An Okinawa resident, originally from the U.S., is calling for donations to publish a manga book and an animated film through crowdfunding to promote the unique history and culture in the prefecture, which historically had been the independent Ryukyu Kingdom until the late 1800s.
The driving force behind the project to create the anime "Tedashiro no Kuniuta" ("The Song of the Sun Goddess") is Julia Aimi Olivares, 30, from Minnesota, whose mother, Kazumi Mechler, hails from Naha, Okinawa.
Olivares, who had lived in Okinawa for about 10 years from when she was age 8, is well-versed in the regional culture and has won a top prize in a Ryukyu buyo dance competition, which was organized by The Okinawa Times.