Ryukyu Islands

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Location of Ryukyu Islands

The Ryukyu Islands, in Japanese called the Nansei Islands (南西諸島, Nansei-shotō^?)^[1] 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 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). The archipelago is home to the Ryukyuan languages.

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.

1 History
2 People
3 Ecology
- 3.1 Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests
- 3.2 Coral reefs
4 Major islands
5 See also
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] History

Ryukyuan flag from 1875 through 1879

Ryukyuan flag until 1875

Main article: History of Ryukyu Islands

The Ryukyu Kingdom was once an independent kingdom occupying the island chain, from Yonaguni Island in the southwest to Amami Oshima in the north. In 1372, it obtained tributary status to the Emperor of China. A 1609 expedition from the Satsuma domain on Kyūshū captured the kingdom. 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 save the kingdom. However, the Qing Empire was weakened itself from the invasions of the Western powers and Japan; therefore, Ryukyu's request to send military protection was not 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 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. After several name changes, 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 returned 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^{[citation needed]}. 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.

Many popular singers and musical groups come from the Ryukyus. These include (among many others) the pop group Begin (ビギン), singers Amuro Namie and Gackt, as well as the group Da Pump. See also Ryukyuan songs.

[edit] People

Main article: Ryukyuans

The Ryukyuan people 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 well as Japanese, if at all.

Beach in Okinawa

[edit] Ecology

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Major islands

This list is based on present day Japanese geographic names:

Nansei Islands
- Satsunan Islands
  - Ōsumi Islands: Tanegashima, Yakushima, Kuchinoerabushima, Mageshima
  - Tokara Islands: Kuchinoshima, Nakanoshima, Suwanosejima, Akusekijima, Tairajima, Kodakarajima, Takarajima
  - Amami Islands: Amami Ōshima, Kikaigashima, Kakeromajima, Yoroshima, Ukeshima, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima, Yoronjima
- Ryūkyū Shotō
  - Okinawa Islands: Okinawa Island (aka. Okinawan mainland, Okinawa hontō), Kumejima, Iheyajima, Izenajima, Agunijima, Iejima
    - Kerama Islands: Tokashikijima, Zamamijima, Akajima, Gerumajima
    - Daitō Islands: Kita daitō, Mimami daitō, Oki daitō
  - Sakishima Islands
    - Miyako Islands: Miyakojima, Ikema, Ogami, Irabu, Shimoji, Kurima, Minna, Tarama
    - Yaeyama Islands: Iriomote, Ishigaki, Taketomi, Kohama, Kuroshima, Aragusuku, Hatoma, Yubujima, Hateruma, Yonaguni
    - Senkaku Islands: 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.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

^ In Japanese, the definition of the ryūkyū rettō (琉球列島) or ryūkyū shotō (琉球諸島), literally meaning "Ryukyu islands", is somewhat different from the English definition of the word. In Japanese, the term Ryukyu islands is used to refer to the part of the Nansei islands which is in Okinawa prefecture, as opposed to islands of the same group located in Kagoshima prefecture. See Ryūkyū proper