Japan is world-renowned as a tourist destination. The land of robots, vending machines, conveyor belt sushi, and bullet trains is also home to several ancient architectural marvels including Kyoto’s Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji), Tokyo’s Asakusa Kannon Temple (Senso-ji), and the giant wooden Buddha statue at Toda-ji Temple in Nara. But what is perhaps less known is that Japan hosts several excellent museums, including the Okinawan Prefectural Museum and Art Museum in Naha, Okinawa.
Okinawa is known by tourists primarily for its beautiful beaches and the down-to-earth attitude of many of its residents. However, Okinawa also has rich cultural, natural, and political histories of which few international tourists may be aware. The Okinawan Prefectural Museum and Art Museum in the Okinawan capital of Naha offers insight to Okinawa’s rich history for those wanting to learn more about this beautiful island.
Despite travelling to Okinawa previously, I went to the museum for the first time in August after receiving several recommendations to do so. Accessing the museum was easy by bus (Naha has a good bus system), but there is also parking at the museum for those who own or rent a car. Upon entering the museum, the ticket counter is to the right while a museum library, where one can pick up a free audio guide in several languages, is on the left. Patrons can buy several varieties of admission tickets: one only for the museum (which has sections devoted to political, natural, and cultural history), one only for the art museum, one only for the museum’s current special exhibit, and a combination ticket. I opted for the museum-only ticket, which was 530 Yen (a little less than 5.30 USD).
Upon entering the museum, I went upstairs to the museum café. It was a nice, bright space that had a variety of food, though there are more opinions around lunch time. The café’s food is inspired by the local cuisine and is surprisingly delicious. I personally tried the “Original Sandwich” that contained one of Okinawa’s staple foods: Spam (it was excellent).
Upon entering the museum on the first floor, one’s attention is immediately drawn to the floor display, a diorama of Okinawa’s oceanic diversity located underneath a clear floor panel. The self-guided museum tour starts in the entrance, where one learns more about Okinawa’s natural history and biodiversity and continues to the main exhibition hall to the right. The exhibition hall is primarily focused on the social and political development of Okinawa.
The exhibition hall was the part of the museum that I personally enjoyed the most. The exhibit highlights the history of Okinawa and the fact that Okinawa was at one point an independent kingdom, a fact that most foreigners do not know. There is information about the Ryukyu Kingdom (the predecessor to modern Okinawa) and how it functioned, the kind of clothing and accessories officials wore, and other traditions. I found the display of the trade routes between Okinawa and other countries particularly interesting. Many people, perhaps even those in mainland Japanese, do not realize that Okinawa had a strong relationship with China originally, as reflected in Okinawan culture and cuisine.
Later in the main exhibition hall are displays about how Okinawa came under Japanese control. The displays go a little into Japanese feudalism (i.e. shoguns and samurai) and how it was during the end of that era that Okinawa came under Japanese rule, ending the independence of the Ryukyu Kingdom. There are several displays that discuss Okinawan cultural assimilation and how Japanese language education became mandated in schools.
Finally, the main exhibition hall discusses the Battle of Okinawa during World War II, a particularly brutal episode, and the history of Okinawa and the US military. The displays depict life during American occupation and information about the governing structure. There is also information about Okinawa’s reversion to Japanese rule in 1972 and the continuity of the American military presence. Despite studying Japanese history and politics for several years, I learned several interesting pieces of information. For example, I had no idea that drivers in Okinawa had to drive on the right side of the road during American occupation but had to switch to driving on the left side when the prefecture reverted to Japanese rule.
Off the main exhibition hall were a few exhibits focused on Okinawan natural history and culture, and one rotating exhibit which, at the time I went, focused on the Olympics in Tokyo next year. (There was another room off the exhibition hall which was under renovation at the time of my visit.) The first room off the exhibition hall was devoted to natural species (primarily plants and animals) endemic to Okinawa. Near the end of the main exhibit was another room devoted to Okinawan culture, which demonstrated how it had changed over time. Included in these displays were models of various coffins and urns and discussion of why the size and shapes of these were different (it was very interesting). There was also a display of various Okinawan instruments including the samshin, a traditional stringed instrument.
I highly recommend a trip to Okinawa for those interested in travelling to Japan, and the Okinawan Prefectural Museum and Art Museum in Naha is a great starting point for those wishing to learn more about the history and the culture of this beautiful place.
You can find out the opening times of the museum, access, fees, and other information here: https://okimu.jp/en/museum/.
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Charmaine N. Willis is a PhD Candidate at the University at Albany, SUNY in the US. Her dissertation project examines the variation in local opinion towards the US military presence in Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. You can follow her on Twitter or contact her via email at cwillis@albany.edu.