Voices from Okinawa features through literature the rich and remarkable culture of Japan's southernmost islands. In this landmark publication - the first literary anthology showcasing Okinawan Americans - Okinawan voices are heard in plays, essays, and memoirs. Through the beauty, humor, and heartbreak in Jon Shirota's award-winning plays, readers will discover the exuberance and excellence of Okinawan American literature, as well as its importance to world literature. And in personal essays and interviews, the compelling life stories are told of June Hiroko Arakawa, Philip Ige, Mitsugu Sakihara, and Seiyei Wakukawa. The distinctive cultural perspectives and literary excellence of ""Voices from Okinawa"" expand our definition of American literature, showing it to be more inclusive, complex, and multilayered than we have imagined.