Place-based science from Okinawa: 18^th-century climate and geology recorded in Ryukyuan classical music

Abstract. Indigenous knowledge can record scientific observations of specific “places” that may be difficult to preserve in the geologic record. Such place in place-based science highlights issues local to a learner for engaging audiences with the scientific problems relevant to their communities. Here, we focus on a repertoire of indigenous Ryukyuan classical music to examine place-based observations of 18^th-century climate and geology in the Ryukyu Islands (21^st-century Okinawa Prefecture, Japan). Comparing environmental conditions recorded in songs with 20^th–21^st-century studies, we find that surface winds, ocean currents, typhoons, and volcanism from lyrics parallel their respective observations in the scientific record. This novel perspective of art and science highlights the relevancy of Ryukyuan classical music in teaching contemporary issues such as climate change and natural hazards. Thus, Ryukyuan indigenous knowledge can play an innovative role in science engagement for 21^st-century Okinawans in Okinawa Prefecture and their diasporic kinsfolk worldwide.