BOTANIZING WITH THE OKINAWANS — WALKER 365 



recently established Ryukyu-seifu replaces the governments of the 

 four units into which the Ryukyus were divided after the war and 

 operates directly through the local town or island governments. 

 There are still United States branch administrative offices established 

 on Amami-Oshima, Miyako, and Ishigaki Islands. 



Okinawa Island is 65 miles long and 2 to 8 miles wide, with pro- 

 truding peninsulas and intrusive bays here and there. Its postwar 

 population is about 580,000. Its three "counties," Kunigami-gun, 

 Nakagami-gun, and Shimajiri-gun, are units commonly referred to, 

 being the domains of the independent kings of historic earlier times. 

 From the narrow neck southward one traverses the rolling hills and 

 plains, with evidences of the war's destructiveness on every hand 

 (pi. 2, lower, and pi. 3, upper). The rocks and soils here are of geo- 

 logically recent origin, gravels, clays, and limestone, the last often ex- 

 posed in strikingly rugged ravine sides and jagged knobs protrud- 

 ing sharply above the level land, these pitted and penetrated by 

 caves. This limestone is the coral so often referred to in describing 

 the war terrain, though true coral exists mainly in the reefs which 

 abundantly line the island's shores. Because of its less rugged ter- 

 rain this southern portion is largely under cultivation, or at least 

 human control, and is dotted with villages, towns, and cities, the 

 largest, Naha, the capital, with 44,700 population, and Shuri with 

 20,014 (December 1950). As one goes north from the narrow neck 

 of the island he leaves the depressing war zone, and his spirits rise 

 with the increasing height and ruggedness of the hills and the 

 abundance of vegetation (pi. 8, lower). Here steep, forested moun- 

 tains occupy most of the land, rising in peaks to over 1,600 feet, ac- 

 cessible only by trails from the coastal road on the west and the 

 lesser one on the east. Agriculture is confined to the river mouths, 

 coastal strips, and lower foothills (pi. 4). Nago, with 14,842 postwar 

 population, is a relatively trim place with hardly a war trace. Geolog- 

 ically the mountains are of more ancient limestone and sandstone, 

 with a few igneous intrusions. 



The climate of the Ryukyu chain is oceanic, although dominated in 

 part by the monsoon winds blowing toward the great Asiatic continent 

 in summer and from it in winter. The summer temperatures 3 are 

 raised above the level one would normally expect at this latitude 

 through the influence of the Japanese or "kuroshio" (=black) cur- 

 rent flowing up from the hot South China Sea. The thermometer, 

 however, seldom reaches into the 90's, and 96° F. is the highest tem- 

 perature on record. The discomfort of this climate is due to the com- 

 bination of monotonous and relatively high temperatures, high hu- 

 midity, and bright sun. The average annual temperature for Naha 



*The following figures are taken from the Civil Affairs Handbook (1). 



