Okinawa

In short

A prefecture of islands

The islands of Okinawa are spread over a sea about 1,000 km from east to west and about 400 km from north to south. That range is as large as about two thirds of Honshu.

The prefecture’s land area is 2,282.15 km². Only Kagawa, Osaka and Tokyo are smaller.

When the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan counted the islands of Japan in 2023, it found 691 islands in Okinawa.

Besides Okinawa Island, 54 islands are named “designated remote islands” under a special law; 38 of them have people living on them. Okinawa Island has 1,071 people per km², while the inhabited remote islands have 129.

The Ryukyu Kingdom

Long ago, Okinawa was a country called Ryukyu. In 1429, Sho Hashi brought the local leaders together under one rule, with Shuri Castle as the center of the kingdom.

Ryukyu traded widely with China, Japan and other Asian countries, and it appears in Portuguese records under the name “Rekio”.

In 1609, Ryukyu was invaded by the Satsuma domain (today’s Kagoshima). In this period, Ryukyu took in influences from Japanese culture and grew its own culture further.

From kingdom to prefecture

In 1872 the Japanese government made the Ryukyu Kingdom into the Ryukyu Domain. On March 27, 1879, Matsuda Michiyuki, sent by the Japanese government, went to Shuri Castle with 160 police officers and 400 soldiers. He read out an order ending the domain and setting up Okinawa Prefecture, and ordered the castle to be handed over. On April 4 this was announced across Japan.

So the Ryukyu Kingdom, which had lasted more than 450 years since it became one country in the early 15th century, came to an end.

War and return

In March 1945, near the end of the Pacific War, US forces landed on Okinawa. In the Battle of Okinawa, many people died, including about 100,000 people who lived in Okinawa.

After the war, Okinawa was under US rule for 27 years, until it returned to Japan on May 15, 1972.

In 2019, a fire at Shuri Castle destroyed eight buildings, including the main hall.

Think about it

• Q1Okinawa’s islands spread over a very wide sea. How might that shape daily life and travel?
• Q2Ryukyu traded with many countries. What might it have gained from that?
• Q3Is there a place in your country that was once a separate kingdom?

There is no single right answer. Talking it over with someone at home is a good way to learn.