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The Ryukyuanist x0f NewsletterNo.9 Summer1990 Its author was Zhu Yuxiang. CON'TENTS This issue also reports on more recent developments with respect to the Okinawa Prefecture' s Rekidai HDan project. It is our pleasure to announce that Profes- sor Steve Rabson of Brown University, a spe- L cialist on modern Ryukyuan literature, has Foreign professionals in Okinawa. joined the ISRS. He has written a remarkable "application essay" introducing Letters to the editors.'.... J himself to the membership. Professor Bronfenbrenner on the B-yen',. Professor Rabson joins the ISRS Hideyoshi and Ryukyu: a Chinese uiew A mouie and an aduevtisement in Okinawan..' 7 According to Zhu Yuxiang's article in the Shijie Ribao (Worid Daily Report), March 8 and The IS RS meetingin camjunrtianwith the AAS.. B 9, 1990, "Japan begeed [China] to invest Member news... a Toyotomi Taira no Hideyoshi as King." Mr, Zhu says that in 1595Japan asked for peace and sent Konishi Hidanokami and Fujiwara Joan to Introduction ask for investiture. Whv did Japan make such This issue of. The Ryuhyuanisl takes on a a request? To quote Mr. Zhu: "Japan said little more academic character than its prede- that the [other] two countries, Korea and cessors. A major ferature is Professor Martin Ryukyu, have their kings invested by the Bronfenbrenner's contribution reminiscing on Emperor of the Ming Court and that Japan would his participation in a 1949 SCAP mission to lose its prestige without Ia similar investi- the Ryukyus to do a preliminary economic turel . " survey for the fixing of a new exchange rate The article then reproduces the text [in for the Type B Military Yen Currency. The ,Chinese] of the request for Hideyoshi's inves- rate adopted in the srpring of 1950 was BY 120 titure as king accompanied by u list of sever- : US$ 1. al other desired appointments. Mr. Zhu also An interesting, if incredible, story of reproduces the Imperial order (zhao) of inves- reasons for Taiko Ilideyoshi's invasion' of titure as well as an Imperial letter (gao) Korea appeared in the Shijie Ribao (World ,encouragingHideyoshi for good behavior as an Daily Report), Tair,ei (March 8 & 9, 1990). Imperial subject and a ruler of Japan. Mr. -1- Zhu then lists the Imperial presents to Hi- ry. But whether it has since been widely read deyoshi. is not clear. Later, Kobata had a disappoint- The documents, larrguage,gifts, procedures, ing experience. When he gave a public lecture and other aspects ol the investiture process on the 600-year history of Thai-Japanese descrlbed by Mr . Zhu are almost identical relations at the Centennial of Thai-Japanese with how Rl'ukyuan kings were invested by Em- friendship in 19B7, he drew upon Rj1 for the perors generation of China after generation. first 300 years and Dutch sources for the next 3i00years. A well known diplomatic historian Rekidai Hoan: further deuelopments from Thailand's Thamasat University, who heard Thz Rlttkyunne3fNo. 8 reported the launching the lecture, reacted in amazementand confined of an Okinawa Prefe,ctural committee for the that he had not heard of RH. That an expert recompilation and publication of Rekidai Hoan in Thailand's diplomatic history had not read (treasured diplomatic papers of the Ryukyu l?11saddened Kobata. In Kobata's vi.ew, RFl is Kingdom from c. 1400to the end of the kingdom so far the only documentary source that offers in 1878i R.il hereinaf'ter). More recently, two iLirect evidence on the trade policy and prac- members of the comnrittee, Professors Atsushi tice of earlier Siam. Kobata(1900-) and lHisanoriWada (1917- ) , In the discussion \Mith Wada, Kobata appeared moderated by Mr. Shohachiro Naka, Deputy to be pessimistic about the impact of RIl on Counselor of the Okinawa Prefectural Library, the historiography of other countries. Never- discussed the significance of R11. The discus- theless, Wada supported the idea of continued sion was published irr the Ryukya Shinfi in 4 efforts to make Rll widely known throughout parts (March 5-8, 1990). It sheds much lieht the world through English translations and on how RIl was hand-copied and preserved be- prraisedKobata' s pioneering contributions. fore the war, where i.ts copies were deposited, Wada, much younger than Kobata, began who were the pioneers in the use of RH for lLis R[1 research around 1960 with a research historical research, N.hat the new compilation €Fant from Harvard University. He microfilmed would mean for histo.riography, etc. l?11and distributed the copies to Harvard Uni- The original RH collection was destroyed by r,'ersity, lJniversity of London, University of the Battle of Okinawa. Now Kobata is probably l{awaii, University of the Ryukyus and so on. the only scholar alive who has personally seen l{e also organized an RH study group. The end the original . As reported earlier, Kobata of the l{arvard grant ended the group acti- published in 1969 annotated English transla- vities, h.owever. Wada was enthusiastic about tions of parts of RH. At that time he hoped the new Okinawa project and urged that RH that the. availability in Enslish of this tre fuliy translated to encourage its use by important historical material would enrich the Western scholars. historical understanding of South East Asian In addition, there has been a separate countries. In the course of the conversation dleveloprnentregarding R//. Mr. Chen Zhexiong with Wada, Kobata returned to this point. (perhaps known locally as Chin Tetsuo) of At the time of the Okinawa Ocean Expo of Ishikawa City of Okinawa donated to the city 1975, copies of Kobata's English-languageR-ll 15 volumes of Rll published in 1970 by the were distributed throughout Southeast Asia. I,Iational University of Taiwan Press. Mr. Chen In its wake, Kobata r:eceiveda letter from the is director of the Chinese-Liuqiuan Historical curator of the Thai Museum. The letter ac- Itesearch Institute in Ishikawa. knowledged the importance of R11 to Thai histo- -2- Foreign professionals in Okinauta respective state systems as currently consti- The Ryukyu Shin@ l:ras introduced a remarka- tuted. And the list goes on and on. The ble innovation: its lSaturdayevening edition r:xamplerssuggest that national governments, ^with includes one full page of essays and reports all their political power, are so con- in English. Since the beginning of this year, rstructed.and designed that they are not capa- the essay column h;asbeen written by Eng- bIe of rnaintaining peace and order to every- -speaking lish foreign professionals. ,cne's satisfaction. I wonder if a cross- The foreign professionalswhose names and ,:ulturaI perspective on the Okinawan issue essays have appeared in the Ryuklu Shinpo are might not supplement other approaches to as follows: .Ryukyuan studies. " Professor Lyle E. Allison, English Depart- Numerous leaves of notes have been re- ment, Okinawa Christian Junior College, Nishi- r:eived from Mr. Brian Todes, ISRS member. 'llodes hara-cho (since Oct;ober1988) ; Mr. wants to offer "Hypothesis ro ger Professor Anthony P. Jenkins (from Eneland), at the 1u11and positive story of the origins, English Department, lDivision of General Educa* rise and glory of the Okinawans and the Okina- tion, University of the Ryukyus(since 1982)i 'wan Kingdom before the Satsuma annexation, " Ms. Vasanti Menon Nii (from India) , with but first adds a few fascinating caveats. SueyoshiEizo, Architect and Associates,Naha Mr. llodes says: "Note that there is already since 1988( in Japan since June 1986); rl politi.cal tone to the statement Iof the The Reverend Rob Oechsle, resident in lhypotheses]. However, since it is possible Okinawa for 17 years, co-editor of Great Leurhpw tLhat ther ruling Japanese, who are responsible Discouered: 19th Ce,nturyRyukyu in Western ifor the suppression of Okinawan pride, had Art and lllustration (Nlaha:Niraisha, 1987)I and llheir own political agenda for forwarding 'history,' ProfessorW. T. Flandall, Okinawa Kokusai ttheir orvn legends, myths and as ' University, also a cooperating pastor at 'wel1 as interpreting their archaeology' and 'anthropology' Futenma Baptist Church. to sustain and forward them- rselveseLs a tribe and a nation, it seems not Letters to the editors unjust to examine a hypothesis or a series of ' ' When he joined the: ISRS last June, Professor rthem tkLat, if proven,' could establish bal- Iwao Ishino, anthropologist at the Michigan iance' that.., might lead to a more objective State University, wrote as follows: 'rziew of the origins and relationships of "... I teach a course that deals with the rOkinawans and Japanese than ... the view of problems national go.rernmentshave in dealing .Japanesehistorians and other Japanese [or] 'govern- with cultural groups within their societies. tlhe vieur of Okinawans who have been The Irish problem in the united Kingdom, the rld' by the Japanese over last 400 years..." Arabs in Israel, the Christians in Lebanon, The lcasic issue then has to do with the the Miskito Indians in Nicaragua, the French- rlegree of independent ethnicity that Okinawans speaking group in Canada, the Armenians and (lan claiim and that others are willing to Georgiansin USSR, the Tibetans in China, the tgrant them. This is no simple matter, under Ovimbundu people of Angola, the Oromo of Japanes;eculture and polltics that clearly Ethiopia, the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia, the ,Ciscourage any deviation from homogeneity Baluchs of Afghanistan, the Papuans of Indone- and uniformity. sia are only a few examples of dissident groups which are unhappy to be tied to their -3- /+n Airport Ecoynmist in the Rlvtkyus ( Nnvmber 1949) by Martin Bronfenbrenner I was a member of a small team or mission j.ngs with something considerably better. The detachedfrom SCAP',s Economic and Scien- lr.merica:ns were largeiy responsible, I heard, tific Section (E.
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