Ryukyu Mura

Okinawans takes great pride in their culture. In history, the Ryukyuan kingdom showed its prestige not by military might, but by showcasing their art. See what makes the performing arts so wonderfully rich and unique. In this section, you'll find fanciful folktales of old Okinawa, scrumptous recipes, learn some words and phrases in the Okinawan Ryukyu mura language, gain wisdom from Okinawan proverbs, find out about Okinawa religion, read about the performing arts, and see a chronological table of Okinawan history. In central Okinawa there is a beautiful place in Okinawa called Ryukyu Mura. Ryukyu Mura features amazing places in Okinawa and an amazing place of history. Located in Onna Village, Okinawa Japan, Ryukyu Mura is one of the best places you can go in Okinawa Japan. Places like Ryukyu Mura make the travel to japan an amazing experience. Get a little yuntaku (talkative) with us! Join your friends in the Uchinanchu Chat Room where you can talk with others LIVE, in real-time! Check the Chat Status Monitor in the right column to see if the webmaster is in the Chat Room. We're waiting to talk to you! What does Okinawa sound like? Download or just listen to Okinawan songs. Go to Okinawa listening room. This section will be updated weekly. This week, featuring "Miruku Mu Nari" by modern artist Hidekatsu. Featured Okinawan Website of the Month including the sounds of Ryukyu mura There are so many Okinawa-related websites out there that deserve mention. When I first started my quest to provide an informative resource to Okinawan culture several years ago, quality webpages on Okinawa were hard to come by. With a renewed interest and awareness of Okinawa, there is such a wealth of information available on the Internet about our wonderful homeland. I would like to shine the spotlight on one website a month and would encourage you to drop by and visit these other phenomenal resources on the web. You may also visit the many other fine websites on Okinawa featured in the Links section of Okinawa.com. 2000 G8 Summit in Okinawa With the G8 Summit only months away, the official 2000 G8 Summit Support Council website counts down anxiously. An important event for Okinawa, it is heavily anticipated. The G8 Summit website provides extensive information about Okinawa and its culture. Be sure to check out the Okinawa.com Bookstore more titles have been added (specifically, this month features Japanese language books to help you in your travels to Okinawa). In association with Amazon.com, we bring you a listing of Okinawa books, music and videos. We take the burden out of searching for Okinawa resources by compiling a complete listing by category. Save time and money by shopping for your Okinawan resources. One of our newer features is the Okinawa Reunion page where readers can post info to a virtual bulletin board in an effort to locate lost friends. This has always been a recurring theme in many e-mails that I have received over the years but since one of our new Uchinanchu Network members posted a message to the group about wanting to locate someone, the dilemma had come to the forefront of my mind. If you are in this plight, please take advantage of this service. You never know who may be reading and you may be able to experience an Okinawa Reunion of your own! Just wanted to say a heartfelt THANK YOU again for this wonderful site! I received a response from Susan Bowers just the other day! 16 long years has gone by but somehow, it doesn't seem that long ago!! A friend of her husband's friend's friend's friend (lost you yet?) saw my posting & this was eventually brought to her attention. We both thought that we wouldn't hear from each other again but thanks to you & this site....we did! THANK YOU! If you have experienced your own Okinawa Reunion and would like to share the story, please send me some e-mail. We'd love to hear about it. Uchinanchu CHAT The Uchinanchu CHAT e-mail discussion group has been established. It is said that Okinawan people among the most friendly, open, and accepting people in the world. Come and experience the spirit of the Uchinanchu in Okinawa.com's own Uchinanchu Chat e-mail discussion group. For a moderated discussion group with less chat and more fact, visit the main list of the Uchinanchu Network.

Okinawa Eisa

The eisa, a folk performing art, is a dynamic, spirited dance intrinsic to a midsummer festival called Bon, or Festival of the Dead, which takes place for three days from July 13-15 of the lunar calendar. A dance of Okinawa Island and the surrounding smaller islands, it is basically a circular dance composed of both men and women. (However, a few villages in the north of Okinawa Island have eisa danced only by women, and the town of Kadena has eisa danced only by men.) The musical instruments used in the eisa include the samisen, large barrel drums, and small hand drums, or paranku. The men play the samisen and beat vigorously on the drums as the women dance to the rhythms. On the night of July 15, after the ancestral spirits have returned to the world of the dead, the dancers of each village gather in the courtyard of the kami ashagi (major site of community worship) and begin the eisa. After offering the first dance to the village gods, the dancers make the rounds of the homes in the village, perfoming the eisa dance. The eisa originated from a group dance called esa omoro, to which Buddhist songs and dances were later added. Its present name, eisa, for the Bon Dance is derived from the word "eisa" which is a refrain in the Buddhist songs. Though regarded today as entertainment, the eisa originally had an important religious function of giving repose to the dead. An eisa performance on street corners and at homes of villagers was comparable to performing a memorial service for village ancestors. Thus, the eisa always began with songs which invoked the Buddha, such as Mamaoya Nenbutsu. It was only later that Okinawan folk songs so popular in eisa today came to be included in the eisa song repertoire. Traditionally, sedate colors were used for eisa costumes. The men wore robes of banana fiber cloth with straw sashes and kerchiefs, while the women wore robes of banana fiber cloth, or dark blue kimonos, with white kerchiefs. The costumes now are multi-colored, especially for the men, who wear white cotton shirts and trousers with bright sashes and kerchiefs. Popular througout the prefecture today, the eisa is an enduring Okinawan folk performing art. This art form is preserved with the greatest enthusiasm in the central part of Okinawa Island, followed by the north and the south. An island-wide eisa festival and a youth eisa festival are held annually on the first Sunday after the Bon celebrations have come to an end.

Okinawa Language

The language of Okinawa belongs to the Japanese-Ryukyuan language family which extends from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Yonaguni (73 km. off the coat of Taiwan) in the southern Ryukyus. Although Hattori Shiro, one of the leading linguists of Japan estimates that the time of separation of the Shuri (Okinawa) and Kyoto (Japan) dialects was sometime between the beginning of the sixth century and the middle of the twelfth century, the Ryukyuan language is identified as an independent language due to its remote relationships in morphological, phonological, and lexical aspects. Within the Ryukyuan language (extending from Amami Oshima to Yonaguni), the Okinawan language itself is comprised of many diffferent dialects and sub-dialects from village to village. The Shuri dialect was standardized under the Ryukyuan kingdom central administration estiablished by King Sho Shin (1477-1526). It was the official language used in conversation by the aristocratic class of Shuri castle. Most Okinawan songs and poems were composed in the Shuri dialect. The Shuri dialect is characterized by complexity of honorific markers which differentiate class, sex, and age. A diversity of respect forms was strictly adhered to among the three social classes of aristocracy, gentry, and commoners; between male and female; and also between different age groups. The appropriate respect forms had to be used not only when two speakers were from the same class, same sex, and even to the same age when the hierarchical distinction only related to the month of birth. When two speakers were completely different status, conversational usage was extremely complex.

Okinawa Japan

Iriomote Wildcat

Although many animals, living on the Asian Continent when Okinawa was a part of it, have been extinct, some animals have survived and evolved on the subtropical islands of Okinawa. Many rare species such as the Iriomote Wildcat, Yanbaru Kuina, and Yanbaru Tenagakogane are only seen on Okinawa.

Okinawa KarateOkinawan Karate

It is said that Karate is the mix of "Ti," the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) traditional fighting art, and "Kenpo," the Kung Fu traditional fighting art of China. Karate was developed in Okinawa. When it was introduced to mainland Japan, they called it Karate meaning "empty hand." Karate has spread through the world after World War II. Okinawa is known as the root of Karate. Many people from all over the world come to Okinawa to train; and, international competitions are often held in Okinawa.

Naha Tug-of-war! TsunahikiBiggest Rope in the World!

The Naha Great Tug of War is the main even of the Naha Festival held every year on October 10. Thousands of people compete pulling the giant rope which is hand-made every year. Recently, the rope has measured 186 meters (over 560 feet) in length and weighed over 40 tons. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized it as the biggest rope in the world.

Okinawa #1 for longevity!The Longevity of Okinawans Ranks #1 in the World!

Japanese longevity for both men and women ranks first in the world; and among Japanese prefectures, Okinawa ranks on the top. In Okinawa, the number of people living more than 100 years per capita also ranks first in Japan. The reason for Okinawas' longevity are considered to be a healthy diet, mild climate and a less stressful society. Okinawa and Japan related links on my blog: pictures of japan | hdr photography | okinawa japan | ryukyu mura