Champloo: An Okinawa Identity Symposium

As the Okinawan community evolves across generations, geographies, and lived experiences, many Uchinānchu navigate identities that are Okinawan, Japanese, American, mixed-race, multilingual, and multicultural. Through four moderated panels exploring Okinawan identity, the role of Kenjinkais in North America, cultural revitalization, and Okinawan futurism, the symposium invites meaningful conversations about belonging, heritage, and the future of our community.
The Champloo Symposium has been a labor of love for OAANY, and we look forward to bringing together Okinawans, friends of Okinawa, scholars, artists, community leaders, and curious minds from across the country for a day of yuntaku (conversation), connection, reflection, and imagining what comes next. Open to everyone, regardless of Okinawan identity or background, the symposium creates space to explore what it means to be Okinawan today and what that might look like tomorrow.