OKINAWA MAIN ISLAND: THE CENTER
Castle ruins, beachfront resorts
Nakagusuku Castle Ruins, Nakamura House, Shinto Shrine in Futenma, “American Village” in Chatan, Sunabe District, Awase, Katsuren Castle Ruins, White Beach Naval Facility, Yomitan Village, Zakimi Castle Ruins Site, Cape Zanpa, Maeda Point
Chapter 7
OKINAWA MAIN ISLAND: THE NORTH
Natural attractions, fabulous fish
Nago, Motobu Peninsula, Motobu Port, Sesoko, Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Nakijin Castle Ruins, Unten Port, Yagajijima, Cape Akamaru, Hiji Falls, Ōkuni-rindo, Aha Falls, Cape Hedo, Ada, Kanucha Bay Resort, Cape Henoko
Chapter 8
Scattered islets, quiet resorts
Adakashima, Abuōrujima, Nagashima, Tairajima, Ikeijima, Miyagijima, Henzajima, Hamahigashima, Ukibarushima, Minamiukibarushima, Yabuchijima, Aginamiiwa, Gonjiyaniwa, Tsukenjima, Kudakajima, Kumakajima, Adochijima, Tamataiwa, Ādjijima, Ōjima
Chapter 9
Wondrous whales, delightful dives
Kamiyamajima, Kuefujima, Nagannujima, Maejima, Kuroshima, Tokashikijima, Zamamijima, Akajima, Gerumajima, Fukajijima, Ōjima, Kubashima, Yakabijima
Chapter 10
Golden beaches, remarkable rocks
Edzunajima, Rukan-shō, Senagajima, Tonakijima, Kumejima, Torishima, Agunijima, Sesokojima, Minnajuma, Iejima, Ōjima, Yagajijima, Kourijima, Izenajuma, Iheyajima
Chapter 11
Pristine waters, rich coral reefs
Miyakojima, Irabujima, Shimojijima, Taramajima, Minnajima
Chapter 12
Idyllic beaches, fascinating nature
Ishigakijima, Taketomijima, Hamajima, Kayamajima, Kohamajima, Kuroshima, Aragusukujima, Hatomajima, Iriomotejima, Haterumajima, Nakanouganjima, Yonagunijima
Chapter 13
Precipitous cliffs, sugary sights
Kita Daitōjima, Minami Daitōjima, Oki Daitōjima
Introduction
Welcome to Okinawa and the Ryukyus
Although it is said that Japan (日本; Nihon or Nippon, literally “sun’s origin” but usually translated as “land of the rising sun”) is an island nation, it’s perhaps more accurate to describe it as a nation of islands for, depending on who’s counting, there are anywhere from 3,000 to 6,852 of them. The first figure, although an approximation, is widely agreed upon by most encyclopedias and reference manuals. It includes islands that are at least 0.039 square miles (0.1 square kilometer) in size. The larger number of 6,852 is published by the Japan Maritime Public Relations Center and includes all islands that have at least 330 feet (100 meters) of shoreline. Obviously, that latter figure would include virtually every rock, isle and islet in the Japanese Archipelago. More useful perhaps is the often-cited number of inhabited islands. That number is 426.
From north to south, Japan’s four main islands are Hokkaido (北海道; Hokkaidō, lit. “North Sea Circuit,” circuit being a mostly archaic political subdivision); Honshu (本州; Honshū, meaning “Main State”), where the capital Tokyo is located; Shikoku (四国; Shikoku, meaning “Four Provinces”) and Kyushu (九州; Kyūshū; “Nine Provinces”).
Honshu is the largest of Japan’s islands, Hokkaido the second largest, then Kyushu, then Shikoku. In total, Japan has about 18,645 miles (30,000 kilometers) of shoreline. Since, ultimately, it is an archipelago of islands, it has no land boundaries with any other country. Its northern shores on Hokkaido face the Russian Sea of Okhotsk and its eastern shores front the Pacific Ocean. Most of the country’s west faces the Sea of Japan and its southwest looks to the East China Sea.
Ranked by size, Japan is the 61st largest country on earth. Its area is 145,920 square miles (377,930 square kilometers), a bit larger than Germany and somewhat similar in overall shape and size (a little smaller) than the US state of California. Together, the four main islands, often called the Japanese “homeland” or “mainland,” account for 97 percent of Japan’s total land area.
Thus, thousands of small, very small and really, really small islands constitute the remaining 3 percent of Japan’s territory. These islands are located at all points of the compass surrounding Japan, but one group in particular runs along a more or less north–south line from the southern end of the Japanese mainland to Taiwan. There are several hundreds of these islands and they are known as the Ryukyus—the subject of this book.
We use several names in English to describe these islands, and our use of some of the terms differs from the meaning the Japanese ascribe to them. Most commonly we call the group of islands between Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s big four islands, and the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan and historically as Formosa, the Ryukyus (琉球; Ryūkyū). We also refer to the entire chain as the Ryukyu Islands (琉球諸島; Ryūkyū-shotō) and sometimes we say the Ryukyu Archipelago (琉球列島; Ryūkyū-Rettō).
However, the Japanese do not use these terms in the same sense as we do. They collectively refer to the island chain as the Nansei Shoto (南西諸島; Nansei-shotō), literally “Southwest Islands.” Or sometimes they’ll say Amami-Okinawa Chiho (奄美沖縛地方; Amami-Okinawa Chihō), which means Amami-Okinawa Region and has the same meaning as Southwest Islands. A term almost never used in the sense that we use it is Ryukyu (琉球; Ryūkyū). Rather, they say Okinawa (沖絹; Okinawa), which is considered a synonym, whereas we use that word just for the one main island. Whichever term the Japanese may use, they in turn divide the geographic term Ryukyu into two political subdivisions: Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県; Kagoshima-ken) for the northern half of this island chain and Okinawa Prefecture (沖縛県; Okinawa-ken) for the southern half.
In other words, in the West when we use the term Ryukyu, it’s in a geographic sense for the whole chain of islands. The Japanese equivalent of our sense of that term is Nansei Shoto. When the Japanese say the Ryukyus, they mean only the southern half of the islands, the modern political subdivision of Okinawa Prefecture. Occasionally, if they use the now historical term Ryukyu Retto, they are referring to what was once the territory of the former Okinawan kingdom, which includes most, but not all, of the archipelago—the Amami Islands, Okinawa Islands, Miyako Islands and Yaeyama Islands.
On the following pages, we use the terms Ryukyu Retto, Ryukyu Shoto, Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu Group, Ryukyu Archipelago, Nansei Shoto, Nansei Islands, Southwest Islands and Southwest Group interchangeably. We’ll start at the top, in the north, and work our way down to the southernmost islands next to Taiwan. We’ll visit the entire archipelago, going from one group of islands to the next, exploring each island, one by one, as we go.
The