The name of Ryukyu (Luchu) first appeared in the Sui-shu (History of the Sui Dynasty). Some scholars considered that the Ryukyu mentioned here was another name for Okinawa, while others insisted that it was Formosa. Tan Shidehara, ex-President of Formosa University, criticized these ideas and concluded that it might be a colony of the old Ryukyuans in the southern part of Formosa, explored by the Chinese in early times. If his assumption is true, we may be able to reconstruct the culture and customs of old Okinawa through their colonial phase in Formosa. A no less interesting problem is raised by the legend of the Japanese hero and archer, Tametomo, who is said to have sired King Shunten, the first ruler (1187-1237 A.D.) of Okinawa according to the authorized history of Okinawa. This legend indicates the existence of a close connection between medieval Okinawa and Japan. The Yumiharizuki, a novel adapted from the legend, by Bakin Takizawa in the later years of the Tokugawa Shogunate, exerted a powerful influence upon the Japanese. There were not a few who having read the novel while young, made a visit to the legendary land. Another work on Okinawa of note during the Tokugawa period was the Nantoshi (Notes on Southern Islands), published in 1719, by Hakuseki Arai, a statesman and noted scholar of Chinese classics. After the Restoration of Meiji (1867), the Ryukyus were formally annexed to Japan in spite of Chinese protest, many Japanese came to Okinawa and wrote historical and geographical reports on the islands. As most of them were concerned with Japanizing the Okinawans, they stressed the concept of similar racial and cultural origins of the Okinawans and the Japanese, as well as the existence of close connections between them from early times. It was about half a century until the Okinawans themselves participated in research on their country. Among them, three of the most famous are Fuyu Ifa who devoted his life to the study of the Omorososhi (Collection of old songs of Okinawa), Anko Majikina, author of the History of Okinawa for IO centuries, and Kwanjun Higaonna, editor of the Nanto-Fudoki (Geographical Dictionary of Okinawa). Among the Japanese scholars who were interested in things Okinawan and not only supported but also instructed students in the field of Okinawan studies, are Kunio Yanagita, founder of Japanese Volkskunde, and Shinobu Orikuchi, noted poet and excellent folklorist. Both of thein visited Okinawa about 1920 for the research in folk religion and old customs, and made many contributions to the study of similarity between Japan and Okinawa. Yanagita organized the "Nanto-Danwa-kai." (Southern Islands Coversazione) and edited the "Rohen-sosho" (Fireside Series) in which are contained several works on Okinawa. With the moving of Ifa from Okinawa to Tokyo, the "Nanto-Danwa-kai" was reorganized by the Okinawans in Tokyo and named "Nanto-Bunka-kyokai" (Southern Islands Culture Association) which was the predecessor of the present "Okinawa-Bunka-Kyokai" (Okinawa Culture Association), now the only organ for studies on Okinawa in Japan. Before the war, in Okinawa, the "Okinawa-Kyodo-Kyokai" (Association for Studies on Okinawa) was established centering around Majikina, then President of the Okinawa Library, where there existed a collection of more than three thousand books on Okinawa. All of them were destroyed in air-raids. Since the end of the war, the Okinawans at home have been too preoccupied with their daily livelihoods and with the reconstruction of their war-devastated islands to resume studies on their own country. Members of the "Okinawa-Bunka-Kyokai", conscious of their mission to foster research on their culture, hold lecture meetings once a month and publish a bimonthly mimeographed organ.

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According to the census of Oct. 1, 1940, Okinawa Prefecture had a population of 574, 579 (270, 680 males, 303, 899 females), the density of which was 241 per 1 ckm. Almost all of these people are the socalled Ryukyuans. Anthropological studies of their physique were carried out by Japanese scholars from 1927 to 1941. Their interest, however, did not cover all fields, being concentrated mainly on anthropometry, dermatoglyphics, and blood-groups. The study of morphological and functional traits of the Ryukyuans has made it clear that they are within the range of variation of the Japanese in general and can be regarded as the Japanese distributed in the southernmost part of Japan. Although plenty of body hair and axillary odor are the most conspicuous characteristics peculiar to the Ryukyuans, it must be noted that these two physical traits are rarely found in the peoples of East Asia, except for Japanese, who have them in comparatively high frequency. Therefore it will be inadequate to think of a relationship of the Ryukyuans to the Ainu on the grounds of body hair and axillary oder only. Physically the Ryukyuans are virtually identical with the Japanese.

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1. The Name of Ryukyu. The Ryukyu Islands consist of four archipelagoes, namely, Amamioshima, Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama. And their general name before the establishment of the old Ryukyuan Kingdom was "Nanto". Among the Ryukyuans, there are some who dislike the name of Ryukyu and prefer Okinawa. On the contrary, the author prefers the general name Ryukyu, because it is not adequate to apply the name of one island to the whole. 2. The Sphere of the Ryukyuan Language The Ryukyuan language is one of the Japanese dialects and its southernmost limits are Hateruma and Yonaguni Islets. On the other hand, it is very difficult to define its northern boundary, where dialects of both Ryukyu and Kyushu are so closely interrelated. Notwithstanding, we may establish a boundary line for Ryukyu dialects between Shichito and both Amamioshima and Kikai-jima Islets, on the grounds of vocabularies. 3. The Phonetic System. The true characteristics of Ryukyuan has not yet been well recognized due to the fact that the study has treated only the language of Okinawa proper, and especially, of its two cities (Shuri, the capital of old Ryukyu, and Naha, the main trade-port of the island). For more than twenty years, the author visited almost all islets to collect and study their dialects. As a result it has become clear that the prevailing theory that the Ryukyuan langnage had and has only three vowels (a, i, u) is wrong, because it had and has also, as a whole, five vowels (a, i, u, e, o) in its phonetic system as in Japanese, although only three vowels are found in some of the dialects. Consonants of Ryukyuan language are conspicuous in having assimilated plosive sounds. For example ; "kkuri" (this), "ttuti" (having) and "ppa : ppa : " (grand-mother). Another special character is the differentiation of meaning of words by means of using stress or by the absence of accent. For example ; "kakanu" (don't write) and "kakanu" (don't you write?) : "nama-munu" (raw material or fresh good) and "nama-munu" (cheeky fellow). 4. Conjugation of Adjectives. Adjectives of Ryukyuan have definite forms of conjugation. Such adjectives equivalent to those of Japanese belonging to the "ku" or "〓iku" conjugation make their definitive forms by suffixing "sa〓" or "〓a〓" to the roots respectively. For example ; "taka-sa〓" (tall or high) and "mi〓ira〓a〓" (strange). At present, these two forms are tending toward consolidation into "sa〓" alone. In the Yaeyama dialect, adjectives having the vowel "i" at the end of words are suffixed "〓a〓〓" (sa-ari) and the rest, "sa〓〓". For example ; "aFari-〓a〓〓/appari-〓a〓〓" (beautiful) and "midzira-sa〓〓" (strange). The "sa〓〓" is a transformation of "sama-ari", the evidence for which we can find in medieval Japanese. For example, there are such words as "sewasaru" and "sewasarite" in the Saishookyo-ongi (now in possession of Mr. Frank Howley), published about six nuudred years ago. The "sewasari" (seba sari) is in all likelihood a transformation of "seba-sa-ari". And it is changed into such forms as the adjective "iba-sa〓〓" in the Ryukyuan language. In the Ryukyu Islands we can find many old words which have ceased to be used in Japan. Therefore, Ryukyuan can be the key by which the etymology of Japanese can be traced, and also a gate through which the students of Japanese should pass.

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In the study of the traditional religion in Okinawa, Ryukyu Shintoki (1648 ; Ryukyuan Shintoism) by the Buddhist Taichu was the first work, which was followed by many others. However, most of their data were taken from documents three or four hundred years old, from records prepared by politically-oriented Shinto sources in later times, and from customs which had undergone great change. Therefore, those who have observed and studied religious ceremonies for a long time cannot agree with their conclusions. The author uses old customs in an attempt to search for the original folk beliefs prevalent when the villages were first established, and the primitive form of Shintoism in Ryukyu, excluding such religious forms as those systematized for political reasons in later times, or those which have been recently introduced and mixed with other religious customs. 1. Structure of Village and Organization of Community. A. Central part of village (Nakanomiyako) a. Utaki or Ugami (Holy wood or place of worship) b. Kami-ashagi (Small shrine) c. Finu-kannu-tun (Shrine of fire-god) d. Ncro dunchi (Residence of priestess) e. Mura-jimu-shu (Village office) B. Tamutu or Makyo nu-ni (parts of village other than Nakanomiyako) 2. Function of Noro (Priestess) A. Election of Priestess. B. Time of O-Arauri (Coming down of god from Heaven) C. Wood to hold O-Arauri D. Ceremony of O-Arauri a. Rite at shrine of Fire-god. b. Parade c. Observances in Holy Wood (U-Taki) 1. Ubinadi (Purification by water) 2. Putting washed rice on head. 3. Offering sake-wine to God. 4. Sleeping with God. E. Funeral service of Noro (Priestess). 3. Priestesses and the Associated Politico-festival System. A. Wunai (Cooking girl in service to Priestess). B. Nibutui (Spoon-holder to offer sacred Sake wine to God) C. Makisedo (Oldman, assistant of priestess) D. Noro (Official Priestess of village) E. Naikomori (Woman assistant of priestess) F. Ni-gami (Family priestess) G. Other Kaminchu (Women to take part in festival ceremonies)

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Except for two cities, Shuri and Naha, and other small towns, Nago, Kadena, Yonabaru, etc., there were about 570 villages in Okinawa at the end of the War. Most of them are agricultural villages and only two or three also engage in fishing. Each village consists of several kinship groups. The average number of houses is seventy to eighty, but the range is from less than twenty to two hundred. Besides these villages, there are so-called yadori, or smaller plantations where town people came to seek arable land. These yadori villages are extensive in area, because immigrants build their houses near the cultivated land. On the other hand, ordinary villages are small in area, the houses clustered in one place. The typical agricultural village was formed first by a kinship group who came to seek water and land and settled at the southern slope of a low hill. Then they came nearer to the cultivated area. The number of houses increased due to intercourse with other kinship groups or by adding newcomers from other districts. In this way the present village, as both a kinship and local group, came into existence. Until 1899-1903, when the Land Reform Law was enacted, land was owned communally by the village, which divided the land among peasants at regular intervals, the amount in proportion to the number of family members and their work and tax-paying capacities. It was called ji-wari (land-division). Peasants had no right to possess land, but only the right to cultivate, and taxes were imposed upon a village as a whole, not upon individuals. Every village community was knit together by both kinship and economic ties. There were many institutions, customs and ceremonies for the maintenance of public peace and order, and for public health, production and tax-payment. The so-called nai-ho (inside law), which treats important matters of concern to the village, were decided at the village assembly and strictly observed as the official law of the community.

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The "Omoro" is the general term for old songs in Okinawa. Omorososhi which consists of 22 volumes is a collection of 1, 553 of these songs dating from the middle of the 11th century to the end of the 16th century. Except for about fifty epitaphs, Omorososhi is the only document in Ryukyu which antedates the 17th century, and consequently, one of the most important material in the study of old Ryukyu and its culture. The Konkokenshu, a dictionary of the old Okinawa language, was published in 1710, about 80 years after the compilation of Omorososhi, and Seimei Shikina, one of the editors of this didtionary, wrote brief notes on the text of Omorososhi. However, until the middle of the Meiji era (1893), there were no attempts to decipher the original meanings of the songs, most of which were difficult to understand even for the Ryukyuans themselves. The late Fuyu Ifa (1876-1947), the author of Old Ryukyu, devoted his life to the study of Omorososhi. The author, being one of his students, criticizes Ifa's work and clarifies his own attitude toward the text of Omorososhi. 1. The late Ifa presumed that all of the "Omoro" were divine songs and concluded that the word "Omoro" might be derived from the word Omori (holy wood), where the people perform religious ceremonies. The author, on the contrary, considers that most of the "Omoro" were folk songs and only a small part of them were divine songs. He feels that the the word "Omoro" must be a derivative from the word Omoi (thinking). 2. Ifa regarded "Omoro" as poems, and the work of literary men. The author, on the contrary, is of the opinion that "Omoro" were folk songs and are "social products" of the people, and not literary work. Therefore, it is not correct to think the noted singers of the "Omoro" as poets. 3. There are so many errors in the text of Omorososhi that text-criticism is a necessity. The main reason why Ifa's work was non-productive may be said to be the lack of text-criticism. 4. The "Omoro" were produced over a period of six hundred years. During that period, Okinawan society underwent fundamental changes at least three times. And each change affected the form and content of the "Omoro". Ifa paid no attention to those facts.

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Among the folk arts and crafts of Okinawa, dyeing has been given considerable attention from early times. Though its history is not clear in detail, it is highly probable that it has been influenced by the technique of cloth printing of the southern islands and that of dyeing in Japan. Okinawan dyed goods are generally called bin-gata. Literally bin means Indian red or red color, and gata pattern or form. In this case, however, bin does not necessarily mean red color only, but is used as a general term for color. Gata seems to have meant originally a paper pattern by means of which the bin-gata which is called kata-tsuke was printed, but there is also bin-gata, on which designs are drawn by hand on pasted cloth and which is used mainly as a clothwrapper. The Okinawan bin-gata may equal in beauty the Japanese yuzen. Textiles of Okinawa are no less beautiful than its dyed goods. In this case also, we can trace Chinese influence in the technique of mon-ori (decorated weaving), the influence of the South Seas in the techinique of kasuri (splashed pattern) and also Japanese influence in weaving technique. The art of weaving kasuri has had a conspicuous development and has exerted influence upon the Japanese kasuri. The varieties of its patterns and designs amount to more than three hundred. The progress in textile arts in Okinawa is due to the fact that textiles were used for tax-payment for a long time in the old Ryukyuan Kingdom. They were classified into several official grades according to their quality. There are three types of pottery in Okinawa which are derived from three sources, i.e., Chinese, Korean and Japanese. We can also classify it in two groups, that is, jo yaki (superior pottery) and ara-yaki (raw pottery). The former, to which belong dishes, cups, vases and other smaller earthern wares, is glazed, while the latter, generally called nanban (southern barbarians), is inglazed and larger in size, including jars for water and sake, and sometimes urns. The special character of Okinrwan pottery consists in its glaze which is made of coral.

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The Japanese Volkskunde owes its advancement at many points to the achievements of Ryukyuan studies, since archaic language forms and customs of Japan have been found still surviving in the Ryukyus. This fact greatly encouraged comparative studies. Along with Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama, research has been done on such islands as Amami-Oshima, Kikai-ga-shima, Toku-no-shima, Yaku-shima, Tane-ga-shima and Jitto, which constitute a cultural bridge between Ryukyu and Japan. A pioneering work in Ryukyuan studies was the Ko Ryukyu by Fuyu Ifa. It contains many papers which contributed much to the study of Ryukyuan language and ethnography, e.g. "On the P Sound" which, comparing all dialects of Okinawa, has demonstrated the change of p sound into f and h, and thereby added a new proof to the theory that the Japanese sound h was pronounced as p in ancient times. In the field of ethnology and folklore, an epoch was marked by the works of Kunio Yanagita and Shinobu Orikuchi who made field researches early on the islands. The former has found primitive forms of Japanese Shintoism in the religious life of the Ryukyuans, with control by oiganizations of female shamans, and has stressed the significance of this in the understanding of the life of our ancestors. Orikuchi, too, has made extensive studies of female shamans in Okinawa and of the so-called mare-bito (stranger-god) belief. Based on his comparative study of Japanese and Ryukyuan, he dates the separation of both languages as occurring earlier than generally assumed. We can see in the Ryukyus many archaic cultures now extinct in Japan proper, as Ryukyuan society has remained relatively simple and little influenced by Buddhism and Taoism. But we find on the other hand distinct differences between Japan and Ryukyu deriving from the more complex development of the former. For instance, imi (taboo) concerning fire is not as conspicuous in Okinawa as in Japan, and fertility rites on paddy-field are carried out in Okinawa by female shamans invoking seji (mana), which contrasts male-conducted shinto ceremonials for the kami (gods) of paddy-fields. The study of Japanese Volkskunde has recently made great progress, and we should expect many new discoveries by a comparison of its data with Ryukyuan ethnography.

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Niruya or Niraikanai, a paradise on the sea important in the beliefs of the Okinawans as well as for the islanders south to the Takara strait, has detailed resemblanses to the Japanese tradition of Ryugu (Dragon Palace), called in old days Tokoyo no Kuni or Watatsumi no Kami no Miya (Palace of the Sea-god). The first syllable ni of Niruya means "a root", such as we find in Okinawan words as nidukuru which means the stock family of a village. The Ne no Kuni (Country of the Root) must have been the Japanese name for Niruya, but it has no more the meaning of a sea paradise. According to Ryukyuan traditions, there is an eternal fire beyond the eastern horizon on the sea where the sun is born, and fire, rice-seeds and rats were brought from Niruya. Life itself seems to have been believed to be a gift therefrom. The author is inclined to see in these folk beliefs of such "sea-peoples", a tendendy for the the Ryukyuans and the ancient Japanese to put their paradise not in the west, but in the east and beyond the sea. The author describes such Ryukyuan folk-tales as "Monkey's Liver", "Visit to the Palace of the Sea", "A Flower-vender and the Dragon-god", "God of the Drift-wood", and the August Dance on Okinawa and Amami-Oshima. All of these have some connection with Niruya, comparing them with Japanese data, the author refers to the possibility of solving certain problems of the origin and ancient relatives of the Japanese. He urges upon ethnologists the necessity to continue comparative studies along this line, in order to acquire new materials concerning the migrations of our ancestors.

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Among the world languages, that which is most akin to Japanese is Ryukyuan, both of which may be classified together as the Ryukyu-Japanese language group. The author seeks for the original common form of this group by comparing the order of word components found in archaic Japanese and Ryukyuan. The problem of the order of word-components suggests also a possibility of special relationships between South China, the South Sea Islands, Formosa, Ryukyu and Japan. The present paper will serve as a preliminary contribution to such a problem. Among Japanese words which have become classic or obsolete since the mediaeval age, there are many which have a reverse order of components as compared with ordinary modern Japanese, such as kataoka, shita kutsu, hashi-date, mo-gari, which means respectively "land beside (kata) a hill (oka), " "a piece of cloth attached under (shita) a bamboo blind (sudare), " "socks worn under (shita) shoes (kuisu), " "an upright (date<tate) ladder (hashi), " "a provisional (gari<kari) funeral hall (mo)." Among the place and personal names, we find evidence that a female was called "Hime so and so" and a male "Hiko so and so" instead of "so and fo Hime" and "so and so Hiko." From the Ryukyuan vocabulary, examples are given mainly concerning personal names, which were intimately connected with the religious life of the islands, and its focus on the female shaman. On the grounds of various religious phenomena as well as relation between posthumous and infantile names of kings and nobles, the author demonstrates that there are many words meaning "one beloved by gods" and that these, too, were originally used in the order reverse to that of present usage. His study on such honorific suffixes as kimi and anji, and such eulogistic words as kikoe and shirare, gives additional examples of reverse word-order. Analysis of words like nozaki (first-fruits), katami (keepsake) etc. shows the archaic customary and ideological background of such words, and possibilities for reconstruction of early Japanese culture are indicated. The author asserts that the two peoples whose languages constitute the Ryukyu-Japanese group have lived in an intimate ethnic relationship for a long time.

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