i didn't know what category to put this in but since it has to do with okinawa, i put it under traveling just in case someone comes across this blog to read about okinawa. during world war 2, a lot of shit was destroyed in okinawa. that's a given. okinawa was once a separate kingdom--it was not always a prefecture of japan. kings live in castles, wear crowns and fancy clothes, etc. during the war, the castles were bombed and none of the original ones remain standing but they reconstructed the king's castle in the 1990s. also during the war, items were looted. again, this is a given during war. however, there is an effort underway to find some missing cultural treasures and have them returned to okinawa. part of that effort is the george c. oyasato foundation. so far a few old maps have been returned. the foundation has a list of missing items okinawa would be deeply appreciative if returned. these are the kind of things that should be in a museum. it is speculated that american soldiers took them back home with them after the war. personally i've never researched this stuff and would guess they were destroyed with the castle but if there's a chance they're out there then the more people that spread the message, the greater chance they will be found. actually i read somewhere else that the loyal workers for the royal family tried to save the items by hiding them and they returned to where they hid the items and they were gone. later one of the items hidden in that spot was found but the person (ww2 soldier) who had it claims that they don't have/know about the other items. so this is what gives hope that these items may be out there somewhere and most likely in america as it was probably taken by a soldier.