Category:Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa Prefecture is located in the Ryukyu Islands, stretching across the subtropical seas between Kyūshū and Taiwan. The region is defined by coral coasts, warm climate, and a maritime environment that historically supported trade networks linking Okinawa with East and Southeast Asia. Okinawa was formerly the center of the **Ryukyu Kingdom**, an independent polity with its own language, court culture, and artistic heritage.

The capital, Naha, developed around Shuri Castle, the royal palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Its cultural and political life was shaped by diplomacy, trade, and ceremonial exchange, reflected in architectural forms, performing arts, textiles, and lacquer traditions. Village communities throughout the islands also sustained strong craft practices rooted in shared labor, ancestral customs, and local natural materials.

Culturally, Okinawa is known for crafts that reflect subtropical nature, island trade heritage, and Ryukyuan aesthetics. Textiles, ceramics, lacquerware, woodcraft, and dyes express vivid color, tactile richness, and symbolic motifs tied to everyday life, celebration, and identity.

Signature Crafts of Okinawa Prefecture

• Ryukyu bingata (琉球びんがた) – brightly dyed textiles featuring floral, ocean, and cosmic motifs, traditionally worn in court ceremonies.
• Tsuboya ware (壺屋焼) – Okinawan pottery with bold forms and natural glazes, developed through island kiln traditions.
• Ryukyu lacquerware (琉球漆器) – lacquer with deep red, black, and gold hues, reflecting royal aesthetics and trade influences.
• Bashōfu cloth (芭蕉布) – woven from banana-fiber threads, creating light, breathable textiles suited to island climate.