-
Ryukyu History Drama “Amawari: The Last Hero”
We last posted in 2021 about the Ryukyu Historical Drama “Shō En Ou”, and for 2024 RBC is following it with the drama “Amawari: The Last Hero“. With an all-Okinawan cast (yes, that includes the famous actor Yamada Takayuki too!), the drama stars Sakumoto Takara as Amawari and Higa Rino as Momotofumiagari. And, like the…
-
The Mark of Empire (YouTube)
Located to Japan’s extreme south, the Ryukyu Archipelago was the setting for the small but vibrant Ryukyu Kingdom that emerged 600 years ago. Peter travels to its idyllic island settings to see how the Ryukyu identity is finding new meaning today as he visits a tattoo studio reviving an almost-lost traditional style, goes on a…
-
“The Gosamaru Chronicle” from the Nakagusuku Village Office
Really cool website from the Nakagusuku Village Office (shared on Twitter by the Nakagusuku Village Tourist Association) called “The Gosamaru Chronicle” that’s available in several languages (in English too). We love the manga look of the website and that there’s so much information about Gosamaru (a lot of love and care went into this) —…
-
November 1st is Luchu History & Culture Day
November 1st is designated as Luchu History and Culture Day (琉球歴史文化の日) and a special website has been created that has information on workshops and special contests. For the contest portion, the logo mark design has already been decided but there are three other contests that run until the end of the month (9/30 Uchinaa time):…
-
Season 2 of “Toki no Suisaiga”
New episodes of “Toki no Suisaiga” season two started airing at the beginning of the month. The new season brings back Miyazawa Kazufumi (The Boom) as narrator and Ryukyu classical music performances by Oyakawa Haruka. Check out their YouTube channel for the latest clips.
-
Okinawa History Club YouTube Channel
While it’s only in Japanese, there’s a YouTube channel called Okinawa History Club (沖縄歴史倶楽部チャンネル) run by historian Maeda Yuuki (links to his Twitter profile). He has videos of Zoom sessions as well as walking tours of Ryukyu history. The 4-part series for the Ryukyu dance “Nubui Kuduchi” is of particular interest as he retraces the…
-
Ryukyu Historical Drama Shō En Ou (TV)
In the category of “I really want to watch this!” comes the RBC Ryukyu historical drama Shō En Ou (the king of the second Shō dynasty) which aired in February 2020 and is being streamed on Japan’s Paravi service and sold as a DVD (sadly, no English subtitles for both editions). The cast is led…
-
Center for Okinawa Studies Conference 2009
“From Aza, through Sanzan, Loochoo, and Ryukyu, to Okinawa, to Uchinanchu Diaspora—Where is Okinawan Studies Headed?” March 19th – March 21st, 2009 Hawaii Imin International Conference Center, East West Center, Hawaiʻi The first COS Okinawan Studies conference will feature scholars from UH, the US mainland, Okinawa and Japan and will examine ways in which the…
-
Meisa Kuroki plays female Oda Nobunaga – Tokyograph
Actress Meisa Kuroki has been chosen to star in the play ‘Onna Nobunaga,’ based on the book of the same name by Naoki Prize-winning author Kenichi Sato. The story, set during the Sengoku period, is based on the premise that Oda Nobunaga was actually female. Kuroki will of course play the role of Nobunaga. Kuroki…
-
3-4 Day Special: Kajadifuu Bushi
In celebration of Sanshin Day, March 4, I’m featuring a Ryūkyū Koten Ongaku (Ryūkyū classical music) song called “Kajadifū Bushi (かぎやで風節).” It has a bit of history for myself as the first song I learned on uta-sanshin from Katsumi Shinsato-sensei some fifteen years ago and I’ve been playing it ever since. Here’s a little background…
Karakui 