Ryukyuans

The Ryukyuans are a Japonic-speaking East Asian ethnic group indigenous to the Ryukyu Islands, which stretch from the island of Kyushu to the island of Taiwan. In Japan, most Ryukyuans live in the Okinawa Prefecture or Kagoshima Prefecture. They speak the Ryukyuan languages, one of the branches of the Japonic language family along with the Japanese language and its dialects. The United Nations Human Rights Committee in 2008 recommended that Japan, "should expressly recognize the Ainu and Ryukyu/Okinawa as indigenous peoples in domestic legislation, adopt special measures to protect, preserve, and promote their cultural heritage and traditional way of life, and recognize their land rights." The Japanese government has not accepted this recommendation. Multiple Okinawan municipal assemblies have also passed resolutions protesting the UN recommendation and rejecting the "indigenous" label. The Association of Indigenous People in the Ryukyus (AIPR) has commented that for the Japanese government to recognise "the Ryukyuan as Indigenous Peoples [would require Japan] to adhere to international law, thus prohibiting military bases on [Ryukyuan] land." Ryukyuans are not a recognized minority group in Japan, as Japanese authorities consider them a subgroup of the Japanese people, akin to the Yamato people. Although officially unrecognized, Ryukyuans constitute the largest ethnolinguistic minority group in Japan, with more than 1.4 million living in the Okinawa Prefecture alone. Ryukyuans inhabit the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture as well, and have contributed to a considerable Ryukyuan diaspora. Ryukyuans have a distinct culture with some matriarchal elements, an indigenous religion and a cuisine where rice was introduced fairly late (12th century). The population lived on the islands in isolation for many centuries. In the 14th century, three separate Okinawan political polities merged into the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429–1872), which continued the maritime trade and tributary relations started in 1372 with Ming China. In 1609, the...