Category Archives: History

Op-Ed: President Obama’s Visit to Japan and the Okinawa Question

Posted on April 28, 2014 by loochoo77

Updated 4/29/14, 5/13/14 In an editorial dated 4/29/14, the Ryukyu Shimpo pleaded with President Obama to unconditionally close the Futenma U.S. Marine Corps Air Station and return, to Japan, the land that it now occupies. The current agreement to close … Continue reading →

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Tule Lake Relocation Center – A Personal Reflection

Posted on April 26, 2014 by loochoo77

Updated 4/27/14 For “place of birth” in the hundreds of forms I’ve filled out since grade school, I’ve always written “Newell, California,” but I’ve never known much about the place and don’t recall anything about it. I grew up on … Continue reading →

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Color Film of Shuri Castle Strafing in 1945

Posted on April 23, 2014 by loochoo77

Updated 5/4/14 A film clip shot by a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft during a bombing and strafing run in the Battle of Okinawa in mid-April 1945 was shown in a recent ANN newscast. The image above was captured from the … Continue reading →

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An Amazing Collection of Okinawa Photos

Posted on April 20, 2014 by loochoo77
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Chinese Influence in Naha – Late 14th Century

Posted on April 20, 2014 by loochoo77

Updated 4/21/14 The following is an excerpt from Katrien Hendrickx’s The Origins of Banana-fibre Cloth in the Ryukyus, Japan, Leuven University Press, 2007.

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Okinawa-Related Courses at University of Hawaii-Manoa

Posted on April 20, 2014 by loochoo77

The following are courses that are available at the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. Please check the class schedule to see what’s offered for the upcoming semester. ANTH 487 Okinawa and Its Diaspora – (3 credits) Explores the ties … Continue reading →

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Okinawan Festival 2014 Aug 30-31

Posted on April 20, 2014 by loochoo77

Update 8/17/14: Click here for the program. Click here for the latest flyer.

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Okinawan-Americans in Hawaii Targeted for WWII Study

Posted on April 20, 2014 by loochoo77

Updated 4/21/14 According to the Ryukyu Shimpo (10 Apr 2014), “the Okinawa Prefectural Government (OPG) will carry out a project to interview and collect the stories of Okinawan Americans who worked for the U.S. military during the Battle of Okinawa.” … Continue reading →

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London Okinawa Day 2014

Posted on March 22, 2014 by loochoo77
Posted in Culture, Fair, History, Images, International, Karate, Music, Travel | Leave a comment

Doll Festival: Parade in Traditional Ryukyuan Costume

Posted on March 22, 2014 by loochoo77

“For the Doll’s Festival, people dressed in traditional Ryukyuan costume walked through the streets in a michijune parade in the First Commercial Avenue in Okinawa City on March 1″ (Ryukyu Shimpo, 3/2/14). “Okinawa (沖縄市 Okinawa-shi?, Okinawan: Uchinaa) is the second-largest … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Festival, History, Images, Travel | 2 Comments

‘Karate in the Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa Prefecture, and Hawaii’ with Pat Nakata and Charles C. Goodin

Posted on August 1, 2013 by loochoo77

“Karate in the Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa Prefecture, and Hawaii: How Is Okinawan Culture Spread Through Karate?”1 is a video from a 9 Feb. 2012 presentation by Sensei Pat Nakata2, Okinawa Shorin-Ryu Karate Association (Chibana Shorin-Ryu), and Charles C. Goodin, president, Hawaii … Continue reading →

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A Haunting Image from the Battle of Okinawa

Posted on July 15, 2013 by loochoo77

Last updated 10/9/14, 8/13/15 The photo above is from the video1 below. The video is brief. Only three minutes long. But it’s high definition and in color, and it looks as though it could have been shot yesterday. But it … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Images, Video | 13 Comments

Uta no Hi 2013 Photos: A Mahalo to Hawaii’s Okinawan Community

Posted on June 30, 2013 by loochoo77

Updated 1/2/16 I did it. I watched the entire 7:00PM to 1:30AM live webcast, beginning Friday evening and ending early Saturday morning, of the “Uta no Hi” concert from Kadena, Okinawa, Japan. The annual event, I learned, was developed and … Continue reading →

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Ryukyu Kingdom’s Lasting Link to the U.S. Naval Academy

Posted on June 25, 2013 by loochoo77

Last updated 10/11/14, 11/18/15 An interesting side story in Chang-su Houchins’s Artifacts of Diplomacy: Smithsonian Collections from Commodore Matthew Perry’s Japan Expedition (1853-1854)1 revolves around a large bronze bell, Gokoku-ji, that was among the items “given” to Commodore Perry during … Continue reading →

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Ryukyuan Artifacts from Commodore Matthew Perry’s Japan Expedition (1853-1854)

Posted on June 25, 2013 by loochoo77

Chang-su Houchins’s Artifacts of Diplomacy: Smithsonian Collections from Commodore Matthew Perry’s Japan Expedition (1853-1854)1 offers tantalizing glimpses into Japan and Ryukyu history in the mid-19th century. After downloading the PDF file, do a search on Naha, Ryukyu, and Ryukyuan to find … Continue reading →

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