Widely distributed throughout Okinawa Prefecture, it is the most common surname in the prefecture.
Derived from “bijā,” meaning east.
Located in the southeastern part of Hamahiga Island, central Okinawa Island. Locally, it is collectively called Bama-Hija with the beach in the northwest. There is a rocky hill called a gusuku at an elevation of about 60 meters, and the settlement occupies its eastern foothills. The place name comes from Hija (east), where Higa is located.
One theory links it to the worship of the sun god (Tida) in Ryukyuan Shinto and the belief that the east was a sacred direction.
Meaning flat sandy ground.
Located in the hilly terrain of the Shimajiri Formation in the upper reaches of the Shirahigawa River, central Okinawa Island. The place name is said to derive either from Hijaa (Higawa) or from Higashi with the “shi” sound dropped.
Explanation of this calligraphy
The top row is in hiragana, the middle row in kanji, and the bottom row in katakana.
Ranking of Japanese American surnames (U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 Survey)
Higa ranks 12th in this ranking.
| Surname | Kanji | Supplement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tanaka | 田中 | 4th in Japan |
| 2 | Yamamoto | 山本 山元 | 8th in Japan |
| 3 | Nakamura | 中村 仲村 ・・・ | 7th in Japan |
| 4 | Watanabe | 渡辺 渡部 ・・・ | 6th in Japan |
| 5 | Sato | 佐藤 | 1st in Japan |
| 6 | Yamada | 山田 | 12th in Japan |
| 7 | Kimura | 木村 (written vertically) | 17th in Japan |
| 8 | Suzuki | 鈴木 鈴木 (written vertically) | 2nd in Japan |
| 9 | Kato | 加藤 | 10th in Japan |
| 10 | Yoshida | 吉田 | 11th in Japan |
| 11 | Takahashi | 高橋 | 3rd in Japan |
| 12 | Higa | 比嘉 | 1st in Okinawa, Japan |
| 13 | Kobayashi | 小林 | 9th in Japan |
| 14 | Nakano | 中野 仲野 ・・・ | 46th in Japan |
| 15 | Hayashi | 林 | 20th in Japan |
| 16 | Hashimoto | 橋本 | 24th in Japan |
| 17 | Saito | 斎藤 斉藤 ・・・ | 19th in Japan |
| 18 | Sasaki | 佐々木 | 13th in Japan |
| 19 | Mori | 森 毛利 ・・・ | 22th in Japan |
| 20 | Matsumoto | 松本 (written vertically) 松元 | 15th in Japan |
