You say SICHI, I say SHICHI, let’s call the whole thing off…

Every Friday night, while at karate with my children, the countdown to 10 in Japanese begins…For years, I cringed when the instructor got to the number 7 because the instructor always says “SICHI” (pronounced SEE-CHEE)  instead of “SHICHI” (pronounced SHEE-CHEE). It used to drive me crazy (and I even corrected the teacher) until I realized that the type of karate they are learning originated in Okinawa, so it might make sense that the pronounciation of the number 7 would be a little different. It got me thinking what else is different between Okinawa and mainland Japan.

Okinawa has its own language group, known as Ryukyuan, which it shares (along with much of its culture) with the Amami Islands in Kagoshima prefecture. These languages are related to Japanese (together, they form the "Japonic family"), but are generally incomprehensible to Japanese speakers. The largest of these languages, the Okinawan language (ucināguci), is spoken on the main island of Okinawa and the surrounding islands, and is not used much these days. Most young people cannot speak it. To complicate things further, each of Okinawa's major islands has its own distinct dialect, some of which are different enough to be considered their own languages by some. According to the Internet, the Okinawan dialect of Japanese is only 70% the same as “Tokyo” Japanese.

Since Okinawa is an island, the cultural differences between Okinawa and Mainland Japanese can be compared to the cultural differences between Hawaii and Mainland USA. The island was not formally a part of Japan until the late 19th century.

Since Okinawa has its own culture, and the geography, language and climate are different, one can assume that the cuisine would be different as well. The people of Okinawa traditionally practiced shamanism and were not influenced by Buddhism, therefore pork and goat meet were staples of their diet. However, people living on Mainland Japan did not eat much meat until the mid-19th century. Purple yams and bitter melons are also eaten in Okinawa but not in Mainland Japan.

Although I learned a lot about Okinawa due to the mispronounciation of the number 7 in Japanese, I was told that the number 7 should be pronounced "SHICHI" in Okinawan and Japanese. Either the karate instructor is incorrect or this pronounciation of the number 7 is from an older version of Okinawa-ben. Mystery remains to be solved...