article

The making of Imperial subjects in Okinawa

Positions (Durham, N.C.) • 1 (3) • Published In 1993 • Pages: 607-639

By: Christy, Alan S..

Abstract

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.

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

Asia

Sub Region

East Asia

Document Type

article

Evaluation

Creator Type

Historian

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

Analyst

Ian Skoggard ; 2000

Field Date

Not Specified

Coverage Date

1879-1945

Coverage Place

Okinawa, Japan

Notes

Alan S. Christy

Includes bibliographical references

LCCN

93647848

LCSH

Ryukyuans