The U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations
16th Session
July 27-31, 1998
A POSITION PAPER ON THE RIGHTS OF THE OKINAWANS
TO EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES
BY THE SHIMIN GAIKOU CENTRE
(Written by Mr. CHINEN Hidenori with Ms.
IZENA Kasumi, Okinawan Associates)
This position paper was prepared asstatement to the 16th Session of the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous
Populations to be held in Geneva, 1998.
SHIMIN GAIKOU CENTRE^
(Citizensf Diplomatic Centre for the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples)
3-35-13-204, Higashi-Komatsugawa, Edogawa-ku,
Tokyo 132-0033 JAPAN
Tel & Fax: +81-3-5662-0906
1. Okinawafs Geographical Position and Human
Rights
Okinawa is an archipelago consisting of some
160 inhabited and uninhabited islands in
the East China Sea surrounded by the Japanese
Islands, Taiwan and China. Okinawans living
mainly on Okinawa Island (in Okinawa Prefecture)
number about 1.3 million and many other Okinawans
live in other parts of the world, including
Japan, the United States, and so on. The
history of Okinawa has been taking a thorny
path since the 17th century due mainly to its geographical position.
After World War II ended in 1945 and the
colonial administration of Okinawa was re-transferred
from the military government of the United
States to the Japanese government in 1972,
both governments have regarded Okinawa as a keystone
of the Pacific for their military alliance
based on the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation
and Security between Japan and the United
States of America. Compared to the Japanese
mainland, the threefold US military facilities
have hurt the Okinawansf pride and violated
their human rights.
2. History as an Independent Nation
1) Brief History of Ryukyu Kingdom
In Ryukyu Kingdom, the first official history
book, gChuzan Sekanh, was edited and issued
in 1650. As most of all peoplesf history
might begin, the book introduced mythic stories
on the nation-building of Ryukyu at the beginning.
Owing to the mythology and the legends, the
first dynasty of Ryukyu was established by
the Tenson family and the successor dynasty
was the Shunten family (1187-1259).
After some 100 years, King Satto (1350-1395)
started to send official envoys to pay tribute
to and trade with the Chinese Emperor (Choko
Boeki), and to promote the unity of three
small kingdoms into the Ryukyu Kingdom. In
1429, King Sho-Hashi of Chuzan Kingdom, one
of the three small kingdoms, successfully
unified Ryukyu as a strong Kingdom. After
the unification, the trading ships of Ryukyu
had been active in the vast seas between
the Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, and the
Okinawa Island had prospered as a centre
of the relayed trade. In the early 16th century, while China, alleged suzerain state
of Ryukyu, permitted to send Chinese traders
overseas, European traders, namely the Portuguese
and Spanish arrived in Eastern Asia and joined
the traditional relayed trade in the region.
As a result, the role and position of Ryukyu
in the region was gradually lowered and curtailed.
Then the Japanese government (Tokugawa shogunate,
which was officially established in 1603)
aimed to use Ryukyu as a tool to resume trade
with China which was terminated by the previous
Toyotomi governmentfs military invasion
into Korea in the late 15th century in order to occupy China. Although
the Tokugawa government, which was holding
real power, requested the Ryukyu government
to send the official royal envoy in 1602,
the Ryukyu government didnft accept the
Japanese request because maintaining friendship
with China had been more important than with
Japan for them.
In 1609, under permission of the Tokugawa
shogunate government, Satsuma gHanh(Shimazu
clan), a feudal local lord in the southernmost
part of Japan, dared to attack and invade
Ryukyu with veteran soldiers who had survived the
Feudal War period of Japan. The direct aims
of Satsuma was to monopolize the interest
of trade with for rebuilding the local finance,
and to annex the northern part of Ryukyu
as a colony. The invading troops went south
and reached the Capital, Shuri, along the
archipelago by military boats, and kidnapped
King Sho-Nei to Satsuma.
After the invasion, the Ryukyu government
unwillingly consented to admit the rights
of Satsuma to trade in Ryukyu and to cede
the northern islands from the Amamis to Yoron
to Satsuma.
2) The Annexation of Ryukyu and Japanese
Colonization
While Japan was establishing its new modern
government, the Meiji government, in 1866
King Sho-Tai came to the throne of Ryukyu
Kingdom in the ceremony with attendance by
Chinese Imperial Mission (Sappu-Shi). He
became the last king of his dynasty and Ryukyu
Kingdom.
In 1871, the Meiji government carried out
a policy in which it reorganized local governments.
It set up a directly supervised prefectural
administration system replacing the feudal
gHanh governments. Under this policy, Ryukyu
was formally and temporarily supervised under
the jurisdiction of Kagoshima Prefecture,
the former Satsuma gHanh. The then Ryukyu
government apparently paid little attention
to this new Japanese policy. It considered
that the policy would not affect Ryukyu seriously
and meaningfully since it was the Japanese
domestic politics.
However, Japan started to take coercive measures
to integrate Ryukyu into the Japanese territory.
In 1872, the Meiji government gave an official
notice (an agreement) to establish gRyukyu
Hanh replacing Ryukyu Kingdom unilaterally.
In 1879, it dissolved the Ryukyu government
and also established Okinawa Prefecture under
the military oppression.
Japanese history book names the incident
the gRyukyu Shobunh, the disposition of
Ryukyu, but the chain of events should be
named the Annexation of Ryukyu from the Okinawan
viewpoint. The Japanese government immediately
started a policy to drive the Okinawans,
or the people of Ryukyu, to assimilate into
Japanese by various means.
Just after the annexation, the former dominant
class in Ryukyu and exiles fled to China
launched a movement with a view to restoration
of the former Kingdom. The Japanese government
internally took steps to appease this movement
in order to stabilize the political situation
in Okinawa. Under this policy which was called
gAs-the-ancient-customs-go-onh policy,
the Japanese government maintained some old
institutions and refrained from any fundamental
democratization of Okinawan society ignoring
the interest of the Okinawan people.
Internationally, in earlier period, the Chinese
government did not recognize Japanfs annexation
of Ryukyu. Thus, the status of Ryukyu remained
open to question at that time, and tension
between China and Japan had been raised by
the annexation. On the other hand, both two
countries rivalled each other in the hegemony
in Korea, and Japan plunged into war against
China, the Sino-Japanese War, 1894-1895,
and won. This meant China lost its influence
upon the issues pertaining to Ryukyu. Thus
the Annexation of Ryukyu became unchallenged,
and actually Okinawa Prefecture was forcedly
born.
3) Battle of Okinawa as the Aftermath of
the Annexation
During the Asia-Pacific War (1941-1945),
part of the World War II, the Okinawans endured
heavy sufferings and serious damages. The
Japanese government easily regarded Okinawa
as a gSacrificed Stoneh for Japan, and
adopted a military strategy to gain time
in order to strengthen military defense line
of the mainland by victimizing the Okinawans.
The Japanese Imperial Army deliberately killed
Okinawan civilians. It also demanded non-combattants
not to surrender and to commit collective
suicide, Shudan Jiketsu, instead. This history
reveals a systematic violation of Okinawan
human rights by the Japanese government.
The alleged Agreement on the Ryukyu Annexation
of 1872 was in contravention of the terms
of Vienna Convention on Treaty Law, especially
those of Article 51, and the customary international
law dictating the prohibition of use of force.
Therefore it should be invalidated.
In our opinion, the Okinawans still retain
their sovereignty to preserve and develop
their own languages, cultures and religions,
based on their distinct history. Also, they
denounce any assimilation policy and human
rights violation by the Japanese government.
3.Education and Languages in Okinawa (Ryukyu)
1) Education in Ryukyu Kingdom
The Ryukyu government sent a large number
of students to its suzerain country, China,
to let them learn Chinafs superior systems,
arts and sciences. These students were classified
into two types; one was a group of students
called Kansho, who were sent and funded by
the government and the other group was called
Kingaku, who went to China by their own.
Between 1392 and 1869, the Ryukyu government
sent 81 Kansho students to China, while as
many as 1200 Kingaku students went to China.
Among the Kingaku students, we find so called,
gthe Five Great Men in Ryukyuh (Ryukyu
Godai Ijin), such as Tei Junsoku and Sai
On. Tei Junsoku established the first private
school in Ryukyu, called Meirindo (in 1718),
and he not only contributed to the promotion
of civilian education but also introduced
a Chinese moral book into Japan which exerted
great influence on Japanese education. Several
years later in 1798, Hira Gakko (Hira School)
was established in Ryukyufs capital, Shuri,
and three Mura Gakko (Mura School) were built
in Okinawa island in 1835 as lower grades
of the Hira Gakko. In local areas, a school
called Kosho was built in the Yaeyamas in
1752 and another called Nanboku Gakko was
established in 1846 in Miyako.
These educational institutions aimed at educating
the warrior class (Samure class) and above
and mainly taught Confucianism and arithmetic.
There was no educational institution in Ryukyu that taught reading, writing, and abacus
(counting) for civilians like farmers. Access
to formal education was considered a privilege
of the warrior class as statesmen, and farmers
were prohibited from formal study.
However, the farmers were required to have
a minimum level of education, such as estimating
crops and recording taxes. The necessity
for practical knowledge resulted in producing
unique systems in Ryukyu, such as numbers
called gsuchuma,h a calculating method
called gwarasan,h a hieroglyph called gkaida
characters,h and a type of family crest,
gyaban.h
2) Assimilating Education by the Japanese
Government after the Annexation of Ryukyu
While Okinawa Prefecture was established
in 1879, high-ranking officials were occupied
by Japanese, and the diffusion of education
was actively promoted under a prefectural
governor who was appointed by the Japanese
government. The first Governor, Nabeshima
Naoyoshi, started a new educational system
and defined the objective of the system as
follows: gthe assimilation of languages
and customs in Okinawa to those in Japan
is the urgent task of the prefectural government,
and education is the only way to achieve
this task.h The content of education was
aimed at planting Japanese identity to the
Okinawans, and, in particular, it focused
on fostering loyalty to the Japanese language
(the standard language) and the Japanese
Emperor (Tenno). The effort made by the Japanese government
for assimilation was symbolized by the fact
that the Goshinfei system -- in which school
children were obliged to bow and pray for
a portrait of the Emperor and the Empress
in order to nurture the spirit of patriotism
and loyalty -- was established in Okinawa
Prefecture earlier than any other prefectures
in Japan. Because of the active promotion
of education by the prefectural government,
the school attendance rate accelerated with
the increasing number of elementary schools
built in Okinawa. The school attendance rate
was 30 percent in 1896 when the Sino-Japanese
war ended, but the rate rapidly increased
to 70 percent when the four-year compulsory
education was implemented in 1901 and became
90 percent in 1906 when the Russo-Japanese
war ended. It finally reached to 99 percent
in 1927.
While the characteristics of Okinawan cultures
were gradually lost because of the assimilation
policy implemented through the diffusion
of Japanese education, people who stood up
for democracy and the abolition of discrimination
in Okinawa began to emerge. The emergence of a leader of Jiyu Minken
Undo (a movement for freedom and civil rights)
in Okinawa, named Jahana Noboru, was one
of the examples.
3) The History of the Okinawan Languages
and Japanese Militarism
In 1898 despite the fact that constitutional
rights, such as the right to vote, were not
guaranteed for the Okinawans, conscription
was applied to them. Obligations preceded
rights as far as the indigenous people in
Okinawa are concerned. Yet some of the leading
officials in Okinawa Prefecture welcomed
the enforcement of conscription because it
would open a way for the Okinawans to become
the Japanese. However, since many of the
young Okinawan soldiers who joined the Japanese
military could not speak Japanese (the standard
Japanese language) nor could they read, write,
and do arithmetic, they were discriminated
against as gRyukyu peopleh whose image
was founded on the primitive. The only way
to wipe out the discrimination was to fight
faithfully without the fear of death on a
battlefield. For instance, in the Russo-Japanese
war -- the first war indigenous young Okinawans
went to the front ? casualties of the young
Okinawans reached 354, while the total number
of Okinawan soldiers was 3864, implying that
nearly 10 percent of Okinawan soldiers were
killed or injured in the Russo-Japanese war.
The destruction of the Okinawan languages
went hand in hand with the advancement of
Japanese militarism. Japanese militaristic
education reached its peak in 1941 when the
name of Sh Gakko (elementary school) was
changed to Kokumin Gakko (national school
= Folks Schule) following the example of
Germany. In particular, the gpromotion of
the standard languageh was actively implemented
in Okinawa as one of the ways to prove their
fidelity to the Imperial Japan. Nonetheless,
it was very hard for the Okinawans to adopt
a new language, Japanese, because language
is a foundation of everyday life. The promotion
of the standard language was enforced by
legal punishments in the 1940s. This policy
was called gA Campaign for Eliminating Dialectsh
(Hogen Bokumetsu Undo) in which Okinawan
languages were defined as a gdialecth unilaterally.
Under this policy, a student who used at
school his/her mother tongues, Okinawan languages,
was punished by hanging a board around his/her
neck on which a statement, gI used a forbidden
dialecth was written (the board was called
gHogen Fudah). In order to take this board
off, the student had to find another student
who used a dialect. This method caused a
denial of their own cultures through the
contempt of mother tongues, and planted a
sense of inferiority as the Okinawans. Moreover,
this method damaged trust not only among
students but also between students and teachers.
During World War II, pressure to the Okinawans
was accelerated by a government notification
that gthose who speak dialect are considered
as spies.h When the War entered into its
final stage, Japanese soldiers who were supposed
to protect the residents in Okinawa expelled
them from a dugout to more dangerous places,
robbed their foods, and slaughtered people
who spoke Okinawan languages as spies. It
is clear from these acts of treachery committed
by the Japanese government and soldiers that
the language policy introduced by the Japanese
government was enforced not for the Okinawans
but for the Japanese.
Even after World War II, the gHogen Fudah
(a dialect board) was used, and in some places,
it was used until the 1960s. (I remember
that when I was a fifth grade student (in
1967), I was forced to hang the board around
my neck. The feeling of sadness and anger
I felt is still in my memory).
4) Education in Okinawa in Post-war Period
At the final stage of World War II Okinawa
turned into a fierce battlefield, and 122,228
of Okinawan residents were killed. The number
is more than the majority of the total number
of death (200,656) on the Japanese side at
the Okinawa battlefield. If we include those
who died after the war by malaria and malnutrition,
the victims of the Okinawan residents reached
some 150,000, one fourth of the entire population
in Okinawa. The Okinawans, who suffered from
the heavy artillery fire called gTetsu no
Bohuh (Iron Storm), emphasized the reconstruction
of the educational system after the war was
over. People worked together to construct
school buildings with thatched roof which
were called gUmagoya Kyoshitsuh (Stable
Classrooms). They tried to teach children
the resolution that we will gnever send
children again to the battlefieldh and the
spirit of democracy using hand-made mimeographed
textbooks. The textbook for the first-graders
under the U.S. Armyfs occupation began with
the following sentence that symbolizes the
original Okinawan respect for peace: gAoi
Sora Hiroi Umih (blue sky and big sea).
Most of cultural assets of the Ryukyu Kingdom
were destroyed by the indiscriminate attack
by the U.S. military, but it was the U.S.
military who was eager to restore the destroyed
assets. In the 1950s, Royal Gate Shurei (Shurei
no Mon), which was the symbol of the unique
culture, and other assets were restored.
With regard to education, a system composed
of 6 years of elementary school, 3 years
of junior high school, and 3 years of high
school was put into operation in 1948, and
Ryukyu University was established in 1950.
A program to study in the United States began
through the assistance of the U.S. military
and a program to study in Japan was created
through the assistance of the Japanese government.
Following the Reversion of Okinawa to Japan
in 1972, these study programs were abolished
and the Okinawan education that had originally
an international flavor was integrated into
the standard Japanese education.
A more serious problem was the violation
of human rights related to the U.S. military
bases. Following the Reversion of Okinawa, it was
hoped that the arrangement of military bases
would become gthe equivalent of Japanese
mainland,h but the U.S.-Japan Agreement
on the Reversion of Okinawa allowed the U.S.
military bases to remain in Okinawa. Okinawa
Prefecture occupies 0.6 percent of entire
Japan, but it has 75 percent of the areas
occupied the U.S. military facilities in
Japan. The base occupies 11 percent of all
land in Okinawa Prefecture and 20 percent
of Okinawa Island where the population and
industry are concentrated.
The damage caused by the vast military base
is enormous. The destruction of natural resources
by live shell military exercises, the noise
pollution by military aircraft, the nuclear
contamination by used Uranium bullets in
exercises and suspicious drainage of nuclear-powered
submarines, and the contamination of sea, rivers, and
soil by the discharge of oil and chemicals
from the military bases are just a few examples.
In particular, the noise pollution and the
possibility of accidents associated with
the military bases threatened children's
education. In 1959 a military jet crashed
into an elementary school in Ishikawa City
causing 17 death and 121 injuries. Numerous
incidents of military vehicles running into
children who lined up on the way to and from
school were reported.
In 1963, a military trailer hit junior high
school students crossing a crosswalk in Naha
under a green signal and killed one student.
Okinawa at that time was under the extraterritorial
jurisdiction, and even for an atrocious crime
the Okinawan authority did not have the right
to arrest and try the suspect. The suspects
were arrested by the military police and
court-martialed, and three month later, to
everyone's surprise, they were found "not
guilty."
These damages caused by the activities of
the U.S. military were countless. During
the 26-year period since the Reversion of
Okinawa in 1972, there were 130 incidents
of airplane accident, 154 incidents of field
fire caused by live shell exercises, and
12 incidents of murder of civilian by soldiers.
These do not include the infamous rape of
a 12-year old girl by U.S. soldiers in September
1995. The primary cause of these incidents
and accidents lies in the fact that the U.S.
military looked down on Okinawan residents
and that military activities were given priority
over the life of residents.
4. Issues on Education and Languages of the
Okinawans to be Addressed in the Future
The current problem of language education
pertains to the increase in the generation
who can comprehend but not speak the Okinawan
languages and the rapid increase in the generation
who cannot comprehend the Okinawan languages.
It is true that the Okinawan residents do
not have a sense of crisis regarding the
extinction of the Okinawan languages because
there is no necessity to use the Okinawan
languages in daily life and the Okinawan
and Japanese government do not perceive the
Okinawan languages as distinct languages
and do not promote a policy to maintain such
languages.
At present there are some efforts to promote
Okinawan languages and cultures: some private
broadcasting services provide news in Okinawan
languages, and the Okinawa Provincial Theater
promotes Ryukyu arts. However, the absence
of the universal organization for education
in present Okinawa results from the assimilation
policy of the Japanese government dated in
1872. Therefore, the Japanese government has the
responsibility and duty to revive and restore
the Okinawan languages which have precious
academic value. As one of the efforts for
the revival of the Okinawan languages, we
may be able to introduce the Okinawan languages
as an elective subject into the school curriculum
and to establish training seminars of Okinawan
languages for school teachers. Furthermore,
it is urgently needed for the Okinawan government
to promote public understanding of the historical
significance and the academic and cultural
value of the Okinawan languages.
Because of the geographical location, Okinawa
suffered from being surrounded by China and
Japan and by Japan and the United States
-- all strong states. However, we, Okinawans,
survived as an old hand and tried our best
to develop of our own cultures. We must make
good use of our historical experience in
the world where the national boundaries are
blurred. Our main mission as the indigenous
people of Okinawa is to revive the Okinawan
languages which face the threat of extinction
following the long assimilation policy of
the Japanese government since 1872 and to
pass the Okinawan languages to the younger
generation.