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This video was made for a presentation to the Ohio Okinawan Tomono Kai at their annual spring gathering. It briefly explores some Okinawa’s land and culture through the eyes of someone seeing it for the first time.
my name is James and I’m married to Chrissy who’s the daughter Satoko who’s from the island of Key to Daytona she is married to Carl Satoko has another daughter named Annie and he has a husband named Joby and Chrissy Annie Joby and I are part of the second generation of Okinawans living in America in October of 2006 we traveled to Okinawa to meet our Okinawan relatives and experience Okinawan culture firsthand our family trip to Okinawa coincided with the fourth worldwide youichi nan Chi festival Okinawans from all over the world returned to Okinawa to celebrate Okinawan culture it provided many opportunities to see traditional dancing the asa drums and the colorful traditional costumes there were large parades with sights and traditions that I had never seen in one parade they’re turning Ichi non she marched down Koksijde dolly while the local Okinawans watched and clapped dozens of countries were represented and timon oak eyes from all over the US marched down the street with lots of zest and fervor the Ohio tamaño KY proudly represented the great state of Ohio one of my favorite events was the tug of war that was by far the biggest rope I had ever seen this is the largest annual tug of war in the world and it was massive the festival also had some impressive ceremonies at one point the president of the Ohio tomono KY was recognized the closing ceremony for the festival was very impressive it climax with hundreds of performers dancing all throughout the Convention Center beyond the festival there were so many other fascinating things to see the shops and restaurants of Koksijde dirty Hayati and the fish market and the constant energy of Naha we took the monorail to Shirley Jo to see how the Uchiha new rulers lived in the days of the ryu q kingdom the long history of okinawa is represented well in nine world heritage sites including na ki Jean Jo saifa Otaki cheeky nyan and several others for an appreciation of the hardships that the Okinawan people have overcome a stop at the world war ii peace memorial is a must the names of the soldiers who died in the Battle of Okinawa are written on wall after wall after wall surrounding the cornerstone of peace we also got to visit Ocean Expo Park which is home to one of the largest aquariums in the world they also have free water shows in a village and native Okinawan homes okey now is such a beautiful island the beautiful blue ocean combined with the rocky landscape make for a wonderful place to visit but what makes it even better is having family there Joby and I got to meet our Okinawan relatives for the first time and even though there was a bit of a language barrier we were able to form bonds with them that we will cherish for the rest of our lives I hope that we can all return to Fe now at some point but in the meantime let’s all celebrate the wonderful culture and traditions that Okinawa has provided you
28 Comments
Thanks a lot. I was really excited to go to Okinawa and meet my new relatives. We had a great time and I learned a lot. I'm going to be making more videos with the footage I shot, so stay tuned for more.
Thanks for watching. Please pass this on to anyone you know who might enjoy learning about Okinawa.
Thanks a lot. I shot over 20 hours of video while I was there and I'm planning on making other videos about Okinawa. Please check back in a few months to see if there done.
I'm a second generation okinawan aso, it was my 1st time going to the festival itself last year, and i enjoyed it so much! I'm so glad you made this video, because it expresses how i feel about Wonderful Okinawa.
thank you so much for sharing and i'm off to watch your other video's
i hope you don't mind if i use them on my myspace account
^___^
Please feel free to post my videos anywhere you want. I have 2 other videos on Okinawan Dancing that you can also post. Look out for more videos about Okinawa in the coming months.
thanks ! haha, i just noticed i'm in one of the clips at shuri castle.
That's crazy! Half a world away, yet footsteps apart. Which shot? What are you wearing?
Thanks for your feedback. I will have more videos about Okinawa coming in the future. If you subscribe to my videos, you will be automatically notified when they are posted. I had a great time in Okinawa and can't wait to go back.
Thanks for your kind, kind words. I am working on an entire series about Okinawa. If you search for "James Knott" and "Okinawa" you can find the first four videos that I made. I plan on making 25+ short podcasts about Okinawa.
They are called "Okinawa, Japan 1: Intro", "Okinawa, Japan 2: Heading North", "Okinawa, Japan 3: Hedo Misaki", and "Okinawa, Japan 4: Hiking Route 58"
I am a 40 yr. old Okinawan/American who has been in the U.S. since I was 18 months old. I have not had the opportunity to go back and visit family. My mother decided not to teach myself and my two brothers anything of the Okinawan culture since the day she came to the U.S. because she was constantly ridiculed for being in a mixed marriage with an American military man. Now that you have generously posted your videos, I can now experience my heritage. Thank you!!!
I am honored and humbled by your kind message. I have a lot more videos to post, so please keep watching. You have everything to be proud of because of your Okinawan heritage. The people on the island of Okinawa are kind and wonderful and it is such a beautiful place with a great unique cuture. Hopefully, you can get a chance to visit and touch your heritage first-hand.
This is great! I'm not okinawan, I'm argentinian, amd study japanese in the Okinawa Center of Argentina (there are a lot of decendents here) and I was able to go to festivals and met wontherfool people and had a lot of fun in the festivals. Thanks for sharing these!
sorry for my english ^_^U
Thanks for the nice comment. I'm really excited about my Okinawan videos. I have a bunch more to edit, so you should consider subscribing if your into Okinawa. That way you'll be notified when a new video is posted. It's the big orange button in the upper right hand corner.
Also, you should check out my new web site StrayCompassDOTcom for more travel videos about Okinawa, Japan and the rest of the world.
Thanks,
James
thanks for the knowledge you gave me…
do you mind if i use some of the information for one my projects???…
i am also a okinawan dancer in odori…
and i love the okinawan culture…
actually i love the japanese culture…
it's pretty fasinating…
thank you…
If you subscribe to my videos, then you can use whatever you want in your project. Glad you liked it.
Wow, thanks for posting this video…. It brought back a lot of memories from when I was there quite a few years ago (1981-1984)
I have never been to Okinawa but my dad and his family are Okinawan and all we got a chance to experience is the music. I love how in the dance sequences you can see the different cultures that have had an impact on the Ryukyu islands and the Okinawan people. My fammily wants to go to Okinawa and thi makes me want to go even more. I cried watching this. I am missing out on so much ='(
Not sure whether you saw it or not, but I have a whole episode about Okinawan Musical Traditions in my series about Okinawa.
straycompassDOTcomSLASHokinawaDOTphp
How Kukusai street has changed! Are there any small wooden shops left? They were there in 1968 when I lived in Naha. The character of Okinawa doesn't seem to have changed a bit. I still think of my friends and co workers and all the laughter we shared in those days.Surely most of them are still alive. I had my own car and drove all over the place. We were so young then. I'm 62 now and I still have the shamisen I was given that I never quite learned to play. Thank you all. Tony
There are no more wooden shops, but I would have loved to see it. The closest you can find to that might Heiwa-Dori – which I made a video about.
nice music
great video ! Thanks !
Interesting!
Cool! My mother grew up in Okinawa for a few years at one of the American Air Force bases located there. I think it was from 1960-1963, and I'm so glad that traditonal story books and this culture was introduced to my home. 🙂
I have been living in Okinawa for the past 12 years and will move back to Ohio soon. I never knew Ohio was represented in a parade. I have been in touch with the Okinawa club in my hometown, Columbus. Even though I look American I am truly Okinawan at heart. Thanks for letting others know the beauty of Okinawa.
@LittleMsMadness My mother-n-law is in the Ohio Okinawa Tomonokai. I'm usually at the gatherings. Make sure you say hi if you show up at one of their functions.
Nihe Debiru to you too! Kan Pai!