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GUSUKU 城 –The Castles of Okinawa

Gusuku is the Okinawan term for castle, the equivalent of shiro on the main Japanese islands. The gusuku of Okinawa are considerably different to those castles scattered across the rest of Japan, primarily on Honshū and Kyūshū, reflecting both Chinese influences and a very distinctive Ryūkūan style developed during the period of the aji (warring factions of the 13th and 14th Centuries) and then under the Kingdom of the Ryūkūs 琉球王国 under the Sho dynasties.

Tamaudun
Built in 1501 by the 3rd King of the 2nd Sho Dynasty, Sho Shin, the Tamaudun mausoleum comprises three compartment arranged east-to-west and protected by the Ryūkyūan shisa (stone lions). In the central compartment were enshrined the dead monarchs, flanked by princes, queens and other family members.

Nakijin gusuku 今帰仁城Built in the 14th Century, like many gusuku, the gusuku at Nakijin lies in ruins. It was once the centre of the principality of Hokuzan (North Mountain), with the rival Nanzan (South Mountain) and Chuzan (Middle Mountain) principalities very nearby, and it was to the Chuzan that the gusuku of Nakijin fell in 1416. Primarily a centre for defence and administration it is also thought that the gusuku at Nakijin was a sacred centre, the utaki groves inside being important in Okinawan animist beliefs.



Zakimi gusuku 座喜味城
Located at the northern side of Okinawa, the gusuku at Zakimi is now in ruins, but the two inner courts can still be made out, both demonstrating the keystone arches distinctive in Ryūkūan architecture.

Katsuren gusuku 勝連城
The ruins of the gusuku of Katsuren present an impressive image, with the Pacific lying on either side of the promontary, but within the gusuku archaeology has revealed the importance to trade in Ryūkyūan history, with expensive tiles and precious Ming Chinese porcelain found amongst the ruins. Chinese involvement with the Ryūkyūs began (according the Ryūkyūan ‘Ancient Annals’ began in 1372 when emmissaries visited the three Ryūkyūan principalities, establishing formal diplomatic links through tribute. Certainly during the lordship of Lord Amawari in the 15th Century, Katsuren gusuku was an important centre.



Naka gusuku 中城
A prime example of gusuku-construction with its six courtyards, the gusuku of Naka was constructed in the 15th Century to defend the region against the incursions led by Lord Amawari of Katsuren gusuku.

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Shurijō 首里城

Shurijō (or suiugusuku in Okinawan) is without doubt one of the largest (350m by 200m) and best-known castle in Okinawa, the palace of the Ryūkyūan Kingdom for 450 years. The present gusuku is a reconstruction completed in 1992, with the original levelled on 25-27.05.1945 during the bitter campaign fought over Okinawa (as the castle had been turned into a military headquarters for the Japanese forces defending the islands). When the original was actually constructed is unknown but it was definitely occupied by King Sho Hashi as his official residence after he had united the principalities of Hokuzan, Chuzan and Nanzan in 1429 (although it is believed by some scholars that it was the residence of King Satto of Chuzan, placing the date of construction to 1392). It certainly remained the capital of the united Ryūkūan kingdom until 1879. Despite so little of the original building left (and in fact possibly little of the original existed prior to 1945 due to constant fires throughout its history, with periods of reconstruction having been completed in 1453, 1660, 1671-1709, and 1712-15) in 2000 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
From the establishment of the Sho Dynasty in 1429, Shuri was the political, cultural and economic heart of the Kingdom, receiving emissaries from the Ming and Qing Chinese and the Shimazu clan of Kyūshū who (under the authority of the Tokugawa Bakufu were the dominant actual forces after their invasion in 1609), along with trade missions from Malacca, Pattani, Hue, Champa, Java and Siam (which received 61 of the 150 recorded trade voyages from the Ryūkyūan Kingdom). The first tributary links with China were formed in 1372, and by the late-14th Century there were near Shuri thje ‘thirty-six families’, Chinese scholars and officials who took up residence at Kume between the ports of Naha and Tomari. Under the unified Kingdom led by Sho Hashi, trade with China increased, centred upon the nearby port of Naha, increasing the prestige of Shuri. With a stable state based upon a single dynasty and increased trade, Sho Hashi was able to take the initial palace of Shuri on its naturally defended location and create the massive walls that surrounded his capital. These defences were however not enough to defend the Ryūkyūan King Sho Nei in 1609 (when Japanese forces under the Shimazu of Satsuma) or King Sho Tai in 1879 (when Japanese Imperial forces landed) and annexed the Ryūkyūan islands.

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Walls and Gates of Shurijo


(left-to-right) Zuisenmon, Uekimon, Hokuden & Houshinmon

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Walls & Gates of Shurijo continued...



(left-to-right) Kankaimon, Koufukumon, Shureinomon, and walls between the Uekimon & Zuisenmon

[Gubook Janggoon]

Stunning :]

They have their own style and flow different from anything else on the mainland or in Japan.

[caocao74]

Gubook Janggoon, on Feb 2 2006, 08:50 AM, said:

Stunning :]
They have their own style and flow different from anything else on the mainland or in Japan.

Without generalizing and receiving a tirade of abuse, Okinawan architecture (and perhaps culture in general) is more 'Chinese'.