The Okinawa prefecture is located in the East China Sea, southwest of mainland Japan (Background).  This prefecture is made up of 161 islands of which only 44 of them are inhabited (Background).  "The islands are divided into three groups: the Okinawa island group, the Miyako island group, and the Yaeyama island group."  Of these three groups, Okinawa is the largest (Outline).  

Ideally located between Kyushu, Japan's third largest island, and Taiwan, puts Okinawa within a 1,500 km radius to major Asian cities.  These cities included Taipei, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Manila and Tokyo.  They influenced and helped shaped Okinawa one way or another.  Okinawa's location allowed them to "engage in prosperous overseas trade."  Okinawa developed their unique cultural characteristics through overseas trade as you will see displayed in their textiles, performing arts and food, and customs (Outline).

The Okinawa prefecture is comprised mostly of coral rock.  The rainwater filtered through the coral, which created many caves around the islands (Okinawa).  Okinawa is a long, narrow, irregularly shaped island of volcanic origin with coral formations in the southern part. The northern part is mountainous.  The islands are found in the same latitude zone as places such as Hawaii, Florida and the Bahamas, thereby creating a subtropical climate.  The average temperature is about 23 degrees C, never dropping below 10 degrees C (Background).  It has been said that the most beautiful beaches in all of Japan are found in Okinawa.  The ideal temperatures, beautiful beaches and the coral reefs provide an abundance of marine wildlife (Okinawa).  Although the Okinawans enjoy warm temperatures, they endure regular rainfall.  This subtropical climate keep the islands lush and green throughout the year, however, typhoons and monsoon rains are a common occurrence during the late summer and early fall months (Background).