinawa at the age of 21 in the year 1816; he was one of the crew of Captain Basil Hall, whose visit to the Ryukyu Kingdom pre-dated Commodore Perryfs mission to open Japan. A fellow Englishman, John McLeod, wrote of the event in Narrative of a Voyage: gA young man whose case had been hopeless died here. On that night a coffin was made by our own carpenters, whilst their people dug a grave, in the English manner, in a small burial ground under some trees near the landing place.h

The International Cemetery may be an interesting place to visit and look back in history at the relationship between foreign visitors and okinawa.