Editing Ryukyuans

{{Short description|Ethnic group indigenous to the Ryukyu Islands}}
{{Redirect|Okinawans|other uses|Okinawan (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Ryukyuans
| native_name      = {{lang|ja|琉球民族}}
| image            = Danses d’Okinawa (musée Guimet, Paris) (11152072573).jpg
| caption          = Ryukyuan dancers in [[Ceremonial dress|ceremonial attire]]
| pop              = 
| region1          = {{flag|Okinawa Prefecture}}
| pop1             = 1.4 million
| ref1             = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/toukeika/estimates/estimates_suikei.html|script-title=ja:沖縄県の推計人口|publisher=[[Okinawa Prefecture]]|access-date=21 April 2020|language=ja|date= 1 March 2020}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flag|Kagoshima Prefecture}}
| pop2             = 118,773{{refn|group=nb|Only the population of the [[Satsunan Islands]] are included in this figure.}}
| ref2             = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/ac07/documents/26502_20120711114805-1.pdf|script-title=ja: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|publisher=[[Kagoshima Prefecture]]|access-date=21 April 2020|language=ja|date=23 April 2012|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520024107/https://www.pref.kagoshima.jp/ac07/documents/26502_20120711114805-1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| region3          = {{flag|Osaka Prefecture}}
| pop3             = 70,000
| ref3             = <ref name="Rabson 2012">{{cite book |last=Rabson |first=Steve |title=The Okinawan Diaspora in Japan: Crossing the Borders Within |date=2012 |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |isbn=978-0-8248-3534-7 |page=2 |url=https://jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wqkq9 |access-date=5 December 2024}}</ref>
| region4          = {{flag|Kanagawa Prefecture}}
| pop4             = 45,000
| ref4             = <ref name="Rabson 2012"/>
| region5          = {{flag|Hyōgo Prefecture}}
| pop5             = 12,000
| ref5             = <ref name="Rabson 2012"/>
| region6          = Rest of [[mainland Japan]]
| pop6             = 173,000
| ref6             = <ref name="Rabson 2012"/>
| region7          = [[Ryukyuan diaspora|Outside of Japan]]
| pop7             = 415,361
| ref7             = <ref name="Matayoshi & Urasaki 2016">{{cite news |last1=Matayoshi |first1=Toshimitsu |last2=Urasaki |first2=Naoki |script-title=ja:海外の沖縄県系人、約41万5千人　県が5年ぶり推計 |trans-title=Okinawa Prefecture estimates for the first time in five years that there are approximately 415,000 people of Okinawan descent living overseas |url=https://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/66205 |access-date=5 December 2024 |work=Okinawa Prefecture Exchange Promotion Division |via=[[Okinawa Times]] |date=13 October 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013132531/https://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/66205 |archive-date=13 October 2016 |language=ja}}</ref>
| langs            = {{cslist|[[Ryukyuan languages]]|[[Okinawan Japanese]]|[[Amami Japanese]]|[[Koniya Sign Language]]}}
| rels             = {{cslist|[[Ryukyuan religion]]|[[Shinto]]|[[Buddhism in Japan|Buddhism]]|[[Christianity in Japan|Christianity]]}}
| related          = [[Yamato people|Yamato]], [[Jōmon people|Jōmon]]
}}

The {{Nihongo foot|'''Ryukyuans'''|琉球民族|Ryūkyū minzoku|extra={{langx|ryu|Rūchū minzuku / Dūchū minzuku}}|lead=yes|group=nb}} are a [[Japonic languages|Japonic]]-speaking [[East Asian people|East Asian]] [[ethnic group]] indigenous to the [[Ryukyu Islands]], which stretch from the island of [[Kyushu]] to the island of [[Taiwanese islands|Taiwan]].<ref name="Minahan">{{cite encyclopedia|last= Minahan|first= James B.|title= Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=oZCOAwAAQBAJ|year= 2014|publisher= ABC-CLIO|pages= 231–233|isbn= 978-1-61069-018-8}}</ref> With [[Japan]], most Ryukyuans live in the [[Okinawa Prefecture]] or [[Kagoshima Prefecture]]. They speak the [[Ryukyuan languages]],<ref name="MasamiIto2009">{{cite news |author= Masami Ito |title= Between a rock and a hard place |url= http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/05/12/news/between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place/#.WJepb4WcFMt |date= 12 May 2009 |newspaper= [[The Japan Times]] |access-date= 5 February 2017}}</ref> one of the branches of the [[Japonic languages|Japonic language family]] along with the [[Japanese language]] and its [[Japanese dialects|dialects]].<ref name="Minahan"/>

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 group|ethnolinguistic]] minority group in Japan, with more than 1.4 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]].

Ryukyuans have a distinct culture with some [[matriarchal]] elements, an indigenous [[Ryukyuan religion|religion]] and a [[Okinawan cuisine|cuisine]] where [[rice]] was introduced fairly late (12th century). The population lived on the islands in isolation for many centuries. In the 14th century, three separate [[Sanzan period|Okinawan political polities]] merged into the [[Ryukyu Kingdom]] (1429–1872), which continued the [[Maritime transport|maritime trade]] and [[Tribute|tributary]] relations started in 1372 with [[Ming dynasty|Ming China]].<ref name="Minahan" /> In 1609, the [[Satsuma Domain]] (based in Kyushu) invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Kingdom maintained a fictive independence in [[Vassal state|vassal]] status, in a dual subordinate status to both China and Japan, because [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] Japan was [[Haijin|prohibited]] to trade (directly) with China.{{sfn|Loo|2014|pp=1–2}}

During the Japanese [[Meiji era]], the kingdom became the [[Ryukyu Domain]] (1872–1879) after its political [[Annexation|annnexation]] by the [[Empire of Japan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=資料年表 – 沖縄県立図書館 貴重資料デジタル書庫 |trans-title=Chronology of Materials – Okinawa Prefectural Library |url=https://www.library.pref.okinawa.jp/archive/contents/chronology.html |access-date=18 February 2025 |website=www.library.pref.okinawa.jp |language=ja}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Minahan"/>{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p= 3}}{{sfn|Caprio|2014|p= 61}} China renounced its claims to the islands in 1895.{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|p= 12}} During this period, the [[Meiji government]], which sought to [[Ryukyuan assimilation policies|assimilate the Ryukyuans]] as Japanese ([[Yamato people|Yamato]]), suppressed Ryukyuan ethnic identity, tradition, culture, and language.<ref name="Minahan"/>{{sfn|Christy|2004|pp=173–175}}{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=4}}{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Caprio|2014|pp=49–50, 63, 66–67}}{{sfn|Inoue|2017|p= 3}} After [[World War II]], the Ryūkyū Islands were occupied by the [[United States]] between [[United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands|1945 and 1950]] and then [[United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands|from 1950 to 1972]]. Since the end of World War II, many Ryukyuans have expressed strong resentment against the extensive U.S. military facilities stationed in Okinawa and Tokyo's handling of related issues.<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/>{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|pp=65–66}}

[[United Nations special rapporteur]] on [[discrimination]] and [[racism]] [[Doudou Diène]], in his 2006 report,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.humanrights.ch/upload/pdf/070320_ishr_zusammenfassung.pdf |title=The Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance |author=Doudou Diène |editor=Meghna Abraham |date=18 January 2006 |publisher=[[International Service for Human Rights]] E/CN.4/2006/16 |access-date= 11 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213002616/http://www.humanrights.ch/upload/pdf/070320_ishr_zusammenfassung.pdf |archive-date=13 February 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://apjjf.org/-Honda-Katsuichi--William-Wetherall--Pak-Kyongnam--Oda-Makoto--Tanaka-Hiroshi/1882/article.pdf|title= The Diene Report on Discrimination and Racism in Japan|author1= Tanaka Hiroshi|author2= Oda Makoto|author3= Pak Kyongnam|author4= William Wetherall|author5= Honda Katsuichi|date= March 2006|publisher= The Asia-Pacific Journal|access-date= 11 February 2017}}</ref>

==Etymology==
In English, they are also known as '''Okinawans'''<ref>{{cite book|editor-last = Danver|editor-first = Steven L.|editor-link = Steven L. Danver|title = Native Peoples of the World: An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues|date = 2015|publisher = [[Routledge]]|isbn = 9780765682222|pages = 229–230}}</ref> or '''Lewchewans'''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith |first=George |title=Lewchew and the Lewchewans: Being a narrative of a visit to Lewchew or Loo Choo, in October, 1850 |place=London |publisher=T. Hatchard |year=1853 |url=http://anglicanhistory.org/asia/gsmith_lewchew1853.html |author-link=George Smith (bishop of Victoria)}} About the [[Ryukyu Islands]].</ref>

Their usual ethnic name derives from the Chinese name for the islands, {{transliteration|zh|[[Liuqiu (medieval)|Liuqiu]]}} (also spelled as Loo Choo, Lew Chew, Luchu, and more),<ref name="Minahan"/> which in the [[Japanese language]] is pronounced {{transliteration|ja|Ryūkyū}}. In the [[Okinawan language]], it is pronounced {{transliteration|ryu|Rūchū}}. In their indigenous language they often call themselves and their identity as '''Uchinānchu'''.<ref>{{cite journal |date=2004 |title=Harvard Asia Quarterly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vz8uAQAAIAAJ |journal=Harvard Asia Quarterly |volume=8 |pages=52 |access-date=6 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite news |url=https://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2015/07/17/19184/ |title=Okinawans and Hawaiians discuss how best to educate youth about traditional cultures|date=12 July 2015|publisher=[[Ryūkyū Shimpō]]|access-date=3 December 2023}}</ref> Another endonym is '''Shimanchu''' ({{Langx|ja|島人|label=none}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jaranilla |first=Karolyn |date=28 September 2021 |title=Floating Room lampoons colonizers and bigots in "Shimanchu" – From the Intercom |url=https://fromtheintercom.com/floating-room-shimanchu/ |access-date=14 September 2024 |language=en-US}}</ref> These terms are rarely used outside of the ethnic community, and are politicized markers of a distinct culture.{{sfn|Obermiller|2006|pp=17, 119}}{{clarify|date=April 2017}}

"Ryukyu" is an other name from the Chinese side, and "Okinawa" is a Japanese cognate of Okinawa's indigenous name "Uchinā", originating from the residents of the main island referring to the main island against the surrounding islands, Miyako and Yaeyama.<ref>{{Cite book |last=小玉 |first=正任 |title=琉球と沖縄の名称の変遷 |publisher=琉球新報社 |year=2007}}</ref> Mainland Japanese adapted Okinawa as the way to call these people.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

==Origins==

===Genetic studies===
According to recent genetic studies, the Ryukyuans are a distinct genome-wide cluster within the Japanese people.<ref name="DOI 10.1038/jhg.2016.110">{{cite journal |author1=Hideaki Kanzawa-Kiriyama |author2=Kirill Kryukov |author3=Timothy A Jinam |author4=Kazuyoshi Hosomichi |author5=Aiko Saso |author6=Gen Suwa |author7=Shintaroh Ueda |author8=Minoru Yoneda |author9=Atsushi Tajima |author10=Ken-ichi Shinoda |author11=Ituro Inoue |author12=Naruya Saitou |date=February 2017 |title=A partial nuclear genome of the Jomons who lived 3000 years ago in Fukushima, Japan |journal=[[Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=213–221 |doi=10.1038/jhg.2016.110 |pmc=5285490 |pmid=27581845}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Yumi Yamaguchi-Kabata |author2=Tatsuhiko Tsunoda |author3=Natsuhiko Kumasaka |author4=Atsushi Takahashi |author5=Naoya Hosono |author6=Michiaki Kubo |author7=Yusuke Nakamura |author8=Naoyuki Kamatani |date=2012 |title=Genetic differences in the two main groups of the Japanese population based on autosomal SNPs and haplotypes |journal=[[Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=57 |issue=5 |pages=326–334 |doi=10.1038/jhg.2012.26 |pmid=22456480 |doi-access=free}}</ref> They share more alleles with [[Jōmon people|southern Jōmon]] hunter-gatherers than [[Yayoi people|Yayoi]] agriculturalists and have about 28% Jōmon ancestry<ref name="Jinam">{{cite journal |author1=Timothy A Jinam |author2=Hideaki Kanzawa-Kiriyama |author3=Ituro Inoue |author4=Katsushi Tokunaga |author5=Keiichi Omoto |author6=Naruya Saitou |date=October 2015 |title=Unique characteristics of the Ainu population in Northern Japan |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280121130 |journal=[[Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=60 |issue=10 |pages=565–571 |doi=10.1038/jhg.2015.79 |pmid=26178428 |s2cid=205166287 |access-date=5 February 2017 |doi-access=free}}</ref> although other studies suggest that their Jōmon ancestry is about 36%<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Koganebuchi |first1=Kae |last2=Matsunami |first2=Masatoshi |last3=Imamura |first3=Minako |last4=Kawai |first4=Yosuke |last5=Hitomi |first5=Yuki |last6=Tokunaga |first6=Katsushi |last7=Maeda |first7=Shiro |last8=Ishida |first8=Hajime |last9=Kimura |first9=Ryosuke |date=20 July 2023 |title=Demographic history of Ryukyu islanders at the southern part of the Japanese Archipelago inferred from whole-genome resequencing data |journal=Journal of Human Genetics |language=en |volume=68 |issue=11 |pages=759–767 |doi=10.1038/s10038-023-01180-y |issn=1435-232X |pmc=10597838 |pmid=37468573 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and 26.1%.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Yamamoto |first=Kenichi |last2=Namba |first2=Shinichi |last3=Sonehara |first3=Kyuto |last4=Suzuki |first4=Ken |last5=Sakaue |first5=Saori |last6=Cooke |first6=Niall P. |last7=Higashiue |first7=Shinichi |last8=Kobayashi |first8=Shuzo |last9=Afuso |first9=Hisāki |last10=Matsūra |first10=Kosho |last11=Mitsumoto |first11=Yojiro |last12=Fujita |first12=Yasuhiko |last13=Tokuda |first13=Torao |last14=Matsuda |first14=Koichi |last15=Gakuhari |first15=Takashi |date=12 November 2024 |title=Genetic legacy of ancient hunter-gatherer Jomon in Japanese populations |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-54052-0 |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=9780 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-54052-0 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=11558008}}</ref> This aligns with the dual-structure model proposed by Hanihara (1991), which suggests that the Yamato Japanese are more [[Miscegenation#Genetic admixture|admixed]] with Asian agricultural continental people (from the [[Korean Peninsula]]) than the Ainu and the Ryukyuans, with major admixture occurring in and after the [[Yayoi period]] (3,000–1,700 years ago).<ref name="DOI 10.1038/jhg.2016.110" /><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Timothy Jinam |author2=Hideaki Kanzawa-Kiriyama |author3=Naruya Saitou |date=2015 |title=Human genetic diversity in the Japanese Archipelago: dual structure and beyond |journal=Genes & Genetic Systems |volume=90 |issue=3 |pages=147–152 |doi=10.1266/ggs.90.147 |pmid=26510569 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Shigeki Nakagome |display-authors=etal |date=July 2015 |title=Model-Based Verification of Hypotheses on the Origin of Modern Japanese Revisited by Bayesian Inference Based on Genome-Wide SNP Data |journal=[[Molecular Biology and Evolution]] |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=1533–1534 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msv045 |pmid=25758010 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Gerontology2014">{{cite journal |author=Nasrine Bendjilali |display-authors=etal |date=December 2014 |title=Who Are the Okinawans? Ancestry, Genome Diversity, and Implications for the Genetic Study of Human Longevity From a Geographically Isolated Population |journal=[[The Journals of Gerontology#Series A|Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences]] |volume=69 |issue=12 |pages=1474–1484 |doi=10.1093/gerona/glt203 |pmc=4271021 |pmid=24444611}}</ref><ref name="Timothy2012">{{cite journal |last1=Jinam |first1=Timothy |last2=Nishida |first2=Nao |last3=Hirai |first3=Momoki |last4=Kawamura |first4=Shoji |last5=Oota |first5=Hiroki |last6=Umetsu |first6=Kazuo |last7=Kimura |first7=Ryosuke |last8=Ohashi |first8=Jun |last9=Tajima |first9=Atsushi |date=December 2012 |title=The history of human populations in the Japanese Archipelago inferred from genome-wide SNP data with a special reference to the Ainu and the Ryukyuan populations |journal=[[Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=57 |issue=12 |pages=787–795 |doi=10.1038/jhg.2012.114 |pmid=23135232 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kae Koganebuchi |display-authors=etal |date=2012 |title=Autosomal and Y-chromosomal STR markers reveal a close relationship between Hokkaido Ainu and Ryukyu islanders |journal=Anthropological Science |volume=120 |issue=3 |pages=199–208 |doi=10.1537/ase.120322 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Hirotaka Matsukusa |display-authors=etal |date=June 2010 |title=A genetic analysis of the Sakishima islanders reveals no relationship with Taiwan aborigines but shared ancestry with Ainu and main-island Japanese |journal=[[American Journal of Physical Anthropology]] |volume=142 |issue=2 |pages=211–223 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.21212 |pmid=20091849}}</ref> Jōmon ancestry among Ryukyuans is also believed to come from prehistoric Southeast Asia, especially central and southern Ryukyuans, since Mainland Japanese Jōmon populations showed higher affinities with coastal East Asians such as [[Taiwanese indigenous peoples|Taiwanese]], [[Koreans]] and [[Ulchis]]. Northern Ryukyuan Jōmon were more related to Kyushuan Jōmon.<ref name=":3" /> This Jōmon ancestry lasted until the [[Gusuku Period]], around 11th century AD, where there was significant admixture with mainland Japanese, who had tripartite ancestry consisting of Jōmon, East Asian and Northeast Asian ancestries.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="Jinam" /> A 2025 study, however, found substantial northern coastal East Asian ancestry within the {{ill|Nagabaka|ja|長墓遺跡}} ({{nihongo2|長墓}}) population in [[Miyako Island]], deriving from interactions with [[Sui dynasty|Sui-era China]]. This ancestry was introduced after 2800 BP (or 775 AD).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Liu |first=Juncen |last2=Liu |first2=Yichen |last3=Zhao |first3=Yongsheng |last4=Zhu |first4=Chao |display-authors=3 |date=2025 |title=East Asian Gene flow bridged by northern coastal populations over past 6000 years |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56555-w#Sec6 |journal=Nature Communications |volume=16 |issue=1322 |via=Nature}}</ref> Overall, admixture rates with mainland Japanese differed between Northern Ryukyuans (77%) and Southern Ryukyuans (81%) which is unexpected due to the geographic distance between the southern islands and mainland Japan.<ref name=":0" /> Mainland Japanese themselves also have high genetic affinities with Ryukyuans, especially contemporary [[Tōhoku region|Tōhoku]], [[Kantō region|Kantō]], and [[Kyushu|Kyūshū]] populations.<ref name=":31">{{Cite journal |last=Watanabe |first=Yusuke |last2=Ohashi |first2=Jun |date=2021 |title=Comprehensive analysis of Japanese archipelago population history by detecting ancestry-marker polymorphisms without using ancient DNA data |url=https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.12.07.414037v2.full |journal=bioRxiv |via=bioRxiv}}</ref>

According to archaeological evidence, there is cultural and genetic differentiation between Northern Ryukyuan islands ([[Amami Islands]] and [[Okinawa Islands]]) and Southern Ryukyuan islands ([[Miyako Islands]] and [[Yaeyama Islands]]). The differentiation was especially pronounced between Okinawa and Miyako. It arose due to [[Holocene]]-era divergence between the populations and subsequent genetic drift rather than admixture with neighboring populations.<ref name="TakeshiroSato2014">{{cite journal |author=Takehiro Sato |display-authors=etal |date=November 2014 |title=Genome-Wide SNP Analysis Reveals Population Structure and Demographic History of the Ryukyu Islanders in the Southern Part of the Japanese Archipelago |url=https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/2331/1/Main-Text_Ryukyu-Islanders.pdf |journal=[[Molecular Biology and Evolution]] |volume=31 |issue=11 |pages=2929–2940 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msu230 |pmid=25086001 |access-date=5 February 2017 |doi-access=free}}</ref> There is also evidence of Amami islanders being more related to mainland Japanese than Okinawan islanders.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Takeshi Nishiyama |display-authors=etal |date=2012 |title=Detailed Analysis of Japanese Population Substructure with a Focus on the Southwest Islands of Japan |journal=[[PLOS One]] |volume=7 |issue=4 |page=e35000 |bibcode=2012PLoSO...735000N |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0035000 |pmc=3318002 |pmid=22509376 |doi-access=free}}</ref> But overall, mainland Japanese are genetically the closest to Ryukyuans, followed by Koreans and Chinese. Taiwanese aborigines are genetically distant from Ryukyuans despite being neighbors.<ref name=":0" /> According to an autosomal DNA analysis of Okinawan samples, they are closely related to contemporary East Asian populations, especially Japanese populations. They exhibit about 80% admixture with mainland Japanese, followed by 19% admixture with Chinese populations. They also have isolate characteristics.<ref name="Gerontology2014" />

The female mtDNA and male Y chromosome markers are used to [[Human evolutionary genetics|study human migrations]]. The research on the skeletal remains from the Neolithic [[History of the Ryukyu Islands#Okinawa midden culture|Shell midden period]] (also known as Kaizuka period) in Okinawa, as well from the Gusuku Period, showed predominance of female haplogroups [[Haplogroup D (mtDNA)|D4]] and [[Haplogroup M (mtDNA)|M7a]] and their genetic continuity in the contemporary female population of Okinawa.<ref name="Shinoda2012">{{cite journal |author1=Ken-ichi Shinoda |author2=Tsuneo Kakuda |author3=Naomi Doi |date=2012 |title=Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms in late Shell midden period skeletal remains excavated from two archaeological sites in Okinawa |url=https://www.kahaku.go.jp/research/publication/anthropology/download/38/BNMNS_D38_51-61.pdf |journal=Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Series D |volume=38 |pages=51–61 |access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref><ref name="Shinoda2013">{{cite journal |author1=Ken-ichi Shinoda |author2=Tsuneo Kakuda |author3=Naomi Doi |date=2013 |title=Ancient DNA Analyses of Human Skeletal Remains from the Gusuku Period in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan |url=https://www.kahaku.go.jp/research/publication/anthropology/download/39/BNMNS_D39_1-8.pdf |journal=Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science, Series D |volume=39 |pages=1–8 |access-date=5 February 2017}}</ref> It is assumed that M7a represents "Jomon genotype" introduced by a Paleolithic ancestor from [[Southeast Asia]] or the [[South Asia|southern region of the Asian continent]], around the Last Glacial Maximum with the Ryukyu Islands as one of the probable origin spots; in contrast, the frequency of the D4 haplogroup is relatively high in [[East Asia]]n populations, including in Japan, indicating immigrant Yayoi people, probably by the end of the late Kaizuka period, while haplogroup [[Haplogroup B (mtDNA)|B4]] presumably ancient [[Taiwanese aboriginals|aboriginal Taiwanese]] ancestry.<ref name="Shinoda2012"/><ref name="Shinoda2013"/> However, as in the contemporary Japanese population M7 showed a decrease, whereas the frequency of the haplogroup [[Haplogroup N (mtDNA)|N9b]] showed an increase from the south to north direction, it indicates that the mobility pattern of females and males was different as the distribution of Y haplogroups do not show a geographical gradient in contrast to mtDNA,<ref name="OverviewSato2014">{{cite journal |author=Youichi Sato|display-authors=etal|date=2014 |title=Overview of genetic variation in the Y chromosome of modern Japanese males |journal=Anthropological Science |volume=122 |issue=3 |pages=131–136 |doi=10.1537/ase.140709 |doi-access=free }}</ref> meaning mainly different maternal origins of the contemporary Ryukyuan and Ainu people.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Masashi Tanaka|display-authors=etal|date=2004 |title=Mitochondrial Genome Variation in Eastern Asia and the Peopling of Japan |pmc=524407 |journal=Genome Research |volume=14 |issue=10a |pages=1832–1850 |doi=10.1101/gr.2286304 |pmid=15466285}}</ref>[[File:Y-DNA haplogroup migration map in East Asia.png|thumb|Haplogroup dispersal and migration routes into Japan]]
The research on the contemporary Okinawan male Y chromosome showed, in 2006; 55.6% of haplogroup [[Haplogroup D-M55|D-P-M55]], 22.2% [[Haplogroup O-P31|O-P31]], 15.6% [[Haplogroup O-M122|O-M122]], 4.4% [[Haplogroup C-M8|C-M8]], and 2.2% others.<ref name="Hammer2006">{{cite journal|author1=Michael F. Hammer|author2=Tatiana M. Karafet|author3=Hwayong Park|author4=Keiichi Omoto|author5=Shinji Harihara|author6=Mark Stoneking|author7=Satoshi Horai|date=2006|title=Dual origins of the Japanese: common ground for hunter-gatherer and farmer Y chromosomes|journal=[[Journal of Human Genetics]]|volume=51|issue=1|pages=47–58|doi=10.1007/s10038-005-0322-0|pmid=16328082|doi-access=free}}</ref> It is considered that the Y haplogroups expanded in a [[demic diffusion]]. The haplogroups D and C are considered of Neolithic and Paleolithic origin, with coalescence time of 19,400 YBP and expansion 12,600 YBP (14,500 YBP and 10,820 YBP respectively), and were isolated for thousands of years once land bridges between Japan and continental Asia disappeared at the end of the last glacial maximum 12,000 YBP. The haplogroup O began its expansion circa 4,000–3,810 years ago, and thus the haplogroups D-M55 and C-M8 belong to the Jomon's male lineage, and haplogroup O belongs to the Yayoi's male lineage. Haplogroup [[Haplogroup M (mtDNA)|M12]] is considered as mitochondrial counterpart of Y chromosome D lineage. This rare haplogroup was detected only in Yamato Japanese, Koreans, and Tibetans, with the highest frequency and diversity in Tibet.<ref name="Hammer2006"/><ref name="OverviewSato2014"/>
[[file:Phylogenetic trees for the three Japanese populations and other Asian populations.png|thumb|[[Phylogenetic tree]] of Mainland Japanese, '''Ryukyuan''' (Ryukyuan), Ainu (Ainu) and other Asian ethnic groups<ref name="Timothy2012"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=記者会見「日本列島３人類集団の遺伝的近縁性」|url=https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/focus/ja/press/p01_241101.html |website=東京大学 |accessdate=8 November 2021 |language=ja}}</ref>]]

===Anthropological studies===
Comparative studies on dental diversity showed long-term gene flow from outside sources (Honshu Island and southern East Asia), long-term isolation, and genetic drift, which produced morphological diversity among the modern Ryukyuans. This analysis, however, contradicts the idea of homogeneity among the Jōmon people and close affinities between the Ainu and the Ryukyuans.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Takashi Toma |author2=Tsunehiko Hanihara |author3=Hajime Sunakawa |author4=Kuniaki Haneji |author5=Hajime Ishida |date=2007 |title=Metric dental diversity of Ryukyu Islanders: a comparative study among Ryukyu and other Asian populations |journal=Anthropological Science |volume=115 |issue=2 |pages=119–131 |doi=10.1537/ase.061219 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Timothy2012"/><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kuniaki Haneji |author2=Tsunehiko Hanihara |author3=Hajime Sunakawa |author4=Takashi Toma |author5=Hajime Ishida |date=2007 |title=Non-metric dental variation of Sakishima Islanders, Okinawa, Japan: a comparative study among Sakishima and neighboring populations |journal=Anthropological Science |volume=115 |issue=1 |pages=35–45 |doi=10.1537/ase.060206 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Eri Miyazato|display-authors=etal|date=July 2014 |title=Comparative Analysis of Facial Morphology Between Okinawa Islanders and Mainland Japanese Using Three-Dimensional Images |url=https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/7359/7/Comparative_analysis_of_facial_morphology_between_Okinawa_Islanders_and_mainland_Japanese_using_three-dimensional_images..pdf |journal=[[American Journal of Human Biology]] |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=538–548 |access-date=7 February 2017 |doi=10.1002/ajhb.22560|pmid=24838439 |s2cid=12061839}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Tadashi Yamauchi|display-authors=etal|date=2016 |title=A comparative study of craniofacial measurements between Ryukyuan and mainland Japanese females using lateral cephalometric images |journal=Anthropological Science |volume=124 |issue=1 |pages=45–62 |doi=10.1537/ase.151206 |doi-access=free |hdl=20.500.12000/46965 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Daisuke Miyamori|display-authors=etal|date=2015 |title=Tracing Jomon and Yayoi ancestries in Japan using ALDH2 and JC virus genotype distributions |journal=Investigative Genetics |volume=6 |issue=14 |page=14 |doi=10.1186/s13323-015-0031-1 |pmid=26719788 |pmc=4696161 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Kae Koganebuchi|display-authors=etal|date=2016 |title=The allele frequency of ALDH2*Glu504Lys and ADH1B*Arg47His for the Ryukyu islanders and their history of expansion among East Asians |journal=[[American Journal of Human Biology]] |doi=10.1002/ajhb.22933 |pmid=27801545 |volume=29 |issue=2 |page=e22933|s2cid=28167073}}</ref> A 2017 craniometric study states that the Ryukyuans were more similar to Yamato people and their ancestors, the [[Yayoi people]]. The Ryukyuans differ strongly from the [[Ainu people]], which, according to the authors, is strong evidence for heterogeneity among the Jōmon period population.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pietrusewsky|first=Michael|date=2017|title=A multivariate analysis of measurements recorded in early and more modern crania from East Asia and Southeast Asia|journal=The Journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research |citeseerx=10.1.1.380.1457}}</ref>

According to a 2019 study, Ryukyuans shared some facial features with Ainu but there were also some differences. Specifically, they retained the phenotypes of Neolithic Shell midden-era populations. Compared to mainland Japanese, Ryukyuans were shorter, had broader faces and lower facial and nasal heights. But they also had broader nasal bones and more prominent glabellas and nasal roots. Their non-metric dental characteristics were intermediate between the Sinodonty of mainland Japanese and Sundadonty of Ainu.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Koganebuchi |first=Kae |last2=Kimura |first2=Ryosuke |date=2019 |title=Biomedical and genetic characteristics of the Ryukyuans: demographic history, diseases and physical and physiological traits |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03014460.2019.1582699 |journal=Annals of Human Biology |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=354-366 |via=Taylor & Francis Online}}</ref>

A 2024 study analyzed two Jōmon-era remains from the Ryukyuan islands; the 'Minatogawa I' and 'Shiraho 4'. 'Minatogawa I' resembled [[Wajak crania|Wadjak]] from Indonesia than to [[Peking Man|Upper Cave]] and [[Liujiang man|Liujiang]] individuals from China and had morphological affinities with [[Australo-Melanesian|Australo-Melanesians]]. 'Shiraho 4', on the other hand, resembled prehistoric Southeast Asians, along with mainland Jōmon and Mintogawa.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Fujita |first=Masaki |last2=Mizuno |first2=Fuzuki |last3=Yamasaki |first3=Shinji |date=2024 |title=Prehistoric Migration of Homo sapiens in the Ryukyu Islands |url=https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/89269 |website=Intechopen}}</ref>

=== Challenging the notion of ethnic homogeneity in Japan===
The existence of the Ryukyuans challenges the notion of ethnic homogeneity in post-WWII Japan. After the demise of the multi-ethnic [[Empire of Japan]] in 1945, successive governments had forged a single [[Japanese identity]] by advocating [[monoculturalism]] and denying the existence of ethnic minority groups.<ref name="Eiji Oguma 2020"/> The notion of ethnic homogeneity was so ingrained in Japan that the former Deputy Prime Minister [[Taro Aso]] notably claimed in 2020 that "No other country but this one has lasted for as long as 2,000 years with one language, one ethnic group and one dynasty". Aso's comment sparked strong criticism from the Ryukyuan community.<ref name="Eiji Oguma 2020">{{cite news|title=「麻生発言」で考えた…なぜ「日本は単一民族の国」と思いたがるのか？|newspaper=[[Mainichi Shimbun]]|date=5 February 2020|last=Oguma|first=Eiji|author-link=Eiji Oguma|url=http://mmdesign-jpn.la.coocan.jp/shoko/oguma15.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017061006/http://mmdesign-jpn.la.coocan.jp/shoko/oguma15.htm|archivedate=17 October 2021}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of the Ryukyu Islands}}

===Early history===
{{Main|Shellmidden Period}}
The Ryukyu Islands were inhabited from at least 32,000–18,000 years ago,{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=37}} but their fate and relation with contemporary Ryukyuans is uncertain.{{sfn|Pellard|2015|p=27}} During the [[Jōmon period]] (i.e., Kaizuka) or so-called [[History of the Ryukyu Islands#Okinawa midden culture|shell midden period]] (6,700–1,000 [[Before Present|YBP]]) of the Northern Ryukyus,{{sfn|Pellard|2015|p=27}} the population lived in a hunter-gatherer society, with similar mainland [[Jōmon pottery]].<ref name="TakeshiroSato2014"/> In the latter part of Jōmon period, archaeological sites moved near the seashore, suggesting the engagement of people in fishery.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} It is considered that from the latter half of Jōmon period, the Ryukyu Islands developed their own culture.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=38}} Some scholars consider that the language and cultural influence was more far-reaching than blending of race and physical types.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} The Yayoi culture which had a major influence on the Japanese islands, is traditionally dated from 3rd century BCE and recently from around 1000 BCE,{{sfn|Robbeets|2015|p=26}} and is notable for the introduction of Yayoi-type pottery, metal tools and cultivation of rice, however although some [[Yayoi pottery]] and tools were excavated on the Okinawa Islands, the rice was not widely cultivated before the 12th century CE, nor the Yayoi and the following [[Kofun period]] (250–538 CE) culture expanded into the Ryukyus.{{sfn|Pellard|2015|p=27}} The Southern Ryukyus culture was isolated from the Northern, and its Shimotabaru period (4,500–3,000 YBP) was characterized by a specific style of pottery, and the Aceramic period (2,500–800 YBP), during which no pottery was produced in this region.{{sfn|Pellard|2015|p=27}}<ref name="TakeshiroSato2014"/> Their prehistoric [[Yaeyama Islands|Yaeyama]] culture showed some intermingled affinities with various Taiwanese cultures, broadly, that the [[Sakishima Islands]] have some traces similar to the Southeast Asian and South Pacific cultures. The [[Amami Islands]] seem to be the islands with the most mainland Japanese influence.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=38}} However, both north and south Ryukyus were culturally unified in the 10th century.<ref name="TakeshiroSato2014"/>

The finding of ancient Chinese [[knife money]] near [[Naha]] in Okinawa indicates a probable contact with the ancient Chinese state [[Yan (state)|Yan]] as early as the 3rd century BCE. According to the {{transliteration|zh|[[Classic of Mountains and Seas|Shan Hai Jing]]}}, the Yan had relations with the [[Wa (name of Japan)|Wa]] ('dwarf', 'short') people living southeast of Korea, who could be related to both the mainland Japanese or Ryukyuans.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} The futile search for the elixir of immortality by [[Qin Shi Huang]], the founder of the [[Qin dynasty]] (221–206 BCE), in which the emperor tried to cooperate with "happy immortals" who dwelt on the islands, could be related to both Japan and Ryukyu Islands.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} There is a lack of evidence that the missions by the [[Han dynasty]] (206 BCE–220 CE) reached the islands; however, as the Japanese did reach Han's [[Luoyang|capital]], notes from 57 CE do mention a general practice of tattooing among the people of "hundred kingdoms" in the eastern islands, a practice which was widespread and survived only among the Okinawan's women, Ainu in Hokkaido, and [[Atayal people]] in Taiwan.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} [[Cao Wei]] (220–265) and Han dynasty records show that the inhabitants of western and southern Japan and Okinawa had a lot in common regarding political-social institutions until the 2nd century CE – they were of small stature, bred [[oxen]] and [[swine]], and were ruled by women, with a special influence of women sorceresses, related to the Ryukyuan [[Noro (priestess)|Noro]] priestesses which were closely associated with local political power until the 20th century, as well as with the Ryukyuan swine economy culture until World War II. It is suggested that the mention of a specific sorceress Pimeku, her death and successive conflict, is related to some socio-political challenges of the ancient [[Matriarchy|matriarchal system]].{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

The first certain mention of the islands and its people by the Chinese and Japanese is dated in the 7th century. [[Emperor Yang of Sui]], due to previous tradition, between 607–608 held expeditions in search of the "Land of Happy Immortals". As the Chinese envoy and the islanders linguistically could not understand each other, and the islanders did not want to accept the Sui rule and suzerainty, the Chinese envoy took many captives back to the court. The islands, by the Chinese named Liuqiu ([[Middle Chinese]]: {{transliteration|ltc|Lɨuɡɨu}}), would be pronounced by the Japanese as Ryukyu. However, when the Japanese diplomat [[Ono no Imoko]] arrived at the Chinese capital he noted that the captives probably arrived from the island of [[Yakushima|Yaku]] south of Kyushu. In 616 the Japanese annals for the first time mention the "Southern Islands people", and for the half-century were noted some intruders from Yaku and [[Tanu Province|Tanu]]. According to the {{transliteration|ja|[[Shoku Nihongi]]}}, in 698 a small force dispatched by Japanese government successfully claimed the [[Tanegashima|Tane-jima]], Yakushima, [[Amami Islands|Amami]], [[Tokunoshima]] and other islands.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} The {{transliteration|ja|Shoku Nihongi}} recorded that the [[Hayato people]] in southern Kyushu still had female chieftains in the early 8th century. In 699 are mentioned islands Amami and [[Tokara Islands|Tokara]], in 714 Shingaki and [[Kume Island|Kume]], in 720 some 232 persons who had submitted to the Japanese capital Nara, and at last Okinawa in 753. Nevertheless the mention or authority, over the centuries the Japanese influence spread slowly among the communities.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

===Gusuku period===
[[File:Nakijin Castle 20221229-2.jpg|thumb|right|The ''[[gusuku]]'' fortification are on the [[Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu]] UNESCO's list.]]
The lack of written record resulted with later, 17th century royal tales both under Chinese and Japanese influence, which were efforts by local chieftains to explain the "[[divine right of kings|divine right]]" of their royal authority, as well the then-political interests of Tokugawa ''shōguns'' from [[Minamoto clan]] who wanted to legitimize Japanese domination over Okinawa. The tradition states that the founder of the [[Tenson dynasty]] was a descendant of goddess [[Amamikyu]], and the dynasty ruled 17,000 years and had 25 kings i.e. chieftains. However, the 24th throne was usurped from one of Tenson's descendants by a man named Riyu, who was defeated in revolt led by [[Shunten]] (1187–1237), lord of [[Urasoe Castle|Urasoe]]. Shunten's parental origin is a matter of debate, according to 17th century romantic tales he was a son of a local Okinawan chief's (''[[Aji (Ryukyu)|anji]]'') daughter and some Japanese adventurer, usually considered [[Minamoto no Tametomo]], while historical and archeological-traditional evidence indicate men from the defeated [[Taira clan]] who fled Minamoto's clan vengeance. The [[Shunten dynasty]] made two additional chieftains, [[Shunbajunki]] (1237–1248) and [[Gihon (Ryukyu)|Gihon]] (1248–1259). As Gihon abdicated, his [[sessei]] [[Eiso (Ryukyu)|Eiso]] (1260–1299), who claimed Tenson's descent, founded the [[List of monarchs of the Ryukyu Islands#Eiso dynasty|Eiso dynasty]].{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

During the [[History of the Ryukyu Islands#Gusuku period|Gusuku period]] (c. 1187–1314), with recent chronology dated from c. 900–950 CE,{{sfn|Pellard|2015|p=21}}{{sfn|Robbeets|2015|p=28}} Okinawans made significant political, social and economical growth. As the center of power moved away from the seashore to inland, the period is named after many ''[[gusuku]]'', castle-like fortifications which were built in higher places.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=38}} This period is also notable, compared to mainland Japan, for fairly late introduction of agricultural production of rice, wheat, [[millet]] and the overseas trading of these goods,{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=38}}<ref name="Hammer2006"/><ref name="Shinoda2013"/> as well during Shubanjunki's rule the introduction of Japanese [[kana]] writing system in its older and simple phonetic form.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} After the years of famine and epidemic during the Gihon's rule, Eiso introduced regular taxation system (of weapons, grains and cloth) in 1264 and as the government gained strength, the control extended from Okinawa toward the islands of Kume, Kerama, Iheya, and Amami Ōshima (1266). Between 1272 and 1274, as the [[Mongol invasions of Japan]] began, Okinawa on two occasions rejected the Mongols' authority demands. To Eiso's reign period is also ascribed the introduction of [[Buddhism]] into Okinawa.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

===Sanzan period===
{{Main|Sanzan period|Ryukyuan missions to Imperial China}}
[[File:Ryukyu Kingdoms of Sanzan era.jpg|thumb|right|Map of [[Okinawa Island]], showing the [[Sanzan period]] polities]]
During the rule of Eiso's great-grandson, [[Tamagusuku]] (1314–1336), Okinawa became divided into three [[polities]] and began the so-called [[Sanzan period]] (1314–1429). The north and largest [[Hokuzan]] polity was the poorest due to forest and mountainous terrain (in which isolation was an advantage), with primitive farming and fishing. The central [[Chūzan]] polity was the most advantaged due to its developed castle [[town]]s and harbor facilities. The south [[Nanzan]] polity was the smallest, but endured because of good castle positions and sea merchants.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

In this period, another rapid economical, social and cultural development of Ryukyu began as the polities had developed formal trade relations with Japan, Korea and China. During the [[Satto]]'s reign, Chūzan made [[Imperial Chinese tributary system|tributary relations]] with China's [[Ming dynasty]] in 1374 as the [[Hongwu Emperor]] sent envoys in 1372 to Okinawa. In the next two decades Chūzan made nine [[Ryukyuan missions to Imperial China|official missions]] to the Chinese capital, and the formal relations between them endured until 1872 (see [[Imperial Chinese missions to the Ryukyu Kingdom]]).{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=39}} Despite significant Chinese economical, cultural and political influence, the polities continued to maintain strong [[autonomy]].{{sfn|Gluck|2008|p=939}}{{sfn|Loo|2014|p=1}} In 1392, all three polities began to send extensive [[Ryukyuan missions to Joseon|missions]] to the Korean [[Joseon]] kingdom. In 1403, Chūzan made formal relations with the Japanese [[Ashikaga shogunate]], and an [[embassy]] was sent to [[Thailand]] in 1409.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} The contacts with Siam continued even in 1425, and were newly made with places like [[Palembang]] in 1428, [[Java]] in 1430, [[Malacca]] and [[Sumatra]] in 1463.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=39}}

As in 1371, China initiated its maritime prohibition policy ([[Haijin]]) to Japan, Ryukyu gained a lot from its position as [[intermediary]] in the trade between Japan and China. They shipped horses, [[sulphur]] and seashells to China, from China brought ceramics, copper, and iron, from southeast Asian countries bought tin, ivory, spices (pepper), wood ([[sappanwood]]), which they sold to Japan, Korea or China, as well as transporting Chinese goods to [[Hakata Bay]] from where swords, silver and gold were brought.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=42}}{{sfn|Pellard|2015|p=28}}

In 1392, 36 Chinese families from [[Fujian]] were invited by the chieftain of Okinawa Island's central polity (Chūzan) to settle near the port of [[Naha]] and to serve as diplomats, interpreters, and government officials.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=39}} Some consider that many Ryukyuan officials were descended from these Chinese immigrants, being born in China or having Chinese grandfathers.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ka6jNJcX_ygC&q=ryukyu+asked+for+thirty+six+families+fujian&pg=PA145|title=The eunuchs in the Ming dynasty |author=Shih-shan Henry Tsai|year=1996|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-0-7914-2687-6|page=145|access-date=4 February 2011}}</ref> They assisted the Ryukyuans in advancing their technology and diplomatic relations.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ga-5mPOr2-wC&q=ryukyu+asked+for+thirty+six+families+fujian&pg=PR13 |title=The East Asian maritime world 1400–1800: its fabrics of power and dynamics of exchanges|author=Angela Schottenhammer|year=2007|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-05474-4|page=xiii|access-date=4 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddcV_cGegX4C&q=ryukyu+asked+for+thirty+six+families+fujian&pg=PA125 |title=Maritime sector, institutions, and sea power of premodern China|author=Gang Deng|year=1999|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-30712-6 |page=125|access-date=4 February 2011}}</ref> From the same year onward Ryukyu was allowed to send official students to China i.e. [[Guozijian]].{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=41}} The tributary relationship with China later became a basis of the 19th century Sino-Japanese disputes about the claims of Okinawa.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

===Ryukyu Kingdom===
{{Main|Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryukyuan missions to Edo}}
[[File:Naha Shuri Castle50s3s4500.jpg|thumb|right|The castle town and [[Ryukyu Kingdom]]'s capital [[Shuri Castle]]]]
Between 1416 and 1429, Chūzan chieftain [[Shō Hashi]] successfully unified the principalities into the [[Ryukyuan Kingdom]] (1429–1879) with the [[castle town]] [[Shuri, Okinawa|Shuri]] as royal capital, founded the [[List of monarchs of the Ryukyu Islands#The First Shō dynasty|First Shō dynasty]], and the island continued to prosper through maritime trade, especially tributary relations with the Ming dynasty.<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/> The period of [[Shō Shin]]'s (1477–1526) rule, descendant from the [[List of monarchs of the Ryukyu Islands#The First Shō dynasty|Second Shō dynasty]], is notable for peace and relative prosperity, peak in overseas trade, as well as expansion of the kingdom's firm control to [[Kikaijima]], [[Miyako-jima]] and [[Yaeyama Islands]] (1465–1524),{{sfn|Kerr|2000|p=115}} while during [[Shō Sei]] (1526–1555) to [[Amami Ōshima]] (1537).{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=42}}

After the [[Kyūshū Campaign]] (1586–1587) by [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]], his assistant [[Kamei Korenori]], who was interested in southern trade, wanted to be rewarded with the Ryukyu Islands. A paper [[Hand fan|fan]] found during the [[Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98)]] mentioning a title "Kamei, Lord of Ryukyu", reveals that Hideyoshi at least nominally offered the post although he had no legitimate claim upon the islands. In 1591, Kamei ventured with a force to reclaim the islands, but the [[Shimazu clan]] stopped him as they guarded their special relationship with the Ryukyu kingdom. Hideyoshi was not very concerned about the quarrel because the invasion of Korea was more important in his mind.{{sfn|Kerr|2000|pp=151–152}} As the Ming's influence weakened due to disorder in China, Japanese established posts in Southeast Asia, and the Europeans (Spanish and Portuguese) arrived, the kingdom's overseas trade began to decline.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=43}}<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/>

In the early 17th century during the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] (1603–1867), the first ''[[shōgun]]'' [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] intended to subject the kingdom to enable intermediary trade with China, and in 1603 ordered the Ryukyuan king to pay his respect to the shogunate. As the king did not react, with the instruction of the ''shōgun'', the [[Satsuma Domain|Satsuma feudal domain]] of the Shimazu clan in [[Kyūshū]] incorporated some of kingdom's territory during the 1609 [[Invasion of Ryukyu]]. They nominally let a certain level of autonomy and independence to the kingdom due to Ming's prohibition of trade with the shogunate, but forbade them trade with other countries except China. The Amami Islands became part of Shimazu's territory, taxes were imposed, making them subordinate in the relations between Japan and China.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|pp=43–45}}{{sfn|Loo|2014|p=3}} Until the invasion, the Shimazu clan lords for four centuries had a vague title of the "Lords of the Twelve Southern Islands" or "Southern Islands", although initially meaning the near Kyushu islands, then covering all the Ryukyu Islands. Later in the 1870s this was used as a "justification" of Japan's sovereignty.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} From 1609 the [[Ryukyuan missions to Edo]] started which lasted until 1850.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=45}}

During the rule of kings [[Shō Shitsu]] (1648–1668) and [[Shō Tei]] (1669–1709) i.e. [[sessei]] [[Shō Shōken]] (1666–1673) were recovered the internal social and economical stability with many laws about government organisation, and affairs like sugarcane production, and tax system with emphasis on agricultural production. The production was encouraged because Satsuma's annual tax deprived Ryukyu's internal resources. Although the production of sweet potatoes and sugar industry grew, the peasants were not allowed to enlarge their fields. The agricultural reforms especially continued under king [[Shō Kei]] (1713–1752) and his [[sanshikan]] advisor [[Sai On]] (1728–1752) whose ''Nomucho'' (Directory of Agricultural Affairs) from 1743 became the basis of the agricultural administration until the 19th century.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|pp=46–50}} In the Sakishima Islands great part of the tax was paid in textiles made of ramie.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|pp=51–52}} The relations with the [[Qing dynasty]] improved after their second mission when the first Ryukyuan official students were sent to China in 1688.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|pp=52–53}}

In the first half of the 19th century, French politicians like [[Jean-Baptiste Cécille]] unsuccessfully tried to conclude a French trade treaty with Ryukyu,{{sfn|Smits|2004|p=228}} with only a promise by Shuri government about the admission of Christian missionaries. However, due to extreme measures in teaching, [[Bernard Jean Bettelheim]]'s propagation of [[Protestantism]] between 1846–1854 was obscured by the government.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|pp=52–53}}

===Meiji period===
{{Main|Ryukyu Domain|Okinawa Prefecture|Ryukyu independence movement}}
[[File:Five men wearing Ryukyuan Dress.JPG|thumb|right|Five Ryukyuan men, [[Meiji period]]]]
During the [[Meiji period]] (1868–1912) the {{lang|ja-Latn|"Ryukyu shobun"}} process began,{{sfn|Loo|2014|p=2}} according to which the Ryukyuan Kingdom came under the jurisdiction of [[Kagoshima Prefecture]] in 1871, encompassing the southern tip of [[Kyushu]] and the Ryukyuan islands to its south; this created the [[Ryukyu Domain]] (1872–1879) of Meiji-era Japan. This method of gradual integration was designed to avoid both Ryukyuan and Chinese protests, with the ruling [[Shuri Castle|Shuri government]] unaware of the significance of these developments, including Japan's decision to grant political representation to the Ryukyuan islanders involved in the [[Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

In 1875, the Ryukyuans were forced to terminate their tributary relations with China, against their preference for a state of dual allegiance to both China and Japan, something a then-weakened China was unable to stop. A proposal by the 18th U.S. President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] for a sovereign Okinawa and the division of the other islands between China and Japan was rejected, with a last-minute decision by the Chinese government not to ratify the agreement rendering it null. On three occasions between 1875 and 1879, the last Ryukyuan King, [[Shō Tai]], refused to submit to the demands placed upon his people, and in 1879, his domain was formally abolished and established as [[Okinawa Prefecture]], forcing his move to Tokyo with the reduced status of Viscount.{{sfn|Smits|2004|pp=228–230}}{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|pp=56–57}}{{sfn|Caprio|2014|pp=61–62}}{{sfn|Loo|2014|pp=1, 26–32}}

Members of the Ryukyuan aristocratic classes such as [[Kōchi Chōjō]] and [[Rin Seikō]] continued to resist annexation for almost two decades;{{sfn|Obermiller|2006|pp=23–24}} however, following the [[First Sino-Japanese War]] (1894–1895), both Chinese and Ryukyuan interest in sovereignty faded as China renounced its claims to the island.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=59}}{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|p=12}}{{sfn|Loo|2014|pp=32–36}} Many historians criticise Meiji-era Japan's characterisation of the process as being considered a relatively simple administrative change, rather than the creation of Japan's first colony and the beginning of its "inner colonialism".{{sfn|Smits|2004|p=228}}{{sfn|Gluck|2008|p=938}}

During the Meiji period, as with the [[Ainu people]] of Hokkaido, the Ryukyuans had their own culture, religion, traditions and language suppressed by the Meiji government in the face of forced assimilation.<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/>{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=4}}{{sfn|Smits|2004|pp=233–245}} From the 1880s onwards, schools forbade the display of Ryukyuan styles of dress, hairstyles and other visual aspects, considering them to be backwards and inferior, with students forced to wear Japanese clothing and to assimilate into Japanese culture.{{sfn|Caprio|2014|p=64}} Indoctrination into a militaristic and Emperor-centred ideology for children began from the age of beginning elementary school onwards;{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=5}} the ultimate goal of this education was a total unification of the Ryukyuans into the [[Yamato people]], embodying the ideal of ethnic purity,{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|p=3}} with contemporary ''Nihonjiron'' literature for the time ignoring Japan's minorities{{sfn|Liddicoat|2013|p=54}}). Ryukyuans often faced prejudice, humiliation in the workplace and ethnic discrimination,{{sfn|Caprio|2014|pp=67–70}}{{sfn|Christy|2004|pp=173–185}} with the Ryukyuan elite divided into factions either in support of or in opposition to assimilation.{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=4}} Negative stereotypes and discrimination were common against the Ryukyuans in the Japanese society.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apjjf.org/2020/20/Zohar.html|title=
Introduction: Race and Empire in Meiji Japan|first=Ayelet|last=Zohar|publisher=The Asia-Pacific Journal|date=15 October 2020|accessdate=12 November 2023}}</ref>

Around and especially after the Japanese annexation of Taiwan in 1895, Japan's developmental focus shifted away from Okinawa, resulting in a period of famine known as {{lang|ja-Latn|"Sotetsu-jigoku"}} ("[[Cycad]] hell"). Between 1920 and 1921, a fall in sugar prices, as well as the transfer of Japan's sugar production to Taiwan, led to Ryukyu being the poorest prefecture, despite having the heaviest taxation burden; the drop in sugar prices would continue into 1931, further worsening the situation.{{sfn|Smits|2004|p=233}} As a result of the ensuing economic crisis, many people were forced to either find work in Japan (often [[Osaka]] and [[Kobe]]) or abroad in Taiwan.{{sfn|Christy|2004|pp=177, 180–182}}{{sfn|Obermiller|2006|p=86}} By 1935, roughly 15% of the population had emigrated.{{sfn|Nakasone|2002|p=17}}

===WWII and post-war history===
During [[World War II]] and battles like the [[Battle of Okinawa]] (1945), approximately 150,000 civilians (1/3 of the population) were killed in Okinawa alone.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=63}}{{sfn|Inoue|2017|p=4}} After the war, the Ryukyu Islands were occupied by the [[United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands]] (1945–1950), but the U.S. maintained control even after the 1951 [[Treaty of San Francisco]], which went into effect on 28 April 1952, as the USMMGR was replaced by the [[United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands]] (1950–1972). During this period the U.S. military requisitioned private land for the building of their facilities, with the former owners put into refugee camps, and its personnel committed thousands of crimes against the civilians.{{vague|reason=Which specific crimes?|date=July 2020}}{{sfn|Inoue|2017|pp=XIII–XV}} Only twenty years later, on 15 May 1972, Okinawa and nearby islands were returned to Japan.<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/> Whereas the Japanese had enjoyed political freedom and economic prosperity in the post-war years, the facilities, used for the purposes of Japanese regional security against the [[Communism|communist]] [[Red Scare|threat]], had a negative economic impact on the Islands, leading to many Ryukyuans feeling cheated, some considering the facilities a national disgrace.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}{{sfn|Inoue|2017|pp=XIII–XIV, 4–5}} Since 1972 there have been extensive plans to bring Okinawa's economy up to the national level, as well continued support for the local culture and a revival of traditional arts started by the USCAR.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=64}}{{sfn|Inoue|2017|pp=48–49, 79}}

Okinawa comprises just 0.6% of Japan's total land mass, yet about 75% of all U.S. military installations stationed in Japan are assigned to bases in Okinawa.{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=2}}{{sfn|Inoue|2017|p=2}} The presence of the military remains a sensitive issue in local politics.<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/> Negative feelings toward the mainland [[Government of Japan|Government]], [[Emperor of Japan|Emperor]] (especially [[Hirohito]] due to his involvement in the sacrifice of Okinawa and later military occupation), and [[United States Armed Forces|U.S. military]] ([[United States Forces Japan|USFJ]], [[Special Action Committee on Okinawa|SACO]]) have often caused open criticism and protests,{{sfn|Rabson|2008|pp=11, 17}} for example by 85,000 people in 1995 after the U.S. military [[1995 Okinawa rape incident|rape incident]],{{sfn|Inoue|2017|p=1}} and by 110,000 people in 2007 due to the Japanese [[Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology|Ministry of Education]]'s textbook revisions (see [[Battle of Okinawa#MEXT textbook controversy|MEXT controversy]]) which critics say downplays the involvement of the Japanese military in the forced mass suicide of the civilians during the Battle of Okinawa.{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=1}}{{sfn|Inoue|2017|p=XXVII}} For many years the Emperors avoided visiting Okinawa, with the first ever in history done by [[Akihito]] in 1993,<ref name="Sanger">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/25/world/a-still-bitter-okinawa-greets-the-emperor-coolly.html |title=A Still-Bitter Okinawa Greets the Emperor Coolly |author=David E. Sanger |date=25 April 1993 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=8 February 2017}}</ref>{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=13}} since it was assumed that his visits would likely cause uproar, as in July 1975 when Akihito as a crown prince visited Okinawa and a firebomb was thrown at him,<ref name="Sanger"/>{{sfn|Rabson|2008|pp=11–13}} although these tensions have eased in recent years.{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=14}} Discrimination against Okinawans both past and present on the part of the mainland Japanese is the cause of their smoldering resentment against the government.<ref>{{citation|last=Tanji|first=Miyume|title=Myth, Protest and Struggle in Okinawa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLUpgYAwtl4C |year=2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-21760-1}}</ref> There is a small post-war [[Ryukyu independence movement]], but there are also Okinawans who wish to be assimilated with the mainland.<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/> A poll in 2017 by the Okinawa Times, Asahi Shimbun and Ryukyusu Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (QAB) jointly conducted prefectural public opinion surveys for voters in the prefecture. 82% of Okinawa citizens chose "I'm glad that Okinawa has returned as a Japanese prefecture". It was 90% for respondents of the ages of 18 to 29, 86% for those in their 30s, 84% for those aged 40–59, 72% for respondents in their 60s, 74% for those over the age of 70.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/97097 |script-title=ja:【日本に復帰してよかった？】 沖縄82％が肯定、若い世代ほど高く 県民意識調査 |language=ja |date=12 May 2017 |work=[[Okinawa Times]]}}</ref>

==Demography==
{{see also|Longevity in Okinawa|Okinawa diet}}
Ryukyuans tend to see themselves as bound together by their home island and, especially among older Ryukyuans, usually consider themselves from [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawa]] first and [[Japan]] second.{{sfn|Kerr|2000|p=454}}<ref>Smits, Gregory. ''Visions of Ryukyu''. University of Hawai'i Press. 1999. pp. 1–3.</ref><ref>Glacken, Clarence. "The Great Loochoo: A Study of Okinawan Village Life". University of California Press. 1955. pp. 299–302.</ref> The average annual income per resident of Okinawa in 2006 was ¥2.09 million, placing the prefecture at the bottom of the list of 47.<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/>

The Okinawans have a very low age-adjusted mortality rate at older ages and among the lowest prevalence of cardiovascular disease and other age-associated diseases in the world. Furthermore, Okinawa has long had the highest life expectancy at older ages, as well has had among the highest prevalence of [[centenarian]]s among the 47 Japanese prefectures, also the world, since records began to be kept by the Ministry of Health in the early 1960s despite the high birth rate and expanding population of Okinawa prefecture. This longevity phenotype has been in existence since records have been kept in Japan, and despite the well-known dietary and other nongenetic lifestyle advantages of the Okinawans ([[Blue Zone]]),<ref>Santrock, John (2008). "Physical Development and Biological Aging". In Mike Ryan, Michael J. Sugarman, Maureen Spada, and Emily Pecora (eds.): ''A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development'' (pp. 129–132). New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.</ref> there may be some additional unknown genetic influence favoring this extreme phenotype. The [[Okinawa Centenarian Study]] (OCS) research team began to work in 1976, making it the world's longest ongoing population-based study of centenarians.<ref name="Gerontology2014"/>

==Culture==
{{main|Ryukyuan culture}}

===Language===
{{main|Ryukyuan languages|Okinawan scripts|Okinawan name}}
Similarities between the [[Ryukyuan languages|Ryukyuan]] and [[Japanese language]]s point to a common origin, possibly of immigrants from continental Asia to the archipelago.<ref>Heinrich, Patrick, [http://japanfocus.org/-Patrick-Heinrich/1596 "Language Loss and Revitalization in the Ryukyu Islands"], ''Japan Focus'', 10 November 2005; {{cite web |url=http://www.sicri-network.org/ISIC1/j.%20ISIC1P%20Heinrich.pdf |title=What leaves a mark should no longer stain: Progressive erasure and reversing language shift activities in the Ryukyu Islands |date=2005 |postscript=; |publisher=SICRI |work=The 1st international Small Island Cultures conference |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531130140/http://www.sicri-network.org/ISIC1/j.%20ISIC1P%20Heinrich.pdf |archive-date= 31 May 2021 }} citing [[Shiro Hattori]]. (1954) ''Gengo nendaigaku sunawachi goi tokeigaku no hoho ni tsuite'' ("Concerning the Method of Glottochronology and Lexicostatistics"), ''Gengo kenkyu'' (''Journal of the Linguistic Society of Japan''), Vols. 26/27.</ref> Although previously{{When|date=May 2022}} ideologically considered by Japanese scholars{{Who|date=May 2022}} as a Japanese dialect and a descendant of [[Old Japanese]],{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|pp=13–16}}{{sfn|Bentley|2015|pp=39, 48}} modern linguists such as Thomas Pellard (2015) now classify the Ryukyuan languages as a distinct subfamily of [[Japonic languages|Japonic]] that diverged before the Old Japanese period (c. 8th century CE); this places them in contrast to Japonic languages that are direct descendants of Old Japanese, namely Japanese and [[Hachijō language|Hachijō]].{{sfn|Pellard|2015|pp=15–16}} Early literature which records the language of the [[Old Japanese language|Old Japanese]] imperial court shows archaisms which are closer to Okinawan dialects, while later periods of Japanese exhibit more significant [[Sinicization]] (such as [[Sino-Japanese vocabulary]]) than most Ryukyuan languages. This can be attributed to the fact that the Japanese (or [[Yamato people]]) received writing from the [[Sinosphere]] roughly a millennium before the Ryukyuan languages.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

As the Jōmon-Yayoi transition (c. 1000 BCE) represents the formative period of the contemporary Japanese people from a genetic standpoint, it is argued that the Japonic languages are related to the Yayoi migrants as well.{{sfn|Robbeets|2015|p=27}} The estimated time of separation between Ryukyuan and mainland Japanese is a matter of debate due to methodological problems; older estimates (1959–2009) varied between 300 BCE and 700 CE, while novel (2009–2011) around 2nd century BCE to 100 CE, which has a lack of correlation with archeology and new chronology according to which Yayoi period started around 950 BCE,{{sfn|Pellard|2015|pp=20–21}} or the proposed spread of the Proto-Ryukyuan speakers to the islands in the 10–12th century from Kyushu.{{sfn|Pellard|2015|pp=29–32}}{{sfn|Robbeets|2015|pp=28–29}} Based on linguistic differences, they separated at least before the 7th century, before or around [[Kofun period]] (c. 250–538), while mainland Proto-Ryukyuan was in contact with [[Early Middle Japanese]] until 13th century.{{sfn|Pellard|2015|p=23}}

The Ryukyuan languages can be subdivided into two main groups, [[Northern Ryukyuan languages]] and [[Southern Ryukyuan languages]].{{sfn|Pellard|2015|pp=16–20}} The Southern Ryukyuan subfamily shows north-to-south expansion,{{clarify|date=May 2022}} while Northern Ryukyuan does not, and several hypothetical scenarios can be proposed to explain this.{{sfn|Pellard|2015|pp=25–26}} It is generally considered that the likely homeland of Japonic—and thus the original expansion of Proto-Ryukyuan—was in Kyushu, though an alternate hypothesis proposes an expansion from the Ryukyu Islands to mainland Japan.{{sfn|Serafim|2008|pp=98–99}}{{sfn|Pellard|2015|pp=25–26}}{{sfn|Bentley|2015|pp=49, 54, 58}}

Although authors differ regarding [[Dialect#Dialect or language|which varieties are counted as dialects or languages]], one possible classification considers there to be five Ryukyuan languages: [[Amami language|Amami]], [[Okinawa language|Okinawa]], [[Miyako language|Miyako]], [[Yaeyama language|Yaeyama]] and [[Yonaguni language|Yonaguni]], while a sixth, [[Kunigami language|Kunigami]], is sometimes differentiated from Okinawan due to its diversity. Within these languages exist dialects of local towns and specific islands, many of which have gone extinct. Although the [[Shuri, Okinawa|Shuri]] dialect of Okinawan was historically a [[prestige language]] of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu]], there is no officially standardized Ryukyuan language. Thus, the Ryukyuan languages as a whole constitute a cluster of local dialects that can be considered [[Abstand and ausbau languages|unroofed abstand languages]].{{sfn|Heinrich|Miyara|Shimoji|2015|pp=1–2}}

During the [[Meiji period|Meiji]] and post-Meiji period, the Ryukyuan languages were considered to be dialects of Japanese and viewed negatively. They were suppressed by the Japanese government in policies of forced assimilation and into using the standard Japanese language.{{sfn|Caprio|2014|p=14}}{{sfn|Liddicoat|2013|pp=151–152, 209}} From 1907, children were prohibited to speak Ryukyuan languages in school,{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Liddicoat|2013|pp=151–152}} and since the mid-1930s there existed [[dialect card]]s,{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|p=16}} a system of punishment for the students who spoke in a non-standard language.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Mary Goebel Noguchi|author2=Sandra Fotos|title=Studies in Japanese Bilingualism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDBCqwLfp8UC&pg=PA72 |access-date=9 June 2012|year=2001|publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=978-1-85359-490-8|pages=72–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Elise K. Tipton|title=Society and the State in Interwar Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pvoXnnI0Kf4C&pg=PA204 |access-date=9 June 2012|date=1997|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-15069-9|pages=204–}}</ref> Speaking a Ryukyuan language was deemed an unpatriotic act; by 1939, Ryukyuan speakers were denied service and employment in government offices, while by the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, the Japanese military was commanded to consider Ryukyuan speakers as spies to be punished by death, with many reports that such actions were carried out.{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|p=17}} After World War II, during the United States occupation, the Ryukyuan languages and identity were distinctively promoted, also because of ideo-political reasons to separate the Ryukyus from Japan.{{sfn|Liddicoat|2013|pp=152–154, 209}} However, resentment against the American occupation intensified Ryukyuans' rapport and unification with Japan, and since 1972 there has followed re-incursion of the standard Japanese and further diminution of the Ryukyuan languages.{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|p=17}}{{sfn|Liddicoat|2013|p=209}}

It was considered that contemporary people older than 85 exclusively use Ryukyuan, between 45 and 85 use Ryukyuan and standard Japanese depending on family or working environment, younger than 45 are able to understand Ryukyuan, while younger than 30 mainly are not able to understand nor speak Ryukyuan languages.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=20}} Only older people speak Ryukyuan languages, because Japanese replaced it as the daily language in nearly every context. Some younger people speak Okinawan Japanese which is a type of [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. It is not a dialect of the [[Okinawan language]]. The six Ryukyuan languages are listed on the [[UNESCO]]'s [[Red Book of Endangered Languages|Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]] since 2009, as they could disappear by the mid-century (2050).{{sfn|Heinrich|Miyara|Shimoji|2015|p=1}}<ref name="ryukyuan-tongue">{{cite web |author=Patrick Heinrich |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/08/25/voices/use-lose-theres-stake-language-reviving-ryukyuan-tongues/ |title=Use them or lose them: There's more at stake than language in reviving Ryukyuan tongues |publisher=The Japan Times |access-date=24 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107141707/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/08/25/voices/use-lose-theres-stake-language-reviving-ryukyuan-tongues/ |archive-date=7 January 2019|date=25 August 2014 }}</ref> It is unclear whether this recognition was too late, despite some positive influence by the Society of Spreading Okinawan.{{sfn|Dubinsky|Davies|2013|p=17}}

===Religion===
{{Main|Ryukyuan religion|Ryukyuan festivals and observances}}
[[File:Kamekoubaka.jpg|thumb|right|The ''kamekōbaka'' ([[Turtleback tomb]]) is the traditional Ryukyuan family tomb.]]
Indigenous [[Ryukyuan religion]] places strong emphasis upon the role of the women in the community, with women holding positions as [[shaman]]s and guardians of the home and hearth. The status of women in traditional society is higher than in China and Japan.<ref>{{harvnb|Sered|1996|p=54}}: "Observers of the Ryukyu Islanders ... have also noted that the status of women in traditional Ryukyuan society is high—certainly higher than in China or Japan."</ref> Although the contemporary kinship system is patrilineal and [[Patrilocal residence|patrilocal]], until the 20th century it was often bilateral and [[Matrilocal residence|matrilocal]], with common village endogamy.{{sfn|Sered|1996|pp=54–55}} [[Shisa]] statues can often be seen on or in front of houses—this relates to the ancient Ryukyuan belief that the male spirit is the spirit of the outside and the female spirit is the spirit of the inside. Godhood is mimicked with many attributes, and its in ease without any underlying symbolic order.{{sfn|Røkkum|2006|p=219}}

The village priestesses, [[Noro (priestess)|Noro]], until the 20th century used the white cloth and [[magatama]] beads. The noro's duty was to preserve the generational fire in the hearth, a communal treasure, resulting with tabu system about the fire custodian in which they had to be virgins to maintain close communication with the ancestors. The office became hereditary, usually of the noro's brother's female child. The center of worship was represented by three heartstones within or near the house.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} The belief in the spiritual predominance of the sister was more prominent in Southern Ryukyus.{{sfn|Sered|1996|p=41}}

The introduction of Buddhism is ascribed to a 13th century priest from Japan (mostly funeral rites{{sfn|Sered|1996|p=41}}), while the 14th century trade relations resulted with [[Korean Buddhism]] influences (including some in architecture), as well Shinto practices from Japan.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} Buddhism and indigenous religion were ideological basis until 18th century, when [[Confucianism]] gradually and officially became government ideology during [[Shō On]] (1795–1802), much to the dismay of [[Kumemura]].{{sfn|Smits|2004|p=240}} It was mostly important to the upper class families.{{sfn|Sered|1996|p=41}} Among the Catholic converts was not lost the former religious consciousness.{{sfn|Sered|1996|p=41}}

Until the 18th century, the Ryukyuan kings visited the [[Sefa-utaki]] (historical sacred place) caves for worship. Another traditional sacred places are springs Ukinju-Hain-ju, where was placed the first rice plantation, and small island Kudaka, where the "five fruits and grains" were introduced by divine people, perhaps strangers with agricultural techniques.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} The foremost account, which claimed common origin between the Japanese and Ryukyuans, was made-up by [[Shō Shōken]] in the 17th century, to end up the pilgrimage of the Ryukyu king and chief priestess to the Kudaka island.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=46}}

During the Meiji period the government replaced Buddhism with Shintoism as the islands' state religion,{{sfn|Caprio|2014|p=66}} and ordered; rearrangement of statues and redesign of shrines and temples to incorporate indigenous deities into national Shinto pantheon; Shinto worship preceded indigenous, Buddhist, or Christian ritual; transformation of local divinities into guardian gods.{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=4}} In the 1920s was ordered building of Shinto shrines and remodelling of previous with Shinto architectural symbols, paid by local tax money, which was a financial burden due to the collapse of sugar prices in 1921 which devastated Okinawa's economy.{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=5}} In 1932 were ordered to house and support Shinto clergy from the mainland.{{sfn|Rabson|2008|p=5}}

Most Ryukyuans of the younger generations are not serious adherents of the indigenous religion anymore. Additionally, since being under Japanese control, [[Shinto]] and [[Buddhism]] are also practiced and typically mixed with local beliefs and practices.

===Cuisine===
{{main|Okinawan cuisine}}
Okinawan food is rich in [[vitamin]]s and [[minerals]] and has a good balance of [[protein]], [[fat]]s, and [[carbohydrate]]s. Although [[rice]] is a [[staple food]] ([[taco rice]] mixes it with beef), [[pork]] (''[[Pig's ear (food)#Okinawan (Japanese) cuisine|mimigā and chiragā]]'', dishes [[Rafute]] and [[Soki]]), [[Edible seaweed|seaweed]], rich [[miso]] (fermented [[soybean]]) pastes and soups ([[Zosui|Jūshī]]), [[sweet potato]] and [[brown sugar]] all feature prominently in traditional cuisine. Most famous to tourists is the ''[[Momordica charantia]]'', ''gōya'' (bitter melon), which is often mixed into a representative Okinawan [[Stir frying|stir fry]] dish known as [[Chanpuru|champurū]] ([[Goya champuru]]). [[Kōrēgusu]] is a common [[hot sauce]] [[condiment]] used in various dishes including [[noodle soup]] [[Okinawa soba]]. Some specifically consumed algae include [[Caulerpa lentillifera]]. Traditional sweets include [[chinsuko]], [[hirayachi]], [[sata andagi]], and [[muchi]]. Local beverages include juice from ''[[Citrus depressa]]'', [[turmeric tea]] (''ukoncha''), and the alcoholic beverage [[awamori]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

The weight-loss [[Okinawa diet]] derives from their cuisine and has only 30% of the sugar and 15% of the grains of the average Japanese dietary intake.<ref name="Willcox2007">{{Citation |last1=Willcox |first1=B. J. |last2=Willcox |first2=D. C. |last3=Todoriki |first3=H. |last4=Fujiyoshi |first4=A. |last5=Yano |first5=K. |last6=He |first6=Q. |last7=Curb |first7=J. D. |last8=Suzuki |first8=M. |title=Caloric Restriction, the Traditional Okinawan Diet, and Healthy Aging: The Diet of the World's Longest-Lived People and Its Potential Impact on Morbidity and Life Span |journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |volume=1114 |issue=1 |pages=434–455 |date=October 2007 |doi=10.1196/annals.1396.037 |url=http://www.okicent.org/docs/anyas_cr_diet_2007_1114_434s.pdf |pmid=17986602 |bibcode=2007NYASA1114..434W |s2cid=8145691 |access-date=12 February 2017 |archive-date=7 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607210047/http://okicent.org/docs/anyas_cr_diet_2007_1114_434s.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Arts===
{{main|Okinawan martial arts|Karate|Ryukyuan music|Okinawan music|}}
The techniques of [[self-defense]] and using farm tools as weapons against armed opponents—called [[karate]] by today's martial artists—were created by Ryukyuans who probably incorporated some {{transliteration|zh|[[Chinese martial arts|gong fu]]}} and techniques from China into a complete system of attack and defense known simply as {{transliteration|ryu|ta}} (literally meaning "hand"). These martial arts varied slightly from town to town, and were named for their towns of origin, examples being [[Naha-te]] (currently known as Goju-Ryū), [[Tomari-te]] and [[Shuri-te]].

The [[Kabura-ya (Japanese signal arrow)]] still has a ceremonial use for house, village or festival celebration in Okinawa.
{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

It is considered that the rhythms and patterns of dances, like [[Eisa (dance)|Eisa]] and [[Angama (dance)|Angama]], represent legends and prehistoric heritage.{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} [[Ryūka]] genre of songs and poetry originate from the Okinawa Islands. From the Chinese traditional instrument {{transliteration|zh|[[sanxian]]}} in the 16th century developed the Okinawan instrument {{transliteration|ja|[[sanshin]]}} from which the {{transliteration|ja|[[kankara sanshin]]}} and the Japanese {{transliteration|ja|[[shamisen]]}} derive.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lande|first=Liv|title=Innovating musical tradition in Japan: Negotiating transmission, identity, and creativity in the Sawai Koto School|year=2007|page=73|isbn=978-0-549-50670-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TukqhSzefPEC}}</ref>

Women frequently wore indigo tattoos known as ''[[hajichi]]'' on the backs of their hands, a sign of adulthood and talisman to protect them from evil. These tattoos were banned in 1899 by the Meiji government.<ref name="MasamiIto2009"/> In remote districts their ''katakashira'' off-center topknot, similar to that of the [[Yami people|Yami]] and some [[Filipinos|Filipino]] ethnic groups,{{sfn|Kerr|2000}} among men and women also disappeared in the early 20th century.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|p=59}}

The ''bashôfu'', literally meaning "banana-fibre cloth", is designated as a part of Ryukyu and Japan "important intangible cultural properties". The weaving using indigenous ramie was also widespread in the archipelago, both originated before the 14th century.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2007|pp=27, 64}}

Originally living in [[thatching]] houses, townsmen developed architecture modeled after Japanese, Chinese and Korean structures. Other dwellings suggest a tropical origin, and some villages have high stone walls, with similar structural counterpart in Yami people at [[Orchid Island]].{{sfn|Kerr|2000}}

For the categories of [[Cultural Property (Japan)|Cultural Properties]], see the following lists: [[List of Cultural Properties of Japan - archaeological materials (Okinawa)|archaeological materials]], [[List of Cultural Properties of Japan - historical materials (Okinawa)|historical materials]], [[List of Cultural Properties of Japan - crafts (Okinawa)|crafts]], [[List of Cultural Properties of Japan - paintings (Okinawa)|paintings]], [[List of Cultural Properties of Japan - sculptures (Okinawa)|sculptures]], [[List of Cultural Properties of Japan - writings (Okinawa)|writings]], [[List of Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan (Okinawa)|intangible]], and [[List of Tangible Folk Cultural Properties of Japan (Okinawa)|tangible]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

==Notable Ryukyuans==
{{main|List of Ryukyuans}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Islands|Japan|Society}}
* [[Ethnic issues in Japan]]
* [[Okinawans in Hawaii]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

==References==

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|editor-first1=Patrick |editor-last1=Heinrich|editor-first2=Shinsho |editor-last2=Miyara|editor-first3=Michinori |editor-last3=Shimoji|last=Bentley|first=John R.|title=Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages: History, Structure, and Use|chapter=Proto-Ryukyuan|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_FeCAAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-1-61451-115-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Caprio|first=Mark|title=Japanese Assimilation Policies in Colonial Korea, 1910-1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oj_IhRConN8C |year=2014|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-99040-8}}
*{{cite book|editor-first=Michael |editor-last=Weiner|editor-link=Michael Weiner (professor)|last=Christy|first=Alan S.|chapter=The making of imperial subjects in Okinawa|title=Race, Ethnicity and Migration in Modern Japan: Imagined and imaginary minorities|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4z_JJfG-hyYC |year=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-20857-4}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Dubinsky|first1=Stanley|last2=Davies|first2=William|editor=Steven Heine|editor-link=Steven Heine|title=Language Conflict and Language Rights: The Ainu, Ryūkyūans, and Koreans in Japan |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278729134|year=2013|journal=Japan Studies Review|volume=17|issn=1550-0713}}
*{{cite book|editor-first=William Theodore |editor-last=de Bary |editor-link=Wm Theodore de Bary|last=Gluck|first=Carol|author-link=Carol Gluck|chapter=Thinking with the Past: History Writing in Modern Japan|title=Sources of East Asian Tradition: The modern Period |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hdNsVCZw1JAC |year=2008|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=9780231143233}}
*{{cite book |first1=Patrick |last1=Heinrich|first2=Shinsho |last2=Miyara|first3=Michinori |last3=Shimoji |editor-first1=Patrick |editor-last1=Heinrich|editor-first2=Shinsho |editor-last2=Miyara|editor-first3=Michinori |editor-last3=Shimoji |title=Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages: History, Structure, and Use|chapter=Introduction: Ryukyuan languages and Ryukyuan linguistics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_FeCAAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-1-61451-115-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Hendrickx|first=Katrien|title=The Origins of Banana-fibre Cloth in the Ryukyus, Japan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ULyu8dNqS1sC |year=2007|publisher=Leuven University Press|isbn=978-90-5867-614-6}}
*{{cite book|last=Inoue|first=Masamichi S.|title=Okinawa and the U.S. Military: Identity Making in the Age of Globalization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TnsVoSw8hRgC |year=2017|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-51114-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Kerr|first=George H.|author-link=George H. Kerr|title=Okinawa:The History of an Island People |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aCfRAgAAQBAJ |year=2000|orig-year=1954|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-1-4629-0184-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Liddicoat|first=Anthony J.|title=Language-in-education Policies: The Discursive Construction of Intercultural Relations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QpzyRxCsJEAC |year=2013|publisher=Multilingual Matters|isbn=978-1-84769-916-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Loo|first=Tze May|title=Heritage Politics: Shuri Castle and Okinawa's Incorporation into Modern Japan, 1879–2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NjsfAwAAQBAJ |year=2014|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-8249-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Nakasone|first=Ronald Y.|title=Okinawan Diaspora |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KirIeYfhZukC |year=2002|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-2530-0}}
*{{cite book|last=Obermiller|first=David John|title=The United States Military Occupation of Okinawa: Politicizing and Contesting Okinawan Identity, 1945-1955 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wb_8Z__Wte4C |year=2006|isbn=978-0-542-79592-3}}
*{{cite book|editor-first1=Patrick |editor-last1=Heinrich|editor-first2=Shinsho |editor-last2=Miyara|editor-first3=Michinori |editor-last3=Shimoji|last=Pellard|first=Thomas|title=Handbook of the Ryukyuan Languages: History, Structure, and Use|chapter=The linguistic archeology of the Ryukyu islands |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g_FeCAAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-1-61451-115-1}}
*{{cite journal |first=Steve |last=Rabson |title=Okinawan Perspectives on Japan's Imperial Institution |url=http://apjjf.org/-Steve-Rabson/2667/article.html|date=February 2008 |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal |volume=6 |issue=2 |access-date=8 February 2017}}
*{{cite book|last=Robbeets|first=Martine|title=Diachrony of Verb Morphology: Japanese and the Transeurasian Languages |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1u8xCgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-039994-3}}
*{{cite book|last=Røkkum|first=Arne|title=Nature, Ritual, and Society in Japan's Ryukyu Islands |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GMFUoEzKFIkC |year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-25365-4}}
*{{cite book|editor-first1=Bjarke |editor-last1=Frellesvig|editor-first2=John |editor-last2=Whitman|last=Serafim|first=Leon|author-link=Leon Serafim|chapter=The uses of Ryukyuan in understanding Japanese language history|title=Proto-Japanese: Issues and Prospects|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aun8BRHTDEAC |year=2008|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|isbn=978-90-272-4809-1}}
*{{cite book|last=Sered|first=Susan Starr|author-link=Susan Starr Sered|title=Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister: Religions Dominated by Women |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MrW3dIw0w6wC |year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-510467-7}}
*{{cite book |editor=Michael Weiner|editor-link=Michael Weiner (professor)|last=Smits|first=Gregory|author-link=Gregory Smits|chapter=Epilogue and Conclusions to Visions of Ryukyu|title=Race, Ethnicity and Migration in Modern Japan: Imagined and imaginary minorities |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4z_JJfG-hyYC |year=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-20857-4}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* ''Arabia'', Vol. 5, No. 54. February 1986/Jamad al-Awal 1406
* {{cite web |title=Japan-Malaysia Relations (Basic Data) |date=4 January 2024 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan |url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/malaysia/data.html}}
* {{cite web |title=Number of residents from Japan living in Malaysia from 2014 to 2023 |date=16 February 2024 |website=Statista |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1080646/japan-number-japanese-residents-malaysia/ |publisher=Statista Research Department}}
* Abu Bakr Morimoto, ''Islam in Japan: Its Past, Present and Future'', Islamic Centre Japan, 1980
* Esenbel, Selcuk, ''A "fin-de-siecle" Japanese Romantic in Istanbul: The life of Yamada Torajirō and his "Turoko gakan";'' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies ([[SOAS]]), Vol. LIX, No. 2, 1996, pp.&nbsp;237–252. {{JSTOR|619710}}
* Esenbel, Selcuk; ''Japanese Interest in the Ottoman Empire;'' in: Edstrom, Bert; The Japanese and Europe: Images and Perceptions; Surrey 2000
* Esenbel, Selcuk; Inaba Chiharū; ''The Rising Sun and the Turkish Crescent;'' İstanbul 2003, {{ISBN|978-975-518-196-7}}
*{{cite journal |first1=Patrick |last1=Heinrich |first2=Fija |last2=Bairon |title="Wanne Uchinanchu – I am Okinawan." Japan, the US and Okinawa's Endangered Languages |url=http://apjjf.org/-Fija-Bairon--Patrick-Heinrich/2586/article.pdf |date=3 November 2007 |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal |volume=5 |issue=11 |id=2586 |archive-date=5 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805144228/http://apjjf.org/-Fija-Bairon--Patrick-Heinrich/2586/article.pdf}}
* Hiroshi Kojima, "Demographic Analysis of Muslims in Japan," The 13th KAMES and 5th AFMA International Symposium, Pusan, 2004
* Keiko Sakurai, ''Nihon no Musurimu Shakai'' (Japan's Muslim Society), Chikuma Shobo, 2003
*Kreiner, J. (1996). ''Sources of Ryūkyūan history and culture in European collections''. Monographien aus dem Deutschen Institut für Japanstudien der Philipp-Franz-von-Siebold-Stiftung, Bd. 13. München: Iudicium. {{ISBN|3-89129-493-X}}
*Ota, Masahide. (2000). ''Essays on Okinawa Problems''.  Yui Shuppan Co.:  Gushikawa City, Okinawa, Japan. {{ISBN|4-946539-10-7}} C0036.
*Ouwehand, C. (1985). ''Hateruma: socio-religious aspects of a South-Ryukyuan island culture''. Leiden: E.J. Brill. {{ISBN|90-04-07710-3}}
*Pacific Science Congress, and Allan H. Smith. (1964). ''Ryukyuan culture and society: a survey''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
* Penn, Michael, "Islam in Japan: Adversity and Diversity," ''Harvard Asia Quarterly'', Vol. 10, No. 1, Winter 2006
* {{cite journal|url= https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000599220.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827101438/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000599220.pdf|archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=Japanese Infiltration Among the Muslims Throughout the World (R&A No. 890)|date=15 May 1943|author=Research and Analysis Branch |journal=Office of Strategic Services|publisher=U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Library|ref={{Harvid|R&A No. 890|1943}}}}
*Sakiyama, R. (1995). ''Ryukyuan dance = Ryūkyū buyo''̄. Naha City: Okinawa Dept. of Commerce, Industry & Labor, Tourism & Cultural Affairs Bureau.
*University of Hawaii at Manoa. Ethnic Studies Oral History Project (1981). ''Uchinanchu, a History of Okinawans in Hawaii''. Leiden: Center for Oral History, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and Hawai‘i United Okinawa Association. {{ISBN|9780824807498}}
*Yamazato, Marie. (1995). ''Ryukyuan cuisine''. Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture: Okinawa Tourism & Cultural Affairs Bureau Cultural Promotion Division.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://minorityrights.org/minorities/ryukyuans-okinawans/ Ryukyuans (Okinawans)] – [[Minority Rights Group International]]

{{Clear}}
{{Ethnic groups in Japan |state = expanded }}
{{East Asian topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryukyuan People}}
[[Category:Ryukyuan people| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Japan]]
[[Category:Ryukyu Islands]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of East Asia]]
[[Category:History of Northeast Asia]]