388 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 194 7 



than elsewhere. Lack of a well-equipped fishing fleet restricted the 

 over-all catch, although Kyukyuans were famous all over the Pacific 

 as fishermen. Their commercial fishing techniques were unexcelled 

 throughout the world, according to professional fishing men (Mur- 

 dock, personal communication). 



Otheb Work 



While three-quarters of the gainfully employed produced food, the 

 remainder made a living in crafts, services, and commerce. The pro- 

 portions employed in these categories were, respectively, 12, 7, and 5 

 percent in 1930 ^ for the Central and South Ryukyus. Most of those 

 engaged in crafts made goods of Japanese design for export. A smaller 

 number produced hand-made utilitarian items for the local markets, 

 or were in the building trade. The rest did relatively unskilled manual 

 work in such industries as mining, quarrying, and lumbering. 



In the Central and South Eyukyus, the major service occupations 

 were, in descending order, banking and insurance; hotel, restaurant, 

 and entertainment ; transportation ; domestic service ; education ; and 

 government service. The numbers m religious, legal, medical, literary, 

 and artistic fields were notably small, but need not indicate intellectual 

 impoverishment under the Japanese. On the contrary, the literacy 

 rate was high, and even the peasant homes appear to contain more and 

 better books than the average American home (Murdock, personal 

 communication ) . 



In the field of commerce, most of the people were small local mer- 

 chants, although a few had trade connections with Japan and For- 

 mosa. Most rural settlements had general markets where vendors 

 sold food, ceramics, cloth, and tools, but these were on a decline in 

 the 1930's and 1940's. Specialized markets for such commodities 

 as livestock were located in the larger towns. Retail shops in the 

 cities increased in number, owing perhaps to the influx of Japanese 

 capital there. In addition, a few branch stores were established by 



Japanese firms. 



Food Habits and Diet 



With the exception of some food imports and local barter, the 

 Ryukyuan people ate what they raised and caught. Sweetpotatoes, 

 therefore, were the national food, with rice an important secondary 

 item. Other vegetables, such as soy beans, cabbages, carrots, green 

 onions, eggplants, squash, cucumbers, taro, and small tomatoes, were 

 eaten only in minor quantities since many households did not raise 



* It is improbable that the 1940's brought much change in these figures. As Japan 

 girded itself for war, some Ryukyuan weavers were forced into other occupations, and others 

 were conscripted for work in the Empire's war plants, or for military service abroad. Of 

 those remaining in the Ryukyus, the proportions engaged in food production, crafts, services, 

 and commerce probably remained the same. 



