Folklore and Tradition

Part 1: Ryukyu Mura

So Ryukyu Mura is a historical tourist site with restored houses moved from other parts of the island, characters running around in traditional costumes, people producing local crafts using historic methods, etc. . . . comparable to Williamsburg in the US.  Since Okinawa was, for centuries, its own kingdom, it has a cultural heritage distinct from Japan, a lot of which was on display here.

This little guy is a “kijimuna”—a sprite or an elf who lives in the hollows of banyan trees on Okinawa.  They are very mischievious, love to fish, prefer to eat the left eye of any fish that they catch, and hate octopus.  The top line of his sign reads “Mensore” which is Okinawan (not Japanese) for “Welcome”!

This woman was playing her sanshin and motioned for Logan to come take a picture with her.  She kept repeating “kawaii, kawaii” which means “cute”!

The sanshin is a traditional instrument of the Ryukyu kingdom; the Japanese later adopted and modified it to become their shamisen.  The strings are plucked to produce a distinctive “plink-plink” sound and it usually accompanies a vocal song in a style that we would call “warbling”.  It’s not a style of music that is familiar to Western ears, but it is really very pleasant once you’re accustomed to it!

Logan enjoyed feeding the fish in the koi pond.

And the fish apparently enjoyed being fed!

Logan and Mommy reveal their true, impish, inner selves.

This joker-like character has a role in the eisa dances, but when we saw him at Ryukyu Mura he was just enjoying the afternoon with his sanshin.  As we walked up to look at the house he was sitting in, he stopped playing whatever melody he had been playing and started playing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and later, “Camptown Races” for Logan.  I thought it was pretty cool!

Parting shot . . . (no idea what kind of flowers these are)

Part 2: A Study in Shisas

I’ve mentioned the shisas before—they really are everywhere!  Ryukyu Mura not only had them in all the normal places (rooftops and gates/entranceways) but they also had a pottery factory that makes them.  The shisas are lion-dogs that are supposed to protect the home/business/shrine.  Typically they are displayed in pairs, one with an open mouth to ward off evil spirits, the other with a closed mouth to keep the good spirits in.  They really do come in a lot of varieties and they are an ever-present feature of our daily life, so I thought I’d share!

Small . . . (These guys are on my keychain; all the rest of the shisas below were found at Ryukyu Mura)


Medium . . .

Large . . . 

Long and thin . . .

Short and squat . . .

 Old . . .

New . . .  (check it out—he’s even wearing sunglasses) 

Elegant . . . (For sale at the gift shop, same with the next one)

Whimsical . . .

Fierce . . .


And fun . . .

(They had a place where you could paint your own; we didn’t, although we will when Logan gets old enough to do it.  These ones had been left on the table to dry.)

I missed everybody this weekend, especially with my family getting together to make applesauce, but we also had a lot of fun here.  If I could have been two places at once, I would have.  Hope you enjoyed the pics of our most recent adventure; hope also that I didn’t bore you to death with all those pictures of the shisas—I think it’s interesting!  Logan update coming soon . . .