Changes

===1912 to 1945===

===1912 to 1945===

[[File:Okinawa-battlemap.jpg|right|thumb|380px|Map of the Battle of Okinawa at Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu]]

[[File:Okinawa-battlemap.jpg|right|thumb|380px|Map of the Battle of Okinawa at Punchbowl Cemetery in Honolulu]]

Throughout the prewar period, Japanese government policy attitudes towards Okinawans, arguably not dissimilar to attitudes towards Koreans and Taiwanese, placed them in a paradoxical or in-between position. Assimilation policies transformed them into being little different from other Japanese, and they were expected to fulfill all the obligations to the State of any Japanese subject, but were not extended quite the same rights, freedoms, and protections. At the [[Fifth Domestic Exposition]], held in [[Osaka]] in [[1903]], organizers attempted to put Okinawans on display in a "human zoo"-style exhibit, alongside [[Ainu]] and [[Taiwanese aborigines]], as colonized peoples; the Okinawans vehemently protested, arguing they had assimilated, educated and acculturated, and were no different from Japanese, and so should not be grouped together with these hairy barbarians. The Okinawans were spared from being displayed at that event, in the end, but their treatment as second-class citizens, with less political voice, and fewer rights and protections, but expectations of full obligation to sacrifice themselves for the state, continued in various ways.

Throughout the prewar period, Japanese government policy attitudes towards Okinawans, arguably not dissimilar to attitudes towards Koreans and Taiwanese, placed them in a paradoxical or in-between position. Assimilation policies transformed them into being little different from other Japanese, and they were expected to fulfill all the obligations to the State of any Japanese subject, but were not extended quite the same rights, freedoms, and protections. At the [[Fifth Domestic Exposition]], held in [[Osaka]] in [[1903]], organizers attempted to put Okinawans on display in a "human zoo"-style exhibit, alongside [[Ainu]] and [[Taiwanese aborigines]], as colonized peoples; the Okinawans vehemently protested, arguing they had assimilated, educated and acculturated, and were no different from Japanese, and so should not be grouped together with these hairy barbarians. The Okinawans were spared from being displayed at that event, in the end, but their treatment as second-class citizens, with less political voice, and fewer rights and protections, but expectations of full obligation to sacrifice themselves for the state, continued in various ways.

[[Military conscription]] began in Okinawa in [[1898]], a few decades after it was implemented in mainland Japan; by 1945, Okinawans were trusted enough as Japanese subjects to serve loyally in the military right alongside Japanese soldiers, but Okinawan civilians were still treated quite differently from Japanese by the military. These problems of second-class status manifested perhaps most boldly in the Battle of Okinawa, as Okinawans, taught by Japanese propaganda to fear rape and torture by the Allied forces, fled south along with the Japanese military, expecting that their own country's forces would protect them. Instead, they were pressured to sacrifice themselves for the glory of the Empire, with a great many dying in caves, or throwing themselves off cliffs, rather than being protected by their own government's military. Speaking more broadly, many people today characterize the battle as a "sacrificing" of Okinawa as a whole, to benefit & protect Japan; Okinawa was considered Japanese enough to be subject to assimilation policies, expectations that the Okinawans would behave as loyal Japanese, and so forth, but was not considered integral enough to the Japanese state that it should be protected, defended, as well.

[[Military conscription]] began in Okinawa in [[1898]], a few decades after it was implemented in mainland Japan; by 1945, Okinawans were trusted enough as Japanese subjects to serve loyally in the military right alongside Japanese soldiers, but Okinawan civilians were still treated quite differently from Japanese by the military. These problems of second-class status manifested perhaps most boldly in the Battle of Okinawa, as Okinawans, taught by Japanese propaganda to fear rape and torture by the Allied forces, fled south along with the Japanese military, expecting that their own country's forces would protect them. Instead, they were pressured to sacrifice themselves for the glory of the Empire, with a great many dying in caves, or throwing themselves off cliffs, rather than being protected by their own government's military. Speaking more broadly, many people today characterize the battle as a "sacrificing" of Okinawa as a whole, to benefit & protect Japan; Okinawa was considered Japanese enough to be subject to assimilation policies, expectations that the Okinawans would behave as loyal Japanese, and so forth, but was not considered integral enough to the Japanese state that it should be protected, defended, as well.

The Battle of Okinawa saw the destruction of much of the central and southern parts of the island, the decimation of homes, villages, towns, and nearly 100,000 civilian lives, roughly a quarter of the total Okinawan population. Countless priceless artifacts and documents were lost along with most of the island's significant cultural, religious, and historical sites.  

The Battle of Okinawa saw the destruction of much of the central and southern parts of the island, the decimation of homes, villages, towns, and nearly 100,000 civilian lives, roughly a quarter of the total Okinawan population. Countless priceless artifacts and documents were lost along with most of the island's significant cultural, religious, and historical sites.

===Occupation===

===Occupation===