People / group

Ryukyuans

Also known as Ryukyuan people, Okinawans

The Ryukyuans are the Indigenous people of the Ryukyu Islands between Kyushu and Taiwan, today mostly part of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. They formed the Ryukyu Kingdom, which traded widely with China, Japan and South-East Asia, and they speak Ryukyuan languages related to Japanese. Japan annexed their islands in 1879.

Ryukyuans — Image: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Ryukyu Domain United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands

See also

Cite this entry

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ryukyuans. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ryukyuans
MLA: “Ryukyuans.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ryukyuans. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Ryukyuans.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ryukyuans.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ryukyuans’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ryukyuans (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻