Studies On Ryukyu's Folk Culture

As an island country in the Southeastern Pacific Sea in history, the Kingdom of Ryukyus (nowaday' s Okinawa, Japan) was one of the vassal countries of China for about 500 years during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At the Fifth Year of Hung-wu of Ming Dynasty (1372), the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty sent missioners to conduct Coronation Ceremony. Since then, the Coronation Ceremony and tributary trade was initiated and the Kingdom of Ryukyus started the periods of civilization. The development of folk customs in Ryukyu, as far as material and spiritual customs are concerned, were manifested the evolved route of from rough to gentility as well as from simple to complicated. In addition, it was embraced of the impact of foreign customs. Various aspects of the folk customs in Ryukyu, such as diet, dress, architecture, fasti festivals, wedding and funeral and folk beliefs, etc., are all shared great similarity of the folk customs in China, especially the ones in Fujian. Granted to the abundant official communications between China and Ryukyu, the nongovernmental communications was also active and which helped the folk customs in Fujian turned high-profile influence varied multiple ways on the forming and developing of the folk customs in Ryukyu.