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Are Okinawa people Japanese?
Are Okinawa people Japanese? This question is very interesting, because it can become a "problem", of course, not simply from the perspective of nationality, but from many realistic perspectives, such as historical perspective, cultural perspective, and human identity. So let's talk about this problem in detail today.

Who are Okinawa people? Of course, when it comes to this topic, the first thing we have to say is that from the perspective of nationality, there is actually nothing to say about this issue. Because modern Okinawa people are all Japanese nationals except those who voluntarily join other countries and foreigners in Okinawa, and because Japan does not actually recognize dual nationality, the vast majority of Okinawa residents are Japanese nationals, only Japanese nationals.

(Ancient Ryukyu Kingdom)

But legally speaking, the nationality of these people is one thing, but in fact, the composition of Okinawa people is another matter. First of all, friends who like history must know that Okinawa was an independent country for a long time in history, named Ryukyu. Ryukyu can become an independent country because the residents here are indeed a unique nation.

According to the latest genetic research, the genetic composition of Ryukyu people is significantly different from that of the main ethnic groups in Japan, but it is close to the Ainu people, the only officially recognized ethnic group in Japan, who mainly live in Hokkaido in northern Japan, and the two ethnic groups are close to some trace genes found in various rope cultural sites produced in ancient Japan.

Hezu's lineage was formed by the mixed blood of the rope literati and the Yayoi ethnic group who later moved to Japan from the Asian continent, so it was actually very different from the Ryukyu people. But from another point of view, the origin of Ryukyu people is also very different from all ethnic groups in the Asian continent, even more different than the Japanese and all ethnic groups in the Asian continent.

In fact, however, the composition of Ryukyu people is not that simple, because although the origin of Ryukyu people in the early period was different from that of the peoples in the Asian continent, in the later period of Ryukyu Kingdom, Ryukyu surrendered to China for a long time, so it had very close contacts with China. During this period, in fact, a considerable number of China people immigrated and settled in Ryukyu, and eventually merged into the Ryukyu nation.

(Fuzhou Garden, Jiumi Village, Ryukyu)

Among them, the most famous one is the 36 surname of Fujian who moved to Ryukyu from Fujian, China in the early Ming Dynasty. At that time, Sun Yat-sen Kingdom of Ryukyu surrendered to China, and its king Chadu asked China for some talents to spread the culture of the Central Plains and facilitate trade with China. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty approved his request and ordered 36 boatmen from Fujian to immigrate to Ryukyu. After arriving in Ryukyu, these people settled in Kumi Village near Ryukyu Village, the capital of Ryukyu.

In the whole process of Japan's invasion and annexation of Ryukyu, the people of Kumi village have repeatedly resisted fiercely. After Ryukyu was annexed by Japan, Kumi Village even became the core area of Ryukyu's resistance to Japanese rule. However, 1894- 1895 After China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1895, Ryukyu's resistance to Japanese rule was even more hopeless, so some Kumi villagers immigrated back to China, while others gradually merged into the Ryukyu nation. According to some accounts, among Ryukyu people, nearly 20,000 people are of Kumi village origin, that is, China origin.

(Ryukyu King in Ancient Paintings)

But these people are of course a minority among Ryukyu people. Although the number of Ryukyu people is unknown because Japan does not recognize Ryukyu people as a separate nation, the population of Okinawa Prefecture is about 65.438+0.44 million, including many immigrants from Japan, but its main body is still Ryukyu. In addition, there are some Ryukyu immigrants in Japan and other countries, so some people think that the total number of Ryukyu people may be 654.38+0.6 million.

Language, Culture and National Identity of Ryukyu Nationality Before Ryukyu was annexed by Japan, the main language used was Ryukyu. Although Ryukyu was deeply influenced by China culture in ancient times, Chinese characters were widely used, and descendants of immigrants from China, represented by Kumi Village, were proficient in Chinese for a long time, but it did not change the national language of Ryukyu people. Ryukyu language is different from Chinese and any Chinese dialect.

And realistically speaking, Ryukyu and the Japanese do have a certain kinship. Ryukyu is the only language in the world that can belong to the same language family as Japanese. They have some similarities in basic vocabulary and phonological system, but these similarities only show that the two languages may have close origins in ancient times, but they can't understand each other at all in modern times.

However, after Ryukyu was annexed by Japan, Japan enforced Japanese in Ryukyu, and the Ryukyu language declined rapidly in Ryukyu, and fewer and fewer people could use it. At present, it is estimated that only a few thousand Ryukyu people can speak Ryukyu.

(Ryukyu people in Ryukyu costumes)

Ryukyu is located between China and Japan in history, and it can be said that it is culturally influenced by China and Japan. The early Ryukyu was deeply influenced by China culture. For example, in ancient Ryukyu, Chinese characters were completely used, and all its official documents were written in Chinese. Moreover, although the national costume of Ryukyu people is called Ryukyu costume, its appearance is very similar to Hanfu.

In addition, Ryukyu people highly admire Confucianism. In addition to Confucius, there are many local Confucian masters. However, Ryukyu's culture is not entirely China's culture. Even in ancient times, it was influenced by some Japanese cultures. For example, the ballads of Ryukyu, Japanese is mainly written in Hiragana. In addition, after Japan invaded Ryukyu in the17th century, Ryukyu also produced Ryukyu Shintoism similar to Japanese Shintoism.

(Ancient Ryukyu Gentry Family)

Under the influence of Chinese and Japanese cultures, Ryukyu has gradually produced some unique cultures of its own, the most typical of which is the name of Ryukyu people. Before Ryukyu was annexed by Japan, everyone in Ryukyu's aristocratic class had three names, namely, Tong Ming, Tang Ming and Ming. Among them, the name of the child is Ryukyu, and the names of surnamed tang and Japan are those of China and Japan respectively.

Here is an example. After Ryukyu was annexed by Japan, it came to Beijing to rescue the Qing court and finally committed suicide. Lin Shigong is a Chinese descendant of Jiumi Village, so he has his own Chinese name, which is Lin Shigong. But at the same time, he has a child's name in Ryukyu language, called the Kingdom of Ghana.

As an aristocrat in Ryukyu Kingdom, he also has a Japanese Harmony number, called Qin Yun Shang Chun Bang, the son of a famous city, and this Harmony number is also taken according to the pattern of ancient Japanese aristocrats, so it is actually different from the name of modern Japanese.

However, after Japan forcibly annexed Ryukyu in A.D. 1879, Japanese names became official names, while Tang names and children's names only existed among the people. Now Okinawa people rarely use them. Therefore, it can also be seen from this trend that the trend of Ryukyu people being forcibly assimilated by Japan is actually obvious.

After all, it has been more than 100 years since Japan forcibly annexed it in 1879, and Japan really has a way to assimilate culture through education, so it is very difficult for Ryukyu people not to be assimilated at all.

(Modern Ryukyu people performing in Ryukyu national costumes)

Even so, a series of national identity surveys conducted in Okinawa in recent years still show that Okinawa people's recognition of Japan is not high. For example, in a survey of 1995, only 33% of Okinawa people said they were Japanese, while 38% said they were not Japanese. Others are vague.

In a survey in 2007, when choosing one's own identity, the proportion of choosing only Okinawa was as high as 4 1.6%, while the proportion of choosing only Japanese was only 25.5%. Of course, there are 29.7% people who think they are both Okinawa and Japanese. In addition, because the modern Okinawa economy is highly dependent on Japan, the proportion of Okinawa people who support Okinawa independence is not high, only 20.6%, while those who oppose independence reach 64.7%.

However, it should be noted that this survey is aimed at Okinawa people, not Ryukyu people, so many respondents are actually Japanese who moved to Okinawa. If the Ryukyu people are investigated separately, the proportion of people who think they are not Japanese or support independence is estimated to be higher.

Generally speaking, there is no doubt that Okinawa people are Japanese in nationality. However, there are still some differences between Okinawa people and Japanese people in terms of historical origin, cultural inheritance and national identity, especially the traditional Ryukyu people in Okinawa. Even after being annexed by Japan for more than 100 years, their identity with Japan may still be questioned.