XE.comAbout Okinawa
Remember Mr Miyagi from Karate Kid? Or more recently, Hattori Hanzo in Kill Bill? Well, neither of them are actually from Okinawa and the place itself is not really like it is depicted in those movies. It is, however, the home of Okinawan-style karate, venomous habu snakes, 1.3 million people and a huge contingent of the US military forces. It was also the setting for the G8 summit in 2000.
Located south-west of Japan, Okinawa was formerly a kingdom in its own right known as "The Ryukyus". At a natural crossroads for ancient shipping trade routes in Asia, it inherited much of its culture from surrounding countries, particularly China. Even today it seems more closely related to China than Japan in many ways, especially in regard to its festivals and traditional events. For example, there is an annual boat race called the Ha-re, with strong similarities to Chinese dragon boat races. At certain festivals there is a dancing dragon/lion called a Shi-shi which no doubt has its origins in China, too.
These images feature strongly in Okinawan craftwork, alongside elements of their natural evironment- the sea with its coral reefs, sugar cane, tropical plants and so on.
Okinawan people are well known to have an extraordinarily long lifespan. Perhaps this is due to their relaxed, care-free nature and slow pace of life, typical of island dwellers. Or it could be down to their diet, fresh ocean air and coral-filtered drinking water. Whatever the secret, they defy all odds of having a long life when they get behind the wheel of a car... keep that in mind if you are fortunate enough to visit here one day!