Ryukyu Kingdom

Are we definitely still in Japan? Definitely.

Okinawa also has a distinctive history because it was once the center of independent Ryukyu Kingdom.

Which means its architecture, food, music, and traditions aren't simply identical to those of Tokyo or Kyoto.

Unesco recognizes historical sites connected with the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Okay, time for the big question.

Why do people online keep saying things like, Japan is living in 2050.

Mm-hmm

... thanks to the Ryukyu Kingdom.

They told them everything.

Yeah, you versus the, [laughs] the guy she tells you not to worry about.

At Tsushima, a small island between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, the So clan managed trade and diplomatic relations with Korea.

In Satsuma, the southwestern domain of present-day Kagoshima, the Shimazu clan maintained relations with the Ryukyu Kingdom, which also served as a backdoor channel to China.

And in Matsumae, in what is now Hokkaido, Japanese traders conducted trade with the indigenous Ainu people of the north.

So it was never truly zero contact with the outside world.