hey, mike: Sugarcane

Since I have arrived on the island, I’ve noticed a lot of sugarcane fields. Is sugarcane one of Okinawa’s chief crops?

— Rachel Wilkinson

There is a popular saying on Okinawa that states sugarcane harvesting is the epitome of a lifestyle that combines the “three Japanese K’s”: kitsui, or difficult; kitanai, or dirty; and kiken, which means dangerous. Sugarcane, which is known as satôkibi in Japanese and uji in the Okinawan dialect, matures for harvesting after 10 to 15 months, and can grow to heights of up to 15 feet.

Sugarcane cultivation reached the island of Okinawa in 1623. Cane seedlings were first brought into the Ryukyu court from mainland China by an envoy named Rin Koku-Yo. These seedlings were given to a gentleman by the name of Shinjo Gima who, along with Noguni Sokan, was already well known for transplanting the Chinese potato in Okinawa and southern Kyushu. After a few experimental trials, Gima was successful in growing sugarcane, and soon sugar production gave Okinawa a valuable item for trade with China and mainland Japan. At the time, sugarcane was celebrated by island residents as a shining ray of hope for the future.

Unfortunately at first, nothing could have been further from the truth. The early history of sugarcane on Okinawa wasn’t all that sweet. Because sugar was an expensive, luxury commodity (in great demand by the rich and powerful) and the southern islands of Japan were the only place in the country that had the subtropical climate conducive to growing sugarcane, its production (as well as the people of the islands) was soon exploited by the mainland. Before long, fields that once produced potatoes and rice for the general populace were replaced with cane—a crop far more valuable to powerful plantation owners. The farmers of Okinawa were tasked with the backbreaking labor involved with planting, harvesting, and processing sugarcane for very little pay and watched helplessly as their chief food sources dwindled.

For many, sugarcane conjures more than mere memories of hardship in the 21st century. To mainland tourists, the rows upon rows of satôkibi batake (cane fields) have become as much a symbol of the Ryukyu Islands as eisa dancers, Shuri Castle, and turtleback tombs. And, for many locals, the fields of white-topped, ready-to-harvest sugarcane personify winter, much like falling snow does in colder climates.

Today, Okinawan sugarcane is utilized in a number of ways, from serving as the chief food supply for Okinawan fighting bulls, to being a source of material for locally produced blue jeans, and providing the base colors for beautiful green dyes to the most important product derived from sugarcane—kurosatô, or brown sugar.

Brown sugar is an indispensable ingredient in many of Okinawa’s traditional confections, including chin-bin (a type of brown sugar crêpe), amagashi (a chilled barley and soybean dessert), kuzu-mochi (a glutinous, gelatin-like confection), and most importantly sâtâ andagi, or Okinawan-style donuts.

Planting and harvesting sugarcane is still dangerous and exhausting work, even with modern-day advances. And it’s highly unlikely that very many members of the younger generation can be found within a kilometer of a sugarcane field during the harvest season. However, regardless of the exertion required to extract the sugar, and in spite of its somewhat bittersweet history, sugarcane remains one of Okinawa’s most valuable agricultural resources and recognizable cultural icons.

—Mike Daley

Got questions for Mike? E-mail editor@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org.