Abstract
This chapter introduced how Okinawa, a small insular prefecture that sent many migrants overseas during the modern period, has been serving as a hub for connecting Okinawans around the world through Okinawan hometown associations that are part of a global network. Since the inaugural Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival in 1990, this has led to the establishment of an economic exchange network (WUB) and a next-generation youth network (WYUA).
From the beginning of the twentieth century, the prefecture of Okinawa began to send many migrants to other areas in the Asia Pacific region and countries in South America due to demographic and economic pressure. Some of these migrants settled permanently in their host societies and formed Okinawan hometown associations, such as Okinawa kenjinkai. These various associations engaged in activities to support mutual assistance among the Okinawans overseas in their host societies, which led to the exchange of human resources, materials, money, and information between them and their homeland, Okinawa.
The Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival, held in 1990, changed this to a “one-to-many” relationship, where the homeland Okinawa served as a hub to connect the Okinawan hometown associations, primarily kenjinkais. Due to the establishment of WUB in 1997, this was reorganized as a distributed network on a many-to-many basis, where WUB chapters often connect with each other without going through the homeland Okinawa. One could say that the worldwide network of Okinawans overseas has been enriched and deepened, and due to the establishment of WYUA for next-generation Okinawans, the network is becoming multi-layered.
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Notes
- 1.
Yamashina (1952) defines that “an island is a landmass that is completely surrounded by a hydrosphere and is relatively small in area.”
- 2.
In this chapter, the modern period of Japan refers to the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the end of the Asia-Pacific War in 1945.
- 3.
Regarding Chinese immigrants, Cai (1998) reported that there were 17 world festivals held in 1997 based on networks with territorial ties or blood ties. Of these, 13 festivals had begun in the 1990s. Regarding Indian immigrants, the First Global Convention of People of Indian Origin was held the same year that the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) was formed, in 1989 (Koga 2000).
- 4.
Among the 47 prefectures in Japan, the one with the largest number of emigrants is Hiroshima. According to Ishikawa (1997), there were 96,181 emigrants between 1899 and 1937; however, the homeland of many emigrants from Hiroshima is Honshu Island. Regarding emigrants from small islands, Okinawa sent out the largest number of migrants in Japan.
- 5.
Within the USA, the number of migrants to Hawaii was 20,518 or 96 % of all the Okinawa migrants that went to the USA.
- 6.
- 7.
The grandfather of Governor Ige is from Nishihara town in Okinawa Prefecture. There was strong support from the Okinawan communities during the election (Okinawa Times, November 6, 2014).
- 8.
About 50 people from Okinawa had already been living in San Francisco. Many of them were immigrants who came to study or find greater employment opportunities and had arrived in the USA earlier than the indentured immigrants who came in 1900. Okinawa Club of America (1981) reports that the office of the kenjinkai was more like a hostel for people from Okinawa. It also argues that, for early settlers, the establishment of the kenjinkai was a manifestation of the compelling instinct for mutual assistance.
- 9.
For example, 10,000 USD was sent from a relief group in Brazil to the one in the USA, and 5,000 USD was sent from a relief group in Peru, to be eventually funneled to Okinawa. Three hundred goats sent from Hawaii to Okinawa in 1949 were purchased in the USA and transported from San Francisco.
- 10.
The number of visits was counted based on Junji Nishime’s biography posed in Ryukyu Shimpo (1998).
- 11.
He organized an international exchange division within the prefectural government in 1979. He also contributed to the founding of the Okinawa International Exchange Foundation in 1981 and the Okinawa Human Resources Development Foundation in 1982.
- 12.
New halls opened in Brazil and Bolivia in 1978, in Peru in 1981, in Hawaii in 1990, and in Argentina in 1991.
- 13.
Governor Nishime asked the chairman of the Association of People from Okinawa Prefecture in Hawaii, who had personal connections with the Department of Defense, so that he could meet with Weinberger, who was the current Secretary of Defense (Ryukyu Shimpo 1998).
- 14.
To “support Okinawan culture and education” and to “broaden the horizon for our children and future generations by helping them become better global citizens” are listed in WUB’s mission, indicating that the organization’s aim includes activities in nonbusiness areas.
- 15.
Fifty-seven companies set up 59 booths at the International Exchange and Promotion Business Fair, and the number of participants amounted to about 1,350 in 2 days. Sixty-three concrete business negotiations were made overall and 58 of them were considered to “have potential.” Seven deals were closed, including the “export of agaricus products,” “agent agreement for distributing Okinawan entertainment and culture such as DVDs and full CG movies” (article posted in Ryukyu Shimpo, September 16, 2000).
- 16.
For example, in addition to the members of the WUB Network and members of Okinawa-related organizations in Hawaii, about 150 people attended the 14th WUB Conference held in Hawaii in 2010. There, group discussions were held on “what Uchinanchu spirit (Okinawan spirit) is, how it is contributing to each organization, and what it will be like in the future.”
- 17.
The next-generation representatives from the US mainland, Hawaii, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, and the UK attended the conference (according to the document distributed by WYUA).
- 18.
Since a list of members is not available, the total number of WYUA members is unknown. There are about 60 members working at the WYUA Okinawa headquarters, both students and adults combined (according to the hearing investigation).
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Miyauchi, H. (2016). Formation and Development of an Okinawan Global Network Using an Island Hub. In: Ishihara, M., Hoshino, E., Fujita, Y. (eds) Self-determinable Development of Small Islands. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0132-1_2
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