User:Joshjensen308/sandbox

link to okinawa page

User:Joshjensen308/sandbox/okinawa

peer review link for brandon

User:BeeHiatt/Tokyo Auto Salon/Joshjensen308 Peer Review

Draft
Okinawans are an indigenous people With skeletons dating back 32,000 years the Okinawan or Ryukyu people have a long history on the islands that includes a kingdom of its own known as the Ryukyu Kingdom. The kingdom had trade relationships with China and Japan that started in the late 1500's lasting until the 1860's. In the 1590's Japan made its first attempt at subjecting the Ryukyu Kingdom by sending a group of 3,000 samurai armed with muskets to conquer the Ryukyu kingdom. Indefinite take over wasn't achieved but the Ryukyu Kingdom became in effect a fake colony of Japan, paying homage to the Japanese while feigning the independence of their own kingdom to China to maintain trade. In 1879 after a small rebellion by the Ryukyu people was squelched the Japanese government. The Ryukyu people had requested help from China to break all bonds from Japan. The Japanese found out and punished Ryukyu by officially naming it a state of Japan. Much like the Ainu people, the people of the Ryukyu Islands were punished for speaking their own language, forced to identify with Japanese myths and legends (forgoing their own legends), renamed Okinawan, forced to change their actual first and last names to Japanese names, and forced reorient themselves religiously around the Japanese emperor. Japan had officially expanded their colonization to the Okinawan islands, where the Okinawans didn't play a big role in Japans history until the end of World War Two.

America brought the war to Japan and the first areas that were effected were the Okinawan Islands. The Okinawan citizens forced into becoming soldiers were told that Americans would take no prisoners. In addition to the warnings Okinawans were given a grenade per household, in case Americans gained control of the island, with the standing orders were to have a member of the household gather everyone and pull pin to avoid the inevtiable torture that would follow any occupation. In addition the Japanese army licked any natives out of their homes that weren't currently serving in the army (women and children) and for them into open, unprotected spaces such as beaches and caves. In result more then 120,000 Okinawans (between a quarter and a third of the population) died, soldiers and civilians alike. The Americans took over and the war was soon over. Okinawa had again become a colony, this time to America. America decided to launch their main base in Asia from Okinawa and the emperor of Japan even approved, giving Okinawa to America for an agreed 25-50 years in essence to get the majority of Americans out of mainland Japan. They have been in Okinawa for 74 years and have shown no signs of leaving. In the occupation Okinawan natives were forced to give up their best cultivating land to the Americans currently occupying their island. Issues in Okinawa have yet to be resolved regarding the expired stay of American soldiers. Okinawa was given back to Japan, but the base still stays. When Okinawans raise the issue, they are ignored by the Japanese Government. This isn't the only problem that the Japanese Government has trouble hearing. Being ruled an Indigenous people in 2008 by the committee of the UN, and Okinawas original languages recognized as endangered or Severely endangered by UNESCO, the UN has encouraged that Okinawan history, and language be mandatorily taught in Okinawa. Nothing has yet to be done. Okinawans are now in a cultural struggle that matches that of the Ainu people. They are not allowed to be Japanese-Okinawan, the only thing that is accepted nationally or legally is Japanese only. Now a few apparent choices for Okinawans are to commit a genocide of culture and forget their distinct differences and history to be accepted nationally, or accept their differences and become an outcast to a homologous society.