──Though Gosamaru was still a loyal retainer until the very end, he may have been used by Kinmaru from the start. There is no history that is completely accurate.
As I travel more, the stronger this belief becomes.
The story of Nakagusuku’s history was lost in one place. However, the chronicles of Okinawa’s history like the “Chuzan Seikan,” the “Ryukyu-koku yurai-ki,” and the “Kyūyō” were all recorded histories of politicians and bureaucrats. A modern account of history forged by the assumptions of the government.
There may be a similar story surrounding your own history. Why did you take that trip? Why did you quit that job? Why did you fall in love with that person? There isn’t just one reason. All reasons are illogical and contradictory. There were multiple reasons that built up at the same time and in the end it was really the momentum that pushed you towards that final decision.
Even then, when you attempt to tell the story later, and you tell it many times, the story gets easier and distorts and becomes a narrative of its own. Even if this can’t be considered fiction, the details have all fallen off. The history that has been written in your history books is one in the same.
──This is why it is so important for people to find and create their own stories for themselves.
My guide for this trip through Nakagusuku picked me up in a small pick up truck. It was a sudden decision, but as I prepared to board his small truck, he hurriedly threw the pile of outdoor and climbing supplies into the back of the truck to open up the passenger seat for me. He said he uses these to go searching in the mountains for hidden treasures on the paths no one else dares to venture. As I took my seat he started to explain to me;
“People like me, we never approach the tourists spots head on. I never take the “official” route. Anything that can be seen from that point of view is written in the brochure. But when you take the backroads, like an outhouse hidden in a forest, then you find the secrets no one else knows about. When you travel around Okinawa with someone as your guide, it’s the same thing. It’s just more interesting when you talk about the hidden stories and legends.”
As he stated this, he told me the history included here on “side B.” Before this, I had already read everything that existed about Nakagusuku, the history on “side A,” which can be found in any book. In other words, the official history. However, my guide explained the other side of history proclaiming this as his own version of the truth. As he explained this, he didn’t use phrases like “People have said that…” or “There is a theory that…,” he explained it as if he was explaining history as it really is. For me, this was a breath of fresh air. Of course, there is nothing to prove my guide’s version of history, but there is also nothing to prove the “official” history either. At the very least, we can rely on the fact that the history this guide has created was built on every possible piece of literature available and combined with his own extensive fieldwork. He created his own version of the truth.
The freedom to make your own version of history is something unique to guides. How much you believe of their tales is up to you. You must create your own story for you to believe in.
ON THE TRIP Editing Department
Original Japanese Text:
Akihito Shiga
Translation:
Autumn Smith
Farshad Khansari
Audio:
Kate Beck
Photography:
Hiroshi Honma
※This guide has been created using outside materials, but we have also added our own opinions. Some information may vary from that of experts, but the truth is for your to experience on your trip.