was the father of Okinawaology and a Japanese scholar who studied various aspects of Japanese and Okinawan culture, customs, linguistics, and lore. His signature was Ifa Fuyu in English, because of the Okinawan pronunciation. Iha studied linguistics in the University of Tokyo and was devoted to the study of Okinawan linguistics, folklore, and history. His most famous book on the subject, Ko Ryūkyū (Old Ryūkyū), was published in 1911 and remains one of the best works on Okinawan studies. He devoted much time to the discovery of the origins of Okinawan people to establish their history. He had considerable influence not only on the study of Okinawan folklore but also of Japanese folklore. Life In 1876, he was born in Naha as an eldest son of a lower-class pechin. In 1891, he entered Okinawa Middle School, now corresponding to Shuri High School. In 1895, he was dismissed from school, because he was a leader of a student strike; they requested the resignation of the then principal who dropped the subject of English (English is needed for higher schools). In 1896, he entered Meijigikai Middle School in Tokyo, followed by the Third Higher School (Now Kyoto University). In 1903, he entered the linguistic course, Department of Literature, Tokyo University. In 1906, he graduated from Tokyo University. In 1910, he was appointed the director of Okinawa Prefectural Library. In 1917, he organized the study of Esperanto. In 1918, he lectured on the Bible at a church. In 1921, he was appointed the director of Okinawa Prefectural Library formally. In 1924, he resigned from the library and went to Tokyo to study more. In 1935, he lectured on Omorosoushi at Kokugakuin University. In 1945, he assumed the post of the first president of the Association of Okinawan People. On August 13, 1947, he died at the house of Higa Shuncho. Achievements Ko Ryūkyū [the ancient Loochoos], 1911, 1916, 1942, 1944, 2000. [in Japanese, his representative work] Revised Omoro Sōshi, 1925, Minamishima, danwakai. [in Japanese] Ryūkyū no Hōgen [dialects of the Loochoos] 琉球の方言, Kokugo kagaku kōza, no. VII: Kokugo hōgengaku, fascicle no. 5, [1933]; rpt. within the single-vol. version of the course as Tōjō Misao 東條操 et al., Kokugo hōgengaku [dialectology of the national language] 國語方言學, [1935], both: Meiji Shoin, Tokyo. [in Japanese] An Island of Onari Kami, 1938, 1942. [in Japanese] Selected works of Iha Fuyu, 1962. Okinawa Times. [in Japanese] Collected Works