Conspicuously dressed in a gold-embroidered blue frock coat with epaulets, the U.S. Navy flag officer carefully wandered through weathered stone ruins on the East China Sea island of Okinawa. Marveling at the craftsmanship of Nakagusuku Castle, he explored the grounds as if on holiday, oblivious to any potential danger from locals who’d gathered to gawk at the new and clearly important arrival. Ignorant of the island’s long history and that of the people who called it home, Commodore Matthew C. Perry could only appreciate the fortifications for their imposing military beauty. The year was 1853. He carried a stern message for the islanders and their Japanese overlords—open for trade, or else.
Many today are doubtless aware of Okinawa’s significance in modern history. The brutal 98-day battle fought there near the end of World War II has assured the island a fearsome place in military lore. Yet the saga of the Kingdom of Ryukyu—as the archipelago was known when Perry visited—is far longer and more complex. The story of how the Japanese seized the once prosperous realm is a fascinating tale, whether viewed through a military, economic or political lens.
in the Ryukyus arrived some 32,000 years ago. The same East Asian migration that contributed to the formation of the Yamato people—known today as the Japanese—helped populate the archipelago’s 100-plus islands, which stretch nearly 400 miles from Kyushu, the southernmost of the Japanese Home Islands, southwest to Taiwan. For centuries mariners from China and Southeast Asia had found themselves shipwrecked on Ryukyu beaches. Forgoing attempts to get home, they built new lives where destiny had stranded them. The mixing of these strains of East Asian DNA meant the people of Ryukyu were exposed to a wider range of influences than surrounding societies. The resulting
