Voyage to the Unknown

Have you ever had the experience of not knowing where in the world you were?

A few times when traveling we have found ourselves in a place we never knew existed. That happened today. I had never heard or read anything about the Amami Islands. Just north of Okinawa. the Amamis have a unique culture, a blend of Japanese, Chinese and Ryukyu elements.

The crystalline sand on its broad subtropical beaches are clean, sparkling and inviting. The water here is perfectly transparent, and the wide beaches and coral reefs stretch to the horizon. You can wade out a quarter of a mile and water as clear as that in your sink rises only to your knees. No wonder its sky-blue waters here draw SCUBA divers and from all over the world.

While Japanese is spoken here in public places and in formal settings, at home people speak the native dialect of the Ryukyu language. I had come across the term “Ryukyu” before in connection with the Battled of Okinawa in World War II. Until the fifteenth century, there was a Ryukyu Kingdom made up of these islands. A powerful Shogun from Kagoshima taxed these islands, but continued to allow self-government. Later Japan completely subjugated this kingdom and added these islands to its most southerly prefecture.

The kimono was invented here, and we visited Oshima Tsumugimura, a small craft factory that makes the most beautiful kimonos (and the most expensive) in the world using ancient methods and materials. The bark of a local tree is used, as a skein of silk is dyed 85 times before it attains the lovely black color characteristic of the finest kimonos.

The local museum features the work of native son, artist Isson Tanaka, a renowned Japanese painter with strong ties to the island. I, who am allergic to souvenirs because of my minimalist packing, bought a sheaf of writing paper with Tanaka’s India ink drawing of beach grasses.

Other products from the Amami Islands include sugar cane, fish and rice. The Amami Islands are among Asia’s foremost suppliers of bluefin tuna.

Quite a few Japanese come here for vacation. The pace of life is slow, and the culture here has changed little over the years. As we boarded our ship, we diverted just to talk with some junior high school students who had come out to greet our ship. In slow and simple speech, I gave a few of them a chance to practice their English.

I spoke very slowly. “Hello. My name is Charles. What is your name?”

Her eyes lit up as she said slowly, “My name is Yuko. I am in junior high school, year three,” she said, holding up three fingers.”

To know that I had understood what they were saying encouraged them and gave them even more confidence to talk with us in the strange Western language they begin studying in the third grade.

As we left the port at supper time, a hundred students gathered on the pier for the waving ceremony. Plaintive Japanese music poured from loudspeakers, and a woman’s voice rose above it, “Please have a safe and pleasant voyage, and as you leave our island remember the happy smiles and the kindness of our people. We do hope you will return to our island again. Until then we will hold you in our hearts.”

I stifled a tear and waved back.Читать далее