Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu

Brief Description

Justification for Inscription

Criterion ii For several centuries the Ryukyu islands served as a centre of economic and cultural interchange between south-east Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, and this is vividly demonstrated by the surviving monuments. Criterion iii The culture of the Ryukyuan Kingdom evolved and flourished in a special political and economic environment, which gave its culture a unique quality. Criterion vi The Ryukyu sacred sites constitute an exceptional example of an indigenous form of nature and ancestor worship which has survived intact into the modern age alongside other established world religions.

Long Description

For several centuries the Ryukyu Islands served as a centre of economic and cultural interchange between South-East Asia, China, Korea and Japan, and this is vividly demonstrated by the surviving monuments. The culture of the Ryukyuan Kingdom evolved and flourished in a special political and economic environment.

In the 10th-12th centuries, Ryukyuan farming communities (gusuku ) began to enclose their villages with simple stone walls for protection. From the 12th century onwards powerful groups known as aji began to emerge. They enlarged the defences of their own settlements, converting them into fortresses for their own households; these adopted the term gusuku to describe these formidable castles. There followed a continual struggle for supremacy between the aji , which did not coalesce until the 15th century into three main kingdoms - Hokuzan (North Mountain), Chûzan (Central Mountain), and Nanzan (South Mountain).

The Tamaudun Royal was built by Shô Shin around 1501 as a symbol of royal power, and to take advantage of the Ryukyuan people's practice of worshipping at the tombs of ancestors. It is carved into the limestone bedrock and covered by a gabled pantile roof.

The Sonohyan-utaki Ishimon (Stone Gate of the Sonohyan Shrine) was erected in 1519 by Shô Shin, fronting a sacred forest (Sonohyan-utaki). It was considered to be the guardian shrine of the Ryukyu Kingdom, where prayers were offered for peace and security at annual ritual ceremonies. It represents the unique style of stone architecture developed in Ryukyu.

The Nakijin-jô (Nakijin Castle) became the residence of the Ryukyuan Kingdom governor. Work began on its construction in the late 13th century and it had reached its final form by the beginning of the 15th century. The castle is strategically sited on a lone hill, well defended by natural features (river, cliffs and deep valley).

The Zakimi-jô (Zakimi Castle) was built in the early 15th century by a powerful chieftain, Gosamaru. After the establishment of the Ryukyu Kingdom it served to watch over the survivors of the Hokuzan Kingdom, who had fled to the west coast of Okinawa.

The Katsuren-jô (Katsuren Castle), built in the 12th-13th centuries, was the stronghold of another powerful chieftain, Amawari. Sited on a dominant hill, it comprises four linked enclosures with walls of coralline limestone. There are several ancient places of worship, in particular the shrine dedicated to Kobazukasa, a round stone column in the middle of the first enclosure, is still of considerable spiritual significance.

The Nakagusuku-jô (Nakagusuku Castle), built in the turbulent final years of the 14th century and extended in the mid-15th century, consists of six enclosures, arranged in a line on a steep promontory.

Shuri-jô (Shuri Castle) built in the second half of the 14th century, was the main castle of the kings of Chûzan and, after unification, of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The hill on which it stands dominates Naha City and its port. It is divided into inner and outer enclosures, conforming with the topography. The castle's enclosure walls, built with random bonding of coralline limestone, extend over 1,080 m.

Shikinaen, a royal garden villa, is recorded as having been constructed in 1799. The plan shows Japanese influence, although Chinese features are to be found in some structures. The result is, however, uniquely Ryukyuan. Around the pool are disposed walkways, pavilions, artificial hills and flower gardens.

Sêfa-utaki became one of the most sacred places in the new religion. There are several places of worship, three of them linked by stone-flagged paths. There are few material indications of the significance of Sêfa-utaki: it is essentially a densely wooded hill on which the shrines and prayer sites have an ageless spiritual quality that derives from their setting rather than man-made symbols.

Historical Description

In the 10th-12th centuries, Ryukyuan farming communities (gusukus) began to enclose their villages with simple stone walls for protection. From the 12th century onwards powerful groups, known as aji, began to emerge. They enlarged the defences of their own settlements, converting them into fortresses for their own households; these adopted the term gusuku to describe these formidable castles. There followed a continual struggle for supremacy between the aji, which did not coalesce until the 15th century into three main kingdoms - Hokuzan (North Mountain), Chûzan (Central Mountain), and Nanzan (South Mountain).

The Sanzan (Three Mountain) period was marked by many changes in Ryukyuan society and economy. Improved tools and techniques resulted in enormous growth in agricultural production. There was intensive trade from the Sanzan Period onwards with Song Dynasty China, mainland Japan, the Korean peninsula, and south-east Asia, reaching its peak between the end of the 14th century and the mid 16th century.

This period came to an end in 1429 when Ryukyu was finally united by the Chûzan ruler into a single kingdom. The first king was expelled in a coup-d'état in 1469, but the kingdom survived intact until 1879; the two periods are known as the First and Second Shô Dynasty respectively. The third king of the Second Shô Dynasty, Shô Shin, consolidated the administration of the kingdom, instituting strong centralized control of both the political and the religious system.
The Kingdom was conquered from Japan in 1609 by the Satsuma fief during the Tokugawa Shogunate, but the new overlords retained the Ryukyuan monarchy as its local administration. It also provided valuable links with the rest of the world at a period when Japan was virtually closed to all overseas contacts. With the end of the Shogunate at the Meiji Restoration in 1868, it survived briefly as the "Ryukyu Domain," but in 1879 the Ryukyu Kingdom was abolished and the islands became the Okinawa Prefecture under the new administrative system.

Ryukyu was the scene of heavy bombardment and bitter land fighting at the end of World War II; many lives were lost and the cultural properties were grievously damaged. It was under US administration until 1972, when control was returned to Japan.