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Ryukyuan people

"Okinawans" redirects here. For other uses, see Okinawan (disambiguation).
Ryukyuan people
琉球民族
Total population
4+ million[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
– 200,000+[2]
 United States580,000[3]
 Japan (excl. Ryukyu Islands)480,000[4]note
 Brazil260,000[5]note
 Peru150,000[5]note
 Taiwan110,000[5]note
 Argentina90,000[5]note
 Canada80,000[5]note
 Mexico70,000[5]note
 Chile60,000[5]note
 Philippines40,000[5]note
 Malaysia12,500[5]note
 Ecuador-[5]note
Languages
Religion
Related ethnic groups
  • ^ 1. Ryukyuans living in Japan outside of the Ryukyu Islands are considered part of an internal diaspora.
  • ^ 2. The exact number of Ryukyuans living in other countries is unknown. They are usually counted as Japanese or Asian in censuses.

The Ryukyuan people[a] are a Japonic-speaking East Asian ethnic group native to the Ryukyu Islands, which stretch between the islands of Kyushu and Taiwan.[11] Administratively, they live in either Okinawa Prefecture or Kagoshima Prefecture within Japan. They speak one of the Ryukyuan languages,[12] considered to be one of the two branches of the Japonic language family, the other being Japanese and its dialects[11] (Hachijō is sometimes considered by linguists to constitute a third branch).[13] The Ryukyu people are included in the Jomon cultural area, along with the mainland Japanese (Yamato) and the Ainu of Hokkaido.

Ryukyuans are not a recognized minority group in Japan, as Japanese authorities consider them a subgroup of the Japanese people, akin to the Yamato people. Although officially unrecognized, Ryukyuans constitute the largest ethnolinguistic minority group in Japan, with more than 1.8 million living in the Okinawa Prefecture alone. Ryukyuans inhabit the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture as well, and have contributed to a considerable Ryukyuan diaspora. Over a million more ethnic Ryukyuans and their descendants are dispersed elsewhere in Japan and worldwide, most commonly in the Philippines, United States, Brazil. In the majority of countries, the Ryukyuan and Japanese diaspora are not differentiated, so there are no reliable statistics for the former one.[citation needed]

Ryukyuans have a distinct culture with some matriarchal elements, native religion and cuisine which had a fairly late (12th century) introduction of rice. The population lived on the islands in isolation for many centuries. In the 14th century, three separate Okinawan political polities merged into the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429–1872), which continued the maritime trade and tributary relations started in 1372 with Ming China.[11] In 1609, the Satsuma Domain (based in Kyushu) invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Kingdom maintained a fictive independence in vassal status, in a dual subordinate status to both China and Japan, because Tokugawa Japan was prohibited to trade (directly) with China.[14]

During the Japanese Meiji era, the kingdom became the Ryukyu Domain (1872–1879), politically annexed by the Empire of Japan.[15] In 1879, the Ryukyu Domain was abolished, and the territory was reorganized as Okinawa Prefecture, with the last king (Shō Tai) forcibly exiled to Tokyo.[11][16][17] China renounced its claims to the islands in 1895.[18] During this period, the Meiji government, which sought to assimilate the Ryukyuan people as Japanese (Yamato), suppressed Ryukyuan ethnic identity, tradition, culture, and language.[11][19][20][21][22][23] After World War II, the Ryūkyū Islands were occupied by the United States between 1945 and 1950 and then from 1950 to 1972. Since the end of World War II, Ryukyuans have expressed strong resentment against the Japanese government and against U.S. military facilities stationed in Okinawa.[12][24]

United Nations special rapporteur on discrimination and racism Doudou Diène, in his 2006 report,[25] noted a perceptible level of discrimination and xenophobia against the Ryukyuans, with the most serious discrimination they endure linked to their opposition of American military installations in the archipelago.[26]

  1. ^ 沖縄県の推計人口 (in Japanese). Okinawa Prefecture. March 1, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  2. ^ 奄美群島の現状・課題及び これまでの奄振事業の成果について (PDF) (in Japanese). Kagoshima Prefecture. April 23, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Jon (2016-10-22). "Welcome home, Okinawa". The Japan Times Online.
  4. ^ Rabson, Steve. The Okinawan Diaspora in Japan: Crossing the Borders Within. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2012. 2.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nakasone 2002, p. [page needed].
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ryukyuan-tongue was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Yuka Suzuki (2012-12-02). "Ryukyuan, Ainu People Genetically Similar Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine". Asian Scientist. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  8. ^ Danver, Steven L., ed. (2015). Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues. Routledge. pp. 229–230. ISBN 9780765682222.
  9. ^ Jaranilla, Karolyn (2021-09-28). "Floating Room lampoons colonizers and bigots in "Shimanchu" - From the Intercom". Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  10. ^ Smith, George (1853). Lewchew and the Lewchewans: Being a narrative of a visit to Lewchew or Loo Choo, in October, 1850. London: T. Hatchard. About the Ryukyu Islands.
  11. ^ a b c d e Minahan, James B. (2014). Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 231–233. ISBN 978-1-61069-018-8.
  12. ^ a b Masami Ito (12 May 2009). "Between a rock and a hard place". The Japan Times. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  13. ^ "Did you know Hachijo is endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  14. ^ Loo 2014, pp. 1–2.
  15. ^ "Okinawa: The Tears of the Ryukyuans - Xinhua | English.news.cn".
  16. ^ Rabson 2008, p. 3.
  17. ^ Caprio 2014, p. 61.
  18. ^ Dubinsky & Davies 2013, p. 12.
  19. ^ Christy 2004, pp. 173–175.
  20. ^ Rabson 2008, p. 4.
  21. ^ Dubinsky & Davies 2013, pp. 15–16.
  22. ^ Caprio 2014, pp. 49–50, 63, 66–67.
  23. ^ Inoue 2017, p. 3.
  24. ^ Hendrickx 2007, pp. 65–66.
  25. ^ Doudou Diène (18 January 2006). Meghna Abraham (ed.). "The Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" (PDF). International Service for Human Rights E/CN.4/2006/16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  26. ^ Tanaka Hiroshi; Oda Makoto; Pak Kyongnam; William Wetherall; Honda Katsuichi (March 2006). "The Diene Report on Discrimination and Racism in Japan" (PDF). The Asia-Pacific Journal. Retrieved 11 February 2017.


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