Happy Birthday to Katie!

Yesterday was Katie's birthday. She's 22. We celebrated by going to a nice Italian restaurant called "Da Vinci's" that's somewhere between our house and the closest train station (about a 5 minute bike ride or so). I had veal marsala and Katie had lasagna; it was pretty good! Not the best meal I've ever eaten, but for being in Japan where a lot of ethnic food is watered down for Japanese tastes, it was damn impressive. This weekend we'll celebrate some more by attending the Ryukyu Festival in Osaka. Katie is really into Okinawa (the clothes, the music, the culture, etc.) and the Ryukyu Festival is all about the various aspects of life in the Ryukyu Islands (of which Okinawa is a part). The focus is mainly on the music, though. It's basically a big concert with various acts performing throughout the day.

The Ryukyu Islands, a long time ago, comprised a kingdom entirely separate from Japan. Over the years, Japan came to dominate these islands, and in the process suppressed their language and regional customs in an effort to "Japanisize" them. Flash forward to World War II, when the battle of Okinawa proved to be one of the bloodiest in the Pacific Theater: almost 2/3 of those Japanese killed during that battle were civilians (a little fewer than 150,000 people). After World War II, Okinawa became the location of the United States Forces Japan (USFJ) and was fully under American control for the first 27 years, at which point it was ceded to the Japanese government. The US still maintains bases on the island; many US troops are stationed there.

In spite of such hardship, the Ryukyu Islands never fully lost their identity. In fact, Ryukyu culture and music is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity among the mainland Japanese; walk around any large Japanese town and you're likely to find Okinawan cuisine right alongside more "traditional" fare. Okinawan born artists are among the most popular musicians out there today; hopefully Katie and I will get to see some of the more famous ones at the Festival (I haven't yet seen a lineup).

-Bob