The Minatogawa people are considered to have lived in Okinawa 22,000 years ago. Regarding the origin of the Minatogawa people, there are various theories which some says that China is their origin while others say that Indonesia or Australia can be speculated, too. Their life was thought to live while hunting, gathering and fishing, but after the Shell Mound period, farming was their lifestyle. As it can be seen from historical sites that the population rapidly increased between the 12th and 15th centuries.
When entering the Gusuku period, the conflict began among regional chiefs. And eventually, Hokuzan, Chuzan, and Nanzan were formed. The three regions traded with the Ming dynasty and adopt the rich culture from Europe. In 1429, Sho Hashi unified the three regions and established the Kingdom of Ryukyus.
The Kingdom of Ryukyus positively traded with China, Japan, Philippines and Thailand in Southeast Asia among neighboring countries. Every time the king of Ryukyus chages, the culuture of Ryukyus was refined In order to entertain the delegates from China.
However, the Kingdom of Ryukyus was placed under the control of Satsuma by the invasion of them in 1606. To comply with the political system of Japan, Ryukyu had to stop trading with China. Then the Kingdom of Ryukyu was abolished.
After Okinawa Prefecture was established in 1879, Japanese government appointed Naoyoshi Nabeshima to the first governor. Okinawa rapidly took the path for modernization during that period, but the World War II began, and the Battle of Okinawa was the only ground battle of the World War II.
After the World War II ended in 1945, Okinawa was governed by the United States, and it lasted until May15,1972, when Okinawa reverted to Japan. Because of that, Okinawa has gone through a different culture from that of the Mailand Japan.
After the reversion of Okinawa to Japan in 1972,Okinawa started a drastic Change.
the Gusuku sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyus were registered as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is loved by not only domestic travelers but also international travelers.
Since then, the biggest international events such as the G8 Summit(Kyushu-Okinawa Summit) were held in 2000.