Blog Entries for meg

Chatan

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Chatan Town is located in the central portion of Okinawa, bordered by Kadena Town to the north, Ginowan City to the south, and Okinawa City, Kitanakagusuku Village, and Futenma to the east. Chatan is particularly well known to Americans on the island, as the presence of three bases (Kadena Air Base, Camp Lester, and Camp Foster) within the town�s borders gives it a very western feel.

The kanji for Chatan translates to mean �northern valley,� and humans are thought to have live [...]

Okinawa Convention Center

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The Okinawa Convention Center is major civic center used for local and international events and is located in the western portion of Ginowan City.

The Convention Center was designed by architect Yukio Otani and opened to the public in September 1987. Composed of three adjoining buildings designed to represent the sky, sea, and caves of Okinawa, the complex houses an exhibition hall, theater, and convention facility. It is easily recognizable to residents because of its high, [...]

Tomori Stone Lion (Sh�s�)

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The Tomori Stone Lion is a stone sh�s� located in present-day Kochinda Town (Yaese Village) on the southern portion of Okinawa. This sh�s� was constructed in the 1600s to defend the village of Tomori from, according to legend, a dragon that lived in the hill on which the statue sits.

The Tomori Stone Lion is recognizable to Americans from a photo taken during the Battle of Okinawa in which soldiers of the U.S. Army�s 7th Division are hunkered down around the statue, taking fire from [...]

Kenji-no-To

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This monument is dedicated to the young boys who served during the Battle of Okinawa alongside General Ushijima and his army as members of the Blood and Iron Corps (or Tekketsu Kinnotai). Nearly 1,500 strong, the unit included a large contingent from the Okinawa Normal School in Shuri, which was activated on March 31, 1945, one day before the American invasion of Okinawa.

Many of these young men, most of whom were of middle school age, had received minor military training at school ( [...]

Konpaku-no-To

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Konpaku-no-To is a war memorial located on Highway 331 about one-half kilometer east of Himeyuri-no-To in Komesu Village (located on the far southern portion of Okinawa). Konpaku translates to mean "soul."

After the Battle of Okinawa, Occupation authorities ordered the citizens of Mawashi Village to relocate to Komesu, a village on the southern tip of the island, now incorporated into present-day Itoman City. As the southern portion of the island saw heavy fighting, the citizens [...]

Makishi Public Market

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If the Okinawan diet is the marvel of fad-chasing, image-obsessed America consumers for the moment, there's little hope that our young nation will achieve the longevity for which Okinawans are so famous. While certain foods are key to the prefecture's high number of octa and nonagenarians, attitude and lifestyle choices are equally as important, and in few places can the holy trinity of theOkinawan elixir be seen quite like in Makishi Public Market, located in the Heiwadori on Kokusai St [...]

Okinawan Odori

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Early History

Archeological evidence gleaned from illustrated ceramics fragments suggests that dance has been a part of daily life for thousands of years. Many early dances, such as those of Native Americans, derived from ceremonial and ritualistic purposes. Ancient Egyptian and Indian dances often had religious purposes, while those of ancient Greece were more celebratoryin nature. While Okinawa has several folk dances related to religious ceremonies, it developed its classical dances in a n [...]

Yukata

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After summer rains bring unrelenting heat and humidity to prefectures throughout Japan, donning a heavy kimono for social occasions becomes a dreaded thought and task. In lieu of the layers of fabric required for traditional kimono, many in Japan opt to wear yukata during the nation's stifling summers.

As opposed to the heavy silk or synthetic fabrics used to make kimono, yukata arewoven from lightweight cotton and are not lined. Though traditional yukata feature indigo designs, modern co [...]

Kyoto's Counterpart

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When you think of quintessential Japan, we're betting you think of the charms of Kyoto, with its many tea houses, kimono-clad geiko, elegant shrines, and narrow alleys. On Okinawa, Kyoto's cultural counterpart is Shuri, the former seat of the royal family of the Ryukyus.

While Kyoto may have been spared from bombing by Allied generals during World War II due to its cultural importance, Shuri was given no such bye. The area was (and is) located on an impressive hilltop, and this, combi [...]

Stout Shuri

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For centuries, Shuri Castle has stood as the pride and joy of the Ryukyu Islands. The home of Ryukyuan royalty, its vermillion buildings shone in the tropical sun, glimmers of gold emanating regal light from the pillars and gates. Destroyed on several occasions by fire, this wooden structure has seen many incarnations, the most recent of which was completed in 1992 after nearly four decades of researchand reconstruction following the building's demise during World War II.

If the walls of [...]