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How The US Destroyed The Cultural Heritage Of An Entire Pacific Kingdom
The razing of Naha
If the entirety of Washington DC were to burn to the ground tomorrow, what would we lose? A symbol of power and heritage. Unique architecture found in few other places in the United States. Countless documents, some of them priceless. Artwork. Museum pieces. Monuments and memorials. The seat of our government. We would lose all of that and more. If we were to fast-forward 100 years to a culture unfamiliar with the United States, would they be able to piece together our legacy and our culture without everything contained in Washington, DC? Possibly but likely not.
This is a good thought experiment because that is exactly what the United States did to the Okinawan people and the ancient heritage of the Ryukyu Islands in 1944.
The Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent maritime nation that existed for 450 years. It was a critical trade link between China and Japan and mingled with the Medieval peoples of Southeast Asia for centuries. Today, their heritage has largely been lost thanks to the devastating effects of World War II.
After the war ended, many people living in and around Okinawa were dismayed to learn that their history, their architecture, their heritage, and their very people had been nearly wiped out in the…
