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January 20,2025

Ryukyu Shimpo – Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news

At Okinawa zoo, white lions Seramu and Rhythm take their love story to the next level

November 18, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

White lions Seramu (4-year-old male) and Rhythm (3-year-old female) are spending more time together with the goal of breeding at the Okinawa Zoo & Museum (Okinawa Kodomo no Kuni) in Okinawa City. Visitors can watch the couple hang out...

What is the sanlele? FM Yomitan radio share its origins and allure

September 2, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

August 30 was Sanlele Day in Okinawa. FM Yomitan, Yomitan Village’s community FM radio station (President Tomoharu Nakasone), broadcasted a special program titled Sanlele Radio Festival. Sanlele (a blend of sanshin and ukulele) is a musical instrument...

Tarama traditional ceremony “Upuri” for sinking insect pests into the sea in prayer for a bountiful harves

April 24, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

By Megumi Kiyomura

On March 29, which is “Hinoene” in February of the lunar calendar, the traditional ceremony “Upuri” was held on the shore in Tarama Village. The “nissaigassa” in charge of ritual ceremonies and local “aza”...

Baby dolphin born by artificial insemination! “Relieved the baby was born safely”

April 22, 2021       Ryukyu Shimpo

On April 21, a bottlenose dolphin was born at Motobu Genki Village in Hamamoto, Motobu. It has been 2 years since a baby dolphin was born there. The birth was the result of artificial insemination. The father is a dolphin named Luster at...

Photo Feature: Traditional Events in Okinawa “We’ll Go All Out when Things are Under Control” Okinawan Passion Undiminished

September 22, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo

In a normal year, summer and fall are busy with traditional events held in each part of Okinawa. These include Honensai, harvest festivals to give thanks for that year’s harvest and pray for a bumper crop the next year; Usudeku, a dance to pray for peace and...

Tourists to be asked to pay 300 yen entrance fee to Taketomi Island to be used for environmental preservation

September 7, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

(Taketomi Island, Taketomi) September 1 marked the start of a new system in which tourists visiting Taketomi Island of Taketomi Town are asked to voluntarily pay 300 yen as an island entrance fee, and tourists on their way to Taketomi Island could be seen purchasing...

Shinugu: Ada’s ancient Okinawan harvest ritual

August 7, 2019 Ryukyu Shimpo

Shinugu is the traditional Okinawan harvest ritual, but the shinugu ritual of Ada, Kunigami-son, is designated an “Important Intangible Cultural Property” by the Japanese government. On Aug 6, several of Ada’s local men played the part of the “harvest gods”...

“Bases should be reduced,” says Rear Admiral Minoru Ota’s great-grandson participating in memorial service with his grandmother

June 17, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo
By Hideki Matsudo

June 13 marked 72 years since Rear Admiral Minoru Ota, the final commander of the Japanese naval forces defending Okinawa, committed suicide in the underground headquarters. His great-grandson Dougul Sutherland, 23, of Australian nationality,...

Tarama Island hosts Stuupunaka festival and prays for good harvest

May 6, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

Tarama Island’s traditional event “Stuupunaka festival” was held on May 5 and 6, with locals gathering to give thanks for the year of good harvest and pray for community prosperity.

The dawn prayer began from the night of May 5, when elders sang...

The Year of the Rooster 2017: Okinawan native chicken “chan” wishes happy New Year in a beautiful voice

January 1, 2017 Ryukyu Shimpo

2017 is the year of the Rooster. Sixty-four-year-old Rinkichi Teruya, who lives at Mizugama, Kadena, raises chan chickens, which are native to Okinawa. The chickens were showing off their beautiful high voices and their typical three-syllable sound at his house.

Chans...