| ～From prehistoric age to Ryukyu dynasty age～ |
| Kadena Town has a long history. It has some ruins, including Noguni-kaizuka
( ruins of residence), Kadena-kaizuka, the relic-spreded area at the mouth
of Hija-gawa(river), Yara -gusuku (something like a castle to protect villagers
from enemies), Kadena-gusuku, Kuninao-gusuku. We can get some knowledge
about ancient life from them. |
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Excavations |
Kadena is one of the oldest residence areas in Okinawa. We can find shell
mounds made 6000-7000 years before along Hija-gawa. It means this area
was productive. People of those days are thought to have lived in caves
,fishing and hunting for food. As social system developed, they moved inland
and organized villages. Yara, Kadena, Noguni(now Kadena Air Base) districts
are said to be the oldest resident areas in Kadena town. |
The stone flooring
of Yara castle |
Yara-gusuku (Yara Castle) was constructed in 14th century. It is thought
that villages surrounded it. We can read about the life style of those
days on 'Omoro Soushi' 'Ryukyu Koku Kyuki'. There were some famous people
born in Kadena. For example, Awamari, the lord of Katsuren castle, who
resisted against Ryukyu government in 1400's was from Motomachi district,
Kadena. Noguni Soukan, who brought sweet potatos from China was from Noguni
district. |
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| ～From village to town～ |
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Kadena Town was a village belonging Chatan Magiri in Ryukyu dynasty.
Since 1908,as Chatan Magiri became Chatan Mura(village), Kadena became
the part of Chatan village.
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Kadena had a terminal station of Ken-ei
Tetsudo(a railway of Okinawa prefecture) |
Before WWII,all of Kadena was a farm village. Due to its excellent location
in the middle of Okinawa island, Kadena has developed as an economical,
a cultural and an educational center of Okinawa. In Kadena, many public
facilities such as a terminal railway station and Ken-ritsu dai-ni Chugakko(2nd
Junior highschool of Okinawa prefecture) and Ken-ritsu Nourin Gakko (Aguricultural
school of Okinawa prefecture) and Kan-ritsu Seinen Shihan Gakko (National
School of Education), Kadena Police Office, Okinawa Seito Kadena Kojo (Okinawa
Sugar-manufacturing Campany ,Kadena factory) were established. Hija-gawa
(Hija River) is famous for its beautiful scenery with plentiful water and
as a hub port of livestock. A lot of ships transported them from every
district of Nakagashira-gun and to other towns. Kadena has been developed
as a industrial area with beautiful scenery. |
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During WWII, Kadena was a first place to be hit by U.S. military. The town was burnt out until the end of war. |
Flying B52 |
People could enter a part of Kadena Air Base until U.S.Military strengthened
its management on April 1948. After entry to Kadena Air Base was prohibited,
Chatan Village was separated into two parts. At that time a transportation
network had not been implemented. It was inconvenient for both Kadena residents
and local government to communicate, because they must make a detour around
Kadena Air Base to visit each other. Kadena Village separated from Chatan
Village on 4th December 1948 with population of 3800, became Kadena Village.
At that time, Okinawans could not get jobs other than something related
with the U.S.Militaty, because of a great confusion after WWII. People
and business chances gathered in Kadena, so it urbanized gradually.
As the Korean War started, U.S.Military expanded Kadena Air Base year
by year. Every time U.S.Military expanded it, a lot of farmland and residential
area were requisitioned. As the result, the population density of Kadena
became more crowded.
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| And people have been suffered, for example roaring of engines, airplane accidents, fuel running out from air base, water pollution. Kadena Town is now called 'a town based on U.S.military', an Okinawan society in miniature. |
An old movie theater in Kadena Town
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January 1st,1976, Kadena Village changed its official name into Kadena
Town. It is a 7th town in Okinawa. Since 1978, Kadena Town desided its
basic concept for its town planning, and later it made a great success
in infrastracture, education and culture. A new government office and Kadena
Bunka Center (Kadena Cultural Center) were built in 1983. And now Kadena
Town carries forward ''Kadena Town Center Scheme'' including urban renewal
project of old town area . |
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