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The Yaeyamas are home to numerous sacred sites (known as ''on'' in Yaeyama, and as ''[[utaki]]'' on Okinawa) of the indigenous [[Ryukyuan religion]]. The [[bodhisattva]] [[Miroku]], adapted into local forms, is also widely worshipped in the region and appears in numerous local [[Sakishima seasonal folk festivals|folk festivals]].<ref>Gallery label "Ishigaki-shi Tonoshiro no Miruku-jin" 石垣市登野城のミルク神, Okinawa Prefectural Museum.</ref>

The Yaeyamas are home to numerous sacred sites (known as ''on'' in Yaeyama, and as ''[[utaki]]'' on Okinawa) of the indigenous [[Ryukyuan religion]]. The [[bodhisattva]] [[Miroku]], adapted into local forms, is also widely worshipped in the region and appears in numerous local [[Sakishima seasonal folk festivals|folk festivals]].<ref>Gallery label "Ishigaki-shi Tonoshiro no Miruku-jin" 石垣市登野城のミルク神, Okinawa Prefectural Museum.</ref>

The [[Yaeyama Gongendo|Yaeyama Gongendô]] on Ishigaki Island, built in the 1740s, is considered the only surviving example of traditional Ryukyuan shrine architecture belonging to the complex of indigenous Ryukyuan religions.<ref>Suzuki Kakichi, Miyamoto Chôjirô and Ushikawa Yoshiyuki. "Ryûkyûan Architecture: Its History and Features." in ''Okinawa bijutsu zenshû'' 沖縄美術全集. vol. 5. Okinawa Times, 1989.</ref>

The [[Yaeyama Gongendo|Yaeyama Gongendô]] on Ishigaki Island, built originally in [[1614]] and rebuilt in [[1786]] following the devastating [[Meiwa tsunami]] of [[1771]], is considered the only surviving example of traditional Ryukyuan shrine architecture belonging to the complex of indigenous Ryukyuan religions.<ref>Suzuki Kakichi, Miyamoto Chôjirô and Ushikawa Yoshiyuki. "Ryûkyûan Architecture: Its History and Features." in ''Okinawa bijutsu zenshû'' 沖縄美術全集. vol. 5. Okinawa Times, 1989.</ref> It is considered the first, and now oldest, [[Shinto shrine]] in the Yaeyama Islands; the neighboring [[Zen]] temple [[Torin-ji|Tôrin-ji]], established at the same time, is similarly the oldest [[Buddhist temple]] in the Yaeyamas.<ref>Plaques on-site.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/54262407170/sizes/k/][https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/54262407375/sizes/k/]</ref>

A woven four-and-five-squares motif known as ''[[minsaa]]'' is seen today as particularly emblematic of Miyako and Yaeyama, and is featured not only on the sashes to people's robes (where the pattern originated) but also on everything from storefronts to shopping bags.

A woven four-and-five-squares motif known as ''[[minsaa]]'' is seen today as particularly emblematic of Miyako and Yaeyama, and is featured not only on the sashes to people's robes (where the pattern originated) but also on everything from storefronts to shopping bags.