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86-517: On April 1, 2002, the administrative status of Tomigusuku was changed from village (Japanese: 村; son) to city (Japanese: 市; shi). Until then it had been the largest village in Japan. Tomigusuku is located along the western coast, on the southern part of Okinawa Island , facing the East China Sea . It is broadly rectangular, extending east-west, with Naha City on the north. The Noha River runs westward in

172-467: A humid subtropical climate bordering on a tropical rainforest climate . The climate supports a dense Subtropical forest in the northern Yanbaru National Park . A rainy season occurs in the late spring. There are many local pubs ( izakaya ) and cafes that serve Okinawan cuisine and dishes, such as gōyā chanpurū (bitter melon stir fry), fu chanpurū (wheat gluten chanpurū ), and tonkatsu (tenderized, breaded, fried pork cutlet). Okinawan soba

258-686: A U.S. government report, Okinawa was a key conduit for smuggling drugs such as heroin from Thailand via Okinawa to the United States. It was called "The Okinawa System" in the global drug trade. A testimony by a head of the Department of Defense said that drug abuse was "quite extensive." It began in the second half of 1968; marijuana was smuggled from Thailand to Okinawa and grown near an unidentified U.S. Marine Corps training area in northern Okinawa. A 100 kg (220 lb) package of marijuana fell from an aircraft, and another 90 kg (200 lb)

344-460: A different segment of the old world. Virtually every individual of this world is infected with one or the other JCV subtype, by the time he/she reaches 10 years of age. This virus is isolated from urine, and another conjecture is that most children are infected from parents, and that too, through living at close quarters for years together. According to this conjecture, even if two different populations, say Americans and Japanese, were living together in

430-615: A dozen of gusuku were transformed into fortress/castle-like structures is unclear, but he conjectured that some rulers had expanded gusuku substantially by building their family residences around them. Shuri Castle , for example, encompasses sacred places such as Sui mui gusuku and Madan mui gusuku , which suggests the original nature of the castle. Archaeologists from Okinawa Prefecture have labeled some archaeological findings as gusuku. Takemoto Masahide claimed that gusuku were defensive communities. He classified what he considered gusuku into three types: According to Takemoto, Type B, which

516-415: A dozen were fortifications. Each community usually had a gusuku. Gusuku were typically located on hills, but some were on sand dunes, on cliff edges, and in caves. In some communities, what were called gusuku were actually stone tombs. Nakamatsu explained the great diversity of gusuku by one feature in common: sacredness. According to Nakamatsu, a gusuku was in origin a place of "aerial burial." The reason that

602-434: A fishing and shellfish collecting spot. It also includes facilities for sea bathing, camping and sports (baseball stadium). The city includes twenty-four wards. Tomigusuku City hosts forty-eight tangible cultural properties and monuments, most of which appear on municipal listings but are not officially designated or registered at the national, prefectural or municipal level. This Okinawa Prefecture location article

688-619: A high population density of 1,014.93/km . During the Meiji Period , Okinawan ethnic identity, tradition, culture and language were suppressed by the Meiji government , which sought to assimilate the Okinawans as Japanese ( Yamato ). Many ethnic Japanese have since migrated to Okinawa. The modern inhabitants of Okinawa are mainly ethnic Okinawan , Japanese, half Japanese and mixed. Okinawans are known for their longevity . This particular island

774-709: A historian and an archaeologist from Okinawa dated them to the late 12th to early 13th centuries and claimed that they were predecessors of gusuku with stone walls. This view was actively criticized by Takanashi Osamu in the late 1990s and 2000s. Archaeological studies in the Sakishima Islands in southern Okinawa Prefecture are not so active as those in the main Okinawa Islands . Some Okinawa-led archaeological reports labeled some sites in Miyako and Yaeyama as "gusuku-like." Archaeologist Ono Masatoshi raised concern about

860-467: A large fire burned down sections of Shuri Castle : "Six castle buildings occupying some 4,200 square metres (45,000 sq ft) in total were gutted." Rebuilding efforts were underway as of 10 February 2020. As of September 2009, the Japanese government estimates the population at 1,384,762, which includes American military personnel and their families. The Okinawan language , called Uchināguchi ,

946-461: A nerve agent leak in 1969. Aircraft crashes, hit-and runs and murders killed residents. The perpetrators were often unpunished, since they could not be prosecuted in Okinawa Courts. The 1970s and 1980s also had severe pollution of waterways and wells with PFAS : toxic chemicals in foam used by fire fighting training at U.S. facilities such as Kadena Air Base . In the early 1970s, according to

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1032-581: A partition of a mansion and stone walls surrounding an agricultural field. Nakamatsu Yashū claimed that suku -like word forms were more prominent in Miyako and Yaeyama than gusuku . Regardless of whether it is appropriate to call them gusuku , the Yaeyama Islands have archaeological remains with stone walls, such as Mashuku Village of Hateruma Island , Hanasuku and Gumaara Villages and Shinzato Villages of Taketomi Island . These villages were abandoned around

1118-753: A positive growth of 4.7% from 9,396,200 in the previous year. The U.S. military bases account for 4 to 5% of the island economy. There is also a smaller contingent of Japanese military bases on the island. Several former U.S. military facilities on Okinawa have been re-developed as commercial areas, most notably the American Village in Chatan , which opened in 1998, and the Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom in Kitanakagusuku , which opened in 2015. The United States maintains American military bases in Japan as part of

1204-605: A prime staging post for the aforementioned wars. Its ports and airports were used to transport supplies. The base at Camp Chinen, Nanjo City was used by the CIA for covert operations. In 1965, Admiral Ulysses S. Grant Sharp stated that "Without Okinawa, we couldn't continue fighting the Vietnam war." Intense use of the island by the U.S. military caused damage to the environment and residents. There were oil and fuel spills. Exposure to toxic substances caused illness of service members such as

1290-450: A residence, a well, an utaki , and storage buildings. Larger gusuku, like Nakijin Castle, could have more than five baileys, while smaller gusuku, like Iha Castle , had a single bailey. Gusuku have one or more entrances, often guarded by a heavy gate or gatehouse . Gates were the strongpoints of gusuku. Many gusuku, like Nakijin Castle, were adapted to have gun ports next to their gates. At

1376-581: A result, gusuku came to mean castles/fortresses. In any case, a flood of archaeological discoveries in the 1970s led Okinawan archaeologists to establish archaeological periods of the Okinawa Islands that were distinct from those of Japan (Amami and the Sakishima group also have unique archaeological periods distinct from Japan and one another). In their framework, the Gusuku period is an archaeological epoch of

1462-455: A small number of endemic Yanbaru kuina (also known as the Okinawa rail), a small flightless bird that is close to extinction. The critically endangered Okinawa woodpecker is also endemic to the island. The Indian mongoose was introduced to the island to prevent the native habu pit viper from attacking the birds. It did not succeed in eliminating the habu but instead preyed on birds, increasing

1548-476: Is Furusutobaru Castle , residence of Oyake Akahachi , which was attacked by Nakasone Toyomiya of Miyako shortly before the invasion by Ryukyu. Linguist Nakamoto Masachie noted that in some dialects of Yaeyama, gusuku / gushiku means stone walls themselves (not a structure with stone walls) and conjectured that this might be the original meaning of gusuku . According to Ono Masatoshi, gusuku has various meanings, depending on dialects of Yaeyama, including

1634-519: Is 1,384,762. The greater Naha area has roughly 800,000 residents, while the city itself has about 320,000 people. Naha is the seat of Okinawa Prefecture on the southwestern part of Okinawa Island. Okinawa has a humid subtropical climate . Okinawa has been a critical strategic location for the United States Armed Forces since the Battle of Okinawa and the end of World War II . The island

1720-562: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Okinawa Island Okinawa Island ( 沖縄島 , Okinawa-jima , Okinawan : 沖縄/うちなー , Uchinaa Kunigami : ふちなー , Fuchináa ) , officially Okinawa Main Island ( 沖縄本島 , Okinawa-hontō ) , is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu ( Nansei ) Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of

1806-529: Is a toll road that runs from Naha to Nago , and has a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph), the highest on the island. There are many ferries to many of the nearby islands, such as Ie Shima . Tomarin Port in Naha, has ferries to nearby islands such as Aguni , Tokashiki and Zamami . With Kunigami district , it has an area of 764 square kilometers (295 sq mi) and a population of about 120,000. There

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1892-400: Is a so-called Blue Zone , an area where the people live longer than most others elsewhere in the world. Five times as many Okinawans reach 100 years old compared to the rest of Japan. As of 2002 there were 34.7 centenarians for every 100,000 inhabitants, which is the highest ratio worldwide. Possible explanations are diet, low-stress lifestyle, caring community, activity, and spirituality of

1978-511: Is a term used for the distinctive Ryukyuan form of castles or fortresses. Many gusukus and related cultural remains in the Ryukyu Islands have been listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites . There are three perspectives regarding the nature of gusukus : that they were holy places, dwellings encircled by stones, and castles of the rulers. In this period, porcelain trade between Okinawa and other countries became commonplace, and Okinawa

2064-473: Is also agriculture with tropical fruit such as Malpighia emarginata . Tourist attractions include Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (at one time the world's largest aquarium), Century Beach, Pineapple Park, the Orion Beer Factory and Hiji Falls . In recent years, Okinawa has become an increasingly popular destination for tourists from China and Southeast Asia. In 2018, Okinawa attracted 9,842,400 tourists,

2150-528: Is defined by midden or shell heap culture and is divided into Early, Middle, and Late Shell Mound periods. The Early Shell Mound period was a hunter-gatherer society, with the wave-like opening Jōmon pottery . In the latter part of this period, archaeological sites moved near the seashore, suggesting the engagement of people in fishing. On Okinawa, rice was not cultivated until the Middle Shell Mound period. Shell rings for arms made of shells obtained in

2236-471: Is in the northeastern end of Okinawa Prefecture . Since 1972 over 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of land has been added via reclamation . It is roughly 640 kilometres (400 mi) south of the main island of Kyushu. Okinawa is connected to nearby islands near a land bridge: Katsuren Peninsula is connected via the Mid-Sea Road to Henza Island, Miyagi Island, Ikei Island, and Hamahiga Island. Similarly, from

2322-549: Is much nature with subtropical rainforest . With Nakagami district , it has an area of 280 square kilometers (110 sq mi) and a population of about 590,000. Most U.S. military facilities are located here. Urasoe has strong connections with the southern municipalities, including the Southern Wide Area Municipal Area Administrative Association, Nishihara town, Nakagusuku village, and Kitanakagusuku Village. These belong to

2408-462: Is overwhelming in number, appeared during the transitional period between primitive society and class society. As noted by Asato Susumu, there is a significant gap in the use of the term gusuku . While Nakamatsu referred to limited space as gusuku, Takamoto applied the term to the whole archaeological site. Archaeologist Tōma Shiichi hypothesized that a gusuku was the residence of an aji (local ruler or warlord) and his family. Since most gusuku in

2494-549: Is spoken by adults only, but several local groups promote the use of the Okinawan language by younger people. Whereas the northern half of Okinawa Island is sparsely populated, the south-central and southern parts of the island are markedly urbanized —particularly the city of Naha and the urban corridor stretching north from there to Okinawa City . The population distribution is approximately 120,000 in northern Okinawa, 590,000 in central Okinawa and 540,000 in southern Okinawa. It has

2580-427: Is the signature dish and consists of wheat noodles served hot in a soup, usually with pork (rib or pork belly). This contrasts with the mainland soba, which is buckwheat noodles. Rafute , which is braised pork belly, is another popular Okinawan dish. American presence on the island has also led to some creative dishes such as taco rice , which is now a common meal served in bentos , and the common use of spam . Among

2666-604: Is their wall (s). Gusuku walls are primarily made with Ryukyuan limestone and, sometimes, coral. There are three types of gusuku walls: aikata-zumi , nozura-zumi , and  nuno-zumi . Examples of each are Nakagusuku Castle , Nakijin Castle , Zakimi Castle , and parts of Shuri Castle . The shape of gusuku walls usually follows the contours of the land. They are usually thick, and sometimes have low parapets atop them. Some gusuku walls, like those of Nakagusuku Castle , were designed to resist cannon fire. Gusuku have one or more baileys . The baileys of typical gusuku usually contained

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2752-488: The Motobu Peninsula on the northwestern side, all of Sesoko-jima plus Yagaji Island and Kōri-jima are connected by bridges. Okinawa Island has several beaches such as Manza Beach, Emerald Beach, Okuma Beach, Zanpa Beach, Moon Beach and Sunset Beach (Chatan-cho). Mount Omoto , at 525.5 m (1,724 ft), is the highest mountain in Okinawa, with Mount Yonaha being the second highest. The Motobu Peninsula in

2838-495: The Ryukyuan religion . The relationship between utaki and gusuku has led some experts to question the origin and essence of gusuku. Although it is widely recognized within the Okinawa Islands that gusuku are castles/fortresses, there is ample reason to question this perception. The origin and essence of gusuku were actively discussed in the 1960s and 70s and remain controversial. Cultural geographer Nakamatsu Yashū claimed that

2924-526: The Sakishima Islands , namely Miyakojima and Yaeyama islands , were imported by Japan. In these islands, the presence of shell axes from 2,500 years ago suggests the influence of a southeastern-Pacific culture. After the Late Shell Mound period, agriculture started about the 12th century, and the population center moved from the seashore to higher places. This period is called the Gusuku period. Gusuku

3010-405: The prefectures of Japan , Okinawa has the youngest and fastest-growing population but has the lowest employment rate and average income. The island economy is primarily driven by tourism and the U.S. military presence, with efforts in recent years to diversify into other sectors. The Motobu Peninsula has a large-scale quarry and cement factory, taking advantage of the limestone in the area. There

3096-414: The 1960s and 70s. He revealed that most of what were called gusuku by local communities of Amami were by no means fortifications. He also noted that Amami had -suku toponyms, which were otherwise considered specific to Miyako and Yaeyama. However, his study on Amami went largely unnoticed. In the 1980s and 90s, Miki Yasushi, an expert of medieval mountain fortifications of Japan, extended his research to

3182-508: The Amami Islands, largely independently of Okinawan archaeology. His comprehensive study found 129 gusuku toponyms in Amami Ōshima. Similarly, a 1982 research project by Kagoshima Prefecture covered 45 fortifications in Amami. Miki carefully noted that, as Nakamatsu had shown, most of what were called gusuku were not fortifications, and that conversely, some fortifications were not called gusuku by

3268-584: The Kingdom of Ryukyu . The Yarazamori Gusuku Inscription (1554) contains phrases, "pile gusuku " (くすくつませ) and "pile up gusuku and ..." (くすくつみつけて); apparently, gusuku in these phrases refers to stone walls. In the Omoro Sōshi (16th–17th centuries), the term gusuku is written as "くすく," or "ぐすく" in hiragana . Occasionally, the Chinese character "城" (castle) is assigned to it. In later ryūka and kumi odori ,

3354-530: The Okinawa Islands are accompanied with stone walls, he considered that the Gusuku Period was characterized by the formation of class society. Among archaeologists, however, Kokubu Naoichi supported Nakamatsu's theory considering poor living conditions of gusuku. Asato Susumu expressed concern about the association of gusuku with class society because the emergence of political rulers was not well attested by archaeological findings but mostly based on literature that

3440-573: The Okinawa Islands, which they consider was characterized by the widespread appearance of gusuku, the widespread use of iron, and farming. It follows the Shell Mound period and precedes the Sanzan period. It is parallel with the late Heian to Muromachi periods of Japan. Also, the beginning of the Gusuku period corresponds to that of the Old Ryukyu period of Okinawan historiography, both beginning in 1187 with

3526-615: The Okinawa-centered kingdom of Ryukyu was formed. While typical castle/fortress-type gusuku in the Okinawa Islands were featured by stone walls, it was discovered in the 1980s and 90s that some fortifications in northern Okinawa Island lacked stone walls but instead were characterized by earthworks, kuruwa and dry moats. This style of fortifications is in fact rather common in Amami Ōshima and representative of medieval mountain fortifications (中世山城) of Japan. Naka Shōhachirō and Chinen Isamu,

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3612-442: The Okinawan gusuku-as-fortifications framework. Naka Shōhachiro investigated some gusuku in Amami Ōshima and discovered kuruwa and dry moats there. He claimed that the primary function of those gusuku was defensiveness, not religiousness as Nakamatsu claimed. He dated them to the late 12th to early 13th centuries and considered that they subsequently evolved into those with stone walls in Okinawa. By contrast, Miki conjectured that

3698-655: The Peace Memorial Park in Itoman lists 149,193 persons from Okinawa – approximately one quarter of the civilian population – were either killed or committed suicide during the Battle of Okinawa and the Pacific War. Very few Japanese ended up in POW camps . This may have been because of Japanese soldiers' reluctance to surrender. The total number of casualties shocked American military strategists. This made them apprehensive to invade

3784-569: The Southern Wide Area Administrative Association. With Kunigami district or Yamabaru, it has an area of 764 km (295 sq mi) and a population of about 120,000. Rich nature remains. Gusuku Gusuku ( グスク, 城 , Okinawan : gushiku ) often refers to castles or fortresses in the Ryukyu Islands that feature stone walls. However, the origin and essence of gusuku remain controversial. In

3870-806: The U.S.-Japan alliance since 1951. Most U.S. military is in Okinawa Prefecture. In 2013, there were approximately 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Japan with 40,000 dependents and 5,500 American civilians employed by the United States Department of Defense . About 26,000 U.S. military personnel are on Okinawa Island. There are 13 United States military bases on Okinawa Island. Approximately 62% of all United States bases in Japan are on Okinawa. They cover 25% of Okinawa island. The major bases are Futenma , Kadena , Hansen , Torii , Schwab , Foster , and Kinser . There are 28 U.S. military facilities on Okinawa. They are mainly concentrated in

3956-510: The archaeology of Okinawa Prefecture , the Gusuku period refers to an archaeological epoch of the Okinawa Islands that follows the shell-mound period and precedes the Sanzan period , when most gusuku are thought to have been built. Many gusuku and related cultural remains on Okinawa Island have been listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites under the title Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of

4042-413: The bases out of core areas following incidents involving military personnel and resultant protests (including the 1995 Okinawa rape incident ). In 2012, an agreement was struck between the United States and Japan to reduce the number of U.S. military personnel on the island, moving 9,000 personnel to other locations and moving bases out of heavily populated Greater Naha, but 10,000 Marines will remain on

4128-402: The central area. At one point, Okinawa hosted approximately 1,200 nuclear warheads. There were several nuclear weapons incidents on Okinawa and in the sea near the islands. In 1997, the peculiar inhabitant population of this island [both Americans and Japanese living together since 1945] was used to prove a curious conjecture. By that time nine subtypes of JC virus had been found, each from

4214-417: The central part of the city, and then turns northward and pours into Lake Man . The city includes the island of Senaga , located about 600 m offshore of Senaga Village. It used to be inhabited before the war but became deserted after the war. It was seized by the U.S. forces in 1946, but was returned to Okinawa Prefecture in 1977. It is currently linked to the main island by a bridge and has become famous as

4300-511: The construction of these fortifications was triggered by repeated invasion by the Ryukyu Kingdom in the 15th and 16th centuries. In his survey of earlier studies, Takanashi Osamu criticized Naka's theory because his dating lacked evidence. In fact, gusuku with established dates were mostly from the 14th to 16th centuries. While other archaeologists had focused on mountain fortifications, he paid attention to gusuku in flat land. He also indicated

4386-592: The deposed King Shō Tai was forced to relocate to Tokyo . Hostility against Japan increased in the islands immediately after the annexation, in part because of the systematic attempt on the part of Japan to eliminate Ryukyuan culture, including the language, religion, and cultural practices. Okinawa Island had the bloodiest ground battle of the Pacific War from 1 April to 22 June 1945. During this 82-day-long battle, about 95,000 Imperial Japanese Army troops and 20,195 Americans were killed. The Cornerstone of Peace at

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4472-651: The effort to consolidate the American troop presence on the island, though away from urban Naha. In December 2016 the U.S. returned 10,000 acres (40 km ; 16 sq mi) of the Northern Training Area on Okinawa to Japan. This reduced the footprint of the U.S. forces by 20% on the island. It was the biggest land return since 1972. Okinawa has various historical buildings and monuments, such as feudal castles, ruins, UNESCO, and other historical significant sites. There are multiple festivals on Okinawa throughout

4558-459: The essence of gusuku was a sacred place. His theory was backed by decades of field work that was not limited to the Okinawa Islands but that extended to Amami , Miyako and Yaeyama . He revealed that an overwhelming majority of what were called gusuku by local communities did not look like castles or fortresses at all. In fact, they were too isolated from local communities, too small to live in and lacked water supply. Among hundreds of gusuku, only

4644-435: The five main islands of Japan . The island is approximately 106 kilometres (66 mi) long, an average 11 kilometres (7 mi) wide, and has an area of 1,206.98 square kilometers (466.02 sq mi). It is roughly 640 kilometres (350 nmi; 400 mi) south of the main island of Kyushu and the rest of Japan. It is 500 km (270 nmi; 310 mi) northeast of Taiwan . The total population of Okinawa Island

4730-569: The heart of most gusuku was the Main Hall ( 正殿 , Seidan ) . The Main Hall was typically the residence of a feudal lord ( Aji ). The palace at Shuri Castle is the most prominent Main Hall, being the only one remaining, but the site of the Main Hall is very obvious at other gusuku, such as Katsuren Castle . Almost all gusuku contain or are near an utaki ( 御嶽 ) , shrines and sites of religious importance in

4816-432: The inhabitants of the island. The Okinawan diet consists of low-fat, low-salt foods, such as whole fruits and vegetables, legumes, tofu, and seaweed. Okinawa is the fifth largest island of Japan. The island has an area of 1,206.99 square kilometers (466.02 sq mi). The coastline is 476 kilometers (296 mi) long. The straight-line distance is about 106.6 kilometers (66.2 mi) from north to south. Okinawa

4902-471: The island (who demand no U.S. troops at all anywhere on the island). Tokyo says the U.S. bases are important for national security. Locals complain that despite being home to less than 1% of Japan's population and area, Okinawa hosts the majority of the U.S. military presence in Japan. In late December 2013, Governor Hirokazu Nakaima gave permission for land reclamation to begin for a new U.S. military base at Henoko, reneging on previous promises and furthering

4988-425: The island, along with other U.S. military units. Attempts to completely close bases on the southern third of the island, where 90% of the population lives (all but about 120,000 people ) have been impeded by both the American desire that alternative locations be found where bases subject to closure could move to (e.g. Henoko Peninsula , mid-island), as well as by local Okinawan opposition to any suggested locations on

5074-562: The late 18th century. The most important visits to Okinawa were from Captain Basil Hall in 1816 and Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1852. A Christian missionary, Bernard Jean Bettelheim , lived in the Gokoku-ji temple in Naha from 1846 to 1854. In 1879, Japan annexed the entire Ryukyu archipelago. The Meiji government then established Okinawa Prefecture . The monarchy in Shuri was abolished, and

5160-512: The locals. A major difference from those in the Okinawa Islands was that gusuku in Amami (except those in Okinoerabu and Yoron ) nearly completely lacked stone walls. As a historian from Japan, Miki took much notice of the religious nature of gusuku in Amami, which is completely absent from Japanese fortresses. Publications from Amami gained attention of some Okinawan archaeologists in the 1980s and 90s, and they attempted to place Amami's gusuku in

5246-473: The military, and the noro priestesses. In 1609, the Japanese Satsuma Domain launched the invasion of Ryukyu , ultimately capturing the king and his capital after a long struggle. Ryukyu was forced to cede the Amami Islands and become a vassal of Satsuma. The kingdom became both a tributary of China and a tributary of Japan. Because China would not make a formal trade agreement unless a country

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5332-609: The naïve application of the Okinawan gusuku-as-fortifications framework and urged that scholars should not turn a blind eye to the diversified nature of archaeological sites with stone walls in these islands. Few gusuku sites can be attributed to the fact that the Sakishima Islands were over a hundred years behind Okinawa socially and technologically. In 1500, Ryukyu invaded and annexed the islands, which would have limited further local gusuku development. The primary gusuku site in Yaeyama

5418-473: The north has limestone layers and karst development. In the center and south is mainly a Ryukyu limestone layer and mudstone. The topography is flat, there are few hills over 100 m (328 ft) with very few rivers. The subtropical rains accelerate erosion so there are many drainages and uvala . The southern end of the island consists of uplifted coral reef , whereas the northern half has proportionally more igneous rock . The easily eroded limestone of

5504-602: The north) in Aragusuku . In the archaeology of Yaeyama, human settlements prior to the conquest by Ryukyu are called "Suku Villages" because the names of these ruins have the suffix -suku . By extension, the archaeological epoch of the Suku Culture (11–16th centuries) is sometimes used by archaeologists. Formal studies of gusuku in the Amami Islands group in southern Kagoshima Prefecture were started by Nakamatsu Yashū in

5590-574: The other main islands of Japan, because it would result in very high casualties. Japan became a pacifist country with the 1947 constitution , so America was obligated to protect Japan against foreign threats. During the American military occupation of Japan (1945–1952), which followed the Imperial Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945, in Tokyo Bay, the United States controlled Okinawa Island and

5676-777: The possible presence of gusuku in the Tokara Islands , which are located to the north of Amami. From 1995 to 2000, a comprehensive investigation of gusuku was conducted in Naze (merged into the city of Amami in 2006) of northern Amami Ōshima. This project initially relied on gusuku toponyms to find archaeological remains but discovered far more remains in the mountains than expected. Among 45 sites discovered, only five had gusuku toponyms. This suggests that these sites were not gusuku in origin and that some of them were later transformed into gusuku. The toponymic survey also found that some earlier archaeological reports had labeled gusuku even though

5762-508: The reading shiro is also used for the same Chinese character, in addition to also using 城内 (shiro-uchi; inside the castle). The references to gusuku in the Omoro Sōshi are mostly about castles and fortresses, but sacred places and places of worship are called gusuku as well. In some cases, gusuku simply refers to Shuri Castle . The Liuqiu-guan yiyu (琉球館訳語), a Okinawan dictionary written in Chinese, maps Chinese "皇城" (imperial palace) to

5848-401: The referents were not called gusuku by locals. As a result, so-called "Uragami Gusuku", for example, was renamed to "Uragami-Arimori site." Earlier studies pointed to the similarity between gusuku in Amami, northern Okinawa Island and medieval mountain fortifications of Japan. Takanashi went further claiming that these fortifications were indeed medieval mountain fortifications. He considered

5934-609: The rest of the Ryukyu Islands. The Amami Islands were returned to Japanese control in 1953. The remaining Ryukyu Islands were returned to Japan on 17 June 1971. America kept numerous U.S. military bases on the islands. There are 32 United States military bases on Okinawa Island by the U.S.-Japan alliance since 1951. U.S. bases on Okinawa played critical roles in the Korean War , Vietnam War , Laotian Civil War , Cambodian campaign , War in Afghanistan , and Iraq War . Okinawa served as

6020-571: The same area, but not within the same family, the individuals would not cross-infect one another. Okinawa island proved an ideal place to test this conjecture. No evidence was found that Japanese children were infected with American type JCV, although they had been living at the same island as the Americans. Since it is assumed now that JCV subtypes are virtually unique to each world area, it is now used to determine human migration patterns. In 2020, tests around Kadena Air Base showed severe contamination of

6106-476: The semi-legendary ascension of King Shunten . Takanashi Osamu, an Amami-based archaeologist, criticized the trend of Okinawan archaeology. The Gusuku period lacked clear markers of dating from an archaeological perspective. Pottery seriation, in particular, remained poorly understood. The contemporaneousness of stone walls and excavated potteries was not established. He also noted a bias of Okinawan archaeologists, who he thought were preoccupied with questions of how

6192-597: The south has many caves, the most famous of which is Gyokusendō in Nanjō . The northernmost Cape Hedo is only 22 km (14 mi) away from Yoronjima . Cape Arasaki is the southernmost location of Okinawa island. It is sometimes confused with Cape Kiyanmisaki. The northern half of Okinawa has one of the largest tracts of subtropical rainforest in Asia called the Yanbaru . There are many endemic species of flora and fauna. There are

6278-518: The threat to the Okinawa rail. The coconut crab is the largest terrestrial hermit crab of Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands. It is an endangered species due to over-hunting, which has made them scarce on Okinawa island. In 2021, coconut crabs were found to live in a small cave system on the islet Nagashima off the Henoko district. A small population of endangered dugongs lives around Okinawa. The estimates are between 3 and 50 survivors. The island has

6364-748: The time of the conquest by the Ryukyu Kingdom. What are common to these villages are that they were located on top of cliffs, divided by inhomogeneous cell blocks and lacked roads. The whole village and each cell block were surrounded by stone walls. This type of abandoned settlement can also be found on Miyako Island but they are rather exceptional. The local people call these remains busu nu yashiki ( bushi 's mansion), busu nu yaa ishigaki (bushi's house's stone walls) or busu nu yaa (bushi's house), busu nu yama (bushi's mountain) in Ishigaki , bushin yaa (bushi's house) in Hatoma , nishi nu bushi nu yaa (bushi's house in

6450-469: The transcription "姑速姑" ( gu-su-gu ). Similarly, the Yiyu yinshi (音韻字海) assigns "窟宿孤" ( ku-su-gu ) to "皇城." There is no consensus about the etymology of gusuku . Chamberlain analyzed the word as the combination of gu (< honorific go 御) and shuku (宿). Kanazawa Shōzaburō also segmented gusuku into gu and suku but considered that the latter half was cognate with Old Japanese shiki , in which ki

6536-527: The unification of the three kingdoms and founded the Ryūkyū Kingdom with its capital at Shuri Castle . His descendants conquered the Amami Islands . In 1469, King Shō Taikyū died, so the royal government chose a man named Kanemaru as the new king, who chose the name Shō En and established the Second Shō Dynasty. His son Shō Shin conquered the Sakishima Islands and centralized the royal government,

6622-467: The uninhabited Senkaku Islands , the People's Republic of China began questioning Japan's sovereignty to the island of Okinawa, citing its past as the independent tributary state of Ryukyu. On 31 October 2019, the main courtyard structures of Shurijo were destroyed in a fire. It marked the fifth time that Shurijo was destroyed following previous incidents in 1453, 1660, 1709 and 1945. On 31 October 2019,

6708-453: The wells and waterways of Dakujaku River and Hija river with toxic chemicals PFAS . This affects the drinking water of 450,000 residents. PFAS was used in foam at fire fighting training sites on U.S. facilities during the 1970s and 1980s. The 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement officially ended the U.S. military occupation on Okinawa. The bases primarily exist to serve Japanese and American strategic interests, despite recent efforts to move

6794-636: The year. Naha Airport is the main transportation hub for the Ryukyu Islands and has an increasingly large role in regional logistics. All Nippon Airways opened a cargo hub at the airport in 2009, providing overnight freight service between Japan and other Asian countries. The Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail) runs from Naha Airport to Japan's south-easternmost monorail station, Akamine Station , before heading to its final destination of Tedako-Uranishi Station ( Urasoe ) and back. There are multiple bus companies, such as Toyo Bus , Ryukyu Bus Kotsu , Naha Bus , and Okinawa Bus . The Okinawa Expressway

6880-444: Was a loan from Old Korean . Iha Fuyū proposed that suku was cognate with soko (塞, fortress). Hirata Tsugumasa considered that suku was cognate with Japanese soko (底, bottom). Similarly, Higashionna Kanjun raised doubts over the analysis of gu since older records always used honorific u (< o ) instead of gu (< go ). Nakahara Zenchū identified gu as go (stone). The most prominent feature of most gusuku

6966-481: Was a tributary state, the kingdom was a convenient loophole for Japanese trade with China. When Japan officially closed off trade with European nations except for the Dutch, Nagasaki , Tsushima , and Kagoshima became the only Japanese trading ports offering connections with the outside world. At some time, karate came into existence as a type of systematized martial arts . Several Europeans visited Ryukyu starting in

7052-610: Was an important relay point in eastern-Asian trade. Ryukyuan kings, such as Shunten and Eiso , were important rulers. An attempted Mongolian invasion in 1291 during the Eiso Dynasty failed. Hiragana was imported from Japan by Ganjin in 1265. Noro , village priestesses of the Ryukyuan religion , appeared. The Sanzan period began in 1314 when the kingdoms of Hokuzan and Nanzan declared independence from Chūzan . The three kingdoms competed with one another for recognition and trade with Ming China . King Satto , leading Chūzan,

7138-452: Was discovered at a military post office. From the mid-1970s onwards, LSD and heroin became more prevalent. Deserters worked as "passport civilians" and smuggled the drugs into Okinawa. A lack of customs inspections made smuggling easy. There were well organized Ryukyuan smuggling rings who brought heroin, LSD, and marijuana to Okinawa, and produced LSD on the island. In 2013, following escalating tensions following competing claims to

7224-562: Was formally controlled by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands until 1972, with around 26,000 U.S. military personnel stationed on Okinawa today, comprising about half of the total complement of the United States Forces Japan , spread among 31 areas, across 13 bases and 48 training sites. United States military installations cover approximately 25% of the island. Early Okinawan history

7310-607: Was very successful, establishing relations with Korea and Southeast Asia as well as China. The Hongwu Emperor sent 36 families from Fujian in 1392 at the request of the Ryukyuan king. Their job was to manage maritime dealings in the kingdom. They assisted the Ryukyuans in developing their technology and diplomatic relations. In 1407, however, a man named Hashi overthrew Satto's descendant, King Bunei , and installed his father, Shishō , as king of Chūzan. In 1429, King Shō Hashi completed

7396-456: Was written centuries later. Folklorist Kojima Yoshiyuki was also a supporter of the sacredness theory. However, he opposed to Nakamatsu's theory about the origin of gusuku as a burial place. He argued that the word gusuku originally meant stonework. Separately of this, local communities handed down mountain cult, which shared roots with that of Yakushima and by extension Japan. Some sacred mountains were later fortified with stone walls, and as

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