This category is for sites in English related to Ryukyu culture in Japan, including its lifestyle, origins, history, language, and related topics.The Ryukyu Kingdom existed as a separate entity with extensive contact with China as well as Japan, especially the Satsuma Daimyo, and paid tributes to both. Japan formally annexed all of the Ryukyus in 1879, and held it until the end of World War II. After which the Americans controlled the islands until they were returned to Japan in 1972.