Experience the Culture of Okinawa, Japan

My name is James and I am married to Chrissy who is the daughter of Satoko who is from the island of Kita Daito. She is married to Karl. Satoko has another daughter named Annie. Annie has a husband named Joby. And Chrissy, Annie, Joby, and I are part of the second generation of Okinawans living in America. In October of 2006, we traveled to Okinawa to meet our Okinawan relatives and experience Okinawan culture firsthand. Our family trip to Okinawa coincided with the 4th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival. Okinawans from all over the world returned to Okinawa to celebrate Okinawan culture. It provided many opportunities to see traditional dancing, the eisa drums, and the colorful, traditional costumes. There were large parades with sights and traditions that I had never seen. In one parade, their returning Uchinanchu marched down Kokusai-dori while the local Okinawans watched and clapped. Dozens of countries were represented. And Tomonokais from all over the U.S. marched down the street wit lots of—the Ohio Tomonokai proudly represented the great state of Ohio. One of my favorite events was the tug of war. That was, by far, the biggest rope I had ever seen. This is the largest Annual Tug-of-War in the world and it was massive. The Festival also had some impressive ceremonies. At one point, the President of the Ohio Tomonokai was recognized. The closing ceremony for the festival was very impressive. It climaxed with hundreds of performers dancing all throughout the convention center. Beyond the festival, there were so many other fascinating things to see, the shops and restaurants of Kokusai-dori, Heiwa-dori and the fish market and the constant energy of Naha. We took the Monorail to Shuri-jo to see how the Uchinanchu rulers lived in the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The long history of Okinawa is represented well in nine World Heritage Sites including Nakijin-jo, Sefa-Utaki, Shikina-en and several others. For an appreciation of the hardships that the Okinawan people have overcome, a stop at the World War II Peace Memorial is a must. The names of the soldiers who died in the battle of Okinawa are written on wall after wall after wall surrounding the Cornerstone of Peace. We also got to visit Ocean Expo Park which is home to one of the largest aquariums in the world. They also have free water shows and a village of native Okinawan Homes. Okinawa is such a beautiful island. The beautiful blue ocean combined with the rocky landscape make for a wonderful place to visit but what makes it even better is having family there. Joby and I got to meet our Okinawan relatives for the first time and even though there was a bit of a language barrier, we were able to form bonds with them that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. I hope that we all can return to Okinawa at some point, but in the meantime let's all celebrate the wonderful culture and traditions that Okinawa has provided.