A peaceful, independent kingdom until its annexation by the Japanese Empire in the 19th century, Okinawa was the site of the most destructive land battle of the Pacific War. Today, the archipelago is Japan's poorest prefecture and unwilling host to 75% of all US military bases in Japan. Okinawa brings together two collections of intertwined stories by Susumu Higa. The first collection, Sword of Sand, is a ground level look at the Battle of Okinawa. The second turns an eye to the present-day in Mabui (Okinawan for 'spirit'), where Higa explores how the American occupation has irreversibly changed the island prefecture, through the lens of the archipelago's indigenous spirituality and the central character of the yuta priestess.

Reads from right to left (except pages i-xxiii). Includes the essay From Yamato to the United States: Okinawa in Flux by Shinako Oyakawa, interview with the author, and glossary. "Originally published in Japanese as Suna no Tsuguri (1995) by Shogakukan Inc., Suna no Suguri 2nd Edition (2010), and Mobui (2010), both by Serinkogeisha."

Book one:Sword of sand -- Book two: Mabui -- From Yamato to the United States : Okinawa in flux / Shinako Oyakawa -- Susumu Higa interview / translated by Jocelyne Allen ; conducted by Christopher Woodrow-Butcher and Andrew Woodrow-Butcher for MangasplainingExtra (MSX).