Ryūkyū islands

The islands Ryūkyū or islands Luchu (ja 琉球, or ja 南西諸島 Nansei-shotō in Japanese, translated literally by “archipelago of South-west”) constitute a Archipel Japan board between the islands of Kyūshū in north and Taiwan in the south. The principal island is Okinawa Honto. The northern part belongs to the Préfecture of Kagoshima, while the southern half depends on the Préfecture of Okinawa. The archipelago is the soil of the linguistic group ryūkyū, a language close to the Japanese which is characterized some as well by its grammar as by its vocabulary.

The Royaume of Ryūkyū was quasi-independent for a long time. Of an opportunist independence where the king recognized at the same time the Chinese and Japanese, which made it possible to make trade without too many concern (one needed kinds of visas to trade with China, which gave the formal recognition of the vassalage of the kingdom, renewed by a simple visit of a Chinese delegation - bringing the seals - to each change of king with Okinawa). In 1423, the royayme had to face a violent revolt carried out by the combatants of the Agonshu sect. It was crushed by the forces of the kingdom, and of tens of corpses of combatants, the burst eyes, were exhibés on the beaches.

It seems that during the 19th century the influence of Japan increased at the expense of China. In 1879, the government Meiji of Japan definitively annexed it with the arbitration of the former president of the the United States Ulysses S. Grant.

Nowadays, of the political problems involved in this past are always present. Certain inhabitants of the islands do not estimate themselves to be Japanese “truths”, others complain about the discrimination of the central government (the area is one of poorest of Japan). During the phase of extension of Japan, an obligation to pass to the Japanese language was imposed on the local population. Lastly, there remains the problem of the omnipresent American bases on Okinawa Honto, although the United States returned Okinawa to Japan following the revolts of the population of Okinawa in 1972. There is always a great number of American soldiers stationed with Okinawa, much more than anywhere in Japan. Okinawa remains a zone with the complex military rules (airspace controlled by the American military authorities).

Air transports between the islands are primarily accomplished by Japan Transocean Air of the group Japan Airlines.

History

Old story

One does not know really the origin of the inhabitants of Ryūkyū. The first inhabitants probably came from China at one time when a strip of land united China and the archipelago. Later, with the Malayan people, micronésiens and Japanese mixed with the autochtones. Some think that the Siberian ones and Koreans were added to this population. However the Langues ryukyu are the only ones to have common roots with the Japanese, which makes go up the bonds far in the past of the island.

The kingdom of Ryūkyū

See the detailed article Kingdom of Ryūkyū.

Under Japan and the United States

Second world war: Ryūkyū is the theater of fierce combats between the American and Japanese armed forces. At the end of the war, the islands located in lower part of the latitude 30°N are placed under the authority of the American military governor of Naha.
Cold war: The archipelago is source of frictions between the Japan and the United States during more 20 years.
1972 : The archipelago returns under Japanese control and Japan grants to the Americans, under certain conditions, to keep their military bases.

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