Nara, Okinawa, Japan

Okinawa is a Blue Zone, where centenarians live productive lives. I look around at the laidback city of Naha and think: a clean LA with better public transport and public toilets. The climate is agreeable, the people are prosperous, health care is free and easily available.

JG and I visited the Okinawa Museum of History. Cultural history described here ranged from ancient tribal civilizations to artifacts of the Ryukyu. The Ryukyu dynasty governed Okinawa from 1429 — 1879. They paid tribute first to the Chinese Emperor, then after 1606 to the Japanese, yet retained their independence. In 1879 tribute was no longer enough and the Japanese conquered the Ryukyu kings. The Ryukyu traded with Chinese, Korean, and Japanese and developed a distinctive culture of music, mythology, and festivals.

We were introduced to some aspects of the culture, like ancient prayers and Ryukyu music.

We saw a stuffed bewhiskered bat, local fauna.

I love this culture’s respect for local bats. One hundred people turned out to watch a rehabilitated bat released into the wild.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/3178/

Best of all, I saw fantastic drawings made by local children.

What beautiful, amazing art! What a respectful commitment to teaching children the value of making art! I felt sad that art time in US schools is an afterthought, if it exists at all.

The animated manga type ads on the buildings annoyed JG. He doesn’t want to be advertised to in public.