, 1880-01-15

/ wa.c islands 'ayrvcro,y a.oono =
|w.u "n-giuD' .' .n o.. ,oJ-pla.e
/ |I...u.. '.. sga ..,.. 81 .n... o. serious
|e.n..uyy,.y ,-.as.u JaHn and t.'m
iw..,r 9oi.u. u'mo w.. lin hin, which
HAS been corrupted by modern uay,-a-
tors into L1o.Cuuo. Lew-CAow, and
| L.,ou Ei,ou, ami hy tlc ggo,rntna,iycs
Into poo-Clo1; bus the more musical
name Of Okinawa WAS given to them by
the inhabitants themselves centuries ago,
and tie meaning Of it is "Jhe cord living
upon the sea-" The entire group con
s.sts of thirty-seven islands, the largest
of which is eighty-fve miles long, by
from three to twenty-three in width and
has a circumference of one hundred and
fourteen ri, or about two hundred and
seventy ght miles.
During the whole of the eighteenth
century the islands of Okinawa would
seem to have remained in a state of per-
feet tranquility. They continued to
pay double tribute to Japan and China,
and having faithfully done so they felt
that they had a right to bring in from
abroad any new ideas that they might
fancy. Hence they imported the paper
mulberry from Japan, and began to
manufacture paper; and from China
they obtained the secret of max
ing India ink, and also as an
article of food when young, and
for the beauty OF its wood, they i'm
ported and cultivated the famous moso
bamboo. They also adopted code of
criminal laws and of laws for reward,
and not only established national
school, but many local schools in the
various districts.
The peculiarities of the inhabitants of
Okinawa may be summoned up as fol
lows: They are noted for their natural
intelligence, though the majority have
few opportunitiesfo racquiring the knowl-
edge contained in books; their language
is closely allied to that of the japanese
their occupations are chiefly agricultural,
the leading productions being rice, wheat,
sugar, millet, sweet potatoes, beans, peas,
radishes, turnips, tobacco, cotton and
grass, to porcelain and lacquered goods;
and such other things as are needed for
a simple rural population; the men are
generally stout, well-fcrmed, and fond Of
wearing beards,-the women are small,
and kept in low social position all
classes are industrious and neat in their
persons and habitations; their style of
dressing is Oriental. and suited to the
climate; their homes are comfortable
and picturesque; the table and house
hold customs are similar to those of the
Japanese; in religion they are generally
Buddhists, although some of their rites
are peculiar to these islands
They know not what it is to have an
army, nor any such offspring of civiliza-
ton as political demagogue; their
policy is to carry on they public affairs
in spirit of courtesy and kindness.
When they have deemed it necessary to
carry guns on their little vessels, they
have borrowed them from Satsuma,
They use the Japanese alphabet, and
write after the manner of their neigh
bors and protectors and in speaking of
their language they claim that six-tenths
of the words are Japanese, three-tenths
a local dialect, and one-tenth Chinese.
When any public business is to be trans
acted, the people are called together in
their several districts, and the men in
authority accomplish the purposes Of the
government by kindly admonitions.--
International Review.