is the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 317,405 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 7,939 persons per km² (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is Naha is located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of Okinawa Prefecture. The modern city was officially founded on May 20, 1921. Before that, Naha had been for centuries one of the most important and populous sites in Okinawa. Naha is the political, economic and education center of Okinawa Prefecture. In the medieval and early modern periods, it was the commercial center of the

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

Geography

City center

Central Naha consists of the Palette Kumoji shopping mall, the

Okinawa Prefecture Office The is one of the tallest buildings in Naha City, Okinawa, Japan, and is the center for Japanese governmental functions stretching across Okinawa Prefecture. There are 14 floors above ground and two below including a civic hall and government ...

, Naha City Hall, and many banks and corporations, located at the west end of Kokusai-dōri, the city's main street. boasts a 1.6 kilometer (1 mile) long stretch of stores, restaurants and bars. Kokusai-dōri ends at the main bus terminal in Okinawa and is served by several stations along the

Okinawa Urban Monorail The , also known as , is a monorail line serving the cities of Naha and Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan. Operated by , it opened on 10 August 2003, and is the only public rail system in Okinawa Prefecture. Yui Rail is the first rail line on Okinawa ...

, the only train system in the prefecture. Spurring off from Kokusai-dōri is the covered Heiwa-dōri Shopping Arcade and Makishi Public Market, a massive ''

shōtengai A shōtengai () is a style of Japanese commercial district, typically in the form of a local market street that is closed to car traffic. Local shōtengai cater to the needs of nearby residents with a diverse mix of small specialty shops and few ...

'' filled with fresh fish, meat, and produce stands, restaurants, tourist goods shops, and liquor shops. Just outside the market area is the neighborhood of , which was once a major center of ceramic production (see

Tsuboya-yaki is a type of Ryukyuan pottery traditionally produced in Tsuboya, a pottery district in the city of Naha, in the prefecture Okinawa. Okinawan craftsmen began engaging in this form of pottery in 1682, and have since passed down the craft for gen ...

). Northeast of Kokusai-dōri is a relatively new commercial district called . The area, formerly

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

housing, was released to Okinawa in 1987, but major development only began in the mid-1990s.

Omoromachi Station is a railway station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail) located in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. In the original plans, this station was to be called Makabi Station, after the neighboring district, but opened as Omoromachi Station o ...

is attached directly to an upscale shopping mall; another mall, Naha Main Place, a few hundred meters (yards) down the street, contains many upscale Western-brand fashion boutiques, with restaurants and other shops. Frequented by young people, the area boasts large stores such as

Toys R Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include Toy block, toy blocks, Board game, board games, and Doll, dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed sp ...

and Best Denki (an electronics store), a co-op market, many restaurants and a movie theater. The

Okinawa Prefectural Museum The is a museum in the most southern prefecture of Japan. The museum complex in the Omoro-machi area of Naha, the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture. It opened in November 2007, and includes art, history, and natural history museums focusing ...

, containing sections devoted to the art, history, and natural history of the Ryukyus, opened in the area in November 2007 and sits in front of Shintoshin Park.

History

According to the , the name of Naha comes from its original name, Naba, which was the name of a large,

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

-shaped stone in the city. (''Naba'' is a Western Japanese and Ryukyuan word for "

.") Gradually, the stone wore away and became buried, and the name's pronunciation and its

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

gradually changed. Naha Okinawa 1856

In Naha, some archeological relics of the Stone Age were found. From a Jōmon period '' kaizuka'' (shell mound), ancient Chinese coins were found. Pottery found by archaeologists indicates that the area was an active site of trade with the Japanese archipelago and Korean peninsula at least as early as the 11th century. Though it is not known just when the area first became organized as a functioning port city, it was active as such by the time of the unification of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in the early 15th century. Though today Naha has grown to incorporate the former royal capital city of Shuri, center of Chinese learning

Kumemura was an Okinawan community of scholars, bureaucrats, and diplomats in the port city of Naha near the royal capital of Shuri, which was a center of culture and learning during the time of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The people of Kumemura, traditionally ...

, and other towns and villages, in the period of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, it was a smaller city, prominent as a major port, but not as a political center. Medieval Naha was on a tiny island called Ukishima, connected to the mainland of Okinawa Island by a narrow causeway called which led on to Shuri. The main port area for international trade, Naha proper, was divided into the and districts and was on the southwestern portion of Ukishima. A large open-air marketplace was active in front of the royal government trading center, or . A number of Japanese temples and shrines were located here, along with a residence and embassy, known as the , for visiting Chinese officials. A pair of forts (Mie gusuku and Yarazamori gusuku) built atop embankments extending out across the entrance to the harbor defended the port, and a small island within the harbor held a warehouse, , used for storing trade goods. , on the mainland of Okinawa Island to the northeast of Ukishima, served as the chief port for trade within the Ryūkyū Islands. The administrators of Tomari were also responsible for collecting and managing the

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

paid to the kingdom by the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of ...

, whose tribute ships made port here. ran across Ukishima from southeast to northwest, forming the center of the walled community of

, the center of classical Chinese learning in Ryūkyū for centuries.Uezato. p62. Kumemura is traditionally believed to have been founded by 36

Min Min or MIN may refer to: Places * Fujian, also called Mǐn, a province of China ** Min Kingdom (909–945), a state in Fujian * Min County, a county of Dingxi, Gansu province, China * Min River (Fujian) * Min River (Sichuan) * Mineola (Am ...

families sent to Ryūkyū by the Ming Chinese Imperial Court and to be inhabited primarily or solely by descendants of those settlers; historian Uezato Takashi points out, however, that due to Naha's prominence in international maritime trade networks, it is quite likely that many other Chinese, chiefly from

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

and other maritime trading areas along the southern Chinese coast, would have settled here as well. Major sites in the community included the Tensonbyō

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

temple near the northern end of Kume-Ōdōri and two shrines called Upper and Lower Tenpigū, dedicated to the Taoist goddess of the sea Tenpi, also known as Matsu. A Confucian temple, the gift of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

, was built in Kumemura in the 1670s; the Meirindō, a school of classic Confucian Chinese learning, was established in 1718. Following their destruction in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Meirindō, Confucian temple, and Tenpigū shrines were rebuilt on the site of the Tensonbyō in northern Kume, where they stand today as the Confucian temple

Shiseibyō The is a Confucian temple in the Wakasa district of Naha, Okinawa. It served for centuries as a major center of Chinese learning for the Ryūkyū Kingdom, and contains within its precincts the Meirindō, first public school in Okinawa.Inform ...

. On the northwest side of Ukishima lay , a community traditionally said to have been founded by Japanese settlers. It was organized around Wakasamachi-Ōdōri, an avenue which intersected with Kume-Ōdōri and ran across tidal mudflats to the east of Ukishima, connecting the community to the port of Tomari on the Okinawan mainland. A number of Japanese shrines and temples were located in Wakasamachi, including the

Naminoue Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, the ''ichinomiya'' (primary shrine) of the prefecture. It sits atop a high bluff, overlooking Naminoue Beach and the ocean. Originally a sacred space of the native Ryukyuan religion, du ...

, the

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

temple Kōganji, and temples devoted to Ebisu and Jizō. The community had lodgings specifically set aside for traders and travelers from the

Tokara Islands The is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are part of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The chain consists of twelve small islands located between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima. The islands have a tota ...

Another settlement, known as Izumizaki, lay on the mainland of Okinawa Island, just across the Kumoji River from Ukishima. Izumizaki had no notable or major port facilities and is believed to have been simply an extension of the residential community of Naha proper, which thus spread onto the mainland as the population and according demand for land grew. At some point, the tidal mudflats and Kumoji River separating Ukishima, that is, Naha, from Okinawa Island were filled in. The neighborhoods of Kume, Wakasa, and Tomari can still be found in Naha today. Commodore

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the o ...

's expeditionary squadron stopped in Naha en route to Tokyo in 1853; and the American ships visited several more times. The lithographs prepared from drawings made by the expedition's official artist would be widely circulated. These images would provide the basis for 19th century impressions of the geography and people of the Ryūkyū islands. After the replacement of the Ryūkyū Kingdom with the

Ryūkyū The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara, Amami Islands, Amami, Okinawa Islands, Okinawa, and Sakis ...

Domain Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined **Domain of definition of a partial function **Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function * Do ...

in 1872, Naha became the capital city. The Ryūkyū Domain was abolished in 1879 and the former Ryūkyū Kingdom came to an end, fully annexed by Japan as Okinawa Prefecture, with Naha remaining as the capital city. Shuri and other neighboring municipalities were absorbed into the city. An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Naha as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom. During the battle of Okinawa in

, Naha suffered extensive damage from the fighting. The entire centre of the city had to be rebuilt. On 1 September 1954, the village of

Oroku ''Uruku'' is a district on the southern edge of the city of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture in southern Japan. It was formerly a village independent from Naha, but it was incorporated into the city in 1954. The village hosted an airfield ...

was merged into the city. On April 1, 2013, Naha became a

core city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

, a category of cities of Japan under the Local Autonomy Law of Japan. Naha now carries out many of the functions, notably for public health care, normally delegated to the prefectural government. Naha is the first core city in Okinawa Prefecture. Panoramic_view_of_Naha_City_from_Kaigungo_Navy_Headquarters_Park

Panoramic_view_of_Naha_City_from_Kaigungo_Navy_Headquarters_Park

Culture

Religion

There are numerous shrines throughout the city, ranging from small huts to temples consisting of several houses. The religion is a mix of Shintoism, Buddhism and Taoism. The most visible part of the local beliefs though is by far the shisa, the Okinawan shiisaa ("lion dogs") that are considered protectors of the island and are found everywhere - walls, roofs, windows, street corners and parks. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Kainan Church) is the episcopal see of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Naha The Roman Catholic Diocese of Naha( la, Nahana, ja, カトリック那覇教区) is a Latin suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Nagasaki 長崎, in southern Japan. Its cathedral episcopal see ...

Festivals

* Naha Hari in May * Naha Festival in October * Naha Tug-of-war Naha Tsunahiki002.jpg, Naha Festival in October 2008 Naha Hari.jpg, Naha Hari, dragon style boat event

Sights

The restored and rebuilt

Shuri Castle was a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' castle in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed ...

, the former royal palace of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, is one of the finest '' gusuku'' (Okinawan castle) and among the most important historical sites in Naha. The palace, and a series of tunnels underneath it, were used as a major command post by the Imperial Japanese military during World War II, and the castle was subsequently almost destroyed in 1945 by the US Marines, Army and Navy. After the war, the University of the Ryūkyūs was constructed on the site. Today Shuri Castle has been reconstructed, including the famous

Shureimon is a gate in the Shuri neighborhood of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the second of Shuri Castle's main gates. Construction It was first built in the 16th century, and the structure of the gate is similar to that of Ch ...

, its main gate, and is registered, along with a number of other ''gusuku'' and other Okinawan historical and sacred sites, as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Lake Man is an area of wetlands in Okinawa that is located between the cities of Naha, Okinawa, Naha and Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Tomigusuku, and within Manko Park. Despite being called "Lake Man", it is in fact a wetland and not a lake. Lake Man covers . ...

, covered with

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

woods on the boundary of the city of

Tomigusuku 滝原康盛 ''Takihara Yasumori''. 沖縄語会話集日本語・沖縄語・ローマ字付き ''Okinawago Kaiwashū: Nihongo, Okinawago, Rōmaji-tsuki.'' (''Okinawan Conversation Collection: Japanese, Okinawan, Romaji.'') 那覇:沖縄芸能� ...

, is listed on the

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed in ...

list of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

s. Naha_Okinawa_Japan_Shuri-Castle-01.jpg,

, Seiden - front facade Naha_Shuri_Castle32bs5s4592.jpg,

gate ShuriCastle4.jpg, Walls of

in Naha

Education

Four universities are in the Naha area. Two are run by Okinawa Prefecture; two are private. The

University of the Ryukyus The , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university in Nishihara, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1950, it is the westernmost national university of Japan and the largest public university in Okinawa Prefecture. Located in the ...

, the sole national university in Okinawa Prefecture, was also in Naha, on the site of Shuri Castle. Before the restoration of the castle, the university moved to the town of Nishihara to the northeast of Naha. Naha's public elementary and junior high schools are operated by the

Naha City Board of Education is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...

. Naha's public high schools are operated by the

Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education The Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education (沖縄県教育委員会) is the prefectural education agency of Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. The board oversees municipal school districts in Okinawa and directly operates many high schools. Schools dir ...

. Private schools include the

Okinawa Actors' School is a school in Ginowan, Okinawa which has another branch in Osaka. It was founded in 1983 by Masayuki Makino who became the first principal of the school. Notable alumni * Namie Amuro * Hitoe Arakaki * Rina Chinen * D&D * Da Pump * Folder 5 * ...

Martial arts

Naha-te Okinawan martial arts refers to the martial arts, such as karate, tegumi and Okinawan kobudō, which originated among the indigenous people of Okinawa Island. Due to its central location, Okinawa was influenced by various cultures with a long hi ...

'', (Naha-hand), called ''Nawate'' by

Gichin Funakoshi was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gich ...

, is a type of

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

developed in Naha. The successor styles to Naha-te include

Gōjū-ryū , Japanese for "hard-soft style", is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book used by Okinawan masters du ...

, Uechi-ryū, Ryūei-ryū, and

Tōon-ryū is a style of Okinawan Karate founded by Juhatsu Kyoda. entered the dojo of Higaonna Kanryō in 1902 and continued studying with him until Kanryō's death in 1915. One month after Kyoda started, Miyagi Chōjun (co-founder of Gōjū-ryū) en ...

Climate

Naha has a humid subtropical climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'')—bordering on

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(

''Af'')—with hot summers and mild winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year; September is the wettest month and December is the driest. Naha has hot and humid summers with July and August being the city's warmest months, exceeding an average high of 31 degrees Celsius (88 °F). Naha has warm winters, with average high temperatures in the coolest months of January and February, hovering around 19-20 degrees Celsius (66 to 68 °F) and average lows around 14-15 degrees Celsius (57 to 59 °F). The city sees a substantial amount of rainfall, averaging in excess of of rain per year.

Economy

Naha is an economic center of Okinawa dominated by tourism, retail and service industries. Okinawa's largest banks,

Bank of the Ryukyus is a regional bank serving Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. It was founded in 1948 by order of the U.S. military administration of Okinawa to serve as a central bank for occupied Okinawa, and was originally modeled after the Federal Reserve Syste ...

, Bank of Okinawa and

Okinawa Kaiho Bank is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, are headquartered in Naha. The Bank of Japan, Mizuho Bank, Shoko Chukin Bank and

Japan Post Bank , is a Japanese bank headquartered in Tokyo. It is a corporation held by Japan Post Holdings, in which the government of Japan has a majority stake. It is a major financial institution that started in 1875 as a postal savings system, and that st ...

also have branches in Naha. Major international insurance companies also have call centers based in the city.

Naha Airport is a second class airport located west of the city hallAIS Japan
in Japan Transocean Air , or JTA, is an airline based in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west b ...

and

Ryukyu Air Commuter is an airline headquartered in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It operates domestic passenger services from the island of Okinawa to other islands of Okinawa Prefecture and the Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized ...

, subsidiaries of

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

, are headquartered in Naha.

Transportation

Naha Airport is a second class airport located west of the city hallAIS Japan
in Okinawa Urban Monorail The , also known as , is a monorail line serving the cities of Naha and Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan. Operated by , it opened on 10 August 2003, and is the only public rail system in Okinawa Prefecture. Yui Rail is the first rail line on Okinawa ...

, also known as the carries passengers from Naha Airport Station to the center of Naha, Kokusai-dōri, Shintoshin, Shuri, and to the terminal at

Tedako-Uranishi Station is a railway station on the Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail) in Urasoe, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the eastern terminus of the line. Lines *Okinawa Urban Monorail Adjacent stations History The station opened on October 1, 2019 as ...

Urasoe is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The neighboring municipalities are Naha to the south, Ginowan to the north, and Nishihara to the east. As of November 2012, the city has an estimated population of 113,718 and a population den ...

Crime and safety

Two designated yakuza groups, the Kyokuryu-kai and the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai, are based in Naha."2010 Police White Paper Chapter 2 : Furtherance of Organized Crime Countermeasures"
2010, ''

National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

'' The Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai is the largest yakuza group in Okinawa Prefecture, followed by the Kyokuryu-kai."Boryokudan condition in the prefecture"
, October 2007, ''Okinawa Prefectural Conference for the Expulsion of the Boryokudan''

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Naha is twinned with the following locations. * Fuzhou, China since 1981 *

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, United States since 1961 * Kawasaki, Kanagawa since 1996 *

Nichinan, Miyazaki is a city in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on January 1, 1950. As of June 1, 2019, the city has an estimated population of 51,241 and a population density of 95.6 persons per km2. The total area is 536.11 km2. History Ni ...

since 1969 * São Vicente, Brazil since 1978 *

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, BrazilLei Municipal de São Paulo 14471 de 2007
WikiSource

Notable people

Famous people with links to the city of Naha include: *

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

, pop singer *

Cocco is a female Japanese pop / folk rock singer. Early life Cocco went to many ballet auditions, hoping to become a professional ballerina. She went to singing auditions to earn the traveling expenses for a ballet audition in Tokyo. She did not ...

, singer *

, karate practitioner *

Eriko Imai is a Japanese pop singer, actress and politician. She made her debut in the early 1990s as part of the group Speed, which disbanded in March 2000. Eriko began her work away from Speed during 1998, performing "Tsumetaku Shinai de", under the st ...

, pop singer, actor and politician; member of

Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (ma ...

* Satoko Ishimine, pop singer *

Kazuki Ganaha is a Japanese football player who plays for Kamatamare Sanuki. Club career After graduating Ginowan High School in 1999, he joined J2 League side Kawasaki Frontale. He made his professional debut on May 2, 1999 against Vegalta Sendai. His first ...

, football (soccer) player *

Ankō Itosu is considered by many the father of modern karate. This title is also often given to Gichin Funakoshi because of the latter spreading karate throughout Japan, but only after Ankō sensei had introduced the art of Okinawate to the country. Bio ...

, karate practitioner *

Chōjun Miyagi was an Okinawan martial artist who founded the Gōjū-ryū school of karate by blending Okinawan and Chinese influences. Life Early life and training Sensei Miyagi was born in Higashimachi, Naha, Okinawa on April 25, 1888. One of his paren ...

, martial artist who founded the Gōjū-ryū school of karate *

Fumi Nikaidō is a Japanese actress and fashion model. Career Starting as a model in Naha, Okinawa, Nikaidō made her film debut in 2009 in ''Toad's Oil'', directed by Kōji Yakusho. She and Shota Sometani received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best ...

, actor and model * Kanryō Higaonna, martial artist *

Morio Higaonna is a prominent Okinawan karate practitioner who is the founder and former Chief Instructor of the International Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation (IOGKF).Okinawa Goju-ryu Karate-do Israel: Founders – Sensei Morio Higaonna
Retrieved on February 20, 2010. karate practitioner * Sōkon Matsumura, karate practitioner *

Yui Aragaki is a Ryukyuan Japanese actress, model, singer and occasional radio show host. She has been selected several times as the most desired girlfriend and the most desired female celebrity face in Oricon's yearly survey. Early life She was born on J ...

, singer, actor, model *

Orange Range are a 5-member Japanese rock band, based in Okinawa, Japan. Formed in 2001, the band began with Spice Music and later signed with Sony Music Japan's gr8! records division in 2003. The band left gr8! records in 2010 to start their own label, S ...

, alternative rock band. All members are from Okinawa *

Dave Roberts (outfielder) David Ray Roberts (born May 31, 1972), nicknamed "Doc", is an American professional baseball manager and former outfielder who is the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for five MLB teams over a ten-year ...

, major league baseball player and manager *

Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro is a Japanese manga artist. He first gained success with his comedy series '' Seikimatsu Leader den Takeshi!'' (1997–2002), but is better known for ''Toriko'' which was serialized from 2008 to 2016 and has over 25 million copies in circulatio ...

, manga artist and author of ''

Toriko is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro. It follows the adventures of Toriko, a Gourmet Hunter, as he searches for rare, diverse foods to complete a full-course meal. On his journey, he is accompanied b ...

'' *

Norihiro Yagi is a Japanese manga writer and artist from Okinawa Prefecture. He started making manga in 1990. Norihiro Yagi is a successful manga artist, having won the 32nd Akatsuka Award for his very first work: ''Undeadman''. ''Undeadman'' appeared in ' ...

, manga artist and author of '' Claymore'' *

Mikiko Shiroma (born January 20, 1951) is a Ryukyuan politician and former mayor of Naha, the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1, ...

, politician, mayor of Naha 2014 – 2022 *

Kurara Chibana is a Japanese humanitarian, actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Japan 2006 and competed at Miss Universe 2006 where she finished as the first runner-up. Miss Universe 2006 Chibana is known for her par ...

, model and beauty queen,

Miss Japan Miss Japan ( ja, ミスジャパン) is a national beauty pageant in Japan. The pageant first ran from 1952-1995 and was led by Yoshinaga (Japanese-American Press). In 2019, the Miss Japan pageant returned with Akihiro Yoshida, Takako Hashimura, ...

2006 and first runner-up to

Miss Universe 2006 Miss Universe 2006 was the 55th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States on July 23, 2006. At the end of the event, Natalie Glebova of Canada crowned Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico as Mi ...

Naha in popular media

* Naha City was prominently featured in the plot of the 1986 film ''

The Karate Kid Part II ''The Karate Kid Part II'' is a 1986 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the second installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise and the sequel to the 1984 film '' The Karate Kid'' ...

''. However, the film was actually shot in Hawaii. * The opening scene of David Mitchell's 1999 novel ''

Ghostwritten ''Ghostwritten'' is the first novel published by English author David Mitchell. Published in 1999, it won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was widely acclaimed. The story takes place mainly around East Asia, but also moves through Russia, B ...

'' is set in Naha. * The name Naha was used in Microsoft's 2003 space simulation game '' Freelancer''. The Gas Miner "Naha" is a station owned by the Gas Miners Guild (GMG) in the Sigma-13 system. * Shuri Castle during the American invasion was recreated in '' Call of Duty: World at War'' (2008) during the final stages of the game. The player must help capture the castle and it is the final level for the American portion of the story. * Portions of Naha have been faithfully recreated in 3D for Sega '' Ryu ga Gotoku 3'', or ''Yakuza 3'' in its North American localization, in a 2009 video game on

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

. This virtual version includes Kokusai-dōri, the covered Heiwa-dōri Shopping Arcade, Makishi Public Market and the Monorail's Prefectural Office Station. It also features many of the district's real-life eateries and businesses as tie-ins. * The 2014 American

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

The Yokai King ''The Yokai King'' is an action fantasy Japanese feature film starring Shin Koyamada. The film is based on the supernatural beings called yōkai from Japanese folklore. It was mainly filmed in English in various locations of Okinawa, Japan. Plot ...

'', starring

Shin Koyamada is a Japanese-American actor, producer, entrepreneur, martial artist, and philanthropist. He is best known for his starring roles in ''The Last Samurai'' and the Disney's movie '' Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior'' on Disney+. He has produced numero ...

was filmed in Naha, Okinawa in late 2013. * '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown'' visits Okinawa in season 6, episode 3, to sample the unique Okinawan

chanpurū is an Okinawan stir fry dish. It is considered the representative dish of Okinawan cuisine. Chanpurū generally consists of tofu combined with some kind of vegetable, meat, or fish. Luncheon meat (such as American Spam or Danish Tulip), egg ...

cuisine and learn about the history of Karate. *

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series ''Family Ingredients'' filmed two episodes in Naha and Okinawa at

and Makishi Market in 2016. * Karate Kid spin-off ''

Cobra Kai ''Cobra Kai'' is an American martial arts comedy-drama television series and a sequel to the original ''The Karate Kid'' films by Robert Mark Kamen. The series was created by Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, and is distributed ...

'', filmed Season 3, Episodes 4 & 5, "The Right Path" & "Miyagi-Do", in Naha and on Okinawa Island, filming at

Naha Airport is a second class airport located west of the city hallAIS Japan
in Yanbaru National Park is a national park in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2016, it is located in and around the forested region of Yanbaru at the northern end of Okinawa Island. The park comprises a land area of in the villages of Kunigami, Ōgimi, and ...

, and the Mutabaru Observatory at the abandoned Shah Bay resort in Ogimi.

References

* Ooshiro, Sally. ''Irosetsuden'', thesis translation of ancient Ryūkyū record compilation. Submitted to University of Hawaii, 1964.

External links

Naha City official website

Naha City official website

Naha-te
- explains origin of Naha-te, the martial art from Naha * {{Authority control Cities in Okinawa Prefecture Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan