[Plaintiff's "thoughts"]

The remains of Ryukyu people who have been robbed and have not been returned to their original graves.

The Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education does not investigate the existence of the bereaved family regarding the remains, refuses to talk with the bereaved families, and rejects the return and reburial as research material.

For whom and for what are these remains being studied? The Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education has not disclosed such a basic thing.

The Japanese government is still collecting the remains of people who died in the Pacific War and offering memorial services. Ashes collection should be done for "soul peace" , not for research.

"Please return our remains."

"Don't destroy the important customs of ancestral memorial services with Okinawan taxes."

"Don't break the bond between us and our ancestors."

With this in mind, we decided to file a proceeding.

[Regional customs-human rights issues-]

Currently, there are 63 remains stored at the Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education, including the remains of the royal family and aristocrats of Mr. First Sho, who were robbed from the grave of Nakijin Village Hyakuyoji.

These remains are, of course, important to our descendants, but they are not the only ones.

The tomb of Hyakuyoji, the site where the remains were robbed, is positioned as one of the sacred pilgrimages in Nakijin Village called "Nakijin Up". "Nakijin Rise" is a custom that many Ryukyu people have practiced since ancient times, and is a pilgrimage event for the historic sites of the former relatives.

In other words, this problem is not limited to some people , the royal family and aristocrats of the First Sho dynasty.

It is a human rights issue that the remains of the tombs were stolen and are still not returned, which could destroy local customs.

The Ryukyu people believe that the ashes contain a "bone god", and they continue to cherish the custom of ancestor worship. At the Qingming Festival and the 16th Day Festival, many relatives gather in front of the tomb, offer offerings to the ancestral bone gods, eat and drink, and pray for their protection.

If a researcher steals the ashes from the grave and does not return them for his own research, it will greatly undermine the customs of Okinawans .

The Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education, which is supposed to protect and nurture the history and culture of Ryukyu, must take the initiative in returning the remains and re-burial.

However, the Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education continues to store the remains of Ryukyu people by spending taxes on Okinawans, not based on legal grounds.

[Overseas trends and the response of the Japanese government]  

Since the 19th century, indigenous peoples of the world have also had their remains stolen from tombs as part of colonial rule and used in research to justify colonial rule.

However, in 1990, the United States Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Return Act (NAGPRA), and with the support of the federal government, the remains of indigenous peoples kept in museums and other places are the original graves. It is now returned to.

In European countries as well, the remains and cultural properties are being returned to the original colonies.

[Use of funds (donations)]

・ Proceedings (stamp fee, copy fee, etc.) : About 100,000 yen is planned.

・ Attorney's fees : For highly specialized proceedings, we asked five lawyers with specialized knowledge to form a defense team. In the future, as the proceedings go into full swing, there is a possibility that several new lawyers with specialized knowledge will participate. I would like to ask for a serious proceeding, so I would like to collect the amount first so that I can pay firmly. If you donate more than that, we would like to pay an additional start fee in case the proceedings are prolonged, a success fee in case of winning, a business trip daily allowance, etc.

・ Cost of opinion written by scholars : Since it is a specialized field (constitution, international law, local autonomy law, anthropology, etc.), we plan to write an opinion written by an expert. We plan to pay about 1 million yen as a reward.

・ Transportation expenses for lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs, etc .: The proceedings will be held in Okinawa. If the plaintiff can pay the transportation expenses when he appears in the trial in Okinawa from Kansai, the transportation expenses when the defense team travels from Tokyo to Okinawa, and the transportation expenses when he comes to an expert etc. from the donation I think.

・ Holding an event to convey the activities of returning Ryukyu people's remains ・ Public relations expenses : Regarding this trial, the plaintiffs not only asked for the return of the remains, but also the history of Ryukyu colonial rule, the right of indigenous people to decide themselves, freedom of religion, We hope that this will be an opportunity to spread the international movement to return ashes to society.

We appreciate your understanding and support.

【Related article】

Ryukyu Shimpo “ Professor Matsushima makes a statement at the UN demanding universities return Okinawan ancestral remains ” (December 2, 2020)

the japan times " Lawsuit seeks return of Ryukyu remains nearly a century after they were brought to Kyoto " (June 11, 2021)