okinawan festival.

my pride of being part-okinawan cannot be described in words. to be honest, i had only discovered my true ethnicity about 7-8 years ago since okinawan labor immigrants in hawaii tried concealing their real identities to avoid racism from the naichi (people from mainland japan). although my grandmother (whom of which i receive my okinawan from) had told us that indeed we are okinawan, i, as well as many third/fourth-generations, often make the mistake of labeling ourselves as “japanese” or “okinawan” interchangeably without knowing any cultural differences.

technically, we really are japanese in regards to our immigrant parent’s home country, since japan had annexed the ryuukyuu kingdom by that time. but we are okinawans, who not until recently, have discovered the major differences that had been concealed by our older relatives between japanese culture in order to avoid discrimination during the plantation days in hawaii. and it is because of this revival in self-awareness that a lot of us uchinanchu (people of okinawan descent) had developed that organizations like HUOA (hawaii united okinawan association) and performing arts groups such as hawaii eisa shinkyuu kai had been created in efforts to perpetuate our culture.

it brings a smile to my face and heart that the next generation are still taking an active part in trying to gain some insight of their okinawan heritage, versus only learning about japanese culture. and you know what? i think us okinawans knows how to work hard, play hard, and live happily with shoyu pork/goya champuru alongside with orion beer/awamori!

andagi packaging