RYUKYU PEOPLE — NEWMAN AND ENG 389 



truck gardens. Some flour from wheat, millet, or barley was used, 

 but usually just for occasional fancy baking. Noodles and imported 

 vermicelli were also used. Fresh fruits were rarely eaten. Fish and 

 especially meat were "prestige" foods, which is another way of saying 

 that not everyone could afford them. They appeared on the family 

 table as often as availability and buying power permitted. Horse 

 mackerel, shark, flyingfish, tuna, and bonito represented the largest 

 coastal catches. Cuttlefish, octopus, shellfish, and seaweed were also 

 taken. In times of famine, the coral reefs and rock pools were 

 thoroughly searched for edibles. Most of the meat was pork, with 

 goat flesh secondary in importance. When not eaten fresh, it was 

 salted down for future use. Beef was also eaten, but was more likely 

 to be exported on the hoof. Indeed, many farm households felt they 

 could ill afford not to sell much of their livestock. 



Food was most usually boiled or cooked in vegetable oil or pork 

 fat. Steaming and baking in brick ovens were practiced in some 

 households. Foods were seldom eaten fresh or raw. The most com- 

 mon seasoning was soy bean sauce, and in addition salt, vinegar, and 

 tomato paste were used. 



Compared to Western dietary standards,^ Kuylcyu diet appears to 

 be bulky and to have a high carbohydrate content. It has been sug- 

 gested that the unusually long, large colon of the Kyukyuans may 

 be an adaptation to this bulky vegetarian fare.'^ High-quality pro- 

 teins and fats seem somewhat lacking in their diets. Further analysis 

 might indicate a low intake of one or more of the B vitamins. But 

 regardless of how the diet measures up to modern nutritional de- 

 siderata, the Ryukyuans did very well on it. On the basis of their 

 hardiness, longevity, fertility, and small amount of metabolic dis- 

 turbances and deficiency diseases, Steiner (1947, p. 241) feels the 

 diet to be well suited to the people. This in turn would imply the 

 basic adequacy of the food economy. 



Technology and Akt 



ArchiteeW/re. — Public buildings built in modern times closely fol- 

 low Japanese and occasionally Western architectural styles and are 

 usually of cut and mortared stone or concrete construction. The old 

 castles and shrines of yesteryear Ryukyu show considerable Chinese 

 as well as Japanese influence. The larger ancient structures were 

 strongly constructed of cut stone, and ones like Shuri castle were even 

 hard to reduce by bombing and shellfire. Smaller edifices were made 

 of stone or mortised frame and panel construction. 



Home dwellings range from the temporary rural hut shown in plate 

 4, lower, to urban homes as elaborately made as the priest's house in 



" Sea Steiner, 1946. pp. 18-19 ; 1947, pp. 240-241. 

 "' Steiner, 194C, p. 5. 



