Okinawa (Ryukyu)

An independent kingdom that was annexed twice, and still carries most of the cost of an alliance it did not choose. The Ryukyu islands were unified under the Sho dynasty at Shuri in 1429, and the kingdom made itself rich as a trading intermediary, paying tribute to Ming China while sending ships to Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia - a small state prospering by being useful to larger ones. Satsuma invaded in 1609 and made it a vassal, but allowed the Chinese tribute relationship to continue because the trade was profitable, so Ryukyu spent two and a half centuries formally subordinate to two empires at once. Japan abolished the kingdom outright in 1879, exiled the last king to Tokyo, and suppressed the Ryukyuan languages in schools. The battle of Okinawa in 1945 was the only ground fighting on Japanese home soil and killed perhaps a quarter of the civilian population, many in mass suicides encouraged by Japanese troops. The United States then administered the islands separately until 1972, expropriating land for bases. Okinawa is under one per cent of Japan's territory and hosts around seventy per cent of the American military presence, which is the central issue in its politics. Its cuisine, music and religion remain distinct. Life expectancy there was long the highest in the world. Naha is the capital. Shuri castle burned in 1945, was rebuilt, and burned again in 2019. Okinawan karate developed on the islands during the Satsuma period. Awamori, distilled from Thai rice, is the local spirit.

• Existed: 1429 CE – present
• Type: Entity