August 1, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
Shinugu, which is designated as a significant intangible folk cultural asset of Japan, was carried out in Ada, Kunigami Village on July 31.
Including rituals such as yamanubui, in which men crowned with grassy headwear and covered with leaves go into the jungle to undergo a purification ceremony, and ushindeku, in which only women do the dancing, the participants prayed for a good crop and perfect health in their region. The...
July 28, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
Third-year student 14 year-old Daigo Tamaki of Yabu Junior High School in Nago City was victorious at the 11th Asian Karate-do Championship held in Beijing, China from July 19.
The first person from Okinawa to compete in the Cadet category (14‐15 years of...
July 25, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
The Marine Genomics Unit of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST, Onna Village) succeeded for the first time in deciphering the genome of Acropora digitifera, a coral that inhabits the seas around Okinawa Prefecture.
On July 24, the Unit published...
July 26, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
Okinawa Shogaku High School (Naha City) second year student Hitomi Uezu (17 years-old) has won the top prize in an art contest in Florida.
When in Florida as an exchange student at Jensen Beach High School on a scholarship program supported by the Okinawa Prefectural...
July 20, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
Nago City resident Toshiko Miyagi recently confirmed that the endangered species Kashinokiran or Gastrochilus japonicus, which is on the vulnerable (VU) category II Red List of the Ministry of the Environment and the Okinawa Prefectural Government,...
July 15, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
The harvest festival was held in the Ohama district, Ishigaki City, on July 9 and 10, offering prayers for a bountiful harvest both this year and next summer. Starting at Ohama, the Yaeyama regions have entered the harvest festival season. A diverse range of festivals...
July 7, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
Bogey, a “canine police officer” well known to the residents of Urasoe City died of old age on July 5. In his role as a police public-relations dog he was a symbol of traffic safety activities through the years. Originally a stray dog, this canine hero was promoted...
July 6, 2011, Ryukyu Shimpo
Two Okinawa woodpecker chicks safely left their nest in an itaji tree (biological name: Castanopsis sieboldii) blown over by the strong winds of Typhoons No.2 and No.5 in Nishime-dake, Kunigami Village.
This situation was confirmed by 48 year-old Yutaka Toguchi,...
June 3, 2011 Ryukyu Shimpo
On June 2, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Japan announced that it has discovered a new species of numa-ebi, or Atyidae shrimp, during field research carried at Kumejima Island in February. The numa-ebi species normally inhabits the freshwater of lakes...
May 22, 2011 photo by Hiroaki Yamashiro, photographer of Ryukyu Shimpo
The Noguchigera or Okinawa woodpecker, designated as a special national treasure and found in the forests of the Yambaru in the northern part of Okinawa, has entered the fledging brood season.
Around midday on May...
May 27, 2011 by Ryota Shimabukuro of Ryukyu Shimpo
Pula-kun, a character representing tempura (seafood and vegetables dipped in batter and deep-fried), a specialty dish in the Ginten Street Shopping Mall in Okinawa City, has been gaining popularity.
On Twitter, more than 1300 people now...
