In order to understand the different styles of Okinawan music, you first have to know their origins. The use of the sanshin in traditional Okinawan music is believed to have originated with the Ryukyuan nobility during the reign of Sho Shin (1477-1525), when a significant amount of trade was conducted with the Chinese. These noblemen [...]

Chuo Park Avenue is a modern shopping area whose length is just a few city blocks. It is located in okinawa City running parallel on the north side of the street leading to the Gate 2 entrance of Kadena Air Base.
Called BC Street prior to Reversion, it was a place filled with bars, restaurants, gift [...]

okinawa City is probably the most Americanized town in okinawa because it is right next to Kade-na Air Base. On weekend evenings, many young Americans spend their leisure time at discos or places that offer live music in okinawa City, and on those nights the streets of the city are peopled with pedestrians of many [...]

The okinawa Kaichu Road connects Yakena in Yonashiro Town and Henza Island. It is a road on the sea whose length is 4.7 kilometers, the longest of its kind in Asia. The road was constructed by Gulf Oil Company in 1971 with 900 million yen and took only thirty-three days to complete. The oil company [...]

okinawa is known for its warm and agreeable climate where many things can grow, but when one travels the prefectural roads it is sometimes hard to see the natural scenery because this subtropical island also seems to favor the growth of buildings. At the Southeast Botanical Gardens, a paradise oasis located near Kadena Air Base [...]

In 1992, being the 20th anniversary of the okinawa Reversion, the Japan National Broadcasting Association (NHK) produced an orignal television film series on the history of the Ryukyuan people in the 16th and 17th centuries. The half-year series was entitled “Ryukyu no Kaze” (The Wind of the Ryukyus), which was televised from January to June [...]

Zakimi Castle, located in Yomitan Village, is a medium-sized fortress that remains in very good condition. Standing atop its thick stone walls one may view Ie Island and the panorama of okinawa’s northern hills.
The castle was built early in the 15th century by Gosamaru, a strong warlord of okinawa’s central region. Gosamaru joined forces headed [...]

Noguni Sokan is the father of the sweet potato in okinawa. Born in Noguni Village (now a part of Kadena Town), he introduced the plant to okinawa in 1605, when he returned from Fukien, China as part of the Ryukyuan mission to Peking. During his stay in southern China he learned the technique of planting [...]

The Yomitan “Yachimun no Sato” (Potter’s Village) is located in Kina, Yomitan Village, near Zakimi Castle, whose ruins remain from the Ryukyu Kingdom Era.
This colony for artisans was built by the village authorities at Kina, which was the birthplace of Kinaware and one of the oldest kiln sites in Okinawan history. Officials of Yomitan invited [...]

Although the Ryukyus are a group of many small islands, the ruins of many castles preserving historical sites still remain throughout the prefecture today. The size and design of the various castles demonstrate the power of the former owners/rulers. Aji, or local chieftains, first started to build these stone castles in the 9th century, attempting [...]