Culture
With their own language and customs, Okinawans still regard themselves as different from the mainland Japanese and some still harbor a certain degree of resentment towards the mainland for the brutal way the islands were treated as colonies and during World War II. Okinawans proudly call themselves uchinanchu æ²ç¸äºº or "sea people" in the local dialect and talk of the way things are done on the shima 島 or islands, in contrast to the ways of the mainland, known as hontÅ æ¬å³¶ in standard Japanese, yamato ã¤ãã in the local dialect, and sometimes as the slightly derisive local slang naichi å å°.
Okinawa's most famous export worldwide is the martial art of karate. In recent years Okinawan culture has become quite popular throughout Japan thanks to popular musicians and local foods. ãOkinawan music is very attractive and unique because of the mixture of original Okinawan sounds and American rock, jazz, and other sounds from the USA. The distinctive instrument of choice is the sanshin ä¸ç·, a three-stringed, banjo-like distant relative of the mainland's shamisen, whose pentatonic melodies are instantly recognizable. The island has produced a disproportionate amount of musicians, most famously J-pop singer Namie Amuro, and The Boom'sãelectric-guitar-and-sanshin Shimauta "Island Song" has been dubbed Okinawa's unofficial national anthem — even though the group actually hails from mainland Yamanashi.
On the roof or at the gate of almost every house you will spot the ubiquitous Okinawan shīsa or guardian lion-dogs, one with its mouth open to catch good fortune, the other with its mouth closed to keep good fortune in.
Understand
The name Okinawa means "rope in the open sea", a fairly apt description of this long stretch of islands between mainland Japan and Taiwan. Consisting of 49 inhabited islands and 111 uninhabited islands, Okinawa has the subtropical/tropical climate. Unlike the other Japanese subtropical/tropical islands such as Ogasawara Islands, Amami Islands and Tokara Islands, there are frequent flights from all the major cities of Japan, which helps Okinawa being one of the major tourist destinations for the Japanese. Every year there are more and more foreign visitors going to Okinawa but the number still remains low compared to the tourist destinations on mainland Japan.