Uruma


Uruma is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Uruma was established on April 1, 2005, when the cities of Gushikawa and Ishikawa were merged with the towns of Katsuren and Yonashiro. As of 1 October 2020, the city has an estimated population of 125,303 and a population density of 1,500 people per km2. The total area is 86.00 km2. The city covers part of the east coast of the south of Okinawa Island, the Katsuren Peninsula, and the eight Yokatsu Islands. The Yokatsu Islands include numerous sites important to the Ryukyuan religion, and the city as a whole has numerous historical sites, including: Katsuren Castle, Agena Castle, and Iha Castle and the Iha Shell Mound. It is home to the largest venue for Okinawan bullfighting. The Mid-Sea Road, which crosses the ocean and connects the Yokatsu Islands to the main island of Okinawa, is now a symbol of Uruma.
Uruma is noted for its role in hosting large-scale refugee camps and the initial organization of local government of Okinawa immediately after the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. As such the city is considered the home of the starting point of the restoration of civil life in Okinawa immediately after the end of World War II. United States maintains four military bases in Uruma, some of which span other municipalities in Okinawa: Kadena Ammunition Storage Area, Camp McTureous, Camp Courtney, and White Beach Naval Facility. The bases cover 12.97% of the total area of the city. Two controversies have surrounded American military bases in Uruma: the 1959 Okinawa F-100 crash which killed and injured numerous students and residents, and the transport of Agent Orange via the White Beach Naval Facility for testing in Okinawa in the early 1960s as part of the classified Project AGILE.

Etymology

In the Japanese language the name of the city is written using the hiragana syllabary instead of kanji characters because, according to the city, it looks endearing and soft. The name of the city of Uruma comes from a poetic name for Okinawa Island. A folk etymology, which was adopted by the city itself, segments uruma into uru and *ma. Another theory relates it to urumaa, meaning cricket in Okinawan.
The Okinawan origin of the word, however, has long been questioned. In fact, it was in mainland Japan that the word was first attested and eventually came to refer to Okinawa. The first known reference to uruma is a waka poem by Fujiwara no Kintō in the early 11th century. He compared a woman's coldheartedness to the incomprehensible speech of drifters from Ureung Island of Goryeo Kingdom, which Kintō called Silla, a practice rather common in Heian-period Japan. However, the association with Ulleung Island was soon forgotten because the reference to Silla was dropped when his poem was recorded in the Senzai Wakashū. Thereafter waka poets only thought uruma as an island somewhere outside Japan with an unintelligible language. At the same time, it evoked a sense of familiarity because the phrase uruma no ichi was poetically associated with Mino Province. From the viewpoint of mainland Japanese poets, Okinawa might have been an ideal referent of uruma because, despite the exotic name of Ryūkyū, the first reference to Okinawan-composed waka poems was as early as 1496. The first known identification of uruma as Okinawa Island can be found in the Moshiogusa, but the association remained weak for some time. For example, Hokkaido, in addition to Okinawa, was referred to as uruma in the Shōzaishū. The mainland Japanese poetic practice was adopted by Okinawan waka poets in the late 17th century. The Omoidegusa, a purely Japanese poetic diary by Shikina Seimei, is known for its extensive use of the word uruma.

History

Early history

In the Sanzan Period, or Three Kingdom period, numerous gusuku, or castles were built across Okinawa Island. The area of present-day Uruma fell under the control of the Chūzan Kingdom, which covered the central area of Okinawa Island and its nearby islands. The Katsuren area of Uruma became notably prosperous in the mid-15th century. Katsuren Castle, and a surrounding jōkamachi castle town, were constructed in this period.
Under the Ryukyu Kingdom six magiri, a type of regional administrative district in pre-modern Okinawa, covered areas of present-day Uruma: 'Nzatō Magiri, Gushichaa Magiri, Kachin magiri, and Yunagushiku Magiri. Nakagushiku Magiri included Tsuken Island.
The Ryūkyū Kingdom ended in 1872 with the establishment of the Ryūkyū Domain, which was soon abolished with the establishment of Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. The existing system of magiri in Uruma continued with the establishment of Okinawa Prefecture. The magiri were abolished in 1907 under Imperial Edict 46, and the central government extended the establishment of cities, towns, and village organization to Okinawa Prefecture. In 1908 the area of present-day Uruma was reorganized as the five villages of Misato, Gushikawa, Katsuren, and Yonashiro.
In the pre-war period Uruma had the most productive sugarcane industry in Okinawa Prefecture due to sources of irrigation and fertile soil.
The areas of present-day Uruma were affected in World War II during the initial part of the Battle of Okinawa. L-Day, the initial land invasion of Okinawa Island, occurred on April 1, 1945. American forces swept across the island quickly, and by April 5 had secured the entirety of the Katsuren Peninsula. A smaller invasion force captured Tsuken Island on the same day, and encountered stiff resistance from the Japanese military. Tsuken Island was completely devastated by fire in the battle. After the capture of Tsuken, American forces reached Ikei Island on April 9, thus securing all the Yokatsu Islands. The area that became Ishikawa was a major refugee camp set up by the American military near the end of the battle.

Post-war period

The Okinawa Advisory Council, the predecessor to the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands was established in Ishikawa, and temporarily became the political, educational, and cultural center of Okinawa. In 1946 the Advisory Council was moved to the village of Sashiki, now a district of Nanjō, refugees began a large-scale movement to return to their homes, and the population of Ishikawa decreased rapidly. In the aftermath of World War II the Ishikawa area of Uruma was used as a large-scale refugee camp. The camp was built and operated by the U.S. occupation forces, and is considered the starting point of the reconstruction and recovery of Okinawa after the war.
The 1959 Okinawa F-100 crash occurred on June 30, 1959. In the crash, a United States Air Force North American F-100 Super Sabre on a flight from nearby Kadena Air Base suffered an engine fire and crashed into Miyamori Elementary School and surrounding houses. Eleven students and six other people in the neighborhood were killed, and 210 were injured, including 156 students at the school. The F-100 crash contributed to ill will among the Okinawan population towards the U.S. occupation authorities, and strengthened calls for the island to be returned to the control of the Japanese government.
The city of Uruma was formed on April 1, 2005 from the merger of the cities of Gushikawa and Ishikawa, and the towns of Katsuren and Yonashiro, both from Nakagami District.

Economy

Uruma, despite its low amount of arable land, is noted for several agricultural products. The city, like most areas of Okinawa, produces sugarcane. Cut flowers, notably chrysanthemums, are a relatively new agricultural product. Land improvement has made small-scale rice production possible. Pigs have been raised in Uruma since the end of World War II.
Uruma produces also several specialty agricultural products. The city is noted for the production of mozuku seaweed. Tsuken Island produces a specialty variety of carrots, which are known in Japan as the "Tsuken Ninjin". "Nuchi-masu", or the "salt of life", is produced from the mineral-rich seawater of Uruma. Yamashiro-cha is a locally produced tea grown in the Yamashiro area of the city.

Geography

Uruma is located near the center of Okinawa Island, facing east. The city occupies the southern rim of Kin Bay as well as the north of Nakagusuku Bay. The highest point in the city is Mount Ishikawa at.

Rivers

The longest river in the city is the Tengan River, which runs for from Mount Yomitan to Kin Bay in the Akano district of the city.

Administrative divisions

The city includes sixty-two wards, repartited in the four former municipalities.

Gushikawa ()

  • Agena
  • Akamichi
  • Akano
  • Enobi
  • Esu
  • Gushikawa
  • Iribaru
  • Kanekadan
  • Kawasaki
  • Kawata
  • Kinaka
  • Konbu
  • Kyan
  • Maehara
  • Midorimachi
  • Miyazato
  • Nakamine
  • Ōta
  • Shioya
  • Suzaki
  • Taba
  • Tairagawa
  • Takaesu
  • Tengan
  • Toyohara
  • Uezu
  • Uken

    Ishikawa ()

  • Agariyama
  • Agariyamamotomachi
  • Akasaki
  • Akebono
  • Higashionna
  • Higashionnazaki
  • Iha
  • Ishikawa
  • Ishizaki
  • Kadekaru
  • Shirahama
  • Sonan
  • Yamashiro

    Katsuren ()

  • Haebaru
  • Hama
  • Hen'na
  • Heshikiya
  • Higa
  • Uchima
  • Tsuken

    Yonashiro ()

  • Aseri
  • Chūō
  • Henza
  • Hiramiya
  • Ikei
  • Ikemi
  • Miyagi
  • Nishihara
  • Nohen
  • Okuhira
  • Teruma
  • Tōbaru
  • Uehara
  • Yakena
  • Yonashiro

    Neighboring municipalities

  • Kunigami District
  • *Kin
  • *Onna
  • Okinawa

    Land areas

The city consists of three geographic areas: a land area on Okinawa Island proper, the Katsuren Peninsula, and the eight Yokatsu Islands. The majority of the city of Uruma sits on a dissected plateau, and has numerous hills and indentations. The islands of the city are flat and low-lying and are primarily composed of Ryukyuan limestone.