I thought I would take this time to color what I have found out about Okinawa so far. Okinawan’s are not Japanese proper. They actually are their own people. They were occupied by the Japanese after WWII and forced to speak Japanese on threat of prison or death. Thus, their language almost died. There are some today who have started to re-learn their language so as not to let the language die. Despite this, everything here is still written and spoken in Japanese.
Culturally they align themselves more with Chinese than Japanese. Interesting since so must Japanese influence has overwhelmed the island since WWII. But before the war, they had ties with the Chinese whose emperor sent 7 highly influential and crafty families to Okinawa to help build their culture and way of life. These families invested in the economy by showing them how to build, craft, and live life. In fact, these families were respected so highly that if you can prove your family lineage to one of them you are regarded with the highest esteem. To show the friendship between these two countries, beautiful friendship gardens were planted.
Religion here is fascinating. Im familiar with Thailand and Buddhism where there is an alter or idol house in every house, restaurant, and building that desires good luck. There are monks wrapped in orange that walk the street in the morning to get food and pray for people. The Thai’s live based on quid quo pro and karma. If someone does for you, you have to do something for them. If someone is a beggar on the street then they deserved it and you have to stay away because they must have done something horrible in their previous life and you don’t want any part of it. That is not the case here at all!
Here they worship their ancestors with a spattering of animism. They do not worship Shinto like the Japanese, but rather believe that the ghost of their ancestors take care of them and the gods at their shrines answer their prayers. Apparently they go to their Shrines often to write prayers and worship the god there. Their prayers are then burned to be given to the gods for an answer. Interesting enough, often there is a shrine built on a shrine…the inner one being closer to the Okinawans and the outer one being more for show for the Japanese…to appease the people that occupied them. Tricky. I was told that they even believe that every grain of rice holds a god so they are sure to eat every last grain. They desire to have god inside them…made me wonder about how they may view communion. Outsiders are not allowed to stop in front of or stare at grave sites as they fear if you linger too long, their family member will come and be with you rather than them.
So, there are no street idols, monks, or even homeless people. Families take care of their own and shown great respect. The economy is also fueled by subsidies from mainland Japan and of course, the US military. I don’t know how they afford to live here otherwise. Technologically, they are not more advanced than us. They do have one vending machine for every 7 people, but unlike mainland Japan where you can get anything from shoes to a new outfit in a vending machine, you can only get ice cream and a drink here. They love Karaoke and sleep considering most of them work 6-7 days a week. They also take full advantage of the water. They scuba dive, do stretches at the sea wall, and surf. They are very polite and kind and most honestly don’t speak any English. They are a proud people and the more old school they are, the less they like their children marrying outsiders…other Asians to American, doesn’t matter. They want their children to marry and stay home. Land is super expensive and is their inheritance so it is passed from generation to generation.
Well, that is about all I have gleaned so far. Reaching them for Christ is entering their lives. Very similar to our other missionaries in Asia and the Middle East, these people need to see you invested in them before they will listen to what you have to say about worldview and Christ. So I write this from the coffee shop down the street as I look at pictures of the cherry blossom festival from the cell phone of the girl behind the counter and talk to the other about Thailand. Oh, and drink their delicious coffee as a bonus! =0)