Title
'The Crying Wind' and Hovering Butterflies: Identity and
Cultural Representations of Okinavva
Author(s)
Dileep, Chandralal
Citation
沖縄大学人文学部紀要 = Journal of the Faculty of
Humanities and Social Sciences(7): 1-16
Issue Date
2006-03-31
URL
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12001/6126
'The Crying Wind' and Hovering Butterflies:
Identity and Cultural Representations of Okinavva
Dileep Chandralal
Abstract
Based on the premise that the processing constitutive of identity has to be described with reference to the social and contextual interaction, this study analyzes a cross-section of cultural expressions representing modem Okinawa. The results show that Okinawans, have a strong sense of identity that stems not only from their ethno-cultural and geographical origins but also from their historical and political experience of being excluded and discriminated.
Keywords: identity, cultural humiliation, memory, occupation, image building
1. Introduction
A period eqUivalent to two generations has passed since the end of the Pacific War. In Okinawa, however, the war is not really over and hence the post-war period is yet to start. Although it is full of ironies, at least, this is the view held by many opinion leaders in Okinawa. Okinawan writer Shun Medoruma, for example, published a book last year, by the title "Zero Year of Okinawa Post-war Period" (Okinawa sengo zero-nen). It is qUite interesting to find in this regard that Okinawa's images of itself often contradict the perceptions and images born by the mainland Japanese.
The land itself is a fine metaphor for the gap; Okinawa remains literally isolated as the sole island prefecture in a nation of islands. To further understand the cultural and mental processes that divided the island nation, one needs to have a glimpse of the history. The destiny of 20th century Okinawa is considered to have been shaped by two
big events of its modern history. One is the "Disposal of the Ryukyu Kingdom". The term is used to indicate the abolishment of the Ryukyu Kingdom and subsequent incorporation of Okinawa Prefecture into a centralized, bureaucratic state apparatus under the Meiji government of Japan. The other is the "Occupation of Okinawa".
In what follows, I will examine how these main events and sub-events have shaped the directions taken by this island region, how Okinawan people faced these events with accompanied repercussions leading to numerous sufferings, and how they were unfairly burdened with all the legacies of these events and were finally forced to remain voiceless. However, if the Japanese government, with its available political and legal means, has been silencing the voice of the region, in another area of its culture a cacophony of voices has erupted. Let me turn to these dissenting voices, some of which, though strong at the local level, are not adequately shared across wider cierles. To shed some light on this theory, I will analyze a representative cross-section of the cultural expreSSions of Okinawa, namely, in theatre, film, literature and lyrics of popular songs, created by
Okinawan writers and artists within the last 50 years or so. I will analyze the texts of these literary works and works of arts by showing how their ideals and expressions are thoroughly intertwined with the identity of Okinawa, however expressed and reproduced, disagreed with the cultural representations of Okinawa produced and consumed in the mainland Japan.
One caveat is required before proceeding. Two complementary sets of problems face researchers seeking to understand the interplay between identity and cultural expressions: 1. How cultural expressions reveal the identity of an ethno-linguistic community, and 2. How the features of identity, such as past experiences, memories, relationships and
perceptions, are projected into cultural expressions.
The fIrst set of problems compels us to make use of cultural expressions and analyze them in order to make inferences about identity. 1be second facet of problems, on the other hand; helps us to understand how socio-historical conditions that shape identity also make inroads into the cultural fields, focusing on how identity is conditioned and constrained by the historical development of structural properties of a society.
Rather than confining myself to one set of problems, I would like to deal with both sets of problems, shifting from one to another at appropriate junctures. This is consistent with the cognitive-conceptual approach, which takes experiential reality as the relevant kind of framework to explicate identity issues. Dealing with the questions of identity mediated by empirical truths, perceptions and discursive practices, it is appropriate that we proceed in this way. Our organizational approach itself emphasizes that the processing constitutive of identity has to be studied and described with reference to the social and contextual interaction of identity expressions.
2. Disbanding the Ryukyu KingdolD and the Process of
Cultural HUDliliation
During its long history, the Ryukyu islands had achieved a highly developed culture as a relatively independent kingdom with its central government established in the castle city of Shuri. Its inhabitants, with their livelihood based in agriculture, fishing and trading, lived peacefully, without armaments, belieVing in animism and ancestral worship. The Ryukyu Kingdom of the past which shared strong historical relations with China in terms of politics, trade and culture was rather loyal to the Chinese government. In 1879, the Meiji government arrested the provincial king, Sho Tai, to make for a smooth abolishment of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The tributary relationships including diplomatic relations with China then were banned. However, the voice of China loyalists who believed that Ryukyu should continue to be part of China didn't disappear until Japan' victory in the Sino-Japanese War was assured at the beginning of the 20th century.
After the abolishment of the Ryukyu Kingdom, a full-pledged reform program was launched by the Japanese government in order to establish the new political system, replacing the Rykyuan civil and criminal laws with Japanese ones. In abolishing the feudal system, the geographical name, Ryukyu that carried the burden of its history was also abandoned, and instead Okinawa, strictly speaking the name of the main island of the
Chandralal : 'The Crying Wind' and Hovering Butterflies
Ryukyuarchipelago, was adopted. Afterwards, while 'Ryukyu'was restricted to the sphere of private life, 'Okinawa' was dominantly used to represent the whole gamut of public life. The first governor of the newly established Okinawa Prefecture, Nabeshima Naoyoshi, strongly believed that it was the urgent duty of the prefectural government to help Okinawans to achieve prosperity by directing them on the path of assimilation into Japanese language and life style and that the most easiest and effective apparatus for the purpose would be through the educational system. Accordingly, the main pillar of the new curriculum was designed to raise the self-awareness of its citizens by becoming faithful Japanese citizens, learning to speak standard Japanese, and growing loyal to the Emperor. The reform program adopted by the government was two-pronged:
1. Assimilation into the Japanese emperor system, and 2. Modernization of Okinawa and 'civilizing' Okinawans.
The Meiji-era Japan that had just stepped onto the modernization path, following the footsteps of Europe saw herself as secular, progressive and rational, and tended to consider Okinawans to be superstitious, backward and irrational. Thus, as part of the 'Life-style Reform Movement', many old customs, laws and beliefs that were original to Okinawa were banned. By doing so, they committed the colonialist crime of violating the traditional community. For instance, while it was then customary for men to wear topknots called
katakashira and for women to tattoo the backs of their hands, called hachyi, these practices were prohibited amidst strong opposition, especially, of the warrior-class okinawans. Moreover, the general public was forced to simplify ceremonial occasions, holidays and festivals, which formed a major component of their local culture.
Meanwhile, to facilitate the reform program, Japanese military facilities were established in Okinawa. Inevitably, with the rise of the militarism, the use of standard Japanese was enforced, suppressing the use of local Okinawa language. Japanese government's policies of linguistic coercion forced the mandatory use of standard Japanese in schools and a total ban of the local dialects.
In pre-war Okinwan schools, each classroom had a Dialect Disgrace Tag(Hogen-juda). Students had to wear it around their neck if they spoke or happened to speak in their local dialect. When another student spoke in his dialect the tag was passed to him or her. The idea conveyed was that speaking one's own dialect was a disgrace. The idea was enforced on them in this way. During the period of the Okinawa Battle, the Japanese military declared that anybody who speaks a local dialect is to be considered as a spy. The notorious hogen-judacontinued to be used in Okinwan schools, at least in some areas, even after the war, until around the middle of the 1960s. 1)
Throughout history, many forms of governments have actively suppressed many indigenous languages and cultures, especially those in the Periphery. These suppressors, who maintain that their nations and cultures are superior, take upon themselves the mission of educating and civilizing other ethnic groups. These superior powers not only downgrade other's cultures and languages but also consider that the instruction of native peoples in their vernaculars is detrimental to the cause of their education and civilization. This ideology of 'superiority' and 'contempt' has prevailed in the East and the West, is found
around the world even today, and is largely responsible for linguistic and cultural loss. Japan from the Meiji period, following western countries, took the path of intolerance, and as the result, minority groups like the Ainu and the Ryukyu suffered immensely under its pressure.
Nothing else describes the true situation in Japan at that time than the poetry and dramas. As a good example, I will briefly introduce a drama namedJinruikan ('Human Museum') which was first staged in 1976 in Osaka and depicted the contemporary situation in Meiji Japan in a most humorous and provocative manner.2) The common theme undertaken by this play was inequality of the power relations between Okinawa and Japan interconnected with the blatant discrimination of Okinawans under the emperor system. In those days many okinawans and Koreans left their native places looking for better lives and better jobs in foreign lands. Instead of the decent life they had expected, they were confronted with discrimination, contempt and scorn. It is said that there were notices on gates and building entrances saying 'No Ryukuans, No Koreans'.
The stage play Jinruikan is based on an incident that occurred in 1903. As the 5th
National Industrial Exhibition was held in Osaka in 1903, a display stall called 'Academic Human Museum' was also set up, as a parallel event, where human categories such as Ainu and Taiwan indigenous people, Okinawans and Koreans were kept to be seen by the visitors. The battle of Okinawa and the Okinawan experience of the Dialect Disgrace Tag were incorporated into the script to satirically illustrate the structure of discrimination.
In the play, an Okinawan tries to use Japanese correctly and to cheer the emperor, following the instructions of a Japanese soldier, raising his hands and screaming "Tinooheeka, Banjait" in Okinawan accent, instead of pronouncing in standard Japanese "Tennouheika, Banzai!" ('Long live the Emperor!). The posture and gesture used by the character in the role of the Okinawan soldier was indicative of the difference in ethos between Okinawan and Japanese cultures.
In pre-war Okinawa, while the education system emphasized "Emperor Worship", the typical Okinawan culture, which was subject to contempt and disgrace repeatedly, had already lost its dignity. It is well known that in the Meiji period when the Japanese government implemented a rigorous assimilation policy, the use of native dialects was suppressed and the use of standard Japanese was imposed by force. In this process of cultural humiliation, Okinawans were mentally dragged into a binary path. Finding the image of assimilation very allUring, they tried to grab the yamatospirit. They were also constantly reminded of the reality of differentiation. In Okinawa there is a peculiar use of the tenn naichi,literally 'inland', when referring to the mainland Japan. One may wonder why they use the term naichito denote a land outside of their own province, instead of using something likegaichi('outer land'). I believe that they came to assume themselves as belonging to the outer circle, consequently reproducing the mainland as the inner circle.As Declan Kiberd says, referring to Ireland, "There seems no way out of this mirror-chamber created by colonialists, because the natives' opinions of themselves are greatly influenced by the low esteem which their rulers have for them."(Kiberd 1996)
Chandralal : 'The Crying Wind' and Hovering Butterflies
Because of the binary force of assimilation and exclusion working to oppress Okinawan minds, people increasingly tended to develop a sense of inferiority of constantly having been deprived. Simultaneously, they came to feel that they were forced to be culturally uprooted by the high-handed mainlanders.
3. Struggling with MeDlories of the War
The culmination of the project of unification and assimilation of Okinawa into Japanese imperialist system was the Battle of Okinawa that claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people. The brutality of the war and the imperial system is further exposed by the military strategy adopted by the Japanese army. The primary objective of the Army-Navy Operation was to delay the American invasion and to protect the mainland and imperial system by regarding Okinawa as "a stone to be sacrificed".
The battle of Okinawa, which later came to be called the "Typhoon of Steel", was the last battle fought between the U.S. and Japan. The memories of the bitter battle still haunt many Okinawans and are reborn afresh every time an occasional dud shell appears from a construction site and the remains of human bodies are found in long-forgotten caves on this island. These memories never remain as mere relics belonging to the past, but are very much a part of the present because they are seen to shape physical and mental landscapes of the islands.3)
Yoichi Higashi's movieFuon, TheCrying Wind, based on a story written by Okinawan novelist Shun Medoruma and set in summertime Okinawa, vividly depicts how the unpleasant memories of the war are still interrupting the ordinary life of the people in a northern village in Okinawa. According to the story, there was a precipice standing on the shore with a dug-in square-shaped grave. On the edge of the grave, there was a skull, facing the sea, probably placed there by somebody. The skull had a hole in its temple presumably made by a bullet. The wind could be heard passing through the hole, making an ominous, howling sound. The villagers regarded this awe-inspiring object as their protective deity and called it 'the crying god' or 'the crying head' (Nakiungamn. Treating it with religious respect, they shun from it and advised their children not to go near it.
One day the village children made a piece of mischief on the 'crying head' and from that day on the whistling of the wind stopped; the tranquility of the life of the village was disrupted. The overlapping memories of the people living on the island, of the people visiting the island and of the people who died on the island were recalled through a chain of combined episodes to create an alarming and tormenting picture of the past, present and future of the island.
The villagers didn't have the slightest idea of what the children had done. They only knew of an old woman from the mainland Japan, named Shiho FUjino, who visited the island every year, chasing some wartime memories, particularly searching for unknown details about 'the crying head'. The man she loved when she was seventeen had left for Okinawa as a commando to join the battle and died there. She wanted to know the meaning of the song she was asked to sing just before he left for Okinawa, and was eager to delve into the story of war experienced but untold by her beloved. The woman was
introduced to an old man living in the village who knew the secret of the 'crying head'. He could remember how his father had taken the corpse of the commando soldier from the shore to the open-air burial ground. It was only one of the many precious lives that had vanished into air or into the sea during the battle of Okinawa. Despite his knowledge, the old man seemed determined not to open the window to this dreadful world. The secret didn't pass his lips. The woman's plea to reveal the secret was met with silence.
Both the old woman and the old man have memories deep in their minds which they were not comfortable with and were not able to convey.Asthe author himself expresses, the central theme addressed by the movie is "how incommunicable the war experience is!" 4) It is a story of people burdened with a tragic past that cannot be properly conveyed and handed down. The war experiences are ineffable, indecipherable but ineradicable in the innocent souls of the villagers and the visitors as well. The old woman cannot forget the scene where she sang the song of "early spring" as a 17-years-old girl upon the request of the dead commando before he left for the battle ground. They agreed that it would be better, if they could understand the hidden meaning of the song someday.
The spring is only nominal; the wind is cold
Though the song of the bush warbler flying in the valley is in its mind, The time is not qUite ripe for it.
Nor can it raise its voice.
Finally, the woman understands that 'the spring' in the song is a metaphor for the modem age. The modem age dawned in Japan with horrible incidents against which nobody could raise their voice. People had to suppress the urge to say what they really thought. The bush warbler in the valley with a song hidden in its heart represents budding thoughts and beliefs that remained unexpressedbefor~the rough winds of the contemporary society.
In this movie the skull itself, lingered upon cliffs and zoomed up as an object triggering war memories, shows how traces of the war live on in contemporary Okinawan society as part of the cultural landscape. Seikichi, the old man, with his subdued behavior, works in the opposite direction, retaining his words and keeping his secrets so as not to kindle memories. His task is to bury the memories along with all the mementos. However, this does not obscure the scars of war, but reinforces the whole picture by presenting war memories, violence, death, life, beliefs and spiritual aspects of Okinawan society. How life and death are intermingled is shown by the scenes of the crabs that were literally living off the dead and moving around the skull. The spiritual aspects are underlined by the butterflies hovering over the skull. According to the local tradition of Okinawa, butterflies are believed to cany the spirits of dead people. All the imagery used in the movie seems to be carefully selected so as to fit the central theme, excluding, for instance, the popular symbols like red-tiled roofs andshnnshin, a three-stringed lute, that speak of a simple and disappearing or nostalgic beauty.
Taken as a whole, the events and the plot of the story really represent today's prevailing thoughts and concerns of the Okinawan people. The author of the novel and
Chandralal : 'The Crying WindIand Hovering Butterflies
script writer for the movie seems to lament that the memory of war is being lost as many people have tended to forget the war experience so qUickly. It seems that the writer wants to suggest that the present-day Okinawa needs a crying wind to act as a reminder of the war and its memories. The fact is that we cannot hear the crying wind any more means that we are already robbed of the voice or 'the song of early spring'. The author's mission has been to give voice to Okinawan feelings inextricably bound with the atrocities of the war that are still visible on the islands. While many contemporary images of Okinawa present the islands as a tropical paradise with cheerful life and happy-go-lucky people, creating such popular visions to be consumed by the mainland Japanese tourist, the movie
Fuon/theCrying Windconfronts the present troubles and harsh realities of Okinawa. One can juxtapose Fuon with the NHK produced morning dramaChurasan, a good example of popular stereotype visions, to understand the profundity of a non-stereotyped work and to draw out the differences between the two genres, on which I cannot embark here because of the limitations of space.
The war experience, as internalized in different ways by Okinawan people, has been engraved on their collective memory in a powerful way and these memories of the war have played a vital role in the formation of the Okinawan identity. Many civil organizations and artists and individuals have been active in preseIVing the horrible memories of the war and endeavoring to pass them on to next generations through various means, such as recording evidence, creating works ofart with the motifs of the war memories and maintaining museums, etc. Shun Medoruma, the novelist and script writer, clearly represents this tradition, by presenting the land and its people in a profound way without reducing Okinawa to a glossy exotic picture.
4. Land Occupied, Outer and Inner Spaces under Siege
The end of the Battle of Okinawa marked the beginning of modern Okinawa or 'the early spring'. Following the unconditional surrender of Japan, Okinawa islands came under U.S. military rule. With the signing of the San Francisco Treaty in 1951, the u.s. gained territorial and occupational right over Okinawa, while Japan regained its sovereignty. By the terms of that treaty, Okinawa and other small islands forming the RyukyuIslands chain were placed under u.S. administration, namely the "Occupation of Okinawa" which lasted 27 years (1945-1972). In other words, Japan's sovereignty was recovered by it having sacrificed Okinawa.
The U.S. supported Japan's rebuilding efforts, by helping it develop as a non-military nation; for Okinawa, however, the u.S. had a completely different goal. Their aim was to separate Okinawa from the rest of Japan and to turn it into a military fortress. To facilitate a de-Japanization of the islands, the U.S. administration reversed its geographical name from Okinawa toRyukyu.This also shows how the U.S. attempted to exploit the minority consciousness and the communal feelings of the Okinawans with the ulterior motive of consolidating its military rule. Massive military bases were established and have remained operational since then. The major strategic role played by the U.S. military bases on Okinawa was called then as "the keystone of the Pacific". Thus, Okinawa turned from a
Japanese territory to an American territory, involuntarily having to serve a strategic point for two occupational forces continuously.
It is highly relevant to consider as to what kinds of impact the U.S. colonial rule has had upon Okinawan attitudes towards U.S.A. or towards Japan and upon their own thinking of their existence itself. The consolidation of the military bases on Okinawa and the horrors brought by the military rule such as forceful appropriation of residents' lands and properties, a violation of fundamental human rights and the heinous crimes committed by the U.S. troops aroused strong anti-U.S. sentiments among Okinawan people. Before long, Okinawan people turned against the U.s. rule, directly expressing their wishes to return to Japaninorder to embrace Japan as their motherland. Simply, returning to Japan meant to them "returning to the Peace Constitution of Japan". Eventually, the rising anti-base movement and accompanying 'Reversion Movement' forced the U.S. to abandon its occupational right on Okinawa.
The movement against foreign rule was only one aspect of the 'Reversion Movement'. More importantly, with the spread of the 'Reversion Movement', Okinawan people became increasingly aware of the need to expand their right of self-government. Their sense of autonomy developed so rapidly that there were some people, though they comprised a minority group, who believed that okinawa's true freedom could be achieved only by becoming a totally independent country. They felt that the Japanese government would not understand their sufferings and grievances and would never look after Okinawan people properly.
Even today there is a section of people in Okinawa who expresses their candid feeling that Okinawa should be an autonomous country. To understand this feeling, we should look back at the 'ground situation' in Okinawa. Although Okinawa was returned to Japan complying to the expectation of the majority of people, this was only a partial fulfillment of their wish, because reversion was conditional and based upon the retention of the U.S. bases in the prefecture. While Okinawans longed for a peaceful island free from military bases, the U.S. and Japan had reached the agreement that administrative power be returned to Japan on the condition that the military bases remain on Okinawa as they existed at that time. While Okinawa comprises only 0.6% of the Japan's total land, this limited area bears the bitter burden of750/0of the U.S. military bases foundinJapan. As
often said, setting rhetoric and reality together, "Rather than saying that the U.S. bases are located in Okinawa, the situation is better presented by stating that Okinawa is among the U.S. military bases".
Although I mentioned earlier that we can no longer hear the whistling of 'the crying head', Shun Medoruma, the novelist, maintains that 'the crying head' continues to whistle, that is, down-to-earthly, we can listen to the 'voice' or crying sound emanating from the bones scattered in the forests and the shores of Okinawa. According to the epilogue, the novel was originally published 1985. However, after the release of the movie which based on the novel, he was compelled to rewrite the novel as Fuon, The crying wind, and emphasizes that the story continues. 5) The scars of the U.S. invasion and the troubles of Okinawa continue, as the U.S. military bases continue to occupy much of the land here
Chandralal: The Crying Wind' and Hovering Butterflies
and so the same story continues to be told again and again. The presence of the military bases and the Okinawan people's relationship with these military and cultural corps has obviously affected the process of formation of Okinawan identity. As Okinawan literary critic Keitoku Okamoto points out, the fact that in Okinawa the negotiations with this specific Other have prevailed as a day-to-day matter is a big factor involved in the formation of Okinawan identity and therefore has been a preferred theme in many literary works.6)
In 1995, a 12-year-old elementary school girl was abducted and raped by three American soldiers, an incident that caused wide-spread protests against military bases in Okinawa. Despite the recent crash of a
u.s.
military helicopter at a local university, the Japanese government has remained deaf to the people's demands for the termination of U.S. military flights over civilian area, let alone for the closure of the nearbyu.s.
Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station. Under these circumstances, an author born in Okinawa, cannot ignore the complex realities manifested with the existence ofu.s.
bases: the frequent occurrence of violence, the issue of mixed parentage, environmental destruction, economic hardships, alcoholism, etc.Kibo "Hope", a short story by Shun Medoruma, originally published in the evening edition of theAsahi Shimbun, (June 26, 1999), was hailed as the fIrst post-colonial work of Okinawan literature. The story began with an evening news broadcast on TV. The news reported that the corpse of the small child of an American soldier who had been missing was found. An Okinawan man who was watching the TV news and the narrator of the story was, in fact, the murderer. The thoughts that flashed across his mind are suggestive of his act: "That Okinawans-so docile, so meek-could use such tactics was something the bastards had never even imagined. Okinawans were, after all, a people who followed their leaders, and, at most, held "anti-war" or "anti-base" rallies with polite protest marches.... Okinawans were like maggots who clustered around the shit of land rents and subsidy monies splattered by the bases. And Okinawa was called "an island healed by the love of peace". It made me want to puke." 7)
Through these words, we can hear the voice of the narrator as a representation of the author. 8) It is safe to say that the implied author expresses his anger towards the military bases and his utter frustration about the indifference on the part of Okinawan people. His disgust at military land-owners and dependents on special subsidies is highlighted by the metaphor "maggots who clustered around the shit of land rents and subsidy monies". He also makes no effort to hide his disgust at popular images of Okinawa created by outsiders and getting consumed by insiders comfortably. The concepts of peaceful and healing islands, though capable of enticing mainland Japanese tourist to visit Okinawa, tend to hide the continuing troubles and turbulences caused by the large areas of land surrounded by the iron fences and occupied by military personnel.
Mter recollecting the way he behaved and the way he committed the abhorrent act of protest, the narrator gets ready to stage the final act of his protest drama by committing his body to the flames at the seaside park in Ginowan where the protest rally (according to the narrator, "that farcical rally") was held after the twelve-year-old girl was raped by the
three American soldiers. Making his own appraisal of the mission already achieved, he thinks, "I felt no remorse now, or even any deep emotion. Just as fluids in the bodies of small organisms which are forced to live in constant fear suddenly tum into poison, I had done what was natural and necessary for this island". Thus, the narrator's act is shown as an outburst of righteous indignation at the current situation of Okinawa.
Now a question poses itself. Why is the title of the story "Hope"? Did the author want to indicate that the narrator's act represents the last hope left to Okinawan people? Ithink the answer is to be found in the larger context of modern and contemporary Okinawa. It is impossible to disentangle the story from much larger social and political forces that have been building over many years. In short, Okinawan people have been pinning high expectations in dealing with mainland Japan, in negotiations with, and in manipulations by, Japan, as revealed by the cases of Okinawa's Reversion to Japan and being the venue for the 2000 G-8 summit meeting. Both of these events were celebrated by Okinawan media, Okinawan leaders and the general public. Despite these high hopes, Okinawan people feel as they were cheated. Time has past, but the situation remains unchanged. The hoped-for freedom and prosperity didn't dawn. Amidst the increasing disillusionment with both the Japanese government and the U.S. government, the author seems to suggest that time has come to confront the realities, which is the way out, the hope implied by the story.
The whole story can be seen as a powerful presentation of how the Okinawan people feel disappointed by the repeated occurrences of violence and violations of basic freedoms. At a deeper level, it embodies the optimism and the frustration of the post-colonial era. I am not saying that it has represented to us what Okinawa is all about, but it would be no exaggeration to say that this brief literary piece represents the dark side of the Okinawan socio-cultural scene, challenging the culture of impunity that has been prevailed in Okinawa. At the risk of making a sweeping statement, I should add that only Okinawa in Japan, with special geo-politic features as a former independent country now buffeted about between Japanese and American powers, might be able to produce this type of literary work.
5. Gap in Perspective, and IlIlage Building
With not much protection coming from both side, Japan and U.S.A., and with their prospects for safety and dignity in life remaining bleak, a section of Okinawan society began to think it is best to be an independent country, rather than remaining just another region of Japan. Akira Arakawa, Okinawan writer, is one among the few advocates of full independence for Okinawa. In 1960s he instigated a movement for independence rather than Reversion. According to a recent survey, the number of those who think that Okinawans should choose to be independent if the Japanese government approves their right of self-determination is rated at 24.9. (Lim 2006) 9)
However, this imagination of an independent country can be just wishful thinking because in reality Okinawa is a society highly dependent on themilitarybases: its economy, directly or indirectly, heavily depends on the military bases and special monetary provisions of the central government. In fact, the central government has been directing
Chandralal: 'The Crying Wind' and Hovering Butterflies
local promotion and development measures to compensate for sufferings and sacrifices caused by the presence of theU.S.military bases. Local municipal governments receive a huge amount of money under the name of the "military base grant" and the budget for promoting the areas surrounding bases. There is no secret about the fact that this kind of economic dependency has worked to keep the anti-base movement at a low ebb. Many opinion leaders believe that the grants and development projects initiated by the central government have taken away their dignity and self respect, whereas some leaders are eagerly aWaiting these offerings of carrots.
Shin-ichi Kawamitsu, an Okinawan poet, does not mince words, expressing his perceptions about how the grants of the central government are controlling the economic and mental spaces of the island. 10) Three big promotion projects initiated by the central government, according to Kawamitsu, are all reigns put upon the Okinawan community. Okinawa international Ocean Expo' 1975-76 is one of the three major projects carried out to celebrate the return of administration rights of Okinawa from the
U.s.
to Japan. Shuri Castle, the seat of government dUring the Ryukyu Kingdom period, was partially restored in 1992 and the whole park was designated as a national park. The national theater Okinawa was opened in 2004 as a place to perform and admire traditional Okinawan performing arts.No doubt all these monumental projects completed under the patronage of the national government help the Japanese to deepen their understanding of the Okinawa's nature, culture and histoty. However, Kawamitsu sees the three cultural spaces as important items on the national agenda. By exerting administrative and financial power over these projects, the national government had their hold on the three most important make-ups of Okinawan spirituality: the most basic natural source represented by the ocean, the spirit of independence symbolized by Shuri Castle and the major component of the traditional mental culture enveloped in Okinawa performing arts. Thus, the subsidies and grants offered by the national government are seen by Okinawan cultural personalities as traps set to keep their culture besieged.
Another role played by these cultural projects is the construction of more images of Okinawa. With the inauguration of Okinawa International Ocean Expo, a new image of Okinawa was constructed in Japanese minds: "blue skies", "blue seas" and "white beaches", these phrases began to repeatedly appear in tourist posters and other means of media to advertise Okinawa as the "southern paradise". A careful observation of the theme of Ocean Expo expressed as "The Sea We Would Like to See" reveals that the organizers of the event were very conscious of this image construction role and that they understood the significance of the theme for the purpose. The phrase is based on the pronounced contrast between human agents and objects of natural environment. 1 1) In short, the Japanese government exploited Ocean Expo' as an effective medium through which to introduce the modern concept of 'development' (made by humans against natural environment) to Okinawa and to camouflage the hard realities of Okinawa with soft, picturesque images. This allowed Japanese people to see Okinawa as a 'healing island' while the people in Okinawa are yet to be given time to heal their wounded souls.
In terms of image construction, Mongol 800, a popular music band with Okinawan origins deserves our special attention. Mongol 800 has already established not only as a group of artists that shows a strong sense of attachment to their native islands but also as one of the most original voices of their generation. Their album "Message" can be viewed of as a deviation from the stereotypical path of producing marketable images.12)
First, the title itself shows that they have taken upon themselves a mission of raising their voice on behalf of Okinawan people, like a bush warbler flying from valley to valley, without keeping their honest feelings down. Next, starting from the jacket picture, allthe inside pages of the album are furnished with black and white photos easily equated with an honest depiction of Okinawa. Finally, the lyrics contain words and expressions ensuring the realities of Okinawa by keeping its past and the landscape alive. A part of the 'message' reads as follows:
"All countries, please, stop your superficial relationships
Don't forget the Rykyuan heart which hates weapons and loves nature" (translation mine)
"Please, guys, don't sing fuckin' government song. ... .How many boys be killed by fuckin' wars.
Every fuckin' stupid, stop it, stop that now." (original lyric)
"Let's root out the flowers coming out from contradictions" (translation mine) "Why do people kill each other on the same earth?
Throwing away life for the sake of country
Don't follow such norms, instead believe in yourself' (translation mine)
Through their songs, they have shown that they cannot be indifferent to the problems of their native place, to the sufferings of its people and to the inequalities existing between the islands and the mainland Japan and to similar injusticesinthe world. Rather than the music itself, this message and the way it is expressed seem to have a great appeal to the young generation of Japan. In this regard, their lyrics in English are of particular interest. The song writer doesn't hesitate to violate all conventional and simple grammar rules as far as they can put things across so as to fit the rhythm. "I'm speakallmy mind"; "I want to swimming, fishing and eating BBQ"; "please, goes to be true to yourself'; "My good friends, be ambitions"; 'This starswillshining stillinthe twilight of our life". The negligence for the rules, ifthey are intentionally twisted, can be taken as a case of registering the resistance with the classic 'the-medium-is-the-message' force.
6. Conclusion
Our analysis of the selected literary and art works shows that Okinawans, in general, have a strong sense of identity that stems not only from their ethno-cultural and geographical origins but also from their historical and political experience of being excluded and discriminated incessantly over a long period. I have delineated three parametric characteristics of Okinawan identity in terms of which cultural expressions are produced,
Chandralal : 'The Crying Wind' and Hovering Butterflies
namely, the discrimination and exclusion on the part of the mainland Japan, the memories of the war and the interaction with the U.S. administration, in particular, the military forces. I have also tried to identify the structural characteristics of Okinawan identity with the determinate properties of socio-historical and political forces of modern Okinawa.
The experiences of the war and colonial past have provided Okinawan people with ample opportunity tothinkover the importance of protecting life. These thoughts, further nourished by the teachings of the weaponless society that existed before the colonial period as presented by the phraseNuchido takara, "Life itself is a treasure", have developed into a powerful anti-war, peace movement in Okinawa, though not in a coherent way. Some recent developments show that there are perceived differences, conflicts and confrontations about the appropriate ways to reflect on the past war, to maintain the sense of identity and to achieve peace and prosperity. While there are many people who believe that those who directly experienced the war have been constantly impeded by the bitter war memories and deprived of the opportunity to live meaningfully, free of mental trauma, no active plan has evolved from these discussions for an effective system to pass on the war experiences to the succeeding generations. Even the issue of the military bases remains pregnant with conflicting views. Being a society highly dependent onmilitary bases, some people prefer to retain them, at least partially, while others demand the complete removal of them. Against this backdrop, the identity of Okinawa can be seen to be split and rocked by outside forces offering much allure in financial, political or aesthetic terms.
Okinawa is a land manipulated by national projects, inescapably being subject to image buildings by outsiders and group volition of insiders. Post-colonialism reached Okinawa before the U.S. colonial rule began and the post-war era still continues to prevail. Okinawan identity has been produced and is being reproduced by historical memories, forces of colonial modernity and imaginary visions of Others as well as of Selves. The ideas about the appropriate ways to maintain the 'Otherness' of Okinawan culture should emerge from the cultural and intellectual landscape of Okinawa itself rather than themes rolling down from the mainland or from any other outer circle. However, for such a debate to thrive, I believe, Okinawa should be more exposed to outer views and outsiders' perspectives.
Notes
This paper is a modified version of a paper titled "Post-colonialism and Identity of Asia - A Case Study of Okinawa" presented for the Asian Culture Symposium 'Asia in a Globalization Era: Its Modernity and Way of Life' hosted by the May 18 Memorial Culture Center, Gwangju, KoreainFebruary, 2005. I am grateful to the May 18 Memorial Culture Center for sponsoring the trip and to Thuy Tran for valuable comments.
1 However, after the war, the issue of languageinOkinawa took a different dimension. The American military government tried to make English the official language of Okinawa and encouraged the local community to use local dialects in schools. This time, the Okinawan
civil government, rejecting both English and local dialects, accepted Japanese as the standard language of Okinawa and as the medium of instruction in schools. To Okinawan people, Japanese in prewar times was an enforced language but in postwar times a chosen language. Here is an important lesson for a student of language, culture, or identity for that matter: language shift, in this case fromRyukyudialects to the standard Japanese, occurs not only at gun point, but also voluntarily.
2 The play was staged in Osaka and Okinawa to commemorate the century anniversary of the wretched Incident ofJinruikanin 2003 and 2004 respectively.
3 Okinawan newspapers recently reported that an English translation of a notebook belonging to a sub-lieutenant of the Japanese Imperial Navy and discovered recently from the
u.s.
National Archives revealed that he had killed an Okinawan civilian called Oda san, suspecting the victim as a spy. (Okinawa Times, December 28,2005)4 Wander, Vol 36
5 See the epilogue ofFuon, The crying Wind.
6 Okamoto, Keitoku 1996 7 Translation by Steve Rabson
8 Though we maintain that the narrator and the author are logically distinct in fictional first-person narrations, we naturally tend to form our views of the author by applying the inferences about the narrator drawn on the basis of the text. However, following Bortolussi and Dixon (2003), I use the term "implied author" to distinguish the hypothetical person constructed through textual inferences from the real author.
9 See Okinawa Times (January 1, 2006), for a summarized report of the survey conducted in November 2005 by Lim John Chuan-tiong.
10 Okinawa Times (January 4, 2005)
11 A detailed analysis of the project is offered in Oda 2004.
12 It may be objected that the whole attempt is a marketing gimmick. Considering the fact that the group gained high popularity among the younger generation, without much brighter or experimental musical talents, one can argue that they produced and used Okinawan images in a marketable way to be consumed by a larger audience.
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沖縄 大学 人文学部紀要 第7号 2006
