Yarazamori Castle
was a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' in Naha, Okinawa. It was located on the southern mouth of the Kokuba River in Naha Port. History Yarazamori Castle was built on the southern mouth of Naha Port in 1546 by King Shō Sei.Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Samurai Capture a King: Okinawa 1609''. Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 2009. Page 26-29, 40-43, 46-47. It was built to defend the Port and city of Naha, alongside its sister Mie Castle. Between the two castles, an iron chain boom-net could be drawn up to deny ships access to the harbor.Smits, Gregory. "Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism". ''Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus''. 2010. http://www.japanfocus.org/-Gregory-Smits/3409/article.html accessed 16 November 2015. Yarazamori Castle, the larger of the two, was armed with 7-9cm cannons. The defenders were also armed with pikes and native-made hand cannons. These defenses were intended for use against pirates, however they also proved successful in driving away the fleet of Satsuma during their ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gusuku
often refers to castles or fortresses in the Ryukyu Islands that feature stone walls. However, the origin and essence of ''gusuku'' remain controversial. In the archaeology of Okinawa Prefecture, the ''Gusuku period'' refers to an archaeological epoch of the Okinawa Islands that follows the shell-mound period and precedes the Sanzan period, when most ''gusuku'' are thought to have been built. Many ''gusuku'' and related cultural remains on Okinawa Island have been listed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO as World Heritage Sites under the title ''Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu''. Philological analysis The ''Yarazamori Castle, Yarazamori Gusuku Inscription'' (1554) contains phrases, "pile ''gusuku''" (くすくつませ) and "pile up ''gusuku'' and ..." (くすくつみつけて); apparently, ''gusuku'' in these phrases refers to stone walls. In the ''Omoro Sōshi'' (16th–17th centuries), the term ''gusuku'' i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shō Sei
was king of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1526 to 1555.Kerr, George H. (2000). He was the fifth son of King Shō Shin, who he succeeded. Shō Sei suppressed a rebellion on Amami Ōshima in 1537 and took steps to improve defenses against '' wakō'' that same year. Shō Sei died in 1555 and was succeeded by his second son Shō Gen. See also * Imperial Chinese missions to the Ryukyu Kingdom Notes References * Kerr, George H. (1965). ''Okinawa, the History of an Island People.'' Rutland, Vermont: C.E. Tuttle CoOCLC 39242121* Smits, Gregory. (1999) ''Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics,''Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which .... OCLC 39633631 1497 births 1555 deaths Second Shō dyna ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage (4,635,628 tonnes as of 2019) and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft . The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jana Ueekata
(1549–1611), also known by the Chinese-style name (pinyin Zheng Dong), was a Ryukyuan aristocrat and bureaucrat in the royal government of the Ryukyu Kingdom. A member of the ''Sanshikan'', the king's closest advisors, Rizan was the only Ryukyuan official to refuse to recognize the suzerainty of Japan's Satsuma Domain over the kingdom; he was executed as a result. "Jana Ueekata" is actually a title, not a name, reflecting that Rizan was of ''ueekata'' rank, and assigned to the region or territory of Jana. This name structure, along with the fact that he possessed a separate, Chinese-style, name (Tei Dō) was typical of the Ryukyuan aristocracy. Biography Rizan was, like most officials in the royal government, originally from Kumemura, a Chinese colony and the primary center of learning in the Ryukyu Kingdom. Having been chosen to start on the track to becoming a bureaucrat, he traveled to China to study at the age of 16, remaining at the Imperial Academy in Beijing for six y ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wokou
''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.Wakō Encyclopaedia Britannica The wokou came from , , and ethnicities which varied over time and raided the mainland from islands in the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Invasion Of Ryukyu
The by forces of the Japanese feudal domain of Satsuma took place from March to May of 1609, and marked the beginning of the Ryukyu Kingdom's status as a vassal state under the Satsuma domain. The invasion force was met with stiff resistance from the Ryukyuan military on all but one island during the campaign. Ryukyu would remain a vassal state under Satsuma, alongside its already long-established tributary relationship with China, until it was formally annexed by Japan in 1879 as the Okinawa Prefecture. Etymology The war was called the , with 1609 being a ''kiyū'' year in the sexagenary cycle. It was also called the by the Ryukyu Kingdom. In Japan, the war was called the or the during the Edo period, and was called the by many Japanese scholars before WWII. Background Satsuma's invasion of Ryukyu was the climax of a long tradition of relations between the kingdom and the Shimazu clan of Satsuma. The two regions had been engaged in trade for at least several centurie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of Okinawa
The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945 was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Kerama Islands surrounding Okinawa were preemptively captured on 26 March, (L-6) by the 77th Infantry Division. The 82-day battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were planning to use Kadena Air Base on the large island of Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands, away. The United States created the Tenth Army, a cross-branch force consisting of the U.S. Army 7th, 27th, 77th and 96th Infantry Divisions with the USMC 1st, 2nd, and 6th Marine Divisions, to fight on the island. The Tenth was unique in that it had its own Tactic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Okinawan Language
The Okinawan language (, , , ) or Central Okinawan, is a Northern Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama, Kumejima, Tonaki, Aguni and a number of smaller peripheral islands. Central Okinawan distinguishes itself from the speech of Northern Okinawa, which is classified independently as the Kunigami language. Both languages are listed by UNESCO as endangered. Though Okinawan encompasses a number of local dialects, the Shuri– Naha variant is generally recognized as the ''de facto'' standard, as it had been used as the official language of the Ryukyu Kingdom since the reign of King Shō Shin (1477–1526). Moreover, as the former capital of Shuri was built around the royal palace, the language used by the royal court became the regional and literary standard, which thus flourished in songs and poems written during that era. Today, most Okinawans speak Okinawan Japanese, although ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gusuku
often refers to castles or fortresses in the Ryukyu Islands that feature stone walls. However, the origin and essence of ''gusuku'' remain controversial. In the archaeology of Okinawa Prefecture, the ''Gusuku period'' refers to an archaeological epoch of the Okinawa Islands that follows the shell-mound period and precedes the Sanzan period, when most ''gusuku'' are thought to have been built. Many ''gusuku'' and related cultural remains on Okinawa Island have been listed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO as World Heritage Sites under the title ''Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu''. Philological analysis The ''Yarazamori Castle, Yarazamori Gusuku Inscription'' (1554) contains phrases, "pile ''gusuku''" (くすくつませ) and "pile up ''gusuku'' and ..." (くすくつみつけて); apparently, ''gusuku'' in these phrases refers to stone walls. In the ''Omoro Sōshi'' (16th–17th centuries), the term ''gusuku'' i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Naha, Okinawa
is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is Naha is located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of Okinawa Prefecture. The modern city was officially founded on May 20, 1921. Before that, Naha had been for centuries one of the most important and populous sites in Okinawa. Naha is the political, economic and education center of Okinawa Prefecture. In the medieval and early modern periods, it was the commercial center of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Geography City center Central Naha consists of the Palette Kumoji shopping mall, the Okinawa Prefecture Office, Naha City Hall, and many banks and corporations, located at the west end of Kokusai-dōri, the city's main street. boasts a 1.6 kilometer (1 mile) long stretch of stores, restaura ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kokuba River
The is a river in Naha, Okinawa, and is the hydrographic resource for domestic urban fresh water. A number of geographical places on Okinawa bear its name, such as and . The river flows into the East China Sea. Poisoning The river and people living around it suffered when pentachlorophenol herbicides were dumped into the river, obtained from the U.S. military by a civilian company in 1971, when it was still a US territory. Some 30,000 Okinawans had used the river for water supply, which was halted when school children came down with abdominal pain and nausea. Okinawa continues to suffer from extremely elevated levels of dioxin Dioxin may refer to: * 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-Dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings where two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, giving the molecular formula C4H4O2 *Dibenzo-1,4-dioxin, the parent compound also known as ...s far beyond allowed limits, from the areas in and surrounding its US military bases, which are adjac ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mie Castle
is a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' in Naha, Okinawa. It is located on the northern mouth of the Kokuba River in Naha Port. History Mie Castle was built on the northern mouth of Naha Port in 1546 by King Shō Sei.Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Samurai Capture a King: Okinawa 1609''. Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 2009. Page 26-29, 40-43, 46-47. It was built to defend the Port and city of Naha, alongside its sister Yarazamori Castle. Between the two castles, an iron chain boom-net could be drawn up to deny ships access to the harbor.Smits, Gregory. "Examining the Myth of Ryukyuan Pacifism". ''Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus''. 2010. http://www.japanfocus.org/-Gregory-Smits/3409/article.html accessed 16 November 2015. Mie Castle, although the smaller of the two, was armed with 7–9 cm cannons. The defenders were also armed with pikes and native-made hand cannons. These defenses were intended for use against pirates, however they proved successful in driving away the fleet of Satsuma during the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |