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Yanagi latched onto Okinawan ceramics and [[Ryukyuan textiles|textiles]] in particular, taking this as model examples of his personal aesthetic ideals of beauty. That he lauded these as ''mingei'' ("folk art" or "the people's arts"), however, is ironic, since many of the particular forms he so embraced were in fact traditionally exclusive to the royal family and/or aristocratic class. This association of Okinawan arts with elite, rather than folk, aesthetics can be seen further in his comparison of the skyline and architecture of the royal capital of [[Shuri]], and the main commercial & port town of [[Naha]], to that of [[Heijo-kyo|Heijô-kyô]] ([[Nara]]) in the Tenpyô period ([[729]]-[[765]]), i.e. at its height; in other words, he saw in Okinawa a connection to the ancient, aesthetic greatness of a time when the Japanese Imperial family, and Imperially-commissioned architecture, were at their height. In his eyes, this was a classical greatness that modern Japan had long-since moved past, and lost.<ref>Kikuchi, 143.</ref>

Yanagi latched onto Okinawan ceramics and [[Ryukyuan textiles|textiles]] in particular, taking this as model examples of his personal aesthetic ideals of beauty. That he lauded these as ''mingei'' ("folk art" or "the people's arts"), however, is ironic, since many of the particular forms he so embraced were in fact traditionally exclusive to the royal family and/or aristocratic class. This association of Okinawan arts with elite, rather than folk, aesthetics can be seen further in his comparison of the skyline and architecture of the royal capital of [[Shuri]], and the main commercial & port town of [[Naha]], to that of [[Heijo-kyo|Heijô-kyô]] ([[Nara]]) in the Tenpyô period ([[729]]-[[765]]), i.e. at its height; in other words, he saw in Okinawa a connection to the ancient, aesthetic greatness of a time when the Japanese Imperial family, and Imperially-commissioned architecture, were at their height. In his eyes, this was a classical greatness that modern Japan had long-since moved past, and lost.<ref>Kikuchi, 143.</ref>

Yanagi was a staunch defender of the maintenance of the [[Okinawan language]], and advocate for its continuing to be taught; however, he did so for Orientalist and paternalist reasons, and while calling the language a "dialect" of Japanese. Essentially, he argued that, firstly, regional culture was essential to Japanese culture, and that the destruction of regional cultures was the destruction of Japanese culture. Second, he asserted that Okinawan and [[Tohoku dialects|Tôhoku dialects]] were a crucial resource for understanding the linguistic origins and history of the [[Japanese language]]. Next, he expressed concern that Okinawa was being selected out as different from any other region of Japan, and being treated more harshly; why the emphasis on teaching "correct" or "proper" Japan in Okinawa, when this was not being pushed as strongly or as harshly in other parts of the archipelago? He argued that Okinawan was an important Japanese national language, and that for the spiritual and cultural well-being of the [[Okinawan people]], and for the maintenance of a fuller and richer Japanese culture, education should be conducted bilingually in both languages. He was opposed, however, by various Japanese mainlander officials of the [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawan prefectural]] government, who emphasized practical economic and social concerns, arguing that the Okinawan people needed to learn proper Japanese in order to get jobs, and to avoid discrimination, and that Yanagi was being unrealistic and paternalistic, treating Okinawa like "a house plant or a pet animal," or like "an antiquarian object which can be preserved," when in reality language and culture are constantly changing.<ref>Kikuchi, 150-152.</ref>

Yanagi was a staunch defender of the maintenance of the [[Okinawan language]], and advocate for its continuing to be taught; however, he did so for arguably Orientalist and paternalist reasons. Essentially, he argued that, firstly, regional culture was essential to Japanese culture, and that the destruction of regional cultures was the destruction of Japanese culture. Second, he asserted that Okinawan and [[Tohoku dialects|Tôhoku dialects]] were a crucial resource for understanding the linguistic origins and history of the [[Japanese language]]. Next, he expressed concern that Okinawa was being selected out as different from any other region of Japan, and being treated more harshly; why the emphasis on teaching "correct" or "proper" Japan in Okinawa, when this was not being pushed as strongly or as harshly in other parts of the archipelago? He argued that Okinawan was an important Japanese national language, and that for the spiritual and cultural well-being of the [[Okinawan people]], and for the maintenance of a fuller and richer Japanese culture, education should be conducted bilingually in both languages. He was opposed, however, by various Japanese mainlander officials of the [[Okinawa Prefecture|Okinawan prefectural]] government, who emphasized practical economic and social concerns, arguing that the Okinawan people needed to learn proper Japanese in order to get jobs, and to avoid discrimination, and that Yanagi was being unrealistic and paternalistic, treating Okinawa like "a house plant or a pet animal," or like "an antiquarian object which can be preserved," when in reality language and culture are constantly changing.<ref>Kikuchi, 150-152.</ref>

 

He also strongly opposed assimilation programs in [[Colonial Korea]], for similar reasons, and asserted that the most proper course of action was for development to be pursued beginning from, first, an appreciation of the positive value of Ryûkyû (or Korea).<ref>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), 11.</ref>

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