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Ryukyuan people

The Ryukyuan people (琉球民族 (るーちゅーみんずく) or どぅーちゅーみんずく, 琉球民族/りゅうきゅうみんぞく, also Okinawans, Uchinaanchu, Lewchewan or Loochooan) are a Ryukyuan-speaking East Asian ethnic group native to the Ryukyu Islands, which stretch between the islands of Kyushu and Taiwan. Administratively, they live in either the Okinawa Prefecture or the Kagoshima Prefecture within Japan. They speak one of the Ryukyuan languages, considered to be one of the two branches of the Japonic language family, the other being Japanese and its dialects (Hachijō is sometimes considered by linguists to constitute a third branch).

Ryukyuans are not a recognized minority group in Japan, as Japanese authorities consider them a subgroup of the Japanese people, akin to the Yamato people. Although officially unrecognized, Ryukyuans constitute the largest ethnolinguistic minority group in Japan, with more than 1.8 million living in the Okinawa Prefecture alone. Ryukyuans inhabit the Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture as well, and have contributed to a considerable Ryukyuan diaspora. Over a million more ethnic Ryukyuans and their descendants are dispersed elsewhere in Japan and worldwide, most commonly in the United States, Brazil, and, to a lesser extent, in other territories where there is also a sizable Japanese diaspora, such as Argentina, Chile and Mexico. In the majority of countries, the Ryukyuan and Japanese diaspora are not differentiated, so there are no reliable statistics for the former one.

Ryukyuans have a distinct culture with some matriarchal elements, native religion and cuisine which had a fairly late (12th century) introduction of rice. The population lived on the islands in isolation for many centuries. In the 14th century, three separate Okinawan political polities merged into the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429–1879), which continued the maritime trade and tributary relations started in 1372 with Ming China. In 1609, the Satsuma Domain (based in Kyushu) invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom. The Kingdom maintained a fictive independence in vassal status, in a dual subordinate status to both China and Japan, because Tokugawa Japan was prohibited to trade (directly) with China.

During the Japanese Meiji era, the kingdom became the Ryukyu Domain (1872–1879), after which it was politically annexed by the Empire of Japan. In 1879, after the annexation, the territory was reorganized as Okinawa Prefecture, with the last king (Shō Tai) forcibly exiled to Tokyo. China renounced its claims to the islands in 1895. During this period, the Meiji government, which sought to assimilate the Ryukyuan people as Japanese (Yamato), suppressed Ryukyuan ethnic identity, tradition, culture, and language. After World War II, the Ryūkyū Islands were occupied by the United States between 1945 and 1950 and then from 1950 to 1972. Since the end of World War II, Ryukyuans have expressed strong resentment against the Japanese government and against U.S. military facilities stationed in Okinawa.

United Nations special rapporteur on discrimination and racism Doudou Diène, in his 2006 report, noted a perceptible level of discrimination and xenophobia against the Ryukyuans, with the most serious discrimination they endure linked to their opposition of American military installations in the archipelago.

Etymology
Their usual ethnic name derives from the Chinese name for the islands, (also spelled as Loo Choo, Lew Chew, Luchu, and more), which in the Japanese language is pronounced. In the Okinawan language, it is pronounced. In their native language they often call themselves and their identity as Uchinanchu. These terms are rarely used outside of the ethnic community, and are politicized markers of a distinct culture.

"Ryukyu" is an other name from the Chinese side, and "Okinawa" is a Japanese cognate of Okinawa's native name "Uchinaa", originating from the residents of the main island referring to the main island against the surrounding islands, Miyako and Yaeyama. Mainland Japanese adapted Okinawa as the way to call these people.

Genetic studies
According to the recent genetic studies, the Ryukyuan people share more alleles with the southern Jōmon (16,000–3,000 years ago) hunter-gatherers than the Yayoi people, who had rice farming culture, have smaller genetic contributions from Asian continental populations, which supports the dual-structure model of K. Hanihara (1991), a widely accepted theory which suggests that the Yamato Japanese are more admixed with Asian agricultural continental people (from the Korean Peninsula) than the Ainu and the Ryukyuans, with major admixture occurring in and after the Yayoi period (3,000-1,700 years ago). Within the Japanese population the Ryukyu make a separate and one of the two genome-wide clusters along the main-island Honshu. The Jōmon ancestry is estimated at approximately 28%, with a more recent study estimating it at ~36%. The admixture event which formed the admixed Ryukyuans was estimated at least 1100–1075 years ago, which corresponds to the Gusuku period, and is considered to be related to the arrival of migrants from Japan.

According to archaeological evidence, there is a prehistoric cultural differentiation between the Northern Ryukyu Islands (Amami Islands and Okinawa Islands) and the Southern Ryukyu Islands (Miyako Islands and Yaeyama Islands). The genome-wide differentiation was pronounced, especially between Okinawa and Miyako. It is considered to have arisen due to genetic drift rather than admixture with people from neighboring regions, with the divergence dated to the Holocene, and without major genetic contribution of the Pleistocene inhabitants to the present-day Southern Islanders. The Amami Islanders are also slightly more similar to the mainland population than the Okinawa Islanders. An autosomal DNA analysis from Okinawan samples concluded that they are most closely related to other Japanese and East Asian contemporary populations, sharing on average 80% admixture with mainland Japanese and 19% admixture with Chinese population, and that have isolate characteristics. The population closest to Ryukyu islanders is the mainland Japanese, followed by the Korean and Chinese populations. However, Taiwan aborigines were genetically distant from the Ryukyu islanders, even though these populations are geographically very close.

The female mtDNA and male Y chromosome markers are used to study human migrations. The research on the skeletal remains from the Neolithic Shell midden period (also known as Kaizuka period) in Okinawa, as well from the Gusuku Period, showed predominance of female haplogroups D4 and M7a and their genetic continuity in the contemporary female population of Okinawa. It is assumed that M7a represents "Jomon genotype" introduced by a Paleolithic ancestor from Southeast Asia or the southern region of the Asian continent, around the Last Glacial Maximum with the Ryukyu Islands as one of the probable origin spots; in contrast, the frequency of the D4 haplogroup is relatively high in East Asian populations, including in Japan, indicating immigrant Yayoi people, probably by the end of the late Kaizuka period, while haplogroup B4 presumably ancient aboriginal Taiwanese ancestry. However, as in the contemporary Japanese population M7 showed a decrease, whereas the frequency of the haplogroup N9b showed an increase from the south to north direction, it indicates that the mobility pattern of females and males was different as the distribution of Y haplogroups do not show a geographical gradient in contrast to mtDNA, meaning mainly different maternal origins of the contemporary Ryukyuan and Ainu people. The research on the contemporary Okinawan male Y chromosome showed, in 2006; 55.6% of haplogroup D-P-M55, 22.2% O-P31, 15.6% O-M122, 4.4% C-M8, and 2.2% others. It is considered that the Y haplogroups expanded in a demic diffusion. The haplogroups D and C are considered of Neolithic and Paleolithic origin, with coalescence time of 19,400 YBP and expansion 12,600 YBP (14,500 YBP and 10,820 YBP respectively), and were isolated for thousands of years once land bridges between Japan and continental Asia disappeared at the end of the last glacial maximum 12,000 YBP. The haplogroup O began its expansion circa 4,000-3,810 years ago, and thus the haplogroups D-M55 and C-M8 belong to the Jomon's male lineage, and haplogroup O belongs to the Yayoi's male lineage. Haplogroup M12 is considered as mitochondrial counterpart of Y chromosome D lineage. This rare haplogroup was detected only in Yamato Japanese, Koreans, and Tibetans, with the highest frequency and diversity in Tibet.

A genetic and morphological analysis in 2021 by Watanabe et al., found that the Ryukyuans are most similar to the southern Jōmon people of Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu. Southern Jōmon samples were found to be genetically close to contemporary East Asian people, and quite different from Jōmon samples of Hokkaido and Tohoku. Haplogroup D-M55 has the highest diversity within southern Japanese and Ryukyuans, suggesting a dispersal from southwestern Japan towards the North, replacing other Jōmon period lineages through genetic drift. Haplogroup D (D1) can be linked to an East Asian source population from the Tibetan Plateau ("East Asian Highlanders"), which contributed towards the Jōmon period population of Japan, and less to ancient Southeast Asians. Southern Jōmon people were found to share many SNPs with Tujia people, Tibetans, Miao people, and Tripuri people, rather than Ainu.

Anthropological studies
The comparative studies on the dental diversity also showed long-term gene flow from outside source (main-island Honshu and from the southern part of East Asia), long-term isolation, and genetic drift which produced the morphological diversification of the modern Ryukyuans. However, the analysis contradicts the idea of homogeneity among the Jōmon people and a closer affinity between the Ainu and the Ryukyuans. A recent craniometric study shows that the Ryukyuan people are closely related to the Yamato people and their common main ancestors, the Yayoi people. The Ryukyuans differ strongly from the Ainu people, which, according to the authors, is a strong evidence for the heterogeneity of the Jōmon period population.

As previous morphological studies, such as Kondo et al. 2017, the genetic and morphological analysis by Watanabe et al. 2021, confirmed that the Jōmon period people were heterogeneous and differed from each other depending on the region. A North-to-South cline was detected, with the southern Jōmon of Kyushu, Shikoku and southwestern Honshu being closer to contemporary East Asian people, while the northern Jōmon of Hokkaido and Tohoku being more distant from East Asians. The study results confirmed the "dual-structure theory" regarding the origin of modern Japanese and Ryukyuans, but found that noteworthy amounts of East Asian associated alleles were already present within the Jōmon period people prior to the migration of continental East Asians during the Yayoi period. The southern Jōmon, which are ancestral to the Ryukyuans, were anthropologically most similar to modern day East Asians and differed from Jōmon period samples of Hokkaido quite significantly.

Challenging the notion of ethnic homogeneity in Japan
The existence of the Ryukyuan people challenges the notion of ethnic homogeneity in post-WWII Japan. After the demise of the multi-ethnic Empire of Japan in 1945, successive governments had forged a single Japanese identity by advocating monoculturalism and denying the existence of ethnic minority groups. The notion of ethnic homogeneity was so ingrained in Japan that the former Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso notably claimed in 2020 that "No other country but this one has lasted for as long as 2,000 years with one language, one ethnic group and one dynasty". Aso's comment sparked strong criticism from the Ryukyuan community.

Early history
The Ryukyu Islands were inhabited from at least 32,000–18,000 years ago, but their fate and relation with contemporary Ryukyuan people is uncertain. During the Jōmon period (i.e., Kaizuka) or so-called shell midden period (6,700–1,000 YBP) of the Northern Ryukyus, the population lived in a hunter-gatherer society, with similar mainland Jōmon pottery. In the latter part of Jōmon period, archaeological sites moved near the seashore, suggesting the engagement of people in fishery. It is considered that from the latter half of Jōmon period, the Ryukyu Islands developed their own culture. Some scholars consider that the language and cultural influence was more far-reaching than blending of race and physical types. The Yayoi culture which had a major influence on the Japanese islands, is traditionally dated from 3rd century BCE and recently from around 1000 BCE, and is notable for the introduction of Yayoi-type pottery, metal tools and cultivation of rice, however although some Yayoi pottery and tools were excavated on the Okinawa Islands, the rice was not widely cultivated before the 12th century CE, nor the Yayoi and the following Kofun period (250–538 CE) culture expanded into the Ryukyus. The Southern Ryukyus culture was isolated from the Northern, and its Shimotabaru period (4,500–3,000 YBP) was characterized by a specific style of pottery, and the Aceramic period (2,500–800 YBP), during which no pottery was produced in this region. Their prehistoric Yaeyama culture showed some intermingled affinities with various Taiwanese cultures, broadly, that the Sakishima Islands have some traces similar to the Southeast Asian and South Pacific cultures. The Amami Islands seem to be the islands with the most mainland Japanese influence. However, both north and south Ryukyus were culturally unified in the 10th century.

The finding of ancient Chinese knife money near Naha in Okinawa indicates a probable contact with the ancient Chinese state Yan as early as the 3rd century BCE. According to the, the Yan had relations with the Wa ('dwarf', 'short') people living southeast of Korea, who could be related to both the mainland Japanese or Ryukyuan people. The futile search for the elixir of immortality by Qin Shi Huang, the founder of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE), in which the emperor tried to cooperate with "happy immortals" who dwelt on the islands, could be related to both Japan and Ryukyu Islands. There is a lack of evidence that the missions by the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) reached the islands; however, as the Japanese did reach Han's capital, notes from 57 CE do mention a general practice of tattooing among the people of "hundred kingdoms" in the eastern islands, a practice which was widespread and survived only among the Okinawan's women, Ainu in Hokkaido, and Atayal people in Taiwan. Cao Wei (220–265) and Han dynasty records show that the inhabitants of western and southern Japan and Okinawa had a lot in common regarding political-social institutions until the 2nd century CE – they were of small stature, bred oxen and swine, and were ruled by women, with a special influence of women sorceresses, related to the Ryukyuan Noro priestesses which were closely associated with local political power until the 20th century, as well as with the Ryukyuan swine economy culture until World War II. It is suggested that the mention of a specific sorceress Pimeku, her death and successive conflict, is related to some socio-political challenges of the ancient matriarchal system.

The first certain mention of the islands and its people by the Chinese and Japanese is dated in the 7th century. Emperor Yang of Sui, due to previous tradition, between 607–608 held expeditions in search of the "Land of Happy Immortals". As the Chinese envoy and the islanders linguistically could not understand each other, and the islanders did not want to accept the Sui rule and suzerainty, the Chinese envoy took many captives back to the court. The islands, by the Chinese named Liuqiu (Middle Chinese: ), would be pronounced by the Japanese as Ryukyu. However, when the Japanese diplomat Ono no Imoko arrived at the Chinese capital he noted that the captives probably arrived from the island of Yaku south of Kyushu. In 616 the Japanese annals for the first time mention the "Southern Islands people", and for the half-century were noted some intruders from Yaku and Tanu. According to the, in 698 a small force dispatched by Japanese government successfully claimed the Tane-jima, Yakushima, Amami, Tokunoshima and other islands. The recorded that the Hayato people in southern Kyushu still had female chieftains in the early 8th century. In 699 are mentioned islands Amami and Tokara, in 714 Shingaki and Kume, in 720 some 232 persons who had submitted to the Japanese capital Nara, and at last Okinawa in 753. Nevertheless the mention or authority, over the centuries the Japanese influence spread slowly among the communities.

Gusuku period
The lack of written record resulted with later, 17th century royal tales both under Chinese and Japanese influence, which were efforts by local chieftains to explain the "divine right" of their royal authority, as well the then-political interests of Tokugawa shōguns from Minamoto clan who wanted to legitimize Japanese domination over Okinawa. The tradition states that the founder of the Tenson dynasty was a descendant of goddess Amamikyu, and the dynasty ruled 17,000 years and had 25 kings i.e. chieftains. However, the 24th throne was usurped from one of Tenson's descendants by a man named Riyu, who was defeated in revolt led by Shunten (1187–1237), lord of Urasoe. Shunten's parental origin is a matter of debate, according to 17th century romantic tales he was a son of a local Okinawan chief's (anji) daughter and some Japanese adventurer, usually considered Minamoto no Tametomo, while historical and archeological-traditional evidence indicate men from the defeated Taira clan who fled Minamoto's clan vengeance. The Shunten dynasty made two additional chieftains, Shunbajunki (1237-1248) and Gihon (1248–1259). As Gihon abdicated, his sessei Eiso (1260–1299), who claimed Tenson's descent, founded the Eiso dynasty.

During the Gusuku period (c. 1187–1314), with recent chronology dated from c. 900-950 CE, Okinawans made significant political, social and economical growth. As the center of power moved away from the seashore to inland, the period is named after many gusuku, castle-like fortifications which were built in higher places. This period is also notable, compared to mainland Japan, for fairly late introduction of agricultural production of rice, wheat, millet and the overseas trading of these goods, as well during Shubanjunki's rule the introduction of Japanese kana writing system in its older and simple phonetic form. After the years of famine and epidemic during the Gihon's rule, Eiso introduced regular taxation system (of weapons, grains and cloth) in 1264 and as the government gained strength, the control extended from Okinawa toward the islands of Kume, Kerama, Iheya, and Amami Ōshima (1266). Between 1272 and 1274, as the Mongol invasions of Japan began, Okinawa on two occasions rejected the Mongols' authority demands. To Eiso's reign period is also ascribed the introduction of Buddhism into Okinawa.

Sanzan period
During the rule of Eiso's great-grandson, Tamagusuku (1314–1336), Okinawa became divided into three polities and began the so-called Sanzan period (1314–1429). The north and largest Hokuzan polity was the poorest due to forest and mountainous terrain (in which isolation was an advantage), with primitive farming and fishing. The central Chūzan polity was the most advantaged due to its developed castle towns and harbor facilities. The south Nanzan polity was the smallest, but endured because of good castle positions and sea merchants.

In this period another rapid economical, social and cultural development of Ryukyu began as the polities had developed formal trade relations with Japan, Korea and China. During the Satto's reign, Chūzan made tributary relations with China's Ming dynasty in 1374 as the Hongwu Emperor sent envoys in 1372 to Okinawa. In the next two decades Chūzan made nine official missions to the Chinese capital, and the formal relations between them endured until 1872 (see Imperial Chinese missions to the Ryukyu Kingdom). Despite significant Chinese economical, cultural and political influence, the polities continued to maintain strong autonomy. In 1392, all three polities began to send extensive missions to the Korean Joseon kingdom. In 1403, Chūzan made formal relations with the Japanese Ashikaga shogunate, and an embassy was sent to Thailand in 1409. The contacts with Siam continued even in 1425, and were newly made with places like Palembang in 1428, Java in 1430, Malacca and Sumatra in 1463.

As in 1371, China initiated its maritime prohibition policy (Haijin) to Japan, Ryukyu gained a lot from its position as intermediary in the trade between Japan and China. They shipped horses, sulphur and seashells to China, from China brought ceramics, copper, and iron, from southeast Asian countries bought tin, ivory, spices (pepper), wood (sappanwood), which they sold to Japan, Korea or China, as well as transporting Chinese goods to Hakata Bay from where swords, silver and gold were brought.

In 1392, 36 Chinese families from Fujian were invited by the chieftain of Okinawa Island's central polity (Chūzan) to settle near the port of Naha and to serve as diplomats, interpreters, and government officials. Some consider that many Ryukyuan officials were descended from these Chinese immigrants, being born in China or having Chinese grandfathers. They assisted the Ryukyuans in advancing their technology and diplomatic relations. From the same year onward Ryukyu was allowed to send official students to China i.e. Guozijian. The tributary relationship with China later became a basis of the 19th century Sino-Japanese disputes about the claims of Okinawa.

Ryukyu Kingdom
Between 1416 and 1429, Chūzan chieftain Shō Hashi successfully unified the principalities into the Ryukyuan Kingdom (1429–1879) with the castle town Shuri as royal capital, founded the First Shō dynasty, and the island continued to prosper through maritime trade, especially tributary relations with the Ming dynasty. The period of Shō Shin's (1477–1526) rule, descendant from the Second Shō dynasty, is notable for peace and relative prosperity, peak in overseas trade, as well as expansion of the kingdom's firm control to Kikaijima, Miyako-jima and Yaeyama Islands (1465–1524), while during Shō Sei (1526-1555) to Amami Ōshima (1537).

After the Kyūshū Campaign (1586–1587) by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, his assistant Kamei Korenori, who was interested in southern trade, wanted to be rewarded with the Ryukyu Islands. A paper fan found during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98) mentioning a title "Kamei, Lord of Ryukyu", reveals that Hideyoshi at least nominally offered the post although he had no legitimate claim upon the islands. In 1591, Kamei ventured with a force to reclaim the islands, but the Shimazu clan stopped him as they guarded their special relationship with the Ryukyu kingdom. Hideyoshi was not very concerned about the quarrel because the invasion of Korea was more important in his mind. As the Ming's influence weakened due to disorder in China, Japanese established posts in Southeast Asia, and the Europeans (Spanish and Portuguese) arrived, the kingdom's overseas trade began to decline.

In the early 17th century during the Tokugawa shogunate (1603–1867), the first shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu intended to subject the kingdom to enable intermediary trade with China, and in 1603 ordered the Ryukyuan king to pay his respect to the shogunate. As the king did not react, with the instruction of the shōgun, the Satsuma feudal domain of the Shimazu clan in Kyūshū incorporated some of kingdom's territory during the 1609 Invasion of Ryukyu. They nominally let a certain level of autonomy and independence to the kingdom due to Ming's prohibition of trade with the shogunate, but forbade them trade with other countries except China. The Amami Islands became part of Shimazu's territory, taxes were imposed, making them subordinate in the relations between Japan and China. Until the invasion, the Shimazu clan lords for four centuries had a vague title of the "Lords of the Twelve Southern Islands" or "Southern Islands", although initially meaning the near Kyushu islands, then covering all the Ryukyu Islands. Later in the 1870s this was used as a "justification" of Japan's sovereignty. From 1609 the Ryukyuan missions to Edo started which lasted until 1850.

During the rule of kings Shō Shitsu (1648–1668) and Shō Tei (1669–1709) i.e. sessei Shō Shōken (1666–1673) were recovered the internal social and economical stability with many laws about government organisation, and affairs like sugarcane production, and tax system with emphasis on agricultural production. The production was encouraged because Satsuma's annual tax deprived Ryukyu's internal resources. Although the production of sweet potatoes and sugar industry grew, the peasants were not allowed to enlarge their fields. The agricultural reforms especially continued under king Shō Kei (1713–1752) and his sanshikan advisor Sai On (1728–1752) whose Nomucho (Directory of Agricultural Affairs) from 1743 became the basis of the agricultural administration until the 19th century. In the Sakishima Islands great part of the tax was paid in textiles made of ramie. The relations with the Qing dynasty improved after their second mission when the first Ryukyuan official students were sent to China in 1688.

In the first half of the 19th century, French politicians like Jean-Baptiste Cécille unsuccessfully tried to conclude a French trade treaty with Ryukyu, with only a promise by Shuri government about the admission of Christian missionaries. However, due to extreme measures in teaching, Bernard Jean Bettelheim's propagation of Protestantism between 1846–1854 was obscured by the government.

Meiji period
During the Meiji period (1868–1912) the "Ryukyu shobun" process began, according to which the Ryukyuan Kingdom came under the jurisdiction of Kagoshima Prefecture in 1871, encompassing the southern tip of Kyushu and the Ryukyuan islands to its south; this created the Ryukyu Domain (1872–1879) of Meiji-era Japan. This method of gradual integration was designed to avoid both Ryukyuan and Chinese protests, with the ruling Shuri government unaware of the significance of these developments, including Japan's decision to grant political representation to the Ryukyuan islanders involved in the Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874).

In 1875, the Ryukyuan people were forced to terminate their tributary relations with China, against their preference for a state of dual allegiance to both China and Japan, something a then-weakened China was unable to stop. A proposal by the 18th U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant for a sovereign Okinawa and the division of the other islands between China and Japan was rejected, with a last-minute decision by the Chinese government not to ratify the agreement rendering it null. On three occasions between 1875 and 1879, the last Ryukyuan King, Shō Tai, refused to submit to the demands placed upon his people, and in 1879, his domain was formally abolished and established as Okinawa Prefecture, forcing his move to Tokyo with the reduced status of Viscount.

Members of the Ryukyuan aristocratic classes such as Kōchi Chōjō and Rin Seikō continued to resist annexation for almost two decades; however, following the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), both Chinese and Ryukyuan interest in sovereignty faded as China renounced its claims to the island. Many historians criticise Meiji-era Japan's characterisation of the process as being considered a relatively simple administrative change, rather than the creation of Japan's first colony and the beginning of its "inner colonialism".

During the Meiji period, as with the Ainu people of Hokkaido, the Ryukyuan people had their own culture, religion, traditions and language suppressed by the Meiji government in the face of forced assimilation. From the 1880s onwards, schools forbade the display of Ryukyuan styles of dress, hairstyles and other visual aspects, considering them to be backwards and inferior, with students forced to wear Japanese clothing and to assimilate into Japanese culture. Indoctrination into a militaristic and Emperor-centred ideology for children began from the age of beginning elementary school onwards; the ultimate goal of this education was a total unification of the Ryukyuan people into the Yamato people, embodying the ideal of ethnic purity, with contemporary Nihonjiron literature for the time ignoring Japan's minorities). Ryukyuans often faced prejudice, humiliation in the workplace and ethnic discrimination, with the Ryukyuan elite divided into factions either in support of or in opposition to assimilation. Negative stereotypes and discrimination were common against the Ryukyuan people in the Japanese society.

Around and especially after the Japanese annexation of Taiwan in 1895, Japan's developmental focus shifted away from Okinawa, resulting in a period of famine known as "Sotetsu-jigoku" ("Cycad hell"). Between 1920 and 1921, a fall in sugar prices, as well as the transfer of Japan's sugar production to Taiwan, led to Ryukyu being the poorest prefecture, despite having the heaviest taxation burden; the drop in sugar prices would continue into 1931, further worsening the situation. As a result of the ensuing economic crisis, many people were forced to either find work in Japan (often Osaka and Kobe) or abroad in Taiwan. By 1935, roughly 15% of the population had emigrated.

WW2 and modern history
During World War II and battles like the Battle of Okinawa (1945), approximately 150,000 civilians (1/3 of the population) were killed in Okinawa alone. After the war, the Ryukyu Islands were occupied by the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands (1945–1950), but the U.S. maintained control even after the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco, which went into effect on April 28, 1952, as the USMMGR was replaced by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (1950–1972). During this period the U.S. military requisitioned private land for the building of their facilities, with the former owners put into refugee camps, and its personnel committed thousands of crimes against the civilians. Only twenty years later, on 15 May 1972, Okinawa and nearby islands were returned to Japan. Whereas the Japanese had enjoyed political freedom and economic prosperity in the post-war years, the facilities, used for the purposes of Japanese regional security against the communist threat, had a negative economic impact on the Islands, leading to many Ryukyuans feeling cheated, some considering the facilities a national disgrace. Since 1972 there have been extensive plans to bring Okinawa's economy up to the national level, as well continued support for the local culture and a revival of traditional arts started by the USCAR.

Okinawa comprises just 0.6% of Japan's total land mass, yet about 75% of all U.S. military installations stationed in Japan are assigned to bases in Okinawa. The presence of the military remains a sensitive issue in local politics. Negative feelings toward the mainland Government, Emperor (especially Hirohito due to his involvement in the sacrifice of Okinawa and later military occupation), and U.S. military (USFJ, SACO) have often caused open criticism and protests, for example by 85,000 people in 1995 after the U.S. military rape incident, and by 110,000 people in 2007 due to the Japanese Ministry of Education's textbook revisions (see MEXT controversy) which critics say downplays the involvement of the Japanese military in the forced mass suicide of the civilians during the Battle of Okinawa. For many years the Emperors avoided visiting Okinawa, with the first ever in history done by Akihito in 1993, since it was assumed that his visits would likely cause uproar, as in July 1975 when Akihito as a crown prince visited Okinawa and a firebomb was thrown at him,  although these tensions have eased in recent years. Discrimination against Okinawans both past and present on the part of the mainland Japanese is the cause of their smoldering resentment against the government. There is a small post-war Ryukyu independence movement, but there are also Okinawans who wish to be assimilated with the mainland. A poll in 2017 by the Okinawa Times, Asahi Shimbun and Ryukyusu Asahi Broadcasting Corporation (QAB) jointly conducted prefectural public opinion surveys for voters in the prefecture. 82% of Okinawa citizens chose "I'm glad that Okinawa has returned as a Japanese prefecture". It was 90% for respondents of the ages of 18 to 29, 86% for those in their 30s, 84% for those aged 40–59, 72% for respondents in their 60s, 74% for those over the age of 70.

Demography
Ryukyuans tend to see themselves as bound together by their home island and, especially among older Ryukyuans, usually consider themselves from Okinawa first and Japan second. The average annual income per resident of Okinawa in 2006 was ¥2.09 million, placing the prefecture at the bottom of the list of 47.

The Okinawans have a very low age-adjusted mortality rate at older ages and among the lowest prevalence of cardiovascular disease and other age-associated diseases in the world. Furthermore, Okinawa has long had the highest life expectancy at older ages, as well has had among the highest prevalence of centenarians among the 47 Japanese prefectures, also the world, since records began to be kept by the Ministry of Health in the early 1960s despite the high birth rate and expanding population of Okinawa prefecture. This longevity phenotype has been in existence since records have been kept in Japan, and despite the well-known dietary and other nongenetic lifestyle advantages of the Okinawans (Blue Zone), there may be some additional unknown genetic influence favoring this extreme phenotype. The Okinawa Centenarian Study (OCS) research team began to work in 1976, making it the world's longest ongoing population-based study of centenarians.

Language
Similarities between the Ryukyuan and Japanese languages point to a common origin, possibly of immigrants from continental Asia to the archipelago. Although previously ideologically considered by Japanese scholars as a Japanese dialect and a descendant of Old Japanese, modern linguists such as Thomas Pellard (2015) now classify the Ryukyuan languages as a distinct subfamily of Japonic that diverged before the Old Japanese period (c. 8th century CE); this places them in contrast to Japonic languages that are direct descendants of Old Japanese, namely Japanese and Hachijō. Early literature which records the language of the Old Japanese imperial court shows archaisms which are closer to Okinawan dialects, while later periods of Japanese exhibit more significant Sinicization (such as Sino-Japanese vocabulary) than most Ryukyuan languages. This can be attributed to the fact that the Japanese (or Yamato people) received writing from the Sinosphere roughly a millennium before the Ryukyuan languages.

As the Jōmon-Yayoi transition (c. 1000 BCE) represents the formative period of the contemporary Japanese people from a genetic standpoint, it is argued that the Japonic languages are related to the Yayoi migrants as well. The estimated time of separation between Ryukyuan and mainland Japanese is a matter of debate due to methodological problems; older estimates (1959–2009) varied between 300 BCE and 700 CE, while novel (2009–2011) around 2nd century BCE to 100 CE, which has a lack of correlation with archeology and new chronology according to which Yayoi period started around 950 BCE, or the proposed spread of the Proto-Ryukyuan speakers to the islands in the 10–12th century from Kyushu. Based on linguistic differences, they separated at least before the 7th century, before or around Kofun period (c. 250–538), while mainland Proto-Ryukyuan was in contact with Early Middle Japanese until 13th century.

The Ryukyuan languages can be subdivided into two main groups, Northern Ryukyuan languages and Southern Ryukyuan languages. The Southern Ryukyuan subfamily shows north-to-south expansion, while Northern Ryukyuan does not, and several hypothetical scenarios can be proposed to explain this. It is generally considered that the likely homeland of Japonic—and thus the original expansion of Proto-Ryukyuan—was in Kyushu, though an alternate hypothesis proposes an expansion from the Ryukyu Islands to mainland Japan.

Although authors differ regarding which varieties are counted as dialects or languages, one possible classification considers there to be five Ryukyuan languages: Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, Yaeyama and Yonaguni, while a sixth, Kunigami, is sometimes differentiated from Okinawan due to its diversity. Within these languages exist dialects of local towns and specific islands, many of which have gone extinct. Although the Shuri dialect of Okinawan was historically a prestige language of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, there is no officially standardized Ryukyuan language. Thus, the Ryukyuan languages as a whole constitute a cluster of local dialects that can be considered unroofed abstand languages.

During the Meiji and post-Meiji period, the Ryukyuan languages were considered to be dialects of Japanese and viewed negatively. They were suppressed by the Japanese government in policies of forced assimilation and into using the standard Japanese language. From 1907, children were prohibited to speak Ryukyuan languages in school, and since the mid-1930s there existed dialect cards, a system of punishment for the students who spoke in a non-standard language. Speaking a Ryukyuan language was deemed an unpatriotic act; by 1939, Ryukyuan speakers were denied service and employment in government offices, while by the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, the Japanese military was commanded to consider Ryukyuan speakers as spies to be punished by death, with many reports that such actions were carried out. After World War II, during the United States occupation, the Ryukyuan languages and identity were distinctively promoted, also because of ideo-political reasons to separate the Ryukyus from Japan. However, resentment against the American occupation intensified Ryukyuans' rapport and unification with Japan, and since 1972 there has followed re-incursion of the standard Japanese and further diminution of the Ryukyuan languages.

It is considered that contemporary people older than 85 exclusively use Ryukyuan, between 45 and 85 use Ryukyuan and standard Japanese depending on family or working environment, younger than 45 are able to understand Ryukyuan, while younger than 30 mainly are not able to understand nor speak Ryukyuan languages. Only older people speak Ryukyuan languages, because Japanese replaced it as the daily language in nearly every context. Some younger people speak Okinawan Japanese which is a type of Japanese. It is not a dialect of the Okinawan language. The six Ryukyuan languages are listed on the UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger since 2009, as they could disappear by the mid-century (2050). It is unclear whether this recognition was too late, despite some positive influence by the Society of Spreading Okinawan.

Religion
Native Ryukyuan religion places strong emphasis upon the role of the women in the community, with women holding positions as shamans and guardians of the home and hearth. The status of women in traditional society is higher than in China and Japan. Although the contemporary kinship system is patrilineal and patrilocal, until the 20th century it was often bilateral and matrilocal, with common village endogamy. Shisa statues can often be seen on or in front of houses—this relates to the ancient Ryukyuan belief that the male spirit is the spirit of the outside and the female spirit is the spirit of the inside. Godhood is mimicked with many attributes, and its in ease without any underlying symbolic order.

The village priestesses, Noro, until the 20th century used the white cloth and magatama beads. The noro's duty was to preserve the generational fire in the hearth, a communal treasure, resulting with tabu system about the fire custodian in which they had to be virgins to maintain close communication with the ancestors. The office became hereditary, usually of the noro's brother's female child. The center of worship was represented by three heartstones within or near the house. The belief in the spiritual predominance of the sister was more prominent in Southern Ryukyus.

The introduction of Buddhism is ascribed to a 13th century priest from Japan (mostly funeral rites), while the 14th century trade relations resulted with Korean Buddhism influences (including some in architecture), as well Shinto practices from Japan. Buddhism and native religion were ideological basis until 18th century, when Confucianism gradually and officially became government ideology during Shō On (1795–1802), much to the dismay of Kumemura. It was mostly important to the upper class families. Among the Catholic converts was not lost the former religious consciousness.

Until the 18th century, the Ryukyuan kings visited the Sefa-utaki (historical sacred place) caves for worship. Another traditional sacred places are springs Ukinju-Hain-ju, where was placed the first rice plantation, and small island Kudaka, where the "five fruits and grains" were introduced by divine people, perhaps strangers with agricultural techniques. The foremost account, which claimed common origin between the Japanese and Ryukyuan people, was made-up by Shō Shōken in the 17th century, to end up the pilgrimage of the Ryukyu king and chief priestess to the Kudaka island.

During the Meiji period the government replaced Buddhism with Shintoism as the islands' state religion, and ordered; rearrangement of statues and redesign of shrines and temples to incorporate native deities into national Shinto pantheon; Shinto worship preceded native, Buddhist, or Christian ritual; transformation of local divinities into guardian gods. In the 1920s was ordered building of Shinto shrines and remodelling of previous with Shinto architectural symbols, paid by local tax money, which was a financial burden due to the collapse of sugar prices in 1921 which devastated Okinawa's economy. In 1932 were ordered to house and support Shinto clergy from the mainland.

Most Ryukyuans of the younger generations are not serious adherents of the native religion anymore. Additionally, since being under Japanese control, Shinto and Buddhism are also practiced and typically mixed with local beliefs and practices.

Cuisine
Okinawan food is rich in vitamins and minerals and has a good balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates. Although rice is a staple food (taco rice mixes it with beef), pork (mimigaa and chiragaa, dishes Rafute and Soki), seaweed, rich miso (fermented soybean) pastes and soups (Jūshī), sweet potato and brown sugar all feature prominently in native cuisine. Most famous to tourists is the Momordica charantia, gōya (bitter melon), which is often mixed into a representative Okinawan stir fry dish known as champurū (Goya champuru). Kōrēgusu is a common hot sauce condiment used in various dishes including noodle soup Okinawa soba. Some specifically consumed algae include Caulerpa lentillifera. Traditional sweets include chinsuko, hirayachi, sata andagi, and muchi. Local beverages include juice from Citrus depressa, turmeric tea (ukoncha), and the alcoholic beverage awamori.

The weight-loss Okinawa diet derives from their cuisine and has only 30% of the sugar and 15% of the grains of the average Japanese dietary intake.

Arts
The techniques of self-defense and using farm tools as weapons against armed opponents—called karate by today's martial artists—were created by Ryukyuans who probably incorporated some and native techniques from China into a complete system of attack and defense known simply as  (literally meaning "hand"). These martial arts varied slightly from town to town, and were named for their towns of origin, examples being Naha-te (currently known as Goju-Ryū), Tomari-te and Shuri-te.

The Kabura-ya (Japanese signal arrow) still has a ceremonial use for house, village or festival celebration in Okinawa.

It is considered that the rhythms and patterns of dances, like Eisa and Angama, represent legends and prehistoric heritage. Ryūka genre of songs and poetry originate from the Okinawa Islands. From the Chinese traditional instrument in the 16th century developed the Okinawan instrument  from which the  and the Japanese  derive.

Women frequently wore indigo tattoos known as hajichi on the backs of their hands, a sign of adulthood and talisman to protect them from evil. These tattoos were banned in 1899 by the Meiji government. In remote districts their katakashira off-center topknot, similar to that of the Yami and some Filipino ethnic groups, among men and women also disappeared in the early 20th century.

The bashôfu, literally meaning "banana-fibre cloth", is designated as a part of Ryukyu and Japan "important intangible cultural properties". The weaving using indigenous ramie was also widespread in the archipelago, both originated before the 14th century.

Originally living in thatching houses, townsmen developed architecture modeled after Japanese, Chinese and Korean structures. Other dwellings suggest a tropical origin, and some villages have high stone walls, with similar structural counterpart in Yami people at Orchid Island.

For the listed categories of Cultural Properties see; archaeological materials, historical materials, crafts, paintings, sculptures, writings, intangible, and tangible.

Martial arts

 * Matsumura Sōkon
 * Ankō Itosu
 * Ankō Asato
 * Kenwa Mabuni (Shitō-ryū)
 * Gichin Funakoshi (Shotokan)
 * Chōjun Miyagi (Gōjū-ryū)
 * Chōki Motobu (Motobu-ryu)
 * Tatsuo Shimabuku (Isshin-ryū)
 * Kanbun Uechi (Uechi-ryū)
 * Kentsū Yabu (teacher of Shōrin-ryū)

Academics, journalism, and literature

 * Sai On
 * Shō Shōken
 * Tei Junsoku
 * Iha Fuyū
 * Higashionna Kanjun
 * Ōta Chōfu (journalist)
 * Tatsuhiro Oshiro (novelist)
 * Kushi Fusako (novelist)

Music

 * Namie Amuro
 * Begin
 * Beni
 * Cocco
 * Da Pump
 * Gackt (singer-songwriter and actor)
 * Chitose Hajime
 * High and Mighty Color
 * MAX
 * Mongol800
 * Orange Range
 * Speed
 * Stereopony

Visual arts

 * Mao Ishikawa (photography)
 * Yuken Teruya
 * Chikako Yamashiro (film)

Entertainment

 * Actress Yui Aragaki, notably for the television drama Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu
 * Rino Nakasone (choreographer)
 * Actress Fumi Nikaido, notable for the FX/Disney+ miniseries Shōgun.
 * Actress Manami Higa, notable for the movie My Teacher

Sports

 * Nagisa Arakaki (baseball)
 * Hideki Irabu (baseball)
 * Yukiya Arashiro (bicycle racer)
 * Kazuki Ganaha (football)
 * Yoko Gushiken (boxing)
 * Akinobu Hiranaka (boxing)
 * Katsuo Tokashiki (boxing)
 * Daigo Higa (boxing)
 * Ai Miyazato (golf)
 * Ken Gushi (drifting)

In Hawaii

 * Yeiki Kobashigawa (U.S. World War II soldier and Medal of Honor recipient)
 * Yoshi Oyakawa (Olympic gold medalist)
 * Ethel Azama (singer)
 * David Ige (former Governor of Hawaii)
 * Jake Shimabukuro (ukulele player)
 * Ryan Higa (Youtuber)
 * Michael S. Nakamura (Nakandakari) (Former Honolulu Chief of Police)

Other parts of the United States

 * Kishi Bashi (musician)
 * Yuki Chikudate (singer)
 * Tamlyn Tomita (actor)
 * Brian Tee (actor)
 * Natasha Allegri (storyboard artist)
 * Dave Roberts (baseball player and coach)
 * Maya Higa (YouTuber/conservationist)

Throughout the world

 * Takeshi Kaneshiro (actor in Taiwan)
 * GACKT (singer in Japan)
 * Sakura Miyawaki (singer in South Korea, member of the idol group Le Sserafim)

Notable fictional characters

 * Mr. Miyagi (played by Pat Morita) from the Karate Kid trilogy
 * Mugen from the anime series Samurai Champloo
 * Mutsumi Otohime from the manga series Love Hina
 * Maxi from the Soulcalibur series of video games
 * Yuri Miyazono, the heroines-leads protagonist from the Witchblade: Ao no Shōjo novels
 * Nanjo Takeshi, Arakaki Mari, and Ryuzuka, characters in the 1973 film Bodigaado Kiba: Hissatsu sankaku tobi

title: Ryukyuan people


text:
Talk:Demographics of Japan

Issue population
The last update of historic population is wrong. It should include all people in the country and not only the japanese. I suggest to go back to the previous figures Toto88888888 (talk) 12:10, 23 April 2021 (UTC)

Historical Population - rewrite?
The Historical Population section is weirdly (if not badly) worded. The 4th paragraph is the worst, but the entire section is not in chronological order and the theme is jumping around. 45.62.186.36 (talk) 00:32, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

 * Make an account and do it! Tweedle (talk) 12:24, 21 February 2023 (UTC)

Quoted figure not in linked reference
In the Vital Statistics table, the figure for live births in 2023 gives as a source a CNN article (!) which actually quotes a different figure. 51.6.197.190 (talk) 14:07, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

Vital Statistics
Why is 127,557,000 marked in blue? Chaptagai (talk) 20:59, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Demographics of Japan


text:
Talk:Dirk Diggler

Untitled comments
Is it really necessary to have a separate entry for a fictional character in a movie? Sixtus LXVI 04:31, 17 November 2005 (UTC)

This sure seems like a lot of verbiage for a minor fictional character.

I agree, plus some of this info is wrong -- Dirk was discovered in the San Fernando Valley, not San Francisco. -- Zoe

Well, I corrected what Zoe commented on but didn't change. The article originally said Diggler, whose real name is Eddie but whose last name was never revealed, was discovered in San Francisco as a teen by porn movie producer Jack Horner.. No, he was Eddie Adams, Jack calls him by name. And yes, he was discovered in the San Fernando Valley. It would be MIGHTY hard for him to commute to his job from his home in Torrance every day by bus if he worked in San Francisco -- that's about 400 miles one way. RickK 03:10, 21 Oct 2003 (UTC)

These are just some of the corrections that need to be made: Plainly put, this article is poorly researched, amaturely written and has no real significance. It either needs to be rewritten or deleted. Pele Merengue 21:14, 7 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Diggler's face was never on Time Magazine.
 * He had an active sex life off-camera? There's no evidence in the film pointing to this.
 * "But along with his money and fame came a dark side:" I'm sorry, this sentence just sounds stupid.
 * His failed musical career wasn't during the late 70s, it was during the early 80s.

"But along with his money and fame came a dark side:" I'm sorry, this sentence just sounds stupid." I agree... and have reworded it.  I hope it is satisfactory.

Another stupid sentence is "his song 'You Got the Touch' did show potential with it's powerful vocals, insightful lyrics, and driving high-energy guitar sound". Apart from the extraneous apostrophe in "its", the song, as given in the movie, is crap. Indeed, that's part of the humor, that it is such a crappy song. Jhobson1 18:36, 7 November 2007 (UTC) (I'm removing the apostrophe.)

So is this person fictional or what? The first paragraph says so, but the rest reads like a biog. I think this needs addressing. (I believe it is called writing in an in-universe style) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.67.158.75 (talk) 22:42, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

There was a consensus to delete this article and redirect to Boogie Nights ages ago but for some reason it hasn't been done. How do we get this actioned? This article is a complete waste of time, the Dirk Diggler character is nowhere near important enough to warrant his own wikipedia entry... Alexjcharlton (talk) 17:46, 10 January 2010 (UTC)
 * An anon editor restored the article and I guess no one noticed. I've returned it to a redirect. -Verdatum (talk) 15:28, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Redirect?
Why is there a redirect for Eddie Adams (actor)? There really is an actor out there named Eddie Adams: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1022481/ - it's making articles that refer to him (and should be a red link since there's no article on him yet) come here....plange 22:06, 4 July 2006 (UTC)
 * removed redirect and created stub --plange 22:56, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

AGE
You should write the in-world not real-life age.For example age:tenage-middle 20's(movie).Or just not write it at all. He is not a real-life character he is totaly fictious(though based on John Holmes) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.124.51.178 (talk) 04:56, 14 November 2009 (UTC)

title: Talk:Dirk Diggler


text:
Professor Longhair

Henry Roeland "Roy" Byrd (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980), better known as Professor Longhair or "Fess" for short, was an American singer and pianist who performed New Orleans blues. He was active in two distinct periods, first in the heyday of early rhythm and blues and later in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1970. His piano style has been described as "instantly recognizable, combining rumba, mambo, and calypso".

Music journalist Tony Russell (in his book The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray) wrote that "The vivacious rhumba-rhythmed piano blues and choked singing typical of Fess were too weird to sell millions of records; he had to be content with siring musical offspring who were simple enough to manage that, like Fats Domino or Huey "Piano" Smith. But he is also acknowledged as a father figure by subtler players like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John."

Biography

Byrd was born on December 19, 1918, in Bogalusa, Louisiana, the son of Ella Mae (née Rhodes) and James Byrd. His distinctive style of piano playing was influenced by learning to play on an instrument that was missing some keys.

He began his career in New Orleans in 1948. Mike Tessitore, owner of the Caldonia Club, gave Longhair his stage name. Longhair first recorded in a band called the Shuffling Hungarians in 1949, creating four songs (including the first version of his signature song, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans") for the Star Talent record label. Union problems curtailed their release, but Longhair's next effort for Mercury Records the same year was a winner. Throughout the 1950s, he recorded for Atlantic Records, Federal Records and local labels.

Professor Longhair had only one national commercial hit, "Bald Head", in 1950, under the name Roy Byrd and His Blues Jumpers. He also recorded his favorites, "Tipitina" and "Go to the Mardi Gras". He lacked crossover appeal among white and wide audiences. Yet, he is regarded (and was acknowledged) as being a musician who was highly influential for other prominent musicians, such as Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John.

After suffering a stroke, Professor Longhair recorded "No Buts – No Maybes" in 1957. He re-recorded "Go to the Mardi Gras" in 1959. He first recorded "Big Chief" with its composer, Earl King, in 1964. In the 1960s, Professor Longhair's career faltered. He became a janitor to support himself and fell into a gambling habit.

After a few years during which he disappeared from the music scene, Professor Longhair's musical career finally received "a well deserved renaissance" and wide recognition. He was invited to perform at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in 1971 and at the Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1973. His album The London Concert showcases work he did on a visit to the United Kingdom. That significant career resurrection saw the recording of the album Live on the Queen Mary, which was recorded on March 24, 1975, during a private party hosted by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney on board the retired RMS Queen Mary.

By the 1980s his albums, such as Crawfish Fiesta on Alligator Records and New Orleans Piano on Atlantic Records, had become readily available across America. In 1974 he appeared on the PBS series Soundstage (with Dr. John, Earl King, and The Meters). In 1980 he co-starred (with Tuts Washington and Allen Toussaint) in the film documentary Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together which was produced and directed by filmmaker Stevenson Palfi. That documentary (which aired on public television in 1982 and was rarely seen since), plus a long interview with Fess (which was recorded two days before his sudden death), were included in the 2018 released project "Fess Up".

Professor Longhair died in his sleep of a heart attack while the filming of the documentary was under way (and before the live concert, which was planned to be its climax). Footage from his funeral was included in the documentary. He was interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in New Orleans.

Professor Longhair's manager through those renaissance years of his career was Allison Miner, of which jazz producer George Wein was quoted saying: "Her devotion to Professor Longhair gave him the best years of his life."

Accolades
Professor Longhair was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1987, he was awarded a posthumous Grammy Award for a collection of recordings produced by Quint Davis in 1971 and 1972 released as House Party New Orleans Style. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

Professor Longhair was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2016 at his former home in New Orleans.

In popular culture
His song "Tipitina" was covered by Hugh Laurie on the 2011 CD album Let Them Talk. Laurie is a long-time fan, having used Longhair's "Go to the Mardi Gras" as the theme for the pilot episode of A Bit of Fry & Laurie. Laurie used to perform these two songs regularly during his world concert tours of 2011–2014 with The Copper Bottom Band, and in March 2013 paid tribute to Professor Longhair in a special concert on board RMS Queen Mary.

The New Orleans music venue Tipitina's is named after one of Longhair's signature songs, and was created specifically as a venue for Longhair to perform in his aged years. A bust of Professor Longhair, sculpted by bluesman Coco Robicheaux, greets visitors upon entering the venue.

Afro-Cuban elements
In the 1940s, Professor Longhair was playing with Caribbean musicians, listening a lot to Perez Prado's mambo records, and absorbing and experimenting with it all. He was especially enamored with Cuban music. Longhair's style was known locally as "rumba-boogie". Alexander Stewart stated that Longhair was a key figure bridging the worlds of boogie-woogie and the new style of rhythm and blues. In his composition "Misery," Professor Longhair played a habanera-like figure in his left hand. The deft use of triplets in the right hand is a characteristic of Longhair's style.

Tresillo, the habanera, and related African-based single-celled figures have long been heard in the left hand-part of piano compositions by New Orleans musicians, such as Louis Moreau Gottschalk ("Souvenirs from Havana", 1859) and Jelly Roll Morton ("The Crave", 1910). One of Longhair's great contributions was the adaptation of Afro-Cuban two-celled, clave-based patterns in New Orleans blues. Michael Campbell stated, "Rhythm and blues influenced by Afro-Cuban music first surfaced in New Orleans. Professor Longhair's influence was ... far reaching. In several of his early recordings, Professor Longhair blended Afro-Cuban rhythms with rhythm and blues. The most explicit is 'Longhair's Blues Rhumba', where he overlays a straightforward blues with a clave rhythm." The guajeo-like piano part for the rumba-boogie "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" (1949) employs the 2-3 clave onbeat/offbeat motif. The 2–3 clave time line is written above the piano excerpt for reference.

According to Dr. John, the Professor "put funk into music ... Longhair's thing had a direct bearing I'd say on a large portion of the funk music that evolved in New Orleans." This is the syncopated, but straight subdivision feel of Cuban music (as opposed to swung subdivisions). Alexander Stewart stated that the popular feel was passed along from "New Orleans—through James Brown's music, to the popular music of the 1970s," adding, "The singular style of rhythm & blues that emerged from New Orleans in the years after World War II played an important role in the development of funk. In a related development, the underlying rhythms of American popular music underwent a basic, yet generally unacknowledged transition from triplet or shuffle feel to even or straight eighth notes. Concerning funk motifs, Stewart stated, "This model, it should be noted, is different from a time line (such as clave and tresillo) in that it is not an exact pattern, but more of a loose organizing principle."

Albums

 * Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo (1974)
 * Live on the Queen Mary (1978)
 * Crawfish Fiesta (1980)
 * The London Concert, with Alfred "Uganda" Roberts (1981) (also known as The Complete London Concert)
 * The Last Mardi Gras (1982)
 * Mardi Gras in New Orleans: Live 1975 Recording (1982)
 * House Party New Orleans Style: The Lost Sessions, 1971–1972 (1987)
 * Ball the Wall! Live at Tipitina's 1978 (2004)
 * Live in Germany (1978)
 * Live in Chicago (1976)

Compilations
Source: Professor Longhair discography, AllMusic
 * New Orleans Piano (1972) (also known as New Orleans Piano: Blues Originals, Vol. 2)
 * Mardi Gras In New Orleans 1949–1957 (1981)
 * Mardi Gras in Baton Rouge (1991)
 * Fess: The Professor Longhair Anthology (1993)
 * Fess' Gumbo (1996)
 * Collector's Choice (1996), half an album of hits
 * Way Down Yonder in New Orleans (1997)
 * All His 78's (1999)
 * The Chronological Professor Longhair 1949 (2001)
 * Tipitina: The Complete 1949–1957 New Orleans Recordings (2008)
 * The Primo Collection (2009)
 * Rockin’ with Fess (2013)

Filmography

 * Dr. John's New Orleans Swamp (1974)
 * Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together (1982), award-winning 76-minute documentary film featuring Professor Longhair, Tuts Washington, and Allen Toussaint
 * Fess Up (2018), The feature-length interview with Professor Longhair

Quotation
"Black or white, local or out-of-town, they all had Longhair's music in common. Just that mambo-rhumba boogie thing."

- Allen Toussaint

title: Professor Longhair


text:
Dinah Washington

Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music, and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues". She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Early life
Ruth Lee Jones was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Alice and Ollie Jones, and moved to Chicago as a child. She became deeply involved in gospel music and played piano for the choir in St. Luke's Baptist Church while still in elementary school. She sang gospel music in church and played piano, directing her church choir in her teens and was a member of the Sallie Martin Gospel Singers. When she joined the Sallie Martin group, she dropped out of Wendell Phillips High School. She sang lead with the first female gospel singers formed by Sallie Martin, who was co-founder of the Gospel Singers Convention. Her involvement with the gospel choir occurred after she won an amateur contest at Chicago's Regal Theater where she sang "I Can't Face the Music".

Career
After winning a talent contest at the age of 15, she began performing in clubs. By 1941–42 she was performing in such Chicago clubs as Dave's Café and the Downbeat Room of the Sherman Hotel (with Fats Waller). She was playing at the Three Deuces, a jazz club, when a friend took her to hear Billie Holiday at the Garrick Stage Bar. Club owner Joe Sherman was so impressed with her singing of "I Understand", backed by the Cats and the Fiddle, who were appearing in the Garrick's upstairs room, that he hired her. During her year at the Garrick—she sang upstairs while Holiday performed in the downstairs room—she acquired the name by which she became known. She credited Joe Sherman with suggesting the change from Ruth Jones, made before Lionel Hampton came to hear Dinah at the Garrick. Hampton's visit brought an offer, and Washington worked as his female band vocalist after she had sung with the band for its opening at the Chicago Regal Theatre.

She made her recording debut for the Keynote label that December with "Evil Gal Blues", written by Leonard Feather and backed by Hampton and musicians from his band, including Joe Morris (trumpet) and Milt Buckner (piano). Both that record and its follow-up, "Salty Papa Blues", made the Billboard "Harlem Hit Parade" in 1944. In December 1945, she made a series of 12 recordings for Apollo Records, 10 of which were issued, featuring the Lucky Thompson All Stars.

She stayed with Hampton's band until 1946, after the Keynote label folded, and signed for Mercury Records as a solo singer. Her first record for Mercury, a version of Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'", was another hit, starting a long string of success. Between 1948 and 1955, she had 27 R&B top-10 hits, making her one of the most popular and successful singers of the period. Both "Am I Asking Too Much" (1948) and "Baby Get Lost" (1949) reached Number 1 on the R&B chart, and her version of "I Wanna Be Loved" (1950) crossed over to reach Number 22 on the US Pop Chart. Her hit recordings included blues, standards, novelties, pop covers, and even a version of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" (R&B Number 3, 1951). At the same time as her biggest popular success, she also recorded sessions with many leading jazz musicians, including Clifford Brown and Clark Terry on the album Dinah Jams (1954), and also recorded with Cannonball Adderley and Ben Webster.

In 1950, Washington performed at the sixth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 25. Also featured on the same day were Lionel Hampton, PeeWee Crayton's Orchestra, Roy Milton and his Orchestra, Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers, and other artists. There were 16,000 reported to be in attendance, and the concert ended early because of a fracas while Lionel Hampton played "Flying High". Washington returned to perform at the twelfth Cavalcade of Jazz also at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles on September 2, 1956. Also performing that day were Little Richard, The Mel Williams Dots, Julie Stevens, Chuck Higgin's Orchestra, Bo Rhambo, Willie Hayden & Five Black Birds, The Premiers, Gerald Wilson and His 20-Pc. Recording Orchestra and Jerry Gray and his Orchestra.

In 1959, she had her first top ten pop hit, with a version of "What a Diff'rence a Day Made", which made Number 4 on the US pop chart. Her band at that time included arranger and conductor Belford Hendricks, with Kenny Burrell (guitar), Joe Zawinul (piano), and Panama Francis (drums). She followed it up with a version of Irving Gordon's "Unforgettable", and then two highly successful duets in 1960 with Brook Benton, "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" (No. 5 Pop, No. 1 R&B) and "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)" (No. 7 Pop, No. 1 R&B). Her last big hit was "September in the Rain" in 1961 (No. 23 Pop, No. 5 R&B).

Washington notably performed two numbers in the dirty blues genre. The songs were "Long John Blues" about her dentist, with lyrics like "He took out his trusty drill. Told me to open wide. He said he wouldn't hurt me, but he filled my whole inside." She also recorded a song called "Big Long Slidin' Thing", supposedly about a trombonist.

One source states that Washington "produced 45 R&B-charted hits between 1948 and 1961, including 16 Top 15 placements between 1948 and 1950".

In the 1950s and early 1960s before her death, Washington occasionally performed on the Las Vegas Strip. Tony Bennett said of Washington during a recording session with Amy Winehouse: "She was a good friend of mine, you know. She was great. She used to just come in with two suitcases in Vegas without being booked...And she'd stay as long as she wanted. And all the kids in all the shows on the Strip would come that night. They'd hear that she's in town and it would be packed just for her performance."

According to Richard S. Ginell at AllMusic: "[Washington] was at once one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the mid-20th century – beloved to her fans, devotees, and fellow singers; controversial to critics who still accuse her of selling out her art to commerce and bad taste. Her principal sin, apparently, was to cultivate a distinctive vocal style that was at home in all kinds of music, be it R&B, blues, jazz, middle of the road pop – and she probably would have made a fine gospel or country singer had she the time. Hers was a gritty, salty, high-pitched voice, marked by absolute clarity of diction and clipped, bluesy phrasing."

Washington was well known for singing torch songs. In 1962, Dinah hired a male backing trio called the Allegros, consisting of Jimmy Thomas on drums, Earl Edwards on sax, and Jimmy Sigler on organ. Edwards was replaced on sax by John Payne. A Variety writer praised their vocals as "effective choruses".

Washington's achievements included appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival (1955–1959), the Randalls Island Jazz Festival in New York City (1959), and the International Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C. (1962), frequent gigs at Birdland (1958, 1961–1962), and performances in 1963 with Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

Personal life and death
Washington was married seven times,  although according to other sources she had six, eight or nine husbands.

Early in the morning of December 14, 1963, Washington's last husband, football player Dick "Night Train" Lane, went to sleep with Washington and awoke later to find her slumped over and not responsive. Dr. B.C. Ross pronounced her dead at the scene at age 39. An autopsy later showed a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, prescriptions for her insomnia and diet, which contributed to her death. She is buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

Awards

 * Grammy Award

Recordings by Dinah Washington were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old, and that have "qualitative or historical significance."
 * Grammy Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed her "TV Is the Thing (This Year)" as one of the songs that shaped rock and roll.
 * Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 * Honors and Inductions
 * Unforgettable: A Tribute to Dinah Washington is a 1964 album recorded by Aretha Franklin as a tribute.
 * In 1993, the U.S. Post Office issued a Dinah Washington 29 cent commemorative postage stamp.
 * In 2005, the Board of Commissioners renamed a park, near where Washington had lived in Chicago in the 1950s, Dinah Washington Park in her honor.
 * In 2008, the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Washington's birthplace, renamed the section of 30th Avenue between 15th Street and Kaulton Park "Dinah Washington Avenue." The unveiling ceremony for the new name took place on March 12, 2009, with Washington's son Robert Grayson and three of her grandchildren in attendance.
 * On August 29, 2013, the city of Tuscaloosa also dedicated the former Allen Jemison Hardware building, on the northwest corner of Greensboro Avenue and 7th Street (620 Greensboro Avenue), as the newly renovated Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center."

Album discography
• After Hours with Miss "D" (1954)

• Dinah Jams (1955)

• For Those in Love (1955)

• Dinah! (1956)

• In the Land of Hi-Fi (1956)

• The Swingin' Miss "D" (1957)

• Dinah Washington Sings Fats Waller (1957)

• Dinah Sings Bessie Smith (1958)

• Newport '58 (1958)

• What a Diff'rence a Day Makes! (1959)

• September In The Rain (1960)

• Unforgettable (1961)

• Drinking Again (1962)

• Tears and Laughter (1962)

• Back to the Blues (1963)

• Dinah '63 (1963)

• This Is My Story (1963)

title: Dinah Washington


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Location: Asheville, NC

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title: User:Adidaskid


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Ultranationalism

Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its specific interests. Ultranationalist entities have been associated with the engagement of political violence even during peacetime. The belief system has also been cited as the inspiration for acts of organized mass murder in the context of international conflicts, with the Cambodian genocide being cited as an example.

In ideological terms, scholars such as the British political theorist Roger Griffin have found that ultranationalism arises from seeing modern nation-states as living organisms which are directly akin to physical people because they can decay, grow, and die, and additionally, they can experience rebirth. In stark mythological ways, political campaigners have divided societies into those societies which are perceived as being degenerately inferior and those societies which are perceived as having great cultural destinies. Ultranationalism has been an aspect of fascism, with historic governments such as the regimes of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany building on ultranationalist foundations by using specific plans for supposed widespread national renewal.

Ultranationalist characters have served as villains in multiple works of fictional media with popular acclaim as well. Examples include the dramatic productions Air Force One and Incitement, both being action films.

Background concepts and broader context

British political theorist Roger Griffin has stated that ultranationalism is essentially founded on xenophobia in a way that finds supposed legitimacy "through deeply mythicized narratives of past cultural or political periods of historical greatness or of old scores to settle against alleged enemies". It can also draw on "vulgarized forms" of different aspects of the natural sciences such as anthropology and genetics, eugenics specifically playing a role, in order "to rationalize ideas of national superiority and destiny, of degeneracy and subhumanness" in Griffin's opinion. Ultranationalists view the modern nation-state as, according to Griffin, a living organism directly akin to a physical person such that it can decay, grow, die, and additionally experience rebirth. He has highlighted Nazi Germany as a regime which was founded on ultranationalism.

Ultranationalist activism can adopt varying attitudes towards historical traditions within the populace. For instance, the British Union of Fascists inside the United Kingdom adopted a secularist-minded platform centered on perceived technological progress. In contrast, the Iron Guard inside Romania utilized a hardline form of mysticism-driven religion to encourage determination among the nation's ultranationalists. Nonetheless, obsessive views on ethnicity and other divisions as well as connecting politics to motifs of sacrifice generally constitute the psychological framework behind these movements.

According to American scholar Janusz Bugajski, summing up the doctrine in practical terms, "in its most extreme or developed forms, ultra-nationalism resembles fascism, marked by a xenophobic disdain of other nations, support for authoritarian political arrangements verging on totalitarianism, and a mythical emphasis on the 'organic unity' between a charismatic leader, an organizationally amorphous movement-type party, and the nation". Bugajski believes that civic nationalism and the related concept of patriotism both can contain significantly positive elements, contributing to the common social good at times such as during national calamities. These doctrines stand in contrast, in his opinion, to the extreme approach of certain ideologies with more irrational actions.

Historical movements and analysis

American historian Walter Skya has written in Japan's Holy War: The Ideology of Radical Shinto Ultranationalism that ultranationalism in Japan drew upon traditional Shinto spiritual beliefs and militaristic attitudes regarding the nation's racial identity. By the early twentieth century, fanaticism arising from this combination of ethnic nationalism and religious nationalism caused opposition to democratic governance and support for Japanese territorial expansion. Skya particularly noted in his work the connection between ultranationalism and political violence by citing how, between 1921 and 1936, three serving and two former Prime Ministers of Japan were assassinated. The totalitarian Japanese government of the 1930s and 1940s did not just rely on encouragement by the country's military. It additionally received widespread popular support.

The Cambodian historian Sambo Manara has found that the belief system sets forth a vision of supremacism in terms of international relations whereby xenophobia or hatred of foreigners to the point of extremism leads to policies of social separation and segregation. He has argued that the Cambodian genocide is a specific example of this ideology when it is applied in practice. "Obviously, it was ultranationalism, combined with the notion of class struggle in communism and a group of politicians, which lead to the establishment of Democratic Kampuchea, a ruthless regime which claimed approximately three million lives", he has remarked, with militant leaders finally deciding to "cut all diplomatic and economic ties with almost all countries" due to a "narrow-minded doctrine without taking into account all the losses they would face". In Manara's opinion, "this effectively destroyed the nation."

The absolute dictatorship of the Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu has also been described as an example of communism taking an ultranationalist approach by Haaretz. The Israeli publication cited the antisemitism of the dictator in terms of actions such as his historical denialism of the Holocaust. Ceausescu also made efforts to purge Romanians who had Jewish backgrounds from positions of political authority.

Haaretz has also labeled the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban an ultranationalist, due to his views on autocratic rule and racial identity, particularly, Orban's public condemnation of "race-mixing". He has also been called an ultranationalist by NPR, an American news agency, citing his opposition to democratic liberalism.

In late 2015, the Israeli political journalist Gideon Levy wrote that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict has led to the decay of the civil society within Israel, with an ultranationalist movement that "bases its power on incitement to hatred" using "folkloric religion" gaining ground over decades so that: "'They were the only ones willing to fight for a collective goal. They did not rule out any means. They extorted and exploited the weaknesses of government, the guilt feelings and confusion of the secular camp, and they won. They did so systematically and smartly: First they established the foundation of their existence, the settlement enterprise. After they achieved their goal– the killing off of any diplomatic agreement and destruction of the two-state solution– they were free to turn to their next target: taking control of the public debate in Israel on the road to changing its power structure, character and substance.'"

Russian irredentism, in which a militant imperial state that stretches across both Asia and Europe without regard for current international borders is proposed, has been described as ultranationalism by the U.S. publication the Los Angeles Times, with the aggressive actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin being credited as an evolution of political arguments which were made by multiple figures in the past. Examples include Nikolai Berdyaev, Aleksandr Dugin (the author of 1997's The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia), Lev Gumilyov, and Ivan Ilyin. The newspaper highlighted the justifications which were given in support of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, quoting Putin's declaration that he must militarily combat an "empire of lies" which was created by the U.S. in order to justify its desire to suffocate Russia.

In a 2021 story, the business-centered publication Bloomberg News stated that the rise of ultranationalist viewpoints in China, particularly in terms of those who advocate extremism on social media, presents a direct challenge to the current government of the nation, with General Secretary Xi Jinping facing opposition to his attempts to set forth climate change based economic reforms in relation to greenhouse gases. Chinese political activists have asserted, according to the publication, a conspiracy theory that said that the reforms represent some kind of capitulation to foreign interests at the expense of individual Chinese people. Environmentalist policies have come into being in a complex fashion inside China, facing complicated opinions among many.

Under the rule of Mohammed bin Salman, who formally serves as a Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia has been described by multiple analysts as embracing ultranationalism in a shift away from the government's previous reliance on Islamist political arguments. For instance, the news agency France 24 stated in a 2019 report that while "promoting ultra-nationalism" the Crown Prince "has introduced glitzy concerts, magic shows and sporting extravaganzas with thumping after parties." A 2019 article by the Financial Times likewise described the ideological shift as "a wave" that the leader had "swept across the kingdom".

Currently represented in national governments or legislatures
The following political parties have been characterised as ultranationalist.

 * 🇦🇫 Afghanistan: Taliban
 * 🇦🇺 Australia: Pauline Hanson's One Nation
 * 🇦🇹 Austria: Freedom Party of Austria
 * 🇧🇪 Belgium: Vlaams Belang
 * 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: Revival,  Velichie
 * 🇨🇱 Chile: Republican Party
 * 🇭🇷 Croatia: Homeland Movement
 * 🇨🇾 Cyprus: ELAM
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic: Freedom and Direct Democracy
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark: Danish People's Party
 * 🇪🇪 Estonia: Conservative People's Party of Estonia
 * 🇫🇷 France: National Rally
 * 🇫🇮 Finland: Finns Party
 * 🇩🇪 Germany: Alternative for Germany
 * 🇬🇷 Greece: Spartans, Greek Solution, Victory
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary: Our Homeland Movement
 * 🇮🇳 India: Shiv Sena
 * 🇮🇱 Israel: Otzma Yehudit, Mafdal–Religious Zionism
 * 🇮🇹 Italy: Brothers of Italy
 * 🇱🇻 Latvia: National Alliance
 * 🇲🇲 Myanmar: Union Solidarity and Development Party
 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands: Party for Freedom, Forum for Democracy
 *  Palestine: Hamas
 * 🇵🇱 Poland: Confederation Liberty and Independence (National Movement )
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal: Chega
 * 🇷🇴 Romania: Alliance for the Union of Romanians
 * 🇷🇺 Russia: Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Rodina
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa: Economic Freedom Fighters
 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia: Slovak National Party
 * 🇪🇸 Spain: Vox
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden: Sweden Democrats
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland: Swiss People's Party
 * 🇹🇭 Thailand: Palang Pracharath Party
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey: Nationalist Movement Party
 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine: Svoboda

The following political parties have been described as having ultranationalist factions.

 * 🇦🇷 Argentina: La Libertad Avanza
 * 🇧🇷 Brazil: Liberal Party
 * 🇨🇳 China: Chinese Communist Party
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary: Fidesz
 * 🇮🇳 India: Bharatiya Janata Party
 * 🇮🇩 Indonesia: Gerindra
 * 🇮🇹 Italy: Lega
 * 🇯🇵 Japan: Liberal Democratic Party
 * 🇵🇱 Poland: Law and Justice
 * 🇷🇺 Russia: United Russia

Represented parties with former ultranationalist tendencies or factions
The following political parties historically had ultranationalist tendencies.
 * 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina: Serb Democratic Party
 *  China: Kuomintang
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary: Jobbik
 * 🇮🇩 Indonesia: Golkar
 * 🇱🇧 Lebanon: Kataeb Party
 * 🇲🇾 Malaysia: United Malays National Organisation
 *  North Macedonia: VMRO-DPMNE
 * 🇷🇸 Serbia: Serbian Renewal Movement
 *  Syria: Syrian Social Nationalist Party

The following political parties have historically been described as having ultranationalist factions.
 * 🇮🇱 Israel: Yisrael Beiteinu
 * 🇹🇼 Taiwan: Democratic Progressive Party
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey: Good Party

Formerly represented in national governments or legislatures

 * 🇧🇪 Belgium: Vlaams Blok
 * 🇧🇬 Bulgaria: Attack, VMRO, National Front for the Salvation of Bulgaria
 * 🇰🇭 Cambodia: Communist Party of Kampuchea
 * 🇭🇷 Croatia: Ustaše, Croatian Party of Rights, Croatian Pure Party of Rights
 * 🇨🇿 Czech Republic: Rally for the Republic – Republican Party of Czechoslovakia, National Fascist Community
 * 🇫🇮 Finland: Patriotic People's Movement
 * 🇩🇪 Germany: National Socialist German Workers' Party, German National People's Party, German Right Party
 * 🇬🇷 Greece: Freethinkers' Party, Golden Dawn,  Popular Orthodox Rally
 * 🇭🇺 Hungary: Arrow Cross Party, Unity Party, Hungarian Justice and Life Party
 * 🇮🇳 India: Hindu Mahasabha
 * 🇮🇷 Iran: Pan-Iranist Party
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq: Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region
 * 🇮🇱 Israel: Kach, Religious Zionist Party, Tehiya, Moledet, Hatikva, Jewish National Front, Herut – The National Movement
 * 🇮🇹 Italy: National Fascist Party, Italian Social Movement
 * 🇯🇵 Japan: Imperial Rule Assistance Association
 * 🇵🇹 Portugal: National Union
 * 🇵🇭 Philippines: Kilusang Bagong Lipunan
 * 🇷🇴 Romania: Iron Guard, National Christian Party, National-Christian Defense League, Romanian National Unity Party, Greater Romania Party
 * 🇷🇼 Rwanda: Coalition for the Defence of the Republic
 * 🇷🇸 Serbia: Serbian Radical Party, Party of Serbian Unity, Dveri,    Serbian Party Oathkeepers
 * 🇸🇰 Slovakia: Slovak People's Party, People's Party Our Slovakia, Republic
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa: National Party
 * 🇰🇷 South Korea: National Youth
 * 🇪🇸 Spain: FET y de las JONS
 * 🇹🇼 Taiwan: New Party, Taiwan Solidarity Union
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey: Republican Villagers Nation Party, Victory Party, Great Union Party
 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine: Right Sector

Ultranationalist organizations

 *  China: Blue Shirts Society
 * 🇫🇮 Finland: Suomen Sisu
 * 🇫🇷 France: Action Française, Bloc Identitaire
 * 🇮🇳 India: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bajrang Dal
 * 🇮🇩 Indonesia: Pancasila Youth
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq: Golden Square
 * 🇮🇱 Israel: Im Tirtzu, Lehava, Lehi
 * 🇮🇪 Ireland: Army Comrades Association
 * 🇮🇹 Italy: CasaPound
 * 🇯🇵 Japan: Nippon Kaigi,  Zaitokukai
 * 🇲🇾 Malaysia: Perkasa
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico: Nationalist Front of Mexico, National Synarchist Union
 * 🇲🇲 Myanmar: Patriotic Association of Myanmar
 *  Palestine: Palestinian Islamic Jihad
 * 🇵🇱 Poland: All-Polish Youth
 * 🇷🇺 Russia: Club of Angry Patriots, Night Wolves, Russian Imperial Movement, Wagner Group
 * 🇰🇷 South Korea: White Shirts Society
 * 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka: Bodu Bala Sena, Sinhala Ravaya
 * 🇹🇷 Turkey: Grey Wolves,  Turkish Revenge Brigade
 * 🇺🇦 Ukraine: Azov Brigade
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: English Defence League, Siol nan Gaidheal
 * 🇺🇸 United States: Proud Boys, Patriot Front

Ultranationalist terrorism

Arising out of strident Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism, with differing ethnic and religious groups placed at odds, the militant faction known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) orchestrated a decades long campaign of terrorism in the country of Sri Lanka, which is inside of the Indian Ocean and has been influenced by broader socio-political trends. Both ultranationalism as well as revolutionary ideologies aligned against capitalist policies influencing Sri Lankan life motivated the organization as it undertook a series of violent actions against both the national government and the supporters of the state. These attacks have collectively caused a large number of civilian deaths. For example, the Anuradhapura massacre committed by the LTTE on May 14, 1985 resulted in the killing of over one-hundred individuals inside of a holy city associated with local Buddhist worshippers. The militants deliberately targeted civilians socializing outdoors, such as by executing an elderly florist serving religious travelers.

In the context of the LTTE's militant campaign, the academic publication Journal of Hate Studies found in a 2006 analysis that "ultranationalism subordinates all other claims for loyalty and allegiance" given that "[l]oyalty to the nation transcends loyalty to the family." Thus, "this notion explains the commitment of Tamil Tiger nationalists to [even] engage in suicide missions", since the journal stated that "[u]ltranationalist loyalty demands the willingness to sacrifice the self." In conclusion, the publication reported that an "extremist nationalist claim not only is understood as supreme, but [it] also is presented as urgent" and then demands political activists "must engage in preventive measures, such as ethnic cleansing or deportation".

The assassination of Pavlos Fyssas in September 2013, a hip-hop musician with left-wing views, from stabbing wounds to the heart and ribs that occurred after his surrounding by multiple dozen Golden Dawn militants triggered widespread outrage at the Greek political organization. The ultranationalist attack occurred in an Athens suburb and resulted in a police crackdown with several arrests. The then Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection, Nikos Dendias, remarked that the "abominable murder" done "by an attacker sympathizing with Golden Dawn" publicly "illustrates, in the clearest way, the intentions of neo-Nazism".

The organization held, at the time, 18 of the 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament. Characterized as an extremist political party directly adapting the beliefs of Adolf Hitler, support for its ultranationalism increased in the context of the debate over spiking immigration to Greece. However, the Greek legal system ultimately investigated the assassination and other acts of violence with the outcome of an October 2020 verdict by the Athens Court of Appeals wiping out the party's leadership through prison sentences. Looking back, the British publication The Guardian reported in 2021, "Golden Dawn hit squads sowed terror on the streets, targeting immigrants, left[-]wing trade unionists[,] and other perceived opponents before a party operative ultimately confessed to the killing of Fyssas."

Portrayals of ultranationalism in fiction
The action film Air Force One features a terrorist mastermind named Egor Korshunov, played by actor Gary Oldman, who kidnaps a set of hostages including the U.S. President by hijacking the leader's plane. Korshunov seeks revenge due to the arrest of Kazakh dictator Ivan Radek, played by actor Jürgen Prochnow, and the militant became an ultranationalist radical after having formerly served as a Soviet soldier. In February 2022, the U.S. armed forces related website Military.com published a story labeling the character as one of the best "Russian Movie Villains" in American cinematic history. As well, writer Todd McCarthy of Variety lauded the nature of Oldman's "fanatical" character, McCarthy stating that "in his second malevolent lead of the summer, after The Fifth Element, [he] registers strongly as a veteran of the Afghan campaign pushed to desperate lengths to newly ennoble his country."

The Israeli movie Incitement portrayals a fictionalized account of ultranationalist activist and murderer Yigal Amir. The production details his personal life prior to his assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Film critic Nell Minow stated that the killer, played by actor Yehuda Nahari, projects a superficial charm and skill at persuasion while at the same time failing to generate audience sympathy due to his true nature still coming out. Amir seeing himself in a callous, "instrumentalist" way as a living weapon up to and including Rabin's assassination feeds into, in Minow's opinion, the movie's "chillingly" thriller-type quality. Writer Carla Hay of CultureMixOnline.com also found Nahari's performance to be a compelling portrayal of a sociopath in film, with much left to audience interpretations.

The video game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has gained notice for its depiction of a civil war inside Russia between the country's government and an ultranationalist faction, with the entertainment production being released in 2007. Its sequels, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2011), were set in the aftermath of an ultranationalist coup d'état in Russia and a subsequent war involving the American military. Militant leader Vladimir Makarov, a character in multiple games, notably declares at one point, "Russia will take all of Europe, even if it must stand upon a pile of ashes."

title: Ultranationalism


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Tuanku Imam Bonjol

Tuanku Imam Bonjol (1772 – 6 November 1864), also known as Muhammad Syahab, Peto Syarif, and Malim Basa, was one of the most popular leaders of the Padri movement in Central Sumatra. He was declared a National Hero of Indonesia.

Biography
Tuanku Imam Bonjol was born in Bonjol, Pasaman, West Sumatra. His family, of Moroccan origin, came from Sungai Rimbang, Suliki, Limapuluh Koto. His parents name were Bayanuddin (father) and Hamatun (mother). He was immersed in Islamic studies as he grew up, studying first from his father and later under various other Muslim theologians.

After founding the state of Bonjol, Syarif became involved in the Adat-Padri controversy as a Padri leader. The Padri movement, which has been compared to the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah (Sunni) school of Islam in the now Saudi Arabia, was an effort to return the Islam of the area to the purity of its roots by removing local distortions like gambling, cockfighting, the use of opium and strong drink, tobacco, and so forth. It also opposed the powerful role of women in the matrilineal Minangkabau culture. The Adat, or traditionalist, position was that local custom that pre-dated the arrival of Islam should also be respected and followed.

Feeling their leadership position threatened, the traditionalists appealed to the Dutch for help in their struggle against the Padris. At first, the Dutch were not able to win militarily against the Padris because their resources were stretched thin by the Diponegoro resistance in Java. In 1824, the Dutch signed the Masang Agreement ending hostilities with the state of Bonjol.

Subsequently, however, once the Diponegoro resistance was suppressed, the Dutch attacked the state of Pandai Sikat in a renewed effort to gain control of West Sumatra. Despite valiant fighting by the Indonesians (by this time the traditionalists had realised they didn't want to be ruled by the Dutch either and had joined forces with the Padris in their resistance), the overwhelming power of the Dutch military eventually prevailed. Syarif was captured in 1832 but escaped after three months to continue the struggle from his tiny fortress in Bonjol.

After three years of siege, the Dutch finally managed to sack Bonjol on 16 August 1837. Through a negotiation ruse, the Dutch again captured Syarif and exiled him, first to Cianjur in West Java, then to Ambon, and later to Manado in Sulawesi. He died on 6 November 1864, at the age of 92 and is buried in Sulawesi. The site of his grave is marked by a Minangkabau (West Sumatran) house.

Controversy over National Hero Title
Imam Bonjol and the Padri Movement have been accused of Wahhabism and of conducting crime against Batak people according to some Batak historians, specifically Mangaradja Onggang Parlindungan and international sources. Some Batak historians argued that Imam Bonjol does not deserve the National Hero title because of his past actions and his ideological motives. Reports from Dutch colonial and Batak lore about the notoriety of Imam Bonjol's movement have been the source for almost a century of discussion among experts on the role of Imam Bonjol in the past.

title: Tuanku Imam Bonjol