Archives



The Okinawa Prefectural Archives is THE place to be in 90-degree weather. I spent both Thursday and Friday there and found a few interesting things. Probably the best thing wasn't even an archival document; rather, it was a published survey from the mid-1990s about the possibility of more theme parks in Okinawa. It's very useful for the theory and practice of theme parks in Japan in general and the thinking about them in Okinawa in particular. Besides the theme of the panel I'm on at the Cultural Typhoon two weeks from now, I'm also reading The Theming of America at the moment, so it all fits. One can argue that Okinawa is one big themed environment, to some degree or another. The themes are various, but "Tropical Okinawa" trumps the others, it seems, with "Ryukyu Kingdom" coming in second. Sometimes they exist in the same space; my favorite example of this is Shuri Castle Park, where Shureimon is flanked by historically inaccurate palm trees (two tall probably Washington palms are the most prominent). Actually, the archives building itself is very much a themed environment, conspicuously designed in a neo-Ryukyu style with gorgeous Ryukyu limestone walls and red-tile roofs evoking gusuku and "traditional" Okinawa. It connotes the "Ryukyu Kingdom" past, although I imagine very few of documents within are actually from it.

Posted: Sat - June 26, 2004 at 10:43 PM           |

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