Ethnologist Yanagita Kunio on the Okinawan origin of the Japanese

Abstract

Okinawa occupies a special place in the scholarly activities of the famous ethnologist Yanagita Kunio (1875-1962). Incorporated into Japan only in 1872, Okinawa was perceived there as the uncultured outskirts of the empire. Despite the fact that Japan was building a “nation state”, the residents of Okinawa fell into the category of “barbarians” who were yet to become really “civilized” people. The Japanese described Okinawa as “external land” ( gaichi ), believing that they themselves live on “internal land” ( naichi ). Yanagita Kunio played a very significant role in the integration of Okinawans into Japanese life. Having visited Okinawa only once (in 1921) and closely communicating with Iha Fuyu (1876-1947), an Okinawa native, for the rest of his life he was of the opinion that the Okinawans were the ancestors of the Japanese. At first, this idea was not very popular. However, after the end of World War II, when Okinawa came under the control of the American military administration, a widespread movement was launched in Japan to return Okinawa to Japanese jurisdiction. At this time, Yanagita became a scholar recognized by the state and enjoyed its support. Yanagita rehabilitated the concept of an "island country" ( shimaguni ) and gave it a positive meaning. Against the background of heated discussion about the ethnogenesis of the Japanese people, the last book by Yanagita, “Kaijo-no Michi” (“Sea Route”, 1961), which justified his hypothesis about Okinawa as the ancestral home of the Japanese, became widely known among non-professionals (for instance, it was highly praised by Oe Kenzaburo) primarily for political and emotional reasons, although the scientific basis of this work has always caused serious objections in the academic world. The popularity of the book declined after Okinawa was returned to Japan. Nevertheless, the role of this book in the history of social and political thought in Japan is hard to overestimate.