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The island covers a land area of 748 sq miles, and average population density on the island is 2,630 people per square mile.<ref>[[Richard Pearson]], ''Ancient Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2013), 8.</ref> For comparison, the island of O'ahu (home to Honolulu) has a population density around 1500 people per square mile, and a land area of 604 sq miles.<ref>''Hawaii'', Lonely Planet (2009), 52, 99.</ref>

The island covers a land area of 748 sq miles, and average population density on the island is 2,630 people per square mile.<ref>[[Richard Pearson]], ''Ancient Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2013), 8.</ref> For comparison, the island of O'ahu (home to Honolulu) has a population density around 1500 people per square mile, and a land area of 604 sq miles.<ref>''Hawaii'', Lonely Planet (2009), 52, 99.</ref>

The name "Okinawa" is said to appear for the first time in the historical record in an account of the [[753]] journey of the Chinese monk [[Ganjin]], who became castaway or shipwrecked on ''Akonahajima'' (阿児奈波), or ''Akonaha'' Island, on his way from China to [[Satsuma province]] (on Kyushu).<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/okinawa-dic/prentry-40063.html Akonahajima]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'', Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 51.; Though this may seem a totally unrelated term, phonetically, there is an obvious connection, however tenuous. The ''A'' is like ''O'', ''kona'' is quite similar to ''kina'', and ''ha'' could alternately be pronounced ''wa''.</ref> The term Okinawa itself, however, with the characters 「沖縄」, is said to have been coined by [[Arai Hakuseki]], in his [[1719]] book about Okinawa, ''[[Nantoshi|Nantôshi]]''. ''Uruma'', another term often used to refer to the islands, is said to have first appeared in ''Senzai wakashû'', a poetry collection by [[Fujiwara no Kinto|Fujiwara no Kintô]] ([[966]]-[[1041]]).

The name "Okinawa" is said to appear for the first time in the historical record in an account of the [[753]] journey of the Chinese monk [[Ganjin]], who became castaway or shipwrecked on ''Akonahajima'' (阿児奈波), or ''Akonaha'' Island, on his way from China to [[Satsuma province]] (on Kyushu).<ref>"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/okinawa-dic/prentry-40063.html Akonahajima]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'', Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.; Yokoyama Manabu 横山学, ''Ryûkyû koku shisetsu torai no kenkyû'' 琉球国使節渡来の研究, Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan (1987), 51.; Though this may seem a totally unrelated term, phonetically, there is an obvious connection, however tenuous. The ''A'' is like ''O'', ''kona'' is quite similar to ''kina'', and ''ha'' could alternately be pronounced ''wa''.</ref> The term Okinawa itself, however, appears in the ''[[Tale of the Heike]]'', and with the characters 「沖縄」appears at least as early as certain 17th century [[Shimazu clan|Shimazu family]] documents. ''Uruma'', another term often used to refer to the islands, is said to have first appeared in ''Senzai wakashû'', a poetry collection by [[Fujiwara no Kinto|Fujiwara no Kintô]] ([[966]]-[[1041]]).

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