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→1912 to 1945
===1912 to 1945===
===1912 to 1945===
The population of Okinawa rose from 500,000 in the late 1900s to nearly 600,000 on the eve of the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.<ref name=popchart>Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Archives.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/32012928536/sizes/k/]</ref>
The population of Okinawa rose from 500,000 in the late 1900s to nearly 600,000 on the eve of the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.<ref name=popchart>Gallery labels, Okinawa Prefectural Archives.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/32012928536/sizes/k/]</ref>
====Battle of Okinawa====
====Battle of Okinawa====
[[File:Okinawa-battlemap.jpg|right|thumb|380px|Map of the Battle of Okinawa at Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu]]
The Imperial Japanese military established a headquarters beneath Shuri castle, and fortified much of Okinawa Island into a major base of military strength, leading it to become an important target for Allied forces to address as they pressed their way towards Japan proper in the final stages of World War II. Much of Naha was destroyed in a major bombing raid on 10 October 1944, typically known simply as the "10-10 Bombing Raid." Allied forces first made landfall on Okinawa on 1 April 1945, declaring on that same day, in what has come to be known as the Nimitz Proclamation, the end of “All Executive Powers of the Japanese Empire” in Okinawa.<ref name=mabuni>Gallery labels, Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum, Itoman, Okinawa.</ref> The ensuing Battle of Okinawa would last several months, with fighting continuing until late June 1945.
The Imperial Japanese military established a headquarters beneath Shuri castle, and fortified much of Okinawa Island into a major base of military strength, leading it to become an important target for Allied forces to address as they pressed their way towards Japan proper in the final stages of World War II. Much of Naha was destroyed in a major bombing raid on 10 October 1944, typically known simply as the "10-10 Bombing Raid." Allied forces first made landfall on Okinawa on 1 April 1945, declaring on that same day, in what has come to be known as the Nimitz Proclamation, the end of “All Executive Powers of the Japanese Empire” in Okinawa.<ref name=mabuni>Gallery labels, Okinawa Peace Memorial Museum, Itoman, Okinawa.</ref> The ensuing Battle of Okinawa would last several months, with fighting continuing until late June 1945.