Ryukyu, << ree OO `kyoo,` >> Islands are a group of more than 100 islands in the North Pacific Ocean that belong to Japan. They stretch from the main islands of Japan to Taiwan. They have a land area of 1,205 square miles (3,120 square kilometers) and a population of about 1,600,000. Some islands have no people. The Ryukyus can be divided into five groups from north to south—(1) the Osumi Islands, (2) the Tokara Islands, (3) the central Ryukyus including the Amami Islands and Okinawa, (4) the Miyako Islands, and (5) the Yaeyama Islands.
People.
Farming is the most important occupation of the islanders, though the soil is rocky, and the landscape is hilly. The people grow rice, but their main food crop is sweet potatoes. They export sugar cane and pineapple. Many people work at hotels and resorts, which attract visitors from the Japanese mainland.
The Ryukyuans speak Japanese. Their religion has been influenced by both China and Japan. Burial of the dead in large family tombs and ceremonies honoring ancestors are important parts of the Ryukyuan religion. Ryukyuans also worship things connected with nature, such as trees and fire.
Land and climate.
Most of the Ryukyu Islands are mountainous. The highest elevation above sea level, more than 6,000 feet (1,800 meters), is on Yaku Island. Some of the islands have active volcanoes. The Ryukyus have a warm, wet climate. The average temperature is about 70 °F (21 °C), and the annual rainfall ranges from 53 to 120 inches (135 to 305 centimeters). Typhoons bring damaging winds and rains in summer and autumn. Winters are usually cloudy and chilly, with less rain.
History.
Ancestors of the Ryukyuans probably came from Japan and Taiwan, and possibly from the Philippines. Some scientists believe that prehistoric people may have lived on the islands during the most recent ice age, which ended about 11,500 years ago. Chinese and Japanese expeditions stopped in the Ryukyu Islands as early as the A.D. 600’s. During the 1400’s and 1500’s, Okinawa was part of a trade network that linked China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
China and Japan both claimed the Ryukyus until 1874, when China signed a treaty recognizing Japanese rule. In 1879, the islands became part of two prefectures (provinces) of Japan. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the United States took over the Ryukyus. In 1953, the United States returned the islands north of Okinawa to Japan. Okinawa and the southern Ryukyus were returned in 1972.
See also Okinawa.
