article
The making of Imperial subjects in Okinawa
Positions (Durham, N.C.) • 1 (3) • Published In 1993 • Pages: 607-639
By: Christy, Alan S..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This paper examines the construction of Okinawa identity during the Meiji era. Christy argues that the logic of assimilatory policies produces an effect opposite to its intended goals. The very notion that a people must assimilate presumes that they are different in some way. This imagined difference is constructed, devalued, and repressed by the state; but internalized by its minority subjects creating a distinct identity. Japanese depicted Okinawans and their culture as backward, child-like, and atavistic. Christy shows that this 'Okinawan character' is actually a subjectification of the economic and political conditions of the times. Okinawa was a major sugar-producing region that was devastated by the collapse of the sugar market and the development of Taiwan as a major economic rival. Whereas most Okinawans were shackled with this negative character assessment, Okinawan elite were more able to pass as Japanese.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Ethnic stratification
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Okinawans
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2000
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- East Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Historian
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- Not Specified
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1879-1945
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Okinawa, Japan
- NotesAdditional notes
- Alan S. Christy
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 93647848
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Ryukyuans