Travis Seifman is probably one of my longest Twitter follows and I’ve learned so much from him about Ryukyu/Okinawa. He has so many amazing Twitter threads that it’s difficult to select one so I chose one of his more recent ones that happens to be linked to his blog post Ryukyu: Empire of the Sea. Speaking of his blog, 上り口説 Nubui Kuduchi, it’s the best English-language resource to learn about Ryukyu/Okinawa on the web.
Here’s an excerpt from the blog post mentioned above:
It’s rare enough to see whole special exhibits dedicated to Ryukyuan history, and as wonderful and special as it would have been to do a Shuri-centered or Okinawa-centered exhibit (both in general, and in the wake of the fire at Shuri gusuku in 2019), it’s really something to see them do a show based on perspectives from outside of Okinawa Island. I have to wonder, when was the last time that any of the most major museums in the greater Tokyo area did a show focusing specifically on these “outer” parts of the Ryukyus? And, not only that, but as I’ve mentioned on this blog before, there a several current trends in Ryukyu Studies for reassessment of the Ryukyu Kingdom as an “empire,” reassessment of just how unified even Okinawa Island really was prior to the 15th or 16th century, and an increased focus on these outer islands and the differing perspective they can offer.
https://chaari.wordpress.com/2021/04/15/ryukyu-empire-of-the-sea/
