This page was created by Hiroko Matsuda.
On Yaeyama, Okinawa, and the Ryukyus
In the late fourteenth century, the Yaeyama region became a tributary region of the Ryukyu Kingdom, yet still maintained political autonomy. After the Ryukyu Kingdom succeeded in suppressing the revolt of Yaeyama rules in 1500, the region fell under the control of the Ryukyu Kingdom (Kishaba [1935] 1975, 2-3). The Kingdom attained control over all the Ryukyu Islands including Amami, Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama Archipelagoes by the late sixteenth century. in 1609, after the Ryukyu Kingdom was invaded by Shimazu Clan, which ruled the south part of Kyushu Island, the Kingdom was highly controlled by the external authority. Although the Kingdom maintained political independence until its formal annexation by Japan in 1879, its internal affairs as well as foreign trade were significantly controlled by Shimazu Clan for over two centuries.
Until malaria was eradicated during the 1960s, Yaeyama islanders' lives were significantly restricted by the risk of contracting that disease. Partly because of the presence of malaria, Yaeyama was likely to be considered a backward and underdeveloped region. In Okinawa: The History of an Island People, George Kerr notes, "by tradition Yaeyama was thought of as a place of harsh exile, where opportunities were too limited to be considered seriously by anyone who wished to improve his economic situation."
