Ryukyuan (Okinawan) DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Japan (Okinawa) · East Asia
The Ryukyu Islands stretch from southern Japan towards Taiwan, with Okinawa as the largest island. Their languages belong to the Japonic family but are distinct from Japanese, and the islands formed an independent kingdom from the 15th century until their annexation by Japan in 1879. Genetic studies have found that Ryukyuans carry more ancestry from the Jomon, the ancient hunter-gatherers of the Japanese islands, than mainland Japanese. Our model has no Jomon reference: the Ryukyuan average is 81.2% East Asian, 10.4% Ancient Northeast Asian and 8.3% South Asian hunter-gatherer related, a share that may partly stand in for that old island ancestry. The sample behind this average is low resolution, which helps explain why even the nearest modern averages, Han Chinese from Shanxi (0.0463) and Koreans from Jeju Island (0.0495), are only moderately close. The closest ancient groups are Three Kingdoms-period Koreans from Yuha-ri (0.0453) and Late Dawenkou Neolithic people from Shandong.
- Ancient components in our model: East Asian 81.2%, Ancient Northeast Asians 10.4%, South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy) 8.3%
- Closest modern population in our data: Han (Shanxi Xinzhou), distance 0.0463
- Closest ancient group in our data: Korea Three Kingdoms Yuha-ri, distance 0.0453
Ryukyuan (Okinawan) is one of the 335 modern populations in our population genetics atlas. The numbers on this page describe the average Global25 (G25) genome of the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) individuals sampled in Japan (Okinawa), listed in the G25 sheet as "Ryukyuan_(low_res)". Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average comes out as 81.2% East Asian, 10.4% Ancient Northeast Asians and 8.3% South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy). The East Asian component reflects ancestry most common today in East Asia. With well over half of the total, this single source dominates the profile.
The fit is acceptable (fit distance 0.039): treat the proportions as a good approximation rather than exact values. This population was modelled with a global set of reference populations (ancient genomes, plus modern stand-ins where no suitable ancient genome exists), because West Eurasian sources alone cannot describe it.
Fenghuang – Sinosphere Report
Closest modern populations to Ryukyuan (Okinawan)
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Han (Shanxi Xinzhou) first for Ryukyuan (Okinawan), at 0.046, then Han (Shanxi Shuozhou) and Korean (Jeju Island). By the tenth closest (Korean (Yanbian Antu)) the distance grows to 0.056, a common pattern for a population that shares ancestry with its neighbours while keeping a profile of its own.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Han (Shanxi Xinzhou) | 0.0463 | Close |
| 2 | Han (Shanxi Shuozhou) | 0.0491 | Close |
| 3 | Korean (Jeju Island) | 0.0495 | Close |
| 4 | Baima | 0.0499 | Close |
| 5 | Han (Qinghai) | 0.0510 | Moderate |
| 6 | Yugur | 0.0517 | Moderate |
| 7 | Manchu (Yhyegjl) | 0.0532 | Moderate |
| 8 | Manchu (Aisin-Gioro) | 0.0546 | Moderate |
| 9 | Korean (Seoul) | 0.0560 | Moderate |
| 10 | Korean (Yanbian Antu) | 0.0560 | Moderate |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Ryukyuan (Okinawan)
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average is Korea Three Kingdoms Yuha-ri (Three Kingdoms period, c. 57 BC-668 AD), at 0.045, followed by China Shandong N Late Dawenkou Jiaojia and China Shandong N Late Dawenkou Gangshang. That is a close match: much of the modern profile was already present then, while later movements of people added further layers. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korea Three Kingdoms Yuha-ri | Three Kingdoms period, c. 57 BC-668 AD | 0.0453 |
| 2 | China Shandong N Late Dawenkou Jiaojia | Neolithic | 0.0472 |
| 3 | China Shandong N Late Dawenkou Gangshang | Neolithic | 0.0478 |
| 4 | Korea Three Kingdoms Daeseong-dong | Three Kingdoms period, c. 57 BC-668 AD | 0.0485 |
| 5 | Japan Iwade Late Kofun | Kofun period, c. 250-540 AD | 0.0494 |
| 6 | China Shaanxi HP Tang Dynasty Xingfulindai | Tang dynasty, 618-907 AD | 0.0494 |
| 7 | China Henan Early-Late Modern Qing Dynasty Sanzhiyuan | Modern era, c. 1500-1950 AD | 0.0499 |
| 8 | China Jiangsu N Middle Dawenkou Liulin | Neolithic | 0.0508 |
| 9 | China Shandong N Early-Middle Dawenkou Beiqian | Neolithic | 0.0508 |
| 10 | China Shandong HP Tang Dynasty Fudamen | Tang dynasty, 618-907 AD | 0.0508 |
Ancient DNA from Japan
Our ancient DNA database holds 177 individuals excavated in present-day Japan, dated from about 17,950 BC to 1808 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are D1a (10), O1b (3) and B (1), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are N9 (75), M7 (29) and G1 (16). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Ryukyuan (Okinawan) population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Most frequent mtDNA haplogroups
| Haplogroup | Individuals | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| N9 | 75 | JpKa6904 Iyai1 Iyai4 |
| M7 | 29 | Higa006 Higashimyo JpOd274 |
| G1 | 16 | UsuMoshiriL-17a UsuMoshiriL-17c UsuMoshiriN-G5-208 |
| Y1 | 14 | HMN-1 HMN-10 HMN-13 |
| D4 | 13 | KitaKogane9 Irie12 Funadomari10 |
| A | 3 | FND-1 HMN-15 OMS-5 |
| B5 | 2 | JpIw32 FND-2 |
| C3 | 2 | HMN-12 HMN-2 |
Ancient DNA studies on Japan
- Female-biased continental farmer ancestry contribution to the modern Japanese genome (2026)
- Population expansion of early Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers triggered cultural complexity on Paleo-Honshu Island, Japan (2026)
- Ancient Ryukyu Jomon contributed to past and current genetic structure of Japanese populations (2026)
- Ancient genomes reveal early-stage admixture and genetic diversity in the Northwestern Kyushu Yayoi (2026)
- Towards On-Site Paleogenomics: Application and Perspective of Nanopore Sequencing with Ancient DNA (2025)
- Genome of an early Okhotsk individual reveals ancient admixture between Jomon and Kamchatka lineages (2025)
- Ancient Genomes Reveal Early-Stage Admixture and Genetic Diversity in the Northwestern Kyushu Yayoi (2025)
- Genetic legacy of ancient hunter-gatherer Jomon in Japanese populations (2024)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 177 from Japan.
Compare yourself with Ryukyuan (Okinawan)
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Ryukyuan (Okinawan) and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Ryukyuan (Okinawan). Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average. Your own DNA has its own story: Fenghuang – Sinosphere Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people of Sinosphere / East Asian ancestry: ancient regional core (Yellow & Yangtze River Neolithic, Erlitou/Shang/Zhou dynasties, Han Dynasty, Yayoi migration, Tang Dynasty, Manchu/Qing era) versus non-regional outside...
More populations from East Asia
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Ryukyuan (Okinawan)?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average is about 81.2% East Asian, 10.4% Ancient Northeast Asians and 8.3% South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Ryukyuan (Okinawan)?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average are Han (Shanxi Xinzhou), Han (Shanxi Shuozhou) and Korean (Jeju Island). The closest ancient matches are Korea Three Kingdoms Yuha-ri, China Shandong N Late Dawenkou Jiaojia and China Shandong N Late Dawenkou Gangshang.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Ryukyuan (Okinawan)?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Ryukyuan (Okinawan) ancestry?
Fenghuang – Sinosphere Report is our regional report for this part of the world. On the Ryukyuan (Okinawan) average its fit test reads partial, so check your own DNA first: the free Report Finder runs that test on your file.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.