Everything about The Ryukyu Islands totally explained
The
Ryukyu Islands, in
Japanese called the (literally Southwest Islands), are a chain of
Japanese islands in the western
Pacific Ocean at the eastern limit of the
East China Sea. They stretch southwest from the island of
Kyūshū to the island of
Taiwan. The islands are administratively divided into Satsunan Islands to the north, belonging to
Kagoshima Prefecture, and Ryukyu Shotō to the south, belonging to
Okinawa Prefecture,
Japan (
Yoron Island is the southernmost island of the Satsunan Islands and Yonaguni the southernmost of the Ryukyu Islands). The largest of the islands is
Okinawa Island.
The islands have a
subtropical climate with warm winters and hot summers.
Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season and
typhoons.
The
archipelago is home to the
Ryukyuan languages. The original dialects are native to each island and distinct from one another.
Naming
Japanese
In Japanese, the definition of the, literally meaning "Ryukyu Islands", is somewhat different from the English definition of the word. In Japanese, the term
Ryūkyū Shotō is used to refer to the part of the Nansei Islands which is in
Okinawa Prefecture (the southern half), as opposed to islands of the same group located in
Kagoshima Prefecture (the northern half).
Modern usage of the word in Japanese, however, is usually replaced by the word, which is considered its synonym. And when referring to the region in the broad (and imprecise) sense, the Nansei Islands is sometimes referred to as, literally "Amami-Okinawa Region", or variations thereof. For example, the Japanese train timetables uses variations of
Nansei Shotō,
Okinawa,
Amami, etc., but completely avoids using the word
Ryūkyū.
English
In English, until well into the late 1800s (
Meiji period in
Japan), the word "Ryukyu" was spelled
Luchu, Loo-choo, or
Lewchew. These spellings were based on the Chinese pronunciation of the characters for "Ryukyu" (which is "Liúqiú" in modern Mandarin).
History
The
Ryukyu Kingdom was once an independent kingdom occupying the island chain, from
Yonaguni Island in the southwest to
Amami Ōshima in the north. In
1372, it became a tributary state (藩国) of
Ming Dynasty.
In 1609,
Shimazu Tadatsune, Lord of
Satsuma, invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom with a fleet of 13 junks and 2,500
samurai, thereby establishing
suzerainty over the islands. They faced little opposition from the Ryukyuans, who lacked any significant military capabilities, and who were ordered by King
Shō Nei to surrender peacefully rather than suffer the loss of precious lives. After that, the kings of the Ryukyus paid tribute to the Japanese
shogun as well as the
Chinese emperor.
In
1879, the
Meiji government announced the
annexation of the Ryukyus. The messengers of the Ryukyuan king had knelt outside the Chinese Prime Minister's
Yamen in Beijing for three days, pleading to not to be separated from China. However, China at that time was weakened itself from internal corruption and the invasions of the Western colonial powers and Japan itself, therefore, Ryukyu's request to send military protection wasn't granted. China, however, diplomatically objected and the former President of the United States
Ulysses S. Grant was asked to arbitrate. He decided that Japan's claim to the islands was stronger and ruled in Japan's favor. The claims of the indigenous Ryukyuans to the land were ignored.
In the process of annexation, the Japanese military assassinated Ryukyu politicians and civilians who opposed the takeover. Ryukyu Kingdom became part of its northern neighbor, the Satsuma han. Later, it became its own prefecture, Okinawa Prefecture, when the
prefectural system was adopted nationwide. Compulsory Japanese education was enforced on the Ryukyu children, whereby they were taught Japanese language, culture and identity, while strictly forbidden the use of their native language.
Military activity on the island, before and during WWII, especially the
Battle of Okinawa, had a devastating effect on the Okinawan people. A huge loss of civilian life left many feeling that they were being mistreated by both the Japanese and American military. Okinawa remains the poorest prefecture in Japan to this day.
US military control over Okinawa began in 1945 with the
Okinawa Advisory Council. This organization eventually became the
government of the Ryukyu Islands which existed from 1952 to 1972. The US was granted control over Ryukyu Islands south of 29°N latitude amongst other Pacific islands, under the
San Francisco Peace Treaty between the Allied Powers and Japan.
Sovereignty was given to Japan in 1972.
Today, there are a number of issues arising from Ryukyuan history. Some Ryukyuans and some Japanese feel that people from the Ryukyus are not "real" Japanese. Some natives of the Ryukyus claim that the central government is discriminating against the islanders by allowing so many American soldiers to be stationed on bases in
Okinawa with a minimal presence on the mainland. Additionally, there's some discussion of
secession from Japan.
Many popular singers and musical groups come from the Ryukyus. These include (among many others) the pop groups
Begin (ビギン) and
Orange Range, singers
Namie Amuro and
Gackt, as well as the group
Da Pump. See also
Ryukyuan songs.
People
The
Ryukyuans are known for their
longevity. The
Okinawa Centenarian Study
attributes this phenomenon to a combination of diet, exercise, and lifestyle practices.
Traditionally, the people of the Ryukyus speak a chain of
languages related to
Japanese as members of the
Japonic language family. Since the latest Japanese invasion in 1879, Japanese has become the main language of public life on the Ryukyus, especially on
Uchinā (Okinawa). Younger and middle-aged people tend not to speak a Ryukyuan language as fluently as Japanese, if at all.
Ecology
Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests
The Ryukyu Islands are recognized by ecologists as a distinct
subtropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion. The flora and fauna of the islands have much in common with
Taiwan, the
Philippines, and
Southeast Asia, and are part of the
Indomalaya ecozone.
Coral reefs
The
coral reefs of the Ryukyus are one of the
World Wildlife Fund's
Global 200 ecoregions. The reefs are endangered by
sedimentation and
eutrophication, mostly a result of
agriculture, as well as damage from
fishing.
Major islands
This list is based on present day Japanese geographic names:
- Nansei Islands
- Satsunan Islands (The Northern Half)
- Ōsumi Islands with:
- Tanegashima, Yakushima, Kuchinoerabujima, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group,
- Takeshima, Iojima, Kuroshima in the North-Western Group.
- Tokara Islands (The Shichi-tō): Kuchinoshima, Nakanoshima, Gajajima, Suwanosejima, Akusekijima, Tairajima, Kodakarajima, Takarajima
- Amami Islands: Amami Ōshima, Kikaigashima, Kakeromajima, Yoroshima, Ukeshima, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima, Yoronjima
- Ryūkyū Shotō (The Southern Half)
- Okinawa Islands (The Central Group or Ryukyu proper): Okinawa Island (aka. Okinawan mainland, Okinawa hontō), Kumejima, Iheyajima, Izenajima, Agunijima, Iejima, Iwo Tori Shima (Iōtorishima) (External Link)
- Sakishima Islands ("Further Isles")
- Miyako Islands: Miyakojima, Ikema, Ogami, Irabu, Shimoji, Kurima, Minna, Tarama
- Yaeyama Islands: Iriomote, Ishigaki, Taketomi, Kohama, Kuroshima, Aragusuku, Hatoma, Yubujima, Hateruma, Yonaguni
- Senkaku Islands (claimed by PRC and ROC): Uotsurijima, Kuba Jima, Taisho Jima, Kita Kojima, Minami Kojima
Notes:
For some of the island names above, the suffix -jima, -shima, and -gashima can be interchanged, omitted, or appended. The suffix means "island." In general, the islands are listed from north to south where possible.
"Shotō" is replaced with "Islands" in the list except for Ryūkyū Shotō (琉球諸島), since the term "Ryukyu Islands" already exists in English. The Japanese term refers only to the islands that comprise Okinawa Prefecture, while the English term refers to the entire chain of islands between Kyūshū and Taiwan.
Ryūkyū Rettō (琉球列島) refers to what was once the territory of the former kingdom, which are the Amami Islands, Okinawa Islands, Miyako Islands, and Yaeyama Islands.Further Information
Get more info on 'Ryukyu Islands'.
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