Shurijo Castle - July 4

On Wednesday, July 4, since I had the day off in observance of America's birthday, I took advantage of the free day to visit one of the closer Japanese historical sites, Shurijo Castle.  Unfortunately my advance planning wasn't so great and the more significant parts of the castle were closed that day for renovation work!  However, the rest of the castle grounds were open for viewing.  The history of the castle is quite interesting - especially given the age of the ruins.  Further information can be found here:  http://oki-park.jp/shurijo-park/english/about/index.html

The inner main gate to the castle gives a hint of the amazing architecture of the castle itself.  This is the second inner gate and is a reproduction of the original that was destroyed during WWII.  Portions of the castle were unfortunately destroyed by the US military forces when the castle grounds were discovered to cover numerous tunnels housing high-ranking enemy military forces.  The destroyed sections have been reconstructed as true to the original as possible.  One interesting part about visiting the castle is that many of the paths, walls and walkways seem to be original from the 14th century construction - the rough coral stone blocks certainly looked as though they were many hundreds of years old!

Some of the inner walls sure look original!

This is a reproduction of the original sundial once in use at the castle.  The timekeeper uses solar tracking but is still 30 minutes off.....makes me feel better about the fact that every timepiece I own has a different time displayed!

This small area, the Suimui Utake, was considered one of the most powerful shrines in the entire castle - all incoming and departing convoys stopped here to pray to the spirits to guide and protect them.

Ancient Ryukyan religion included priestesses, Kyounouchi, who were included as members of the royal family and offered up prayers to specific deities.  This is the area dedicated to the prayers of the women.  Interesting trivia- the Kanji character used to depict the Kyounouchi priestess's has been incorrectly linked to female ninja soldiers - apparently a complete misinterpretation of the ancient Okinawa and Japanese languages.

The views from the tops of the guard walls make it evident why the castle was situated in this location.  Even today, with the enormous development on the south end of the island, clear views can be had of the surrounding land and water.

It is hard to imagine what the view must have been like in the 14th century!  Today, the view is endless construction.  The south end of the island is the most populated and developed end- a stark contrast to the isolated and rural north end.

Outside the actual castle grounds are several areas that have been preserved as gardens.  There is a beautiful Buddhist shrine (Bezaitendo) surrounded by a reflecting pool (Enkanchi-Pond) that was donated as a gift by the King of Korea to the Okinawa royalty.  Unfortunately the pool was more green murk than reflective waters during my visit, LOL!  The stone bridge leading to the shrine was quite spectacular though.

 After spending a few hours wandering around the castle grounds, I made my way next door to the royal burial site, the Tamaudan.  This area has been determined to house three key areas - the body preparation chambers and the East and West crypts that held urns containing the bones of the royals.  The walls surrounding the Tamaudan where very clearly the original walls, made of more limestone and coral and fitted together with exquisite care.

  

More information about the royal mausoleum can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamaudun

Okinawan and Japanese cultures hold a great deal of honor and respect for their ancestors.  The accepted burial rites include cremation of the body and internment of the bones which are kept in ornate ceramic urns.  The museum attached to the Tamaudun had many photographs and reproductions of the beautiful royal urns.

Outside the walls of the mausoleum itself was a gatehouse manned by members of the royal guard.  Much of the excavations and restoration of the chambers were based on first-person accounts of the royal guards.  This photo was taken from the guardhouse.

This is one of the castle guardsmen inside the main gate.  I felt a bit badly for the poor guy - it was a sweltering hot day and he was forced to wear a heavy costume replicating traditional garb of the royal guardsmen.  At least he was in the shade, the was another guard further inside the castle who was posing for repeated tourist picures in the full sun!