Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Okinawa: A People and Their Gods
    Okinawa: A People and Their Gods
    Okinawa: A People and Their Gods
    Ebook120 pages1 hour

    Okinawa: A People and Their Gods

    By Robinson

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Okinawa is a fascinating account of the most unusual religious practices of the Okinawan people.

    Subject throughout their long history to many foreign influences, the Okinawan people still retain to a remarkable degree a strong reverence for their prehistoric animistic beliefs. nevertheless, in accommodating themselves to the infiltration of Buddhist, Confucian, Shinto, and Christian influences they have been most receptive, with the result that what might seem confusing, illogical, and inconsistent to others, is quite compatible to them.

    This brief but authoritative account not only correlates present-day practices with their historical development, but also takes notice of current trends and likely future developments in Okinawa.

    The text is enhanced with sixteen significant photographs and with nine full-page maps to guide sightseers to Okinawa's most culturally significant places.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTuttle Publishing
    Release dateMay 15, 2005
    ISBN9781462912773
    Okinawa: A People and Their Gods

    Related to Okinawa

    Related ebooks

    Shintoism For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Japanese Art Of Nature

      Aug 7, 2019

      Japanese Art Of Nature
      3 min read

    • Article

      Two views: Japanese Kōgei

      Aug 1, 2017

      Two views: Japanese Kōgei
      3 min read

    • Article

      Sofu Teshigahara

      Mar 1, 2020

      Sofu Teshigahara
      2 min read

    • Article

      Resistance, Rebellion, And Rage: Japan's Opposition To The Tokyo Olympics

      May 22, 2021

      As Japan continues to struggle with a new wave of COVID-19 infections, opposition to the upcoming Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games continues to build.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Japan

      Aug 3, 2023

      Japan
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Bear God Revisited

      May 3, 2020

      The Bear God Revisited
      18 min read

    • Article

      The Cycles that Sustain Us

      Nov 5, 2020

      The notion that time happens in a linear way, from past to present to future, is relatively new in human thought, and is most common in western cultures, where time is also seen as measurable, usually in dollars. In industrialised societies, time is

      4 min read

    • Article

      Books With The Most Impact

      Mar 15, 2022

      Books With The Most Impact
      8 min read

    • Article

      Shin Buddhism Is American Buddhism

      Nov 6, 2018

      Shin Buddhism Is American Buddhism
      8 min read

    • Article

      The History Of Yōkai

      Nov 4, 2021

      The History Of Yōkai
      9 min read

    • Article

      139. Tokyo’s Sacred Spaces

      Feb 22, 2024

      139. Tokyo’s Sacred Spaces
      6 min read

    • Article

      A White Horses Essay

      Oct 3, 2018

      A White Horses Essay
      9 min read

    • Article

      Daring To Be Still

      Nov 5, 2020

      Daring To Be Still
      5 min read

    • Article

      Michael Wood On…

      Sep 1, 2022

      In my job, travelling the world making films on history and culture, I’ve spent a lot of time exploring religion in its many manifestations. Religion, after all, is a gift for the camera: full of colour, action and often moving rituals. It’s also a c

      3 min read

    • Article

      Written In The Stars

      Nov 15, 2020

      Written In The Stars
      6 min read

    • Article

      Why Light Inspires Ritual: For Aboriginal cultures, light is a physical and spiritual guide.

      Mar 27, 2014

      Some years ago, cultural anthropologist Veronica Strang was fishing on a trip to the Orinoco River in South America. When the fish didn’t bite, she settled for a walk along the riverbank. “The light filtering through the rainforest canopy threw a shi

      5 min read

    • Article

      Magic Touch

      Sep 13, 2020

      Magic Touch
      7 min read

    • Article

      Tibet on White Esk

      Oct 14, 2022

      It’s not a sight you’d expect to see in the Scottish Lowlands: cheerful prayer flags flapping in the breeze around a gleaming, white-and-gold stupa. With only small villages for miles around, western Europe’s largest Buddhist temple, Kagyu Samye Ling

      4 min read

    • Article

      Everything We Do Not Know

      Sep 4, 2019

      Everything We Do Not Know
      25 min read

    • Article

      Hunting for History Books

      Sep 3, 2019

      Hunting for History Books
      11 min read

    • Article

      The Weave of Rituals

      Feb 27, 2024

      IN MODERN secular societies, religion is often considered antiquated and its traditions a fossil of benighted people dwelling in a medieval worldview, lost in reveries of salvation. Some look down on piety as primitive, and ritual practices as childl

      2 min read

    • Article

      Sacred Ground

      May 24, 2022

      Sacred Ground
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Okinawa

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Okinawa - Robinson

      OKINAWA: A PEOPLE AND THEIR GODS

      OKINAWA

      A People and Their Gods

      by JAMES C. ROBINSON, Th.M., M.A.

      CHARLES E. TUTTLE CO.: PUBLISHERS

      Rutland, Vermont                               Tokyo, Japan

      Representatives

      Continental Europe: Boxerbooks, Inc., Zurich

      British Isles: Prentice-hall International, Inc., London

      Australasia: Paul Flesch & Co., Pty. Ltd., Melbourne

      Canada: M.G. Hurtig Ltd., Edmonton

      Published by the Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc.

      of Rutland, Vermont & Tokyo, Japan 

      with editorial offices at

      Osaki Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0032

      Copyright in Japan, 1969, by

      The Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc.

      All rights reserved

      First edition 1969

      Book plan by Roland A. Mulhauser

       Library of Congress catalog card No. 69-16179

      ISBN: 978-1-4629-1277-3 (ebook)

      Printed in Japan

      DEDICATION TO

      The Reverend Doctor

      F

      RANK

      B

      RINGLE

      M

      C

      I

      NTOSH

      , D.D., L.L.D.

      President Emeritus, Ohio Northern University

      Ada, Ohio

      The Reverend Doctor S

      TANLEY

      J

      EFFERY

      , D.D.

      Sometime Pastor, Third Avenue Methodist Church

      Columbus, Ohio

      The Reverend Doctor M

      ARION

      T

      INSLER

      , Th.D.

      Professor of Religion and Philosophy

      Ohio Northern University

      Ada, Ohio

      Mr. K

      ENNETH

      T. W

      HITAKER

      Deceased, former Sunday School Teacher

      Scoutmaster, and Friend of Boys

      CONTENTS

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      1. Some Basic Characteristics of Okinawa Religion

      2. National Religious Heritage

      3. Shrine Worship

      4. Household Religious Practice

      5. The Impact of Foreign Religions on Okinawa

      6. Present Trends in Religious Belief and Practice

      List of Buddhist Temples

      List of Shinto Shrines

      Glossary

      Bibliography

      Notes

      Index

      MAPS

      ILLUSTRATIONS

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      When I was a little boy my father once lifted me upon his shoulders that I might see the President of the United States as he passed us. That was not the first time I had stood upon the shoulders of another, nor was it the last.

      I would be shamefully dishonest and disgracefully uncharitable if I were not to acknowledge those who, like my parents, have challenged me to be dissatisfied with my present accomplishments, and have stimulated me to new ones.

      Much thanks must go to my wife, Nancy, and my four children, Jimmie, Joey, Judy, and Johnnie, who were patient when time was stolen from then. Their love and devotion are irreplaceable.

      Publications by Dr. William Lebra, Okinawan Religion; and Dr. George H. Kerr, Okinawa: The History of an Island People; and Dr. Clarence J. Glacken, The Great Loochoo, were especially helpful. Professor Sokyo Ono's Shinto: The Kami Way, was both stimulating and informative. Thanks are also due the University of Hawaii Press for permission to quote from Okinawa Religion by William P. Lebra and from Ryukyuan Culture and Society: A Survey.

      Special appreciation must go to Dr. William Stockton, Anthropologist, and Mr. Sam Kitamura, Public Relations Department, USCAR, for encouragement and constructive criticism. Any errors or false conclusions, however, must rest upon me.

      Typing and editing was done by Mr. William Stem, Jr., who labored long and hard over penmanship that has always served as a bewilderment both to my teachers and to my friends.

      James C. Robinson

      INTRODUCTION

      This is a book about people. They live on a small island, located in the Western Pacific Ocean, between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea. The island is only 70 miles long with an average width of 7 miles. It is usually hot and humid, except for a couple of months out of the year. Typhoons are frequent uninvited intruders. The coastline is roughly indented.

      Approximately 45 percent of the people are farmers whose chief crops are sugar-cane, sweet potatoes, rice, soybeans, and pineapples. Mountains to the central and northern sections of the island discourage the settlement of large populations. Therefore, most Okinawans live in the southern third part of the island. The enchanting blue and green water which surrounds the shima, or island, still keeps its allure for fishermen who provide a major item on the everyday menu.

      A former Japanese possession, Okinawa fell to American forces following the bloodiest campaign of the Pacific Theater in World War II. One finds the influence of Japan alive today, especially in the language, the celebration of traditional holidays, and certain religious practices. Other cultures have also made their impact on Okinawa, and not the least of these is the presence of American military personnel and their dependents.

      Culturally then, Okinawa is a mixture of several influences all of them acting and interacting with one another. But one must not think of Okinawa and her people as neutral recipients, having no history, traditions, or customs of their own. This is far from the truth for Okinawa is rich in her cultural heritage and unique in her cultural expression. You are invited to discover these things for yourself. Some of them you will glean from this book. The rest you will find as you travel around the island, keeping alert to various places, objects, and practices. Do not be afraid of what may seem strange or mysterious. Fear is a serious obstacle to communication between people.

      Man is by nature a religious being. The expression of that nature may vary from culture to culture, but the reality of that nature is constant from age to age. Fear, uncertainty, and loneliness stalk the human spirit; courage, faith and a sense of belonging are a balm to the trembling breast.

      We began by saying that this is a book about people. If the reader will strive for appreciation and understanding he will find himself the happy discoverer of insights which point not so much to factors which divide the Family of Man, but to human experiences that unite it.

      Chapter 1

      SOME

      BASIC CHARACTERISTICS

      OF OKINAWA RELIGION

      KAMI

      From time immemorial the people of Okinawa seem to have believed in kami; it is a basic

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1