Japanese art: Amidism: …Genshin produced the 10-part treatise Ōjō Yōshū (“Essentials of Salvation”), a major synthesis of Buddhist theory on the issues of suffering and reward and a pragmatic guide for believers who sought rebirth in the Western Paradise. Genshin described in compelling detail the cosmology of the six realms of existence of…

Mbari Mbayo Club: Samuel Ojo worked in appliqué with cutout and embroidered fantasy-like figures. Ashiru Olatunde’s aluminum panels are found on Nigerian banks, churches, and bars and in private collections in Europe and America. His quiet folk art, which comments on Nigerian life, was as popular with farmers…

Gutierre de Cetina: …Spanish poet, author of “Ojos claros serenos” (“Clear, Serene Eyes”), one of the most frequently anthologized poems in the Spanish language.

Guadiana River: …form marshy lakes, known as Ojos del Guadiana (“Eyes of the Guadiana”), a noted wildfowl sanctuary. By contrast, the porous limestones found in other parts of the river’s basin form a shallow water table, producing intermittent streams such as the Guadiana Alto, Azuer, and Cárcoles that disappear underground, though eventually…

Andes Mountains: Physiography of the Central Andes: The peaks of Mounts Bonete, Ojos del Salado, and Pissis surpass 20,000 feet.

Odumegwu Ojukwu was a Nigerian military leader and politician, who was head of the secessionist state of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War. Ojukwu was the son of a successful Igbo businessman. After graduating from the University of Oxford in 1955, he returned to Nigeria to serve as an

Odumegwu Ojukwu was a Nigerian military leader and politician, who was head of the secessionist state of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War. Ojukwu was the son of a successful Igbo businessman. After graduating from the University of Oxford in 1955, he returned to Nigeria to serve as an

Radiohead: ” The widely acclaimed OK Computer (1997) was nothing short of a premillennial version of Pink Floyd’s classic album Dark Side of the Moon (1973): huge-sounding and chillingly beautiful, with Yorke’s weightless voice enveloped on masterpieces such as “Lucky” by webs of dark, dense textures. In its live performances,…

music video: …front and centre, as in OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again” (2006), in which the choreographed cavorting of band members on treadmills becomes a fluid modern dance.

Mani Ratnam: …kanmani (2015; also known as O kadhal kanmani) and Chekka chivantha vaanam (2018), about a power struggle in a crime family; both were in Tamil. He received the prestigious Padma Shri award, one of India’s highest civilian honours, in 2002.

Gilberto Gil: Gil’s later albums included OK OK OK (2018).

Port Salut cheese: Oka cheese, first made at a Trappist monastery at the village of Oka in Quebec, is a popular Canadian version.

Oka-Akoko, town, Ondo state, southwestern Nigeria, in the Yoruba Hills, on roads from Owo and Ikare. An agricultural market centre (yams, cassava [manioc], corn [maize], rice, palm oil and kernels, okra, and pumpkins) for the local Yoruba people, it is also a collecting point for cocoa, palm

mineral deposit: Carbonatite deposits: …major resource of rare earths; Oka, Quebec, Canada, a niobium-rich body; and the Kola Peninsula of Russia, mined for apatite, magnetite, and rare earths.

Oka Asajirō was a biologist who introduced the theory of evolution to the Japanese public and whose researches into the taxonomical and morphological (relating to form) structures of the leech and tunicate (coated with layers) and freshwater jellyfish contributed to understanding of the subject.

La Salle: …important role during the so-called Oka Crisis in 1990 when it was blockaded by Mohawks from the reserve in support of the Mohawks of the nearby Kanesatake Reserve, who were seeking to prevent the expansion of a golf course and construction of condominiums at Oka on a Mohawk burial ground.

Elsterian Glacial Stage, major division of Pleistocene deposits and time in northern Europe (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 2,600,000 years ago and ended about 11,700 years ago). The Elsterian followed the Cromerian Interglacial Stage and preceded the Holstein Interglacial Stage, both, in

Oka River, river in western Russia. It is the largest right-bank tributary of the Volga. Rising in the Central Russian Upland, it flows 932 miles (1,500 km), first north in a rather narrow, winding valley to Kaluga, then sharply eastward across a broad lowland to join the Volga at Nizhny Novgorod.

Oka-Akoko, town, Ondo state, southwestern Nigeria, in the Yoruba Hills, on roads from Owo and Ikare. An agricultural market centre (yams, cassava [manioc], corn [maize], rice, palm oil and kernels, okra, and pumpkins) for the local Yoruba people, it is also a collecting point for cocoa, palm

Okada Beisanjin was a Japanese painter who worked in the bunjin-ga, or literati, style that originated in China and appealed to intellectuals. The son of a prosperous rice merchant, Okada enjoyed reading and was fond of the books of paintings that had been collected by his family for generations.

Okada Keisuke was a Japanese admiral and prime minister who attempted to moderate extremist military influence in the government. Okada graduated from the Naval War College in 1901 and became a full admiral in 1924. After serving as the commander in chief of the combined fleet, he was appointed

Reizei Tamechika was a Japanese painter of the late Tokugawa period (1603–1867) whose talent and efforts contributed a great deal to the revival of the traditional Yamato-e (paintings stressing Japanese themes and techniques as against the Kara-e, a style under strong Chinese influence). Reizei was

Japanese literature: Kamakura period (1192–1333): Ōkagami (c. 1120?; “The Great Mirror”; Eng. trans. Ōkagami), the most famous of the “mirrors” of Japanese history, undoubtedly influenced the composition of Heike monogatari, especially in its moralistic tone. Hōgen monogatari (Eng. trans. Hōgen monogatari) and Heiji monogatari (partial Eng. trans. in Translations from…

Okakura Kakuzō was an art critic who had a great influence upon modern Japanese art. Okakura graduated (1880) from Tokyo Imperial University. Soon thereafter he met Ernest Fenollosa (q.v.), an American art critic and amateur painter who, while teaching at Tokyo University, had become the preeminent

Okakura Kakuzō was an art critic who had a great influence upon modern Japanese art. Okakura graduated (1880) from Tokyo Imperial University. Soon thereafter he met Ernest Fenollosa (q.v.), an American art critic and amateur painter who, while teaching at Tokyo University, had become the preeminent

Okamoto Kidō was a Japanese dramatist and drama critic who wrote nearly 200 historical Kabuki dramas. While working for the Tokyo newspaper Nichinichi in 1908, Okamoto wrote his first play, Ishin Zengo, for the actor Ichikawa Sadanji II and his Kabuki group. He continued writing historical dramas

Okamoto Kidō was a Japanese dramatist and drama critic who wrote nearly 200 historical Kabuki dramas. While working for the Tokyo newspaper Nichinichi in 1908, Okamoto wrote his first play, Ishin Zengo, for the actor Ichikawa Sadanji II and his Kabuki group. He continued writing historical dramas

Plateau Indian: Language: …Columbia area and include the Okanagan, Sinkaietk, Lake, Wenatchee, Sanpoil, Nespelim, Spokan, Kalispel, Pend d’Oreille, Coeur d’Alene, and Flathead

Plateau Indian: Language: …Columbia area and include the Okanagan, Sinkaietk, Lake, Wenatchee, Sanpoil, Nespelim, Spokan, Kalispel, Pend d’Oreille, Coeur d’Alene, and Flathead

Washington: Relief and drainage: The Okanogan Highlands, in the northeast, are an extension of the Rocky Mountains. Their north-south ranges, with summits that rise to more than 7,000 feet (2,100 metres), are separated by glaciated trenches. Most of the state’s metallic ores are found in this region.

Arata Isozaki: …Clubhouse in Ōita (1974), the Okanoyama Graphic Art Museum (1982–84), and the Civic Centre for Tsukuba (1983). His first international commission was for the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art in 1986. Others followed, and he soon worked throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. His notable works included the…

okapi, (Okapia johnstoni), cud-chewing hoofed mammal that is placed along with the giraffe in the family Giraffidae (order Artiodactyla). It serves as the flagship species (a popular species that has become a symbol for the conservation of a region) for the Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic

okapi, (Okapia johnstoni), cud-chewing hoofed mammal that is placed along with the giraffe in the family Giraffidae (order Artiodactyla). It serves as the flagship species (a popular species that has become a symbol for the conservation of a region) for the Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic

Okāra, city, Punjab province, east-central Pakistan. In 1869 it became the headquarters of the tahsil (subdivision) of Okāra, supplanting Gugera as headquarters. A flourishing industrial and commercial trade centre, Okāra is situated on the Sāhiwāl-Lahore road and railway 24 miles (39 km) northeast

Gabriel Okara was a Nigerian poet and novelist whose verse had been translated into several languages by the early 1960s. A largely self-educated man, Okara became a bookbinder after leaving school and soon began writing plays and features for radio. In 1953 his poem “The Call of the River Nun” won

Gabriel Okara was a Nigerian poet and novelist whose verse had been translated into several languages by the early 1960s. A largely self-educated man, Okara became a bookbinder after leaving school and soon began writing plays and features for radio. In 1953 his poem “The Call of the River Nun” won

kiwi: rowi), also called the Rowi kiwi; and the brown kiwi (A. mantelli), also called the North Island brown kiwi.

Kavango, geographic region, northeastern Namibia. It is separated mostly by the Okavango River from Angola on the north, includes the western part of Namibia’s Caprivi Strip to the northeast, and is bounded by Botswana on the southeast and by the Owambo (Ovamboland) region on the west. Kavango

Okavango River, fourth longest river system in southern Africa, running basically southeastward for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from central Angola, where it is known as the Kubango, to the Kalahari (desert) in northern Botswana, where the river terminates in an immense inland delta known as the

marsh: The Okavango Marshes east of the Kalahari desert in Botswana are perhaps the best example of marshes formed in an interior, closed basin that has no drainage. Other basins without outlets like that of the Great Salt Lake in Utah have accumulated too much salt for…

Ōkawa, city, Fukuoka ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, on the mouth of the Chikugo-gawa (Chikugo River). It was a fishing port known as Wakatsu during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867), when it also served as a market for agricultural produce and lumber. In the mid-19th century, Dutch techniques of

Ōkawa Shūmei was an ultranationalistic Japanese political theorist whose writings inspired many of the right-wing extremist groups that dominated Japanese politics during the 1930s. Ōkawa personally organized and participated in many of the major rightist attempts at direct action, and during World

Okaya, city, central Nagano ken (prefecture), east-central Honshu, Japan, on the western shore of Lake Suwa. Okaya was a small village until the establishment of its first large silk-reeling factory in 1875. After World War II many of the war-damaged silk mills were converted to factories producing

Okayama, city and prefecture (ken), western Honshu, Japan, bordering the Inland Sea, includes numerous offshore islands. Okayama prefecture has a predominantly agricultural economy. Rice, grapes, peaches, igusa (rushes for tatami mats), cotton, and other cash crops are grown in the south, where

Okazaki, city, south-central Aichi ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan. It is located in the Mikawa Plain, on the Yahagi River, about 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Nagoya. It developed around Okazaki Castle after its construction in 1455. During the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) it prospered as

Kaigetsudō Ando was a Japanese painter of the Edo (Tokugawa) period who was an early practitioner of the genre known as ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”). Among other subjects, these pictures provided scenes from the pleasure quarter, or entertainment district, of such cities as Edo or

Kaigetsudō Ando was a Japanese painter of the Edo (Tokugawa) period who was an early practitioner of the genre known as ukiyo-e (“pictures of the floating world”). Among other subjects, these pictures provided scenes from the pleasure quarter, or entertainment district, of such cities as Edo or

Masamune was a Japanese swordsmith. He was appointed chief swordsmith by the emperor Fushimi in 1287. He founded the Sōshū school of swordmaking, in which blades were made entirely of steel and hardened throughout. It marked an important advance in metallurgical technique that was significantly

Sukhoy, Russian aerospace design bureau that is the country’s second most important producer of jet fighters (after the design bureau MiG). Sukhoy is part of a giant, partially state-owned conglomerate of design bureaus and production plants known as AVPK Sukhoy (Aviation Military-Industrial

Sukhoy, Russian aerospace design bureau that is the country’s second most important producer of jet fighters (after the design bureau MiG). Sukhoy is part of a giant, partially state-owned conglomerate of design bureaus and production plants known as AVPK Sukhoy (Aviation Military-Industrial

Energia: …NII-88 and became the independent OKB-1.

MiG, Russian aerospace design bureau that is the country’s major producer of jet fighter aircraft. It developed the family of technologically advanced MiG aircraft, including the Soviet Union’s first jet fighter. The MiG design bureau is part of the state-owned multifirm aerospace complex VPK MAPO

Tupolev, Russian aerospace design bureau that is a major producer of civilian passenger airliners and military bombers. As a Soviet agency, it developed the U.S.S.R.’s first commercial jetliner and the world’s first supersonic passenger jet. Headquarters are in Moscow. Tupolev consists of the main

Sukhoy, Russian aerospace design bureau that is the country’s second most important producer of jet fighters (after the design bureau MiG). Sukhoy is part of a giant, partially state-owned conglomerate of design bureaus and production plants known as AVPK Sukhoy (Aviation Military-Industrial

Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey: …new design bureau known as OKB-52, in Reutov, outside of Moscow, in 1955. There he began working on a series of advanced naval cruise missiles. In 1959 he initiated development of new rockets and spacecraft for the emerging Soviet space program.

Sam Yagan: …Krohn, with whom he founded OkCupid in 2003. The dating site grew steadily, partly because of its innovative use of social data to match users, and in 2011 Yagan and his partners sold OkCupid to IAC/InterActiveCorp (headed by media mogul Barry Diller) for an estimated $90 million. The company included…

quasar: Discovery of quasars: …Boroson and Canadian American astronomer John Beverly Oke showed that the fuzzy halos surrounding some quasars are actually starlight from the galaxy hosting the quasar and that these galaxies are at high redshifts.

Fort Myers: …western terminus of the cross-state Okeechobee Waterway, linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico via Lake Okeechobee. Tourism is a mainstay of the city’s economy, and the area has a large retiree population. The flower industry, especially chrysanthemums, azaleas, and poinsettias, is also important, as are vegetable farming,…

Lake Okeechobee, lake in southeastern Florida, U.S., and the third largest freshwater lake wholly within the country (after Lake Michigan and Iliamna Lake, Alaska). The lake lies about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of West Palm Beach at the northern edge of the Everglades. A remnant of the prehistoric

Okefenokee Swamp: …were set aside as the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, with headquarters at Waycross, Georgia. The swamp’s name probably is derived from the Seminole Indian word for “trembling earth,” so-called because of the floating islands of the swamp.

Okefenokee Swamp, swamp and wildlife refuge in southeastern Georgia and northern Florida, U.S. It is a shallow, saucer-shaped depression approximately 25 miles (40 km) wide and 40 miles (65 km) long and covers an area of more than 600 square miles (1,550 square km). Lying about 50 miles (80 km)

Okefenokee Swamp, swamp and wildlife refuge in southeastern Georgia and northern Florida, U.S. It is a shallow, saucer-shaped depression approximately 25 miles (40 km) wide and 40 miles (65 km) long and covers an area of more than 600 square miles (1,550 square km). Lying about 50 miles (80 km)

Jean de Ockeghem was a composer of sacred and secular music, one of the great masters of the Franco-Flemish style that dominated European music of the Renaissance. Ockeghem’s earliest recorded appointment was as a singer at Antwerp Cathedral (1443–44). He served similarly in the chapel of Charles,

Mississippi John Hurt: Representatives of the Okeh division of Columbia Records “discovered” Hurt and persuaded him to travel to Memphis, Tennessee, and then later to New York City, to record. The records that resulted from those sessions caused little stir, and Hurt soon returned to Avalon, where he worked as a…

Okehampton, town (parish), West Devon borough, administrative and historic county of Devon, southwestern England. It lies on the River Okement, at the northern edge of the wild heathland known as Dartmoor. There was originally a Saxon settlement on the site, but it was abandoned after the Norman

Japan: The establishment of the system: …the Imagawa family in the Battle of Okehazama, launching him on his course of unification, Ieyasu was finally released. Ieyasu returned to Okazaki in Mikawa and brought this province under his control. As Oda’s ally, he guarded the rear for the advance on Kyōto, and he thereafter fought his own…

African art: African art in the 20th century and beyond: …lush and bold canvases of Uche Okeke, all from Nigeria, illustrate the degree of engagement on the part of contemporary African artists with the discourse of Modernism. The installations of Benin artist Georges Adéagbo, such as From Colonialization to Independence (1999), which employs traditional art forms and elements of visual…

Tanzania: Independence of Tanzania: …of the communist-trained “field marshal” John Okello, it won considerable support from the African population. Thousands of Arabs were massacred in riots, and thousands more fled the island. Sheikh Abeid Amani Karume, leader of the ASP, was installed as president of the People’s Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba. Sheikh Abdulla…

Oken, Lorenz was a German naturalist, the most important of the early 19th-century German “nature philosophers,” who speculated about the significance of life, which they believed to be derived from a vital force that could not be understood totally through scientific means. He elaborated Wolfgang

Okene, town, Kogi state, south-central Nigeria. It lies at the intersection of roads from Lokoja, Kabba, Ikare, Ajaokuta, and Anchi. Originally founded on a hill near the present site, it now lies in the valley of the Ubo River, which is a minor tributary of the Niger River. The town is a major

Oken, Lorenz was a German naturalist, the most important of the early 19th-century German “nature philosophers,” who speculated about the significance of life, which they believed to be derived from a vital force that could not be understood totally through scientific means. He elaborated Wolfgang

World War II: German strategy, 1939–42: …and the heads of the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH, or German Army High Command), namely the army commander in chief Walther von Brauchitsch and the army general staff chief Franz Halder, were convinced that the Red Army could be defeated in two or three months, and that, by the end…

Okha, town, western Gujarat state, west-central India. It is a port at the western tip of the Kathiawar Peninsula, between the Gulf of Kachchh (Kutch) and the Arabian Sea. The town contains an automobile-assembly plant, and a large chemical plant is located at Mithapur, 5 miles (8 km) southwest.

Nikolay Pavlovich Okhlopkov was a Soviet experimental-theatrical director and producer. He was one of the first modern directors to introduce productions in the round on an arena stage in an effort to restore intimacy between the actors and the audience. Okhlopkov studied fine arts and music before

scorpaeniform: Ecology: The related Okhotsk Atka mackerel (P. azonus) has been observed in the upper layers of the ocean in calm weather and is usually captured in purse seines. At night it descends to the bottom.

Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011: The earthquake and tsunami: …North American Plate called the Okhotsk microplate.) A part of the subduction zone measuring approximately 190 miles (300 km) long by 95 miles (150 km) wide lurched as much as 164 feet (50 metres) to the east-southeast and thrust upward about 33 feet (10 metres). The March 11 temblor was…

Sea of Okhotsk, northwestern arm of the Pacific Ocean, bounded on the west and north by the east coast of Asia from Cape Lazarev to the mouth of the Penzhina River, on the east and southeast by the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands, on the south by the northern coast of the Japanese island

Sea of Okhotsk, northwestern arm of the Pacific Ocean, bounded on the west and north by the east coast of Asia from Cape Lazarev to the mouth of the Penzhina River, on the east and southeast by the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands, on the south by the northern coast of the Japanese island

Okhranka, (1881–1917), prerevolutionary Russian secret-police organization that was founded to combat political terrorism and left-wing revolutionary activity. The group’s principal mode of operation was through infiltration of labour unions, political parties, and, in at least two cases,

Okhranka, (1881–1917), prerevolutionary Russian secret-police organization that was founded to combat political terrorism and left-wing revolutionary activity. The group’s principal mode of operation was through infiltration of labour unions, political parties, and, in at least two cases,

Okhtyrka, city, northeastern Ukraine, on the Vorskla River. It was founded in 1641 as a fortress protecting the southern frontiers of Muscovy from raids of the Crimean Tatars. It was rebuilt in a different place in 1654 and incorporated in 1703. It has a notable cathedral (1758) designed by the

Poch’ŏngyo: …Okhwangsangje, or “Great Lord of Okhwang (Heaven).” Poch’ŏngyo professes the four principles of one mind, coexistence, forgiveness, and conquest of disease. By practicing one mind, adherents are led to God through the unity of mind and body and thus conquer disease. By dissolving divine and human anger, coexistence and forgiveness…

Okhwangsangje, deity of the Korean religion known as Poch’ŏngyo

Japanese music: Onstage music: Generally speaking, the oki represents all kinds of introductory instrumental sections (aigata, or in this case maebiki) or vocal parts (maeuta) before the entrance of the dancer. The michiyuki usually incorporates the percussion section as the dancer enters. The term kudoki is found in the early history of…

Oki Islands, archipelago, Shimane ken (prefecture), Japan, lying in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Honshu. The largest island is Dōgo; the three smaller isles (Chiburi, Nishino, Nakano) are collectively known as Dōzen. The four islands have a combined coastline of 223 miles (359 km) and an area

Daitō Islands: …one another, while the smaller Oki-Daitō Island lies about 93 miles (150 km) south of them. North and South Daitō have a combined area of 15.7 square miles (40.5 square km). They are coral islands and have steep cliffs but are basically level inland. Most of their arable land is…

Oki Islands, archipelago, Shimane ken (prefecture), Japan, lying in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Honshu. The largest island is Dōgo; the three smaller isles (Chiburi, Nishino, Nakano) are collectively known as Dōzen. The four islands have a combined coastline of 223 miles (359 km) and an area

Merle Haggard: He also wrote “Okie From Muskogee” (1969), his best-known recording, a novelty song that became controversial for its apparent attack on hippies. Also popular was the patriotic anthem “The Fightin’ Side of Me” (1970), though his music was rarely political and more frequently and empathetically drew on the…

Okiek, a Kalenjin-speaking people of the Southern Nilotic language group inhabiting southwestern Kenya. “Okiek,” a Kalenjin word, and “Dorobo,” derived from a Maasai term, are both sobriquets meaning “hunter.” They refer in a derogatory manner to those who keep no cattle, and hence who are “poor”

Christopher Okigbo was a Nigerian poet who is one of the best and most widely anthologized African poets. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Western classics at the University of Ibadan in 1956, Okigbo held positions as a teacher, librarian at the University of Nigeria, private secretary to

philosophical feminism: Feminist social and political philosophy: , Susan Moller Okin—pointed out the many ways in which gender discrimination defeats women’s aspirations, and they defended reforms designed to make women’s equality a social and political reality. Noting that differences in the ways in which girls and boys are raised served to channel women…

Noh theatre: …program may begin with an okina, which is essentially an invocation for peace and prosperity in dance form.

Kaguya: …Radio (VRAD) satellite, and the Okina radio relay satellite. (Okina and Ouna are the elderly couple who adopt Kaguya in the legend.)

Jingū was a semilegendary empress-regent of Japan who is said to have established Japanese hegemony over Korea. According to the traditional records of ancient Japan, Jingū was the wife of Chūai, the 14th sovereign (reigned 192–200), and the regent for her son Ōjin. Aided by a pair of divine jewels

Okinawa, ken (prefecture), Japan, in the Pacific Ocean. The prefecture is composed of roughly the southwestern two-thirds of the Ryukyu Islands, that archipelago forming the division between the East China Sea to the northwest and the Philippine Sea to the southeast. Okinawa Island is the largest

Okinawa, city, Okinawa ken (prefecture), Japan. It is situated in the central part of Okinawa Island and was designated as a new city in 1974. Originally occupying a region of agriculture and forestry, the city, after World War II, became the location for the U.S. Kadena military base, which

fer-de-lance: The Okinawa habu (T. flavoviridis) is a large, aggressive snake found on the Amami and Okinawa island chains in the Ryukyu Islands, often in human dwellings. It is usually about 1.5 metres (5 feet) long and is marked with bold, dark green blotches that may merge…

Okinawa: Okinawa Island is the largest in the Ryukyus, being about 70 miles (112 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide and having an area of 463 square miles (1,199 square km). Naha, on the island, is the prefectural capital.

Ryukyu Islands: … in the north, the central Okinawa islands, and the Sakishima islands in the south. Administratively, the Ryukyus are part of Japan, the Amami group constituting a southern extension of Kyushu’s Kagoshima prefecture (ken) and the Okinawa and Sakishima islands making up Okinawa prefecture.

East China Sea: Physiography: …is the deeper part, the Okinawa Trough, with a large section more than 3,300 feet (1,000 metres) deep and a maximum depth of 8,912 feet (2,716 metres). The western edge of the sea is a continuation of the shelf that extends between the South China Sea and the Yellow Sea.…