Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
American interest in Okinawa Island first developed over 150 years ago when President
Millard Fillmore (1800-74) directed Commodore Matthew C. Perry (1794-1858) to “secure
one or more ports of refuge of easy access for American shipping and whaling vessels in the
Western Pacific.” Naha was one of the ports selected by Perry. On July 11, 1854, he signed
the “Compact between the United States and the Kingdom of Loo Choo,” the old name for
the Ryukyu Islands, with representatives of the kingdom. The Compact provided for trad-
ing rights and the provisioning of wood and water for American vessels. At that same time,
concurrent with the negotiation of the treaty, the International Cemetery was founded. Three
members of Commodore Perry's crew had recently died and were buried in the cemetery at
that time. It has remained a place of final rest for foreigners who have died in the Ryukyu
Islands for the past century.
The International Cemetery at Tomari.
Although the cemetery was destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, it was re-
stored and subsequently re-established in 1955. US Service members and others maintain the
cemetery today on an annual volunteer “clean-up” day.
The Kuroshio Current
(
黒潮
)
Okinawa's coral reefs are the northernmost such reefs in the world. They are sustained by the warm
Kuroshiro Current (lit. “Black Tide,” a reference to its deep dark blue waters), which ranges between
68 and 86
°
Fahrenheit (20-30
°
Cenigrade) throughout the year. Also known as the “Japanese Cur-
rent“ (
日本海流
; Nihon Kairyū), the flow starts near Taiwan and travels several thousand miles north-
east unil it meets the cold currents of the North Paciic. It is approximately 60 miles (100 kilometers)
wide.
