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Revision as of 19:40, 3 September 2006
The Ryukyu Islands (also spelled Luchu, representing the Okinawan (Uchina) pronunciation of 琉球) or more recently the Nansei Islands (南西諸島, Nansei-shotō, which means "southwest islands" in Japanese), are an island chain in the western Pacific Ocean at the eastern limit of the East China Sea. It stretches southwestward from the island of Kyushu to Taiwan. The islands are administratively divided into Satsunan Islands to the north, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, and Ryūkyū 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.
History
Main article: Ryukyuan historyThe 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 Kyushu 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 kneeled outside the Chinese Prime Minister's Yamen in Beijing for three days, begging for saving the kingdom. However, the Qing Empire was weakened itself from the invasions of the Western powers and Japan; therefore, Ryukyu's request for sending military protection was not granted. China, however, diplomatically objected and the ex-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 polititians that 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, which taught Japanese language, culture and identity, while strictly forbidding the use of their native language.
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.
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.
People
Main article: Ryukyuan peopleThe 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 more distantly related, on one end, to Japanese. 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.
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
- Ryūkyū Shotō
- Okinawa Islands: Okinawa Island (aka. Okinawan mainland, Okinawa hontō), Kumejima, Iheyajima, Izenajima, Agunijima, Iejima
- Sakishima Islands
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 to all of the islands that comprise Okinawa Prefecture, while the English term refers to the entire chain of islands between Kyushu 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.
See also
- Pechin - Okinawan Samurai
- Ryukyuans - Ryukyuan people
- Ryukyuan history
- Ryukyuan religion
Reference
External links
- The Okinawa Centenarian Study
- Nansei Islands subtropical evergreen forests (World Wildlife Fund)
- http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/teikoku-denmo/english/history/ryukyu.html
- A constitution for an independent Ryukyuan state