2016x1216 - From Okinawa to the World and Back

December 16, 2016

In the streets of Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, the air is filled with a dozen foreign languages as people dance the samba and hula in the "Worldwide Uchinanchu (Okinawan) Festival." Around 7,300 Okinawan descendants have returned home from around the world to participate. They are those who went abroad for various reasons, some to find work and some driven from their homes after WWII. Others are 2nd and 3rd generations of Okinawans, and have come to learn more about their ancestral roots. We pay a visit to Kokusai Street, the heart of the festival, to listen to their voices.