Okinawan Religion

This comprehensive study goes beyond an investigation of Okinawan religion itself to consider the cultural and social environment in which the religion has flourished. The primary intent of the book, however, is to provide a systematic, descriptive account of the indigenous religion of Okinawa. “Indigenous religion” here means the beliefs, ritual, and structure of the autochthonous system rather than such religions as Buddhism and sectarian Shinto that have developed elsewhere and remain recognizably foreign imports. Foreign systems have nevertheless made their impact on the main traits that appear to be purely local, and the resulting configuration, unique to Okinawa and its neighbor islands, is the subject of this study. A secondary focus, relating to change within a historic context, aims at reconstructing the religious system as it existed in the final quarter of the nineteenth century and using this construct for comparative purposes in describing the contemporary religion.

An introductory chapter on Okinawa and its people outlines background information on habitat, population, racial characteristics, language, and history. The book then explores Okinawan concepts of the supernatural, religious practices, religious organization and specialists, and the religious system at the levels of the state, community, kin group, and household. Sixteen pages of halftone illustrations supplement the text. A glossary of Okinawan words provides a key to the religious concepts and corrects many earlier misapprehensions relating to meaning and pronunciation. Finally, a bibliography lists both Western and Japanese source material.