Ryukyu Kingdom Map © Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum

Shuri-jô: The focal point for Bankoku Shinryo, or a “Bridge of Nations”

Situated atop a hillside overlooking Naha Port, with its Ryukyuan limestone walls following the curvature of the hillside in graceful flowing lines, Shuri-jô stood at the very heart of the Ryukyu Kingdom that was founded in 1429. Here on this hilltop the castle complex once comprised the Seiden (State Hall) and other government buildings, the royal residence of the king, and a forest where the rituals of the kingdom would take place. It was also a center for diplomacy, possessing cultural power that had been developed through the acceptance and introduction of foreign cultures, which had been refined to create unique arts and crafts and performing arts.

Shinkosen (A tribute ship from the Ryukyu Kingdom to the Ming dynasty, Excerpts) © Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum

Transition from the Ryukyu Kingdom to Okinawa Prefecture

The Ryukyu Kingdom flourished as a center for intermediary trade against the backdrop of the haijin or sea ban imposed by Ming Dynasty China. Various traded goods excavated from the Shuri-jô area tell the story of just such a past. Although the kingdom fell under the rule of the Satsuma Domain, one of the Japanese federal domains under Shogunate following the Shimazu invasion of 1609, even after that time it continued to maintain cultural diplomacy with the Ming and Qing dynasties of China, and retained its status as a kingdom. However, in 1879 the new Meiji government abolished the Ryukyu Kingdom and created Okinawa Prefecture, bringing to a close 450 years of history and ushering the Ryukyus into the Yamatoyu or the “Japanese milieu.” Okinawa was the stage for bitter fighting at the end of the Second World War, which is said to have claimed the lives of up to one quarter of the entire population, and was subsequently placed under U.S. occupation. The U.S. military positioned Okinawa as the “Keystone of the Pacific” and proceeded to building permanent bases in the prefecture. After 27 years of U.S. occupation, in 1972 Okinawa Prefecture was reverted to Japan.

Agena Catsle Ruins at Uruma City © Junko Mukai

Gusuku of the Ryukyus

For many people, the word gusuku evokes images of the flowing lines of fortified castle walls. However, the origins and character of gusuku are varied and there are also some places of worship and defensive settlements that are also referred to as gusuku. The emergence of gusuku as fortresses is indicative of the existence of aji (local rulers), who emerged with the transition from a hunter-gatherer society that continued until around the 12^th century to an agrarian economy. The development of distinctive stone-built gusuku was based on the active movement of people and the spread of technology during this period. The large volumes of ceramics originating in other Asian countries that have been excavated from the ruins of gusuku in various locations would suggest that in actual fact there was active trade between the Ryukyus and the Asian continent between the 13^th to 15^th centuries. By the time of the 16^th century the royal government at Shuri had established a centralized power base, and the requirement for the aji to live in the precincts beneath Shuri-jô resulted in Shuri-jô developing as a highly organized center of government. Another consequence of this centralization was that many of the regional fortified gusuku were abandoned to their historical fate.

Seiden (state hall), which appears to have been repaired in 1930s © Naha City Museum of History, collection of Ms. Fujiko Higa, which related to "Great Ryukyu Photo Album".

Cultural Property Protection System and Shuri-jô

The Meiji government enacted the Law for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples in 1897, which designated buildings and treasures owned by shrines and temples as specially protected buildings or national treasures, and established a system to subsidize the cost of their preservation. In 1929, the Law for the Preservation of National Treasures was promulgated, expanding the scope of designation and subsidies to include not only shrines and temples but also castle buildings and treasures owned by old families.

In 1925 the pre-war Seiden (State Hall) of Shuri-jô was recognized as a specially protected building as the main hall of Okinawa Shrine, and following the enactment of the National Treasures Preservation Law in 1929 it was designated as a national treasure. There were also many other structures in the vicinity that were similarly designated as national treasures, including temples, palaces, gates and tombs. However, in the Battle of Okinawa the State Hall was burned down and the castle ramparts also suffered heavy destruction.

Shuri-jô Castle Park and Management Area Map © National Okinawa Memorial Park Office, Okinawa General Bureau, Cabinet Office

Designation and Management of the Shuri-jô Site as a Cultural Property

In 1955 the site of Shuri-jô was designated as a historical site by the Government of the Ryukyu Islands under the United States occupation, and following reversion to Japan the area became a national historic site. Today the site is maintained and managed as the National Okinawa Memorial Park Shuri Castle District, by the National Okinawa Memorial Park Management Office of Okinawa General Bureau under the Cabinet Office. The area around Shuri-jô has also been designated as Okinawa Prefectural Shuri-jô Park, an area that is an integral part of the historical landscape together with Shuri-jô.

In 2000 the remains of Shuri-jô, including the castle walls and the underground archaeological remains of State Hall, together with eight other sites in Okinawa were inscribed as a World Heritage property, representing five hundred years of Ryukyuan history from the 12^th to 17^th centuries. These sites clearly demonstrate the role of the Ryukyu Kingdom as a center for economic and cultural interchange connecting East and Southeast Asia, and are recognized as a group of heritage sites that represent the unique culture created through this extensive exchange.

Shuri and Naha Port (Excerpts) © Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum

From the Fortress to the Royal court (14^th-15^th centuries)

Built on a hill of Ryukyuan limestone blessed with natural springs, Shuri-jô was the location for 10 shrines and afforded views in all directions. In the 14^th century Shuri became the center of the Chuzan Kingdom, one of three kingdoms at the time, and it was in 1429 that King of Chuzan Sho Hashi successfully reunited the three kingdoms and Shuri-jô was developed as the site of government of the newly established Ryukyu Kingdom. Shuri-jô, as the administrative heart of a kingdom that played a leading role in intermediary trade between East Asia and Southeast Asia, was thus decorated in a unique architectural style that blended various cultures.

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Remains of the platform showing the expansion of the state hall © Okinawa Prefectural Archaeological Center

Reconstructions and Renovations over time (15^th-19^th centuries)

As a setting for opulent diplomatic ceremonies, the center of royal power, and also a ritual space, Shuri-jô has constantly been expanded, reconstructed and repaired. It is known that either due to internal upheaval or fire, the State Hall was reconstructed three times between the 15^th and 18^th centuries. There are also records of at least five major renovation works during the more than 160-year period from the end of the 17^th century. Even after coming under the rule of the Satsuma Domain in 1609 and being incorporated into the feudal structures of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the royal government at Shuri sustained the nominal independency of the Ryukyu Kingdom, maintaining tributary relations with the Ming and Qing dynasties of China. The underground archaeological remnants of the State Hall, with its multiple rows of stone foundations of the front façade built in different times, testify to the overwhelming presence of Shuri-jô, which was continuously glorified and renewed as the source of diplomatic and cultural power of the Ryukyuan royal government.

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Front elevation of the worship hall of Okinawa Shrine, a National Treasure © Government of Japan (Agency for Cultural Affairs)

Decay during Meiji-era Japan and the large-scale restoration （of the late 1920s (19^th-20^th centuries)

Following the Meiji Restoration the new government dismantled the system of feudal domains and in 1879 the Ryukyuan royal government was abolished and in its place Okinawa Prefecture was established (a process referred to as the Disposition of the Ryukyus). After the departure of the royal family the State Hall of Shuri-jô fell into disrepair and in 1923 a decision was made to demolish it, but thanks to the efforts of Kamakura Yoshitaro and Ito Chuta it was saved from such an ignominious fate. Two years later the name of the State Hall was changed to become the “worship hall of Okinawa Shinto Shrine” and became protected as a specially protected structure based on the Law for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples. Following the enactment of the National Treasures Preservation Law the State Hall was designated as a national treasure, and a major restoration program from 1928 to 1933 helped to avert the collapse of the structure.

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Rubble of the walls of Shuri-jô Castle © From "Okinawa as Told by Photographs," Okinawa Prefectural Archives

Rain of iron and fire (1945)

Towards the end of the Second World War Okinawa was fortified as a military base for the purpose of defending the Japanese mainland. The Japanese army established its headquarters in tunnels dug under the hard limestone on which Shuri-jô stands, and fought a war of attrition. In the spring of 1945, U.S. forces aiming to capture the Shuri frontline launched a naval barrage and air raids that pulverized Shuri-jô and burned the State Hall to the ground.

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University of the Ryukyus built on the site of Shuri Castle © Naha City Museum of History

The beginnings of reconstruction

Even when everything has been laid waste by war, it is the survivors who still have the power to recover. Although the reconstruction of Shuri-jô had already been proposed in 1970 by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Properties in the Government of the Ryukyu Islands under the United States occupation, momentum picked up pace after 1972 and the reversion of Okinawa to Japan. It was after reversion that it was decided to relocate the University of the Ryukyus, which had been built on the Shuri-jô site soon after the war, and for the first time there seemed to be real prospects for reconstruction. However, there was also opposition. Given that almost all cultural assets within the prefecture had sustained damage during the war, related budgetary allocation was under considerable pressure. It was under such circumstances that in 1986 a cabinet decision by the central government was made to develop Shuri-jô as a national park project, and design and planning was finally initiated on the reconstruction of the State Hall.

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Drawing showing the partitioon walls of the state hall (Sunpoki) © Photo by Yoshitaro Kamakura, University Library and Arts Museum, Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts

Aiming to recreate the State Hall of the Ryukyu Kingdom

The basis for plans was 23 schematic drawings dating back to the time of the restoration work implemented in 1935 on the worship hall of Okinawa Shrine (formerly known as the State Hall), which was designated as a national treasure. However, these plans depicted the building only as an empty space as a place of worship. There were no depictions of how the hall would have appeared during the Ryukyu Kingdom era; neither was anything indicated about the color of the walls, the layout and décor of the rooms, or the shape of the royal throne. It was then that old records that had survived the upheaval of the war were obtained, and detailed information was brought to the design team. It was a moment that paved the way for an faithful reconstruction of State Hall.

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© National Okinawa Memorial Park Office, Okinawa General Bureau, Cabinet Office

Revival of techniques and crafts

Almost 100 years after the abolition of the Ryukyu Kingdom and 40 years after the end of the war, the traditional skills and techniques required for reconstruction were in danger of being lost. The revival of these techniques and crafts that had once supported the kingdom, including carpentry, lacquering of walls and the application of gorgeous colors, the manufacture of roof tiles, and stone carving, was of vital necessity if a faithful reconstruction was to be achieved. The reconstruction of the State Hall provided the best opportunity for researchers and artisans around Japan and Okinawa to come together to revive such techniques and skills.

© Junko Mukai

Praise for a “faithful reconstruction”

In 2000 the Shuri-jô site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage property. Included in the inscription are the ramparts and underground archaeological remains of the castle that are designated as national historical sites, and the buildings such as the reconstructed State Hall are not included. However, in the evaluation report by UNESCO's advisory body, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which reviewed whether or not the "Gusuku and Related Heritage Sites of the Kingdom of Ryukyu" should be inscribed on the list, it was noted in its description of authenticity that the reconstruction of the Shuri-jô State Hall was highly exact, derived from detailed documents before it was destroyed by fire and archaeological excavations, and that it is of great symbolic value in Okinawa.

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