Island Manga — Okinawa Slave

During the 17th to 19th centuries, Okinawa was a major hub for the trans-Pacific trade. The island's strategic location made it an ideal spot for merchants and traders to exchange goods, including humans. Okinawan merchants, often in collaboration with Chinese and Southeast Asian traders, would kidnap or purchase people from various parts of Asia, particularly from China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, and sell them into slavery.

Prior to and during the battle, the Japanese military maintained a system of military brothels known as "comfort stations." While primarily staffed by Korean, Chinese, and Filipino women, historical records (including documents from the Naha Military Court) indicate that Okinawan women were also coerced or forcibly recruited into these stations. The term "slave" is not hyperbolic here; the Ianfu (comfort women) system was a form of chattel slavery involving forced prostitution. okinawa slave island manga

The term likely points toward three possible sources: During the 17th to 19th centuries, Okinawa was