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Revision as of 01:00, 14 November 2006

Location of Ryukyu Islands.
Ryukyuan flag.

The Ryukyu Islands, known as Nansei Islands (南西諸島, Nansei-shotō) in Japanese meaning "southwest islands", pronounced "Luchu" in Okinawan, 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 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 Ryūkyūan 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: Ryūkyūan history

The Ryūkyū 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 Ryūkyūs paid tribute to the Japanese shogun as well as the Chinese emperor.

In 1879, the Meiji government announced the annexation of the Ryūkyūs. The messengers of the Ryūkyūan 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, Ryūkyū's request to send 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 Ryūkyūans to the land were ignored. In the process of annexation, the Japanese military assassinated Ryūkyū politicians who opposed the takeover. Ryūkyū 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 Ryūkyū children, whereby they were taught Japanese language, culture and identity, while strictly forbidden the use of their native language.

Today, there are a number of issues arising from Ryūkyūan history. Some Ryūkyūans and some Japanese feel that people from the Ryūkyūs are not "real" Japanese. Some natives of the Ryūkyūs 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 Ryūkyūs. 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 Ryūkyūan songs.

People

Main article: Ryūkyūans

The Ryūkyūans 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 Ryūkyūs 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 Ryūkyūs, especially on Uchinā (Okinawa). Younger and middle-aged people tend not to speak a Ryūkyūan 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 Ryūkyūs 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:

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 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.

See also

External links

Regions and prefectures of Japan
Regions &
subregions
Prefectures
Hokkaidō
Tōhoku
Kantō
Chūbu
Kansai
Chūgoku
Shikoku
Kyūshū
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