History
Pick Up Stories

Shisa get their day on Thursday [History Living]
April 3 is the “Day of Shisa” in Okinawa. Four is SHI, and three is SAN in Japanese. This is why April 3rd is the Day of Shisa. The day was ...Read More

Remembering Reversion and Driving on th… [History]
When Okinawa was returned to Japan on May 15th, 1972, part of the package was an entirely new set of challenges that needed to be met. For O...Read More

Royal Crown Exhibition [History]
One of Okinawa’s national treasures, the Royal Crown worn by 14 kings of the Ryukyu era, goes on display tomorrow at Naha City Museum on the...Read More

Museum of History introduces Naha’s Shrines & Temples [History]
It’s said that Buddhism was introduced by visiting monk Zenkan to the Ryukyu Kingdom around 1265~1274, an action that appears to have brought the temple of Zen Buddhism’s Rinzai se...

Peace Library photo exhibition features ancient Cambodia [History]
A special free photographic exhibition showcasing the stone carvings of the pre-encore dynasty of the Kingdom of Cambodia is in progress at the Okinawa Peace Prayer Library through...

Awamori: Okinawa’s royal beverage [History]
By Bill Charles Awamori is Okinawa’s indigenous beverage, distilled for centuries at the behest of the royal families and continued to this very day, where it’s the crown jewel of ...

Hajiti tattoo told woman’s status [History]
By Sanae Nadoyama “Hajiti” means nudging with a needle, a decoration Okinawan women used to tattoo on the back of their hands in the past. It was also a symbol of their status in s...
U.S. Senkakus Return in ’72 upset Beijing, Taipei [History]
The raging controversy over ownership of the Senkaku Islands in southern Okinawa Prefecture is a long brewing issue, stemming all the way back to the U.S. Reversion of Okinawa to J...