Living on Okinawa
Customs and Beliefs of the Locals
Living on Okinawa can be a great experience, you just have to get out and learn about the practices and customs. Okinawa, the principle island of the Okinawa Prefectures is referred to as the, “Keystone of the Pacific”. The climate compares to the Unites States southeastern coastal areas. The name Okinawa means, “Rope in the sea”. It is a fairly good description of this long stretch of islands between mainland Japan and Taiwan. Okinawa consists of forty-one inhabited islands. Okinawa is also a major tourist destination. Okinawa’s customs and environment are beautiful and appealing to all.
Okinawan’s are benevolent and genuinely peaceful people. The society and customs have survived thousands of years. One of the most prominent custom or Okinawa is bowing. Bowing is an Okinawan greeting, having the same meaning as shaking hands in America. It shows respect; the deeper the bow the more the respect. One would not bow to a shopkeeper when making a purchase. Another sign of respect is how you address Okinawans. When addressing an Okinawan, custom dictates using his or her last name and the suffix “san”. So if you have someone with the name Sakura Uchima; she would be called Uchima-san. This goes for both male and female.
Okinawan’s customs deal with matters of respect and courtesy. First, you must show respect for the elderly. They believe that the older generations have an exhausted place in the Okinawan society. Second, you should never walk into an Okinawan home, shrines, or temples wearing shoes. You also do not tip at off base restaurants, hotels, or bars; when you are on base you do as Americans do “tip”.
One of the most delightful Okinawan custom is gift giving. Okinawan’s exchange presents between friends and neighbors on seasonal occasions, journeys, moves, and at the beginning of the New Year. When receiving gifts, it is customary to give one in return. If you give a gift to an Okinawan, he or she will feel obligated to give in return.
Okinawan’s also celebrate the life’s of their ancestors. They take a week off and all local businesses are closed that week. It is celebrated the thirteenth trough the sixteenth of August. This holiday is called Obon. At this time, they visit the graves of the ancestors welcoming the spirits home. A makeshift alter is prepared at the home of the eldest son; that is where they communicate with their ancestors.
During the 1900’s, it was common for people to immigrate to America. They saw it as a land of freedom and opportunity. Some thought that this was a great way for the US’ economy to boom, but some thought otherwise. With the shortage of jobs, many believed that the immigrants were stealing their precious jobs. Because of the competition over jobs, immigrants became the new public enemy to many. Immigrants such as the Japanese. The Japanese had already been through some racial discrimination, but it wasn’t until World War II that it got much worse. During the war the US decided it was best to be neutral, but the longer the war went on for, The more the US’ neutrality was on the verge of breaking. It wasn’t until December 7, 1941, that the US
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Okinawa was needed by the Allies in order to attack mainland Japan. After obtaining it Okinawa would be used as a staging ground for the attack. The several airfields that were on it made it vital if Japan were to be conquered.
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Throughout the military and the Army there many different regulations and rules to live by also known as custom courtesies that every soldier must follow in order to show the proper respect order and discipline as they then move on with their daily lives. Custom courtesies are put into place to give the proper respect for noncommissioned officers and the officers placed above them.AR 600 – 25 customs and courtesies is considered to many to be the foundation pillars of military life and major fundamentals to the methods that the Army conducts its business. Some of these fundamentals being as old as the Army itself with many of them coming from past traditions such as the Army values that we base most of what we do on. Many of these traditions having been established due to past military history and regulations that are being formed today in different ways to help soldiers to better understand how the way Army wants them to be acting in a particular manner over a long period of time. These custom and courtesies not only form the way a soldier acts upon his or her professional life but also his or her social life as a way of maintaining discipline. Customs is a means of doing something that has been done over a long period of time by select few for a large group of many. As a courtesy is a form of polite behavior and excellent manners given from one person to another session is saluting or even holding a door for someone. Even when our custom and courtesies are seemed to be strange by civilians is what sets a soldier and a civilian a part on more levels than one. As most of these means of acting are not found in civilian life as it does not require special behavior and maintain a certain level respect and professionalism.
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To greet the other, people greet each other by bowing only! A bow can range from a small nod of the head to a deep bend at the