Tag - ryukyu-kingdom

 
 

RYUKYU KINGDOM

The Usasuka Ryuchu throne carving on the second floor of Shuri Castle’s main hall features a unique twisted dragon design — a detail missing from prior reconstructions.
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2024
Okinawa's Shuri Castle marks five years since devastating fire
With completion set for 2026, national and Okinawan authorities are working together to restore intricate details.
Tokashiki Beach acts as a sanctuary for sea turtles and offers ideal snorkeling waters. It was also the site of the U.S. Army’s preliminary invasion that led to the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 150,000 people.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Jun 23, 2024
On Okinawa's Tokashiki Island, life's a beach — one of the best in the world
Many of the island’s residents first came as tourists, attracted to the exquisite Aharen Beach, and simply stayed.
Coffee trees in the Izumi district of Motobu, Okinawa Prefecture
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
May 20, 2024
New study finds Japan’s coffee cultivation has roots in Okinawa
Farmers in Okinawa hope the discovery will serve as a catalyst for boosting coffee production in the prefecture.
A portrait of the 13th Ryukyu King Sho Kei, which was returned to the Okinawa Prefectural Government from the United States
JAPAN / History / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 22, 2024
Artifacts missing after Battle of Okinawa returned from U.S.
Items that include portraits of kings from the Ryukyu Kingdom have returned after going missing in 1945.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jun 19, 2023
Okinawa firms seek revival of traditional Ryukyu-era liquor using millet
Until now, millet-containing awamori has not been produced due to high production costs and difficulty in commercializing the product.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 16, 2023
After 40 years, work to return Okinawa's cultural assets continues
Many artifacts were taken to the U.S. after World War II, and the Ryukyu America Historical Research Society has been working to find and retrieve them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 20, 2022
Merged with surf and jungle, Okinawa’s holiest sites survive
Where Shinto integrates nature into its holy sites, the caves, trees and shoreline sacred to Okinawa's indigenous religion can often seem untouched by human hands.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2021
Lawsuit seeks return of Ryukyu remains nearly a century after they were brought to Kyoto
The suit has also prompted discussion over the status of Ryukyuans, whom the government has not recognized as indigenous.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 14, 2020
In the footsteps of Okinawa's forgotten priestesses
Utaki (sacred sites) are scattered throughout the islands of Okinawa. Historically the purview of priestesses and kings, these sites have recently seen an uptick in visitors interested in exploring their own history.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 7, 2020
Altered perspectives: The 'interactive' Okinawan garden
If Japanese landscape gardeners looked toward mountains and river valleys for inspiration in creating the rock arrangements that form the power grids of their gardens, infusing natural elements with Taoist and Buddhist principles, it is likely that Okinawans cast their eyes over the seas that surround...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 22, 2019
Shuri Castle fire threatens Okinawa's tourism and traditional crafts industries
A predawn fire that destroyed much of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, has shocked the local tourism industry and associations of traditional Ryukyu Kingdom crafts, raising alarm about the loss of the historic attraction and potential harm to the prefecture's ability to promote its culture....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
May 25, 2019
'Maritime Ryukyu' review: Marauders, smugglers and a colorful cast of adventurers
As a fulcrum of exchange, the Ryukyu archipelago was multilingual and multicultural from its earliest days.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?