1.
Okinawa Prefecture
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The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands. The largest of the islands is Okinawa, the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate in the north to tropical rainforest climate in the south. Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season, the islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, the varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language is the language of the islands. The northern islands are called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese. Following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard, the islands are listed from north to south where possible. Nansei Islands Satsunan Islands Ōsumi Islands with, Tanegashima, Yaku, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group and they agreed on February 15,2010, to use Amami-guntō for the Amami Islands, prior to that, Amami-shotō had also been used. The English and Japanese uses of the term Ryukyu differ, in English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624. Nansei-shotō is the name for the whole island chain in Japanese. Japan has used the name on nautical charts since 1907, based on the Japanese charts, the international chart series uses Nansei Shoto. Nansei literally means southwest, the direction of the chain from mainland Japan. Some humanities scholars prefer the uncommon term Ryūkyū-ko for the island chain. In geology, however, the Ryukyu Arc includes subsurface structures such as the Okinawa Trough, the name of Ryūkyū is strongly associated with the Ryūkyū Kingdom, a kingdom that originated from the Okinawa Islands and subjected the Sakishima and Amami Islands. The name is considered outdated in Japanese although some entities of Okinawa still bear the name. In Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands cover only the Okinawa, Miyako, the northern half of the island chain is referred to as the Satsunan Islands in Japanese, as opposed to Northern Ryukyu Islands in English. Humanities scholars generally agree that the Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, there is, however, no good name for the group. The native population do not have their own name, since they do not recognize themselves as a group this size, Ryukyu is the principal candidate because it roughly corresponds to the maximum extent of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
2.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
3.
Ginowan, Okinawa
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Ginowan is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2012, the city has an population of 94,405, with 40,041 households. The total area is 19.51 km², the city borders Chatan to the west, Okinawa City to the North, Urasoe to the south and Nishihara to the East. Ginowan was heavily damaged during World War II, after the war, half of the area of the city was allocated for use by the United States military. A refugee camp was built in the Nodake area of Ginowan, the population of the refugee camp increased exponentially, and the area was renamed Nodake City. The American occupation forces abolished Nodake City in 1946, and renamed the area Ginowan Village, subsequently, the occupation authorities confiscated the main areas of Ginowan to build military bases. The area became a town with military bases centered in Nodaka. Around 33% of Ginowan has been leased by the Japanese Ministry of Defense for use as U. S. military base under the Japanese, and hosts part of the Marine Corps Camp Foster. Ginowan was elevated to city status on July 1,1962, Ginowan is located in the south of Okinawa, and sits on the western coast of the island along the East China Sea. The city sits on gently-sloping coastal terrace composed of Ryukyuan limestone, 38% of the city is occupied by military bases used by the United States. Clockwise, starting north, Ginowan borders on the municipalities in Okinawa Prefecture. No unusual odor or color change in soil was detected and no problems have been actively reported by residents living around the base. Ginowan city government called the Japanese defense ministry to investigate for possible environmental impacts, the United States rarely allow environmental inspections on U. S. bases not planned for return to Japan. Ginowan has been dependent on the United States military. The city is home to taro, specifically the taimo used in Okinawa cuisine, while the taimo remains the chief product of Ginowan, agriculture greatly declined in the city in the postwar period. Like other municipalities on Okinawa Island, the city produces cut flowers for sale on the islands of Japan. The Okinawa Convention Center was constructed in Ginowan, and has hosted numerous international conferences, the city is also home to the Okinawa Prefectural Ginowan Marina, the Ginowan Municipal Museum, and the Sakima Art Museum. Ginowan is run by a city assembly of 28 elected members, both highways are routed around the U. S. military bases
4.
Shuri Castle
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Shuri Castle is a Ryukyuan gusuku in Shuri, Okinawa. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, in 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed, but was later re-purposed as a university campus. Beginning in 1992, the citadel and walls were largerly reconstructed on the original site based on historical records, photographs. The date of construction is uncertain, but it was clearly in use as a castle during the Sanzan period and it is thought that it was probably built during the Gusuku period, like many other castles of Okinawa. When King Shō Hashi unified the three principalities of Okinawa and established the Ryukyu Kingdom, he used Shuri Castle as a residence, at the same time, Shuri flourished as the capital and continued to do so during the Second Shō Dynasty. For 450 years from 1429, it was the royal court and it was the focal point of foreign trade, as well as the political, economic, and cultural heart of the Ryukyu Islands. According to records, Shuri Castle was burned several times. During the reign of Shō Nei, samurai forces from the Japanese feudal domain of Satsuma seized Shuri Castle on 6 May 1609. The American Commodore Perry, when he came to Okinawa in the 1850s, later, the Kingdom was annexed by Japan in 1879, and the king was removed and the castle was used as a barracks by the Imperial Japanese Army. The Japanese garrison withdrew in 1896, but not before having created a series of tunnels, in 1908, Shuri City bought the castle from the Japanese government, however they did not have funding to renovate it. In 1923, thanks to Japanese architect Ito Chuta, the Seiden survived demolition after being re-designated a prefectural Shinto shrine known as Okinawa Shrine, in 1925, it became a national treasure. Despite its decline, historian George H, beginning on May 25,1945, and as the final part of the Okinawa campaign, the American battleship USS Mississippi shelled it for three days. Due to this, the 32nd Japanese Army withdrew to the south, after the war, the University of the Ryukyus was established in 1950 on the castle site, where it remained until 1975. In 1958, Shureimon was reconstructed and, starting from 1992, the 20th anniversary of reversion, at present, the entire area around the castle has been established as Shuri Castle Park. In 2000, along with other gusuku and related sites, it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, unlike Japanese castles, Shuri Castle was greatly influenced by Chinese architecture, with functional and decorative elements similar to that seen primarily in the Forbidden City. However, given that Nanden and Bandokoro were both used for reception and entertainment of the Satsuma clan, a Japanese style design was used here only. Similarly, Okushoin-en is the only surviving garden in a gusuku in the Ryukyu Islands, the current renovation is designed with a focus on the castles role as a cultural or administrative/political center, rather than one for military purposes. The buildings that have been restored as original wooden buildings are only in the main citadel, Seiden was rebuilt using wood from Taiwan and elsewhere after rituals blessing the removal of large trees from mountains in the Yanbaru region of Okinawa took place
5.
Naha
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Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the most southern prefecture of Japan. As of December 2012, the city has an population of 321,467. The total area is 38.99 km², Naha is a city on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of Okinawa Prefecture. The modern city was founded on May 20,1921. Before that Naha had been for one of the most important. Naha is the political, economic and education center of Okinawa Prefecture, in the medieval and early modern periods, it was the commercial center of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Kokusai-dōri boasts a 1.6 kilometre long stretch of stores, restaurants, Kokusai-dōri ends at the main bus terminal in Okinawa and is served by several stations along the Okinawa Monorail, the only train system in the prefecture. Just outside the area is the neighborhood of Tsuboya, which was once a major center of ceramic production. Northeast of Kokusai-dōri is a new commercial district called Shintoshin. The area, formerly United States military housing, was released to Okinawa in 1987, frequented by young people, the area boasts large stores such as Toys R Us and Best Denki, a co-op market, many restaurants and a movie theater. The Okinawa Prefectural Museum, containing sections devoted to the art, history, according to the Irosetsuden, the name of Naha comes from its original name, Naba, which was the name of a large, mushroom-shaped stone in the city. Gradually, the stone away and became buried, and the names pronunciation. In Naha, some relics of the Stone Age were found. From a Jōmon period kaizuka, ancient Chinese coins were found, pottery found by archaeologists indicates that the area was an active site of trade with the Japanese archipelago and Korean peninsula at least as early as the 11th century. Though it is not known just when the area first became organized as a port city. Medieval Naha was on an island called Ukishima, connected to the mainland of Okinawa Island by a narrow causeway called Chōkōtei which led on to Shuri. The main port area for trade, Naha proper, was divided into the East and West districts and was on the southwestern portion of Ukishima. A large open-air marketplace was active in front of the government trading center
