#shimanchu

[wearejapanese]

Lee A. Tonouchi Special to Da Hawai‘i Herald

My great grandma who wuz born in Okinawa in 1885 had traditional Okinawan hand tattoos known as hajichi. Esteemed Okinawan cultural expert, Eric Wada of da eju-ma-cational group Ukwanshin Kabudan wen do field research on what motivated Okinawan women for get their hajichi. Wada Shinshï (teacher) shares “hajichi was around and in use from pre-contact times so there is no written documentation of exactly when and how it started, however through oral and documented information, it evolved into a woman’s right of passage to adulthood and had many other spiritual connections, such as genealogy, cosmology and social status.”

Growing up my great grandma felt ashamed of her tattoos cuz in Okinawa, Okinawans wuz coming for be made for feel ashamed of everyting Okinawan. When she came Hawai‘i to work plantation, my great grandma wuz so self-conscious that she made my grandma promise that when she ma-ke time, she wanted to be put in da casket with gloves on.

But how could something that wuz once one mark of great cultural pride transform into one mark of shame? Wada Shinshï explains, “hajichi was banned and discouraged after the illegal annexation and overthrow of the Ryükyü Kingdom in 1879, which resulted in implementation of assimilation programs by the Japanese government, which brainwashed the native people to be ashamed of their ‘savage’ cultural practices and assimilate to the modern and ‘civilized’ Japanese culture.”

For da past several decades dis art form for Okinawan women had been dying out to da point where I noticed that most of my younger friends in Okinawa had nevah even seen hajichi before. Das how rare it wuz.

Interestingly, in da past couple few years seems like get one revival going on. Wada Shinshï shares his mana‘o on dis phenomenon: “I am happily cautious about the hajichi resurgence and optimistic because things that have been put to sleep can come back. There will be individuals who just want to do it as a fad or without such deep connections, and that is their choice, but for the most part, I see more interest in reviving the tradition connected to the deeper spirituality and identity.”

Below get tree young Local Uchinänchu women and their hajichi stories.

Read more...

#hajichi #okinawan #okinawa #shimanchu #uchinanchu #japanese imperialism #japanese colonization

[hiromicota]

Ii soogwachi deebiru!

Which means “Have a happy New Year” in Uchinaaguchi/Okinawan. Kind of. Like most translations, there’s a trade off between functional equivalency and literal meanings. In this case, I went with the functional version.

Here’s the literal one:

ii or yii: good*

soogwachi: first month (and by extension, the new year)

deebiru: is/will be**

So, “This is/will be a good new year” is a more literal translation.

* It’s very likely that both pronunciations being valid is related to why the word for “good” in Modern Japanese is ii or yoi, depending on context. I’ve done absolutely no research into this hypothesis, so take it with a grain of salt. I am a linguist, but I’m not a Japanese-Ryukyuan languages linguist; my specialization is second language acquisition and English language education.

** Kind of. Deebiru is 1 of at least 3 Uchinaaguchi copular verbs. A full explanation is probably beyond my ability at this point. If you’re familiar with Modern Japanese, this is similar to and a cognate with でございます. If you’re not familiar with Japanese, 🤷🏻‍♀️. Wish I could help, but I can’t at this time.

tl;dr Deebiru means “is” or “will be” here, but not necessarily elsewhere.

Bonus

Earlier today, a friend asked me why I use Latin characters to write in Uchinaaguchi instead of hiragana. Part of the reason is because it makes what I write accessible to Uchinaanchu/Okinawans who don’t read Japanese. The rest of the answer is because neither hiragana nor Latin characters are native to Okinawa; there is unfortunately no native writing system, and if I have to pick a colonizer writing system, I’m going to pick the one that doesn’t require weird hacks to make work with Uchinaaguchi phonology. There are a bunch of sounds that Okinawan has that Japanese doesn’t***, and there’s just no good way to write them in hiragana.

Example 1: “gwachi” (month) from the above “soogwachi” isn’t a possible word in Modern Japanese****. I’d need to write ぐゎち to get there, which is kind of goofy. If you don’t read Japanese, that’s like, “Say gu, but drop the u and add a wa, then say chi.” It’s silly, but not super complicated, which is why it’s only Example 1.

Example 2: ‘kwa (child) is pretty understandable for most folks used to reading Latin characters, aside from the apostrophe, which represents a glottal stop, which is the consonant in the middle of “uh oh” and between the Is of Hawai’i. Written in hiragana, it’s っくゎ, which will just straight up baffle most Japanese speakers, because っ is not an OK way to start a word.

Example 3: ‘nma (horse) is one step further, with an upsetting hiragana transliteration of っんま. Neither っ norん are supposed to go before a full syllable in Japanese, and here both of them are.

Example 4: But, wait. We can go one step beyond that! Nnna means “everyone,” and yes, all of those Ns are important; nna, ‘nna, and na are different words. Nnna could be written as んんな or っんな, neither of which will make anyone happy.

So, yeah. I write Uchinaaguchi using Latin characters because using hiragana just seems messy. And I like making what I know accessible to my fellow diasporic Shimanchu.

*** Modern Japanese has the sounds, but can’t use them the same way, because Japanese has a bunch of sound shifts (allophones). Like, はひふへほ are the H morae (syllables-ish), and are theoretically pronounced ha hi hu he ho, except hi and hu don’t actually exist, because the ‘h’ inふ is a bilabial fricative, which is kind of an F sound, but not, and the ‘h’ in ひ is kind of like a cat hissing at you. The S and T morae have similar things going on, with si, ti, and tu being illegal in Modern Japanese, and shi, chi, and tsu replacing them. Uchinaaguchi, on the other hand, is fine with si & shi, ti & chi, and tu & tsu. Still no actual hi or hu in either language, though. Kind of a bummer for me, but at least I get to hiss like a cat when I introduce myself.

**** It was in Old Japanese, though. Maybe Early Middle Japanese, too. I don’t know. I told you I wasn’t a Japanese-Ryukyuan languages linguist. I do know that /gwa/ was actually the Old Japanese pronunciation of ぐわ, making it interesting that /gwa/ is fine in Modern Okinawan, but not Modern Japanese.



#Uchinaaguchi #Okinawan #shimanchu #lunar new year #Uchinaanchu

[namioshiro]

shimanchu scream 2021 ink on paper

purchase print here

#shimanchu #okinawa #ryukyu #drawing #art

[shimaplaylist]

Haisai, gusuuyoo. I hope everyone is safe and doing well. I teamed up with Nami Oshiro, a fantastic Shimanchu American artist based in Virginia, to create the first three items in an ongoing effort to raise funds for independent Shimakutuba practitioners and projects.

Many Shimanchu creators and educators are doing the work on their own time and out of their own pockets, so I'm hoping that this (and future fundraisers) can be a small show of support and gratitude.

This 3" sticker, 2.25" button, and 1.25" acrylic pin set features a Ramones logo-inspired design with an open-mouth shiisaa symbolizing the sharing of good things, i.e. our indigenous languages. There are several distinct languages throughout the Ryūkyū Islands (all of which are endangered), so we decided to go with the six regions recognized by UNESCO: Amami, Kunjan (Kunigami), Uchinaa (Okinawa), Myaaku (Miyako), Yaima (Yaeyama), Dunan (Yonaguni).

Please visit the Ko‑fi shop today! All proceeds (minus item production costs and shipping fees) will be donated to individuals/groups and I'll post receipts once the donations are made.

P.S. I'm still selling items through the Shimanchu Dushi-nu-chaa Online Sale, if you're interested in combining shipping.

Shiisaa illustration by Nami Oshiro

- namioshiro.com - inprnt.com/profile/namioshiro - etsy.com/shop/iyasasa - instagram.com/nami_oshiro - twitter.com/namioshiro

#okinawa #okinawan #uchinaanchu #uchinanchu #shimanchu #ruuchuu #loochoo #ryukyu #ryukyuan #shiisaa #shisa #shimakutuba #uchinaaguchi #uchinaguchi #沖縄 #ウチナーンチュ #琉球 #島人 #世界のウチナーンチュ #世界ウチナーンチュ #nami oshiro #art #artwork

[hajichirei]

Before and after pics for my updated pinky hajichi. Been putting this off to be able to handpoke clients (tough wearing gloves with new ink and sweaty hands) but taking a break for personal and family health finally got me enough time to work on my own set again.

#tattoo #hajichi #handpoke #okinawa #shimanchu #stick and poke #self poke #indigenoustattoo #uchinanchu #sticknpoke

[irawhiti]

hi, i’ve got a question about the “tangata moana + surrounding islands” grouping (no pressure to answer ofc)? i’m not pasifika but i am part indigenous shimanchu (islands between japan and taiwan currently called “okinawa”) and i was wondering if i would fit into that group? i feel a lot of kinship with the PI community despite being classified east asian and i don’t want to take up space that’s not my own, but here’s some solidarity from a fellow island descendant :)

(sorry meant to answer this sooner lol) yeah you would! regardless of the politics around who counts as what, i feel solidarity and kinship with people around the pacific and feel we have a lot in common. pre-colonisation we all knew each other, anyway. i can point to language similarities around east/southeast asia, we got our dogs from indonesia, we started our migration into the pacific through taiwan, one of the more important māori taonga is most likely from asia based on its style and tools used to carve it, we have similar domesticated crops, etc etc.

i specify tangata moana + surrounding islands to explicitly include the islands in the pacific that aren't pasifika since, regardless of the current-day politics and cultures that divide us, we all live off of the same ocean with shared history together (despite whatever europeans think about islanders not visiting each other and just sticking to our own islands once we settled them lmfao)

#hope this clarifies my point!

[softsoundingsea]

Thinking more about how the Ryukyuan archipelago is more like many ethnic-cultural groups with similar histories rather than one ethnicity. There's no perfect word but I appreciate that for now, Shimanchu has been used more frequently in place of Okinawan.

As a marginalized group within the sphere of Japan, I feel that we often lean towards seeing our own history through a rose-tinted glass. But the history of our place and space is complicated and the Ryukyuan Kingdom had acts of colonization to islands outside of Uchinaa.

I do find it frustrating that Uchinaaguchi is often referred to as “the Okinawan language” when Shimayumuta, Yambaru-Kutuba, Myaakufutsu, Yaimamuni, Shikamuni, Mēramuni, Teedanmuni, and Dunanmunui also exist? And in contemporary times, what does Uchinaaguchi standardization mean?

I can't speak to how it is in the islands but in the diaspora, I do feel that [we] Uchinaanchu don't really give as much space or conversation to other islands or don't acknowledge how Loochoo/Ryukyu/Uchinaanchu is not an identity that is accepted-used across our archipelago.

I am still in the process of learning and I am grateful to those within the community for sharing their truths, struggles and thoughts in language, identity, and history.

#personal text #uchinaaguchi #uchinaanchu #okinawan #ryukyuan #identity #terminology

[wearejapanese]

By Simon Denyer and Julia Mio Inuma 

TOKYO — Roughly eight centuries ago, a new martial art called karate came into being on a subtropical island now known as Okinawa. On Friday, an Okinawan won the first Olympic gold medal in men’s kata, one of the modern sport’s premier events.

“I’m very happy that I was able to make a mark in history,” said three-time world champion and now Olympic champion Ryo Kiyuna, speaking about his pride of bringing an Okinawan tradition to the wider world.

He was the first Olympic gold medalist ever from the southwestern island chain known for its sparkling blue seas and sandy beaches. But for the 31-year-old Kiyuna, there was no dramatic celebration after he won his gold medal contest. There was a quiet moment of contemplation, kneeling with his face down in a gesture of thanks.

Later, as he accepted his gold medal and stood for the national anthem, he clutched a framed photograph of his mother, who died two years ago at 57.

“After I won, I first wanted to tell my mom and also share my appreciation to everyone who helped me get here,” he said. “I wanted to tell my mom that I kept our promise.”

Karate traces its origins to the 14th century and the arrival of the first Chinese martial arts practitioners into what was then the independent Ryukyu kingdom. When samurai from Japan turned the kingdom into a puppet state in the 17th century and prohibited Okinawans from carrying swords, the martial art became an underground form of combat favored by young aristocrats as a form of secret resistance, known as “kara-te” or “Chinese hand.”

But as it developed, training soon focused on self-discipline, on restraint and on avoiding confrontation with a philosophy of “no first strike.” Later, the kanji characters for “kara-te” were changed to spell the phrase “empty hand.”

Karate only made its way onto mainland Japan in the 20th century and was transformed there, adopting the white robes and belts of the more popular discipline of judo and eventually turning an art form into a competition.

But its emergence as a global sport owes something to the American occupation of Japan after World War II. While Allied commander Gen. Douglas MacArthur swiftly banned military education and most martial arts in Japan, he left the less popular and lesser-known karate alone, giving it room to flourish.

Even more important was the extended occupation of Okinawa, which lasted until 1972; thousands of American military personnel and civilians developed a fascination with this exotic new form of self-defense and brought it into the global cultural mainstream.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/08/06/okinawa-ryo-kiyuna-olympic-gold-karate/

#washington post #karate #simon denyer #julio mio inuma #空手 #唐手 #karati #okinawa #okinawan #uchinanchu #shimanchu #olympics

[hiromicota]

Today, I learned: There’s a volunteer project to digitally to recreate Sui-ugusuku (ja: Shuri-jō/en: Shuri Castle). They’ve done a really good job at bringing the gusuku back to life, and their work may have even influenced the physical reconstruction. I’m glad that Uchinaanchu (Okinawans) still have a Sui-ugusuku, even though it’ll take awhile for the physical one to get rebuilt.

Context: Sui (Shuri) is the former capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and Sui-ugusuku was the seat of the government, residences of the monarchy, and home to nearly a dozen shrines. It’s a pretty big deal culturally, especially after the American and Japanese militaries almost destroyed the whole site during WWII. When it got rebuilt, it became a World Heritage site and a symbol of Shimanchu (Ryūkyūan) resilience and a glimpse into what our islands were like before the Japanese and American military forces invaded.

Context, pt. 2: The castle burned down due to an electrical fault in 2019. So, a bunch of Shimanchu want to get it rebuilt again. Physical reconstruction started earlier this year, but this photogrammetry project started before that (probably as soon as people learned that it burned down.)

Context, pt. 3: Photogrammetry is collecting and/or shooting a bunch of photos of something from different angles and using math to generate a 3D model of the thing.

#today i learned #Sui-ugusuku #Shuri castle #首里城 #Shimanchu

[kataibusaibiin]

Couple weeks ago, an #Uchinaanchu cousin from #Brazil contacted me after finding me as a DNA match. How awesome we got to "meet" last week via Zoom.

When I got my brother to take a DNA test few years ago to aid in genealogy research of our dad’s / American family, I definitely wasnʻt expecting anyone on my mom’s / Uchinaanchu side of family to show up as matches. But Iʻve been pleasantly surprised by the #Shimanchu cousins Iʻm encountering across the #diaspora.

As I've sifted through various documents and ships’ manifests in search of possible relatives that connect us cousins, I've come across descriptions like those pictured here, which made my heart race as I felt something tug at it and my eyes widen:

"Tattoo marks on back of 2nd and 3rd finger of both hands."

"Tattoo marks on backs of all fingers of both hands..."

Hajichi.

I could almost picture their hands blessed with #hajichi, holding so many stories past/present/future - connecting their lives in Ryukyu islands and journey to new shores with our present and collective memories and all our connected roots in our beloved ʻnmarijima, across #LooChoo.

This manifest is filled with pages of passenger names almost entirely young Uchinaanchu arriving as “farm workers.”

These Shimanchu arrived in Hawai'i as #ImmigrantFarmworkers or traveled on to Mexico, US, Peru, Brazil, Argentina... Many were recruited with promises of guaranteed work, steady pay, and in some cases land or free lodging. Many would discover otherwise upon their arrivals.

My cousins are here now reaching out to each other because somehow the passengers of this ship and others that passed through these ports found ways to persevere. It is important we do our part to remember and learn from them, even if we must dig a little together now to do so.

Whenever I review ship manifests and immigration documents, I often wonder what folks thought and felt as their new home could be seen on the horizon and their future came more clearly into view...

This time, I found myself drawn to the image of these hands... what must they have carried with them on this journey?

#uchinaanchu #brazil #shimanchu #diaspora #hajichi #loochoo #immigrantfarmworkers #imigração #okinawanos #brasil #imigrantes #história #memória

[shimaplaylist]

🔃 SHUFFLE PLAY 🔃 Weekly random selection of one traditional song and one modern song A couple of songs for the soul after yet another unthinkable tragedy and the U.S. government continuing to willfully disregard our safety. 🎶 "Sanyama Bushi" (traditional) 🎶 Rendition by Shinjin Kise Full translation below 🎶 "Warabigami" 🎶 Misako Koja Translation excerpt below Misako Koja's "Warabigami," written in 1997 affer the birth of her first grandchild, hits differently in this context. The first time I heard a mournful rendition of the song was when she performed it at a June 19, 2016 protest rally (attended by tens of thousands of Shimanchu and allies) following the murder of 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro by American civilian contractor and ex-U.S. Marine Kenneth Franklin Gadson. Surely, Koja never imagined having to sing the song under such circumstances. ⤵️ Some translations below ⤵️ (by no means am I an expert, so apologies in advance for any mistakes!) --- 🎶 SANYAMA BUSHI 🎶 Translation from "Nufani: English Translation of Kumiodori and Okinawan Poetry," Naganori Komine: "I can't believe it's real! I'm at quite a loss. It's like the daze that comes Just after a nightmare." --- 🎶 WARABIGAMI 🎶 Translation excerpt from karakui.wordpress.com: "Though stormy winds may blow As you go through this world I will shelter you from the storm, so you may bloom like a flower Irayo hei, irayo hoi, irayo, My dearest child, Don't you cry, heiyo heiyo, May the heavens shine on you Be a good human being, heiyo, heiyo, To lead a worthy life"

#okinawa #okinawan #uchinaanchu #uchinanchu #shimanchu #ryukyu #loochoo #沖縄 #ウチナーンチュ #島人 #琉球 #music

[hajichirei]

Hajichi progress! Another five hours handpoke added on.

#hajichi #tattoo #indigenoustattoo #okinawa #okinawan #uchinanchu #shimanchu #loochoo #uchina #yeah that's right I got stich leggins and you want them so bad #handpoke #stick and poke #stickandpoke #sticknpoke

[wanna-bewitch]

Would it be completely unacceptable to have hajichi as a man? It used to be something I wanted deeply as an AFAB person but er. a long time ago I realized I’m not a woman. Just to clarify, I am Uchinanchu, but sadly I am not as familiar with the culture as I’d like to be.

#I genuinely just do not know if it alright and I’m hoping some of you could give your better opinion on this #thank you so much #uchinanchu #okinawan #okinawa #shimanchu #diaspora #hajichi #uchinaaguchi #ryukyu #ryukyuan

[icharibachoodee]

Shimanchu Discord

Haitai! If you are looking for a safe-space to explore your Shimanchu identity or are an ally and want to share resources or learn more about Ryukyuan culture, please join us on the Shimanchu Discord: https://discord.gg/fyGDtqvV6H

#Discord #Shimanchu #Identity #okinawa #okinawan #ryukyuan #diaspora #ryukyu

[shimanchupenpals]

Shimanchu Pen Pals February 2022 Sign Ups are now open from Jan. 28- Feb.4! I will follow up via email with participation guidelines and the name/address of your match no later than Feb. 7th.

Sign Up Here

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]!

#shimanchu #shimanchupenpals #shimanchudiaspora #okinawa #okinawan #okinawanpenpals #okinawandiaspora #okinawadiaspora #ryukyu #ryuukyuu #loochoo #Liuchiu

[wearejapanese]

By Sayaka Sakuma

On May 16, 2015, I joined a three-day tour in support of the protest movement against military bases in Okinawa. Over 40 participants, traveling from other parts of Japan, arrived at Naha Airport to join in the protest and support the present struggle against the construction of a US military base at Henoko, Nago City. The participants opposed the Japanese government’s plan to relocate Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, currently located in a densely population urban area, to the rural and undeveloped coast of Henoko in northern Okinawa Island.

On our first night, at a dinner with Okinawan dishes and musical performance, the tour participants passionately sang together the following song:

かたき土を破りて　民族のいかりにもゆる島　沖縄よ

我ら��我らの祖先が　血と汗をもって　守りそだてた沖縄よ

我らは叫ぶ　沖縄よ　我らのものだ　沖縄は

沖縄を返せ　沖縄を返せ

After breaking the hard soil, Okinawa, the islands are ablaze with a nation’s anger.

Okinawa, the place we and our ancestors protected and raised with our blood and sweat.

We shout, Okinawa! Okinawa is ours!

Return Okinawa! Give Okinawa back to us!

As an Okinawan researching the movement and the tour, I could not confess to the group that I was unfamiliar with this song, which conveys the bonding of Japanese peace activists with the Okinawan movement to prevent the new base's construction on islands far from their homes. Later, I learned that a labor union in Fukuoka Prefecture had penned “Okinawa wo Kaese” (Return Okinawa) in 1956. It was a popular anthem during the Okinawa reversion movementm which succeeded in reincorporating the islands as a Japanese prefecture in 1972 - leaving, however, all US bases intact. The tour members’ familiarity with the song symbolizes their connection to the reversion movement and reenactment of solidarity with Okinawa, a common practice among leftist Japanese social movements of “nostalgic commemorations” (Steinhoff, 2013, p. 127). What the notion of “nostalgia” reveals is that the participants involved in the Okinawa reversion movement in the 1960s see the ongoing base issues there as the extension of past political activism.

At least 17 participants had learned of the tour through Akahata, the Japanese Communist Party newspaper, suggesting the political inclinations of at least some tour members. The Japanese Communist Party has long opposed militarism and aligns with the anti-military movement in Okinawa. 74 percent of the tour members who responded to my survey had participated in protest events prior to this tour, including anti-nuclear power plant rallies, labor union demonstrations, anti-war protests, and the Okinawa reversion movement. While the song celebrates the longing for reversion, however, it ignores the critical issue that drew many Okinawans to reversion: the return of their land expropriated for constructing US bases. After the reversion, the US-Japan alliance continued to map Okinawa as the epi-center of their security politics, enabling over 70% of US military forces to remain on the islands. The political reincorporation of Okinawa to Japan in 1972 did not result in the return of the land and while the song commemorates the heated movement for reversion, and half a century later, questions of land and demilitarization remain unsolved.

In this paper, I examine protest tourism as a unique form of solidarity between anti-base Japanese activists and anti-military protest in Okinawa. Growing up in Okinawa, my family took me multiple times to large outdoor rallies called People’s Rallies (kenmin taikai). For example, kenmin taikai in 2007 took place simultaneously on multiple islands in the Okinawan archipelago - Okinawa, Miyako, Ishigaki Island - mobilizing over 110,000 people. The rallies protested the Japanese government’s decision to delete information in history textbooks on the role of the Japanese military in enforcing group suicides among Okinawans in the final stages of World War 2. Numerous rallies were held in response to incidents during Battle of Okinawa, as well as US military base issues.

Read more....

https://apjjf.org/2021/8/Sakuma.html

#Sayaka Sakuma #Okinawa #US Military #Occupation #Politics #Japan #United States #Okinawan #Shimanchu