Leiden University Student Repository

Meester, Gijs de (2019)

Resilience and Resistance through Music: Protest Songs in Okinawa

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

There have been numerous instances of marginalization of the Okinawa people throughout history. Even to this day, the island has been overgrown by a very disproportionate amount of U.S. military bases and personnel. This comes with a lot of tension and friction which have frequently resulted in protests by the Okinawan people. Music is a strong form of protest, which has been the case in Okinawa as well. Providing a combination of resistance and resilience towards the U.S. military bases through messages that appeal on a different level than regular narratives, makes music an interesting aspect of culture to consider in this protest against the world's most powerful countries.

Okinawa

Protest Music

Resistance

Resilience

U.S. Military

Author

Meester, Gijs de

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

East Asia

Supervisors

Tom, Mes

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en