Okinawa Junior Study Tour – children of Okinawan immigrants learn about Okinawa

Okinawa Junior Study Tour - children of Okinawan immigrants learn about Okinawa

Students participate in the Okinawa Junior Study Tour at the prefectural government office on August 3.


August 4, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo

At the prefectural government office on August 3, a welcome ceremony was held for the participants of the Okinawa Junior Study Tour, in which a group of children of Okinawan who emigrated overseas learned about the history and culture of Okinawa.
Twenty-three participants from 16 Okinawa Kenjinkai (associations of people from Okinawa) in ten different countries visited Okinawa on August 2. They are scheduled to mix with high school and junior high school students from the prefecture and to deepen exchange over a period of seven days.

In the ceremony, Vice Governor Yoshiyuki Uehara praised the participants, saying, “I would like all of you to be proud of your forebears who left Okinawa to go to countries all over the world, doing well to establish themselves wherever they went.”

Sixteen-year-old Carolina Miyagi, a fourth-generation Okinawan-Brazilian, spoke on behalf of the group, saying, “We would like to acquire new treasures from Okinawa and to pass them on to the young generation of Uchinanchu all over the world, helping to promote the heritage of Okinawa.”

Third-year student 17-year-old Kouhei Iriyonekura of Urasoe High School, who represented the participants from within the prefecture, said, “I hope to become an internationally-minded person, who loves our local culture.”

The Okinawa Junior Study Tour is a project held in conjunction with the 5th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival scheduled to be held in October.
The participants learn about the history, culture and natural environment of Okinawa, taking a course in Eisa and visiting Shuri Castle and the Okinawa Prefectural Peace Memorial Museum.

(English Translation by T&CT, Mark Ealey）

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