"The Birth Place of Toyoma Kyuzo"

This Stone Monument marks the location where Toyoma Kyuzo was born. 

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Birth Place of Toyoma Kyuzo

     GPS

Latitude	Longitude
N 26 27.269	E 127 55.844

The Birth Place of Toyoma Kyuzo

The previous post discussed the significant contribution of Toyoma Kyuzo and the impact he had on Okinawan emigration. This post is for the curious minded and history buffs in light of the 5th Uchinanchu World Festival . The above picture marks the birth place of Mr. Toyoma Kyuzo in Kin Town. The monument lies between two modern built houses. I gather his house has long since been demolished being that Mr. Kyuzo was born on November 9th, 1868.

Getting there. The best route to take is starting from the Family Mart off of Highway 329. From there you will go down a hill with a green paved road. You will see the Okawa Natural Spring to your left. Once you pass the spring, proceed straight ahead. You will see a two-story pink house. Go in that direction. Make a left hand turn on the intersection where the pink house is located. Next to this house is the monument. I added some landmarks to help you get there.

Reader's note: Not all icons of nearby areas in Kin Town will not be visible on the above map. For example, the thumbtack for Okawa, the natural spring, does not appear on this map. This is because Google Maps starts a new complete Map Page when a certain number of Icons have been marked. Don't worry! The other icons are still there. To see the other places of interest on the map, click the 'View Map It! Okinawa in a large Map' link and scroll down at the bottom where you see the Previous and Next Link. Also, you can click at the bottom of the post to see 'other places of interest nearby'. I have provided feedback to Google that they should show everything on the map.

Other places of interest nearby: Kin Kannonji Temple, O-kawa, Statue of Oshiro Kozo, Kin Watch Tower, Kin's Castle Rock, Kinjo's Used Goods, Kin Town's Hidden Nature Trail, Richamocha Cafe, The Statue of Toyoma Kyuzo, Kin Town's History Chronicles, Kin Town's Cherry Blossom Way.

"Statue of Toyoma Kyuzo, The Father of Okinawan Emigration"

Statue of Toyoma Kyuzo

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Statue of Toyoma Kyuzo

     GPS

Latitude	Longitude
N 26 27.368	E 127 55.588

Toyoma Kyuzo, The Father of Okinawan Emigration

Tomorrow, October 12 2011, marks the beginning of the 5th World Uchinanchu Festival.  Every 5 years Okinawan descendants from all over the world return to Okinawa to celebrate their Okinawan heritage and ancestry.  For my 50th blog post, I only thought it would be fitting to talk about the man who would start it all. The man you see above is Toyoma Kyuzo and is regarded as the "Father of Okinawan Emigration". Mr. Toyoma was born in Kin Town, Okinawa on November 9th 1868. He would pave the way for the first immigrants to emigrate...destination...Hawaii. On December 5th, 1899, 26 Okinawans set out to sail from Naha Port and would arrive about a month later on January 8th 1900. The statue of Toyoma Kyuzo is seen with a globe to his left side and pointing with his right towards the direction of Hawaii.

Today, it is estimated that over 400,000 Okinawan descendants live throughout the world. In celebration of the 5th World Uchinanchu Festival, we honor our 50th blog post to Mr. Toyoma Kyuzo, a man with a vision, instrumental for passing on the Okinawan Spirit throughout the world.  

Source: 100 Year Chronology of Okinawan Emigration, Worldwide Uchinanchu Network, 5th Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival Website. See also Oshiro Kozo (Emigration to the Philippines).

Getting there. The statue is not very far from Highway 329 and just a few hundred meters south of Gate 2, Camp Hansen. Use Google's 360 zoom to get an idea of the turn-off. The statue is right below the Kin Town Office. See the Landmarks on the map.

Other places of interest nearby: Kin Kannonji Temple, O-kawa, Statue of Oshiro Kozo, Kin Watch Tower, Kin's Castle Rock, Kinjo's Used Goods, Kin Town's Hidden Nature Trail, Richamocha Cafe, Birth Place of Toyoma Kyuzo, Kin Town's History Chronicles, Kin Town's Cherry Blossom Way.

"Oshiro Kozo of Kin"

Oshiro Kozo of Kin

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Statue of Oshiro Kozo of Kin

     GPS

Latitude	Longitude
N 26 27.299	E 127 55.355

Statue of Oshiro Kozo in Kin

This is the Statue of Oshiro Kozo. According to the inscription, this statue was erected in 2004. There was an original statue that was destroyed during or after World War II. The original statue was said to be in Naha.

There were two famous people from Kin. One is Toyoma Kyuzo and the other is Oshiro Kozo. Toyoma-san is known as the "Father of Okinawan Emigration" and was the first to be responsible for Okinawans to emigrate (from Kin to Hawaii). He is more well known that Oshiro-san. Toyoma-san's statue is also in Kin and can be seen pointing to Hawaii (I'll have a separate post on this soon). Oshiro-san also helped Kin villagers emigrate, but it was to the Philippines. Hence his known as the "Father of Okinawan Philippine Emigration".

Before World War II, Oshiro-san helped Okinawans from Kin emigrate to the Philippines in search for opportunity. Things were going well till the War. The result of World War II had created bad feelings towards Okinawan immigrants, and eventually the small growing community of Okinawans ceased to exist.

A link to read more about the Okinawan emigration to the Philippines please go to this Google Book Link. The title is called "Okinawan Diaspora" By Ronald Y. Nakasone. Chapter 5 particularly talks bout immigration to the Philippines.

Oshiro-san died at the age of 54 around 1935. His statue was in honor of him.

Please also read about Toyoma  Kyuzo, or read blog post here.

Near this statue is what I call the "Kin Tower" which oversees parts of Kin. There is small area for shade and field if you wish to do a picnic or play some ball.

Other Things to See in the Area: O-Kawa, Kin Kannoji, Richamocha Cafe, Kin Watch Tower, Kin Castle Rock, The Gold Hall, Kinjo's Used Goods, Kin Town's Hidden Nature Trail, Statue of Toyoma Kyuzo, Birth Place of Toyoma Kyuzo, Kin Town's History Chronicles, Kin Town's Cherry Blossom Way.