Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu

The Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu is an UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

which consists of nine sites all located in Okinawa Prefecture

Okinawa Prefecture

is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The heritage sites include two groves or utaki
Utaki
うたき is an album by Japanese singer/pianist Misako Odani, released March 25, 1999 on the Universal label. It was co-produced by Misako and Hirokazu Sakurai from Hip Land Music...

, the mausoleum

Mausoleum

A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...

Tamaudun

is a mausoleum in Shuri, Okinawa, built for Ryūkyūan royalty in 1501 by King Shō Shin, the third king of the second Shō dynasty a short distance from Shuri Castle....

, one garden, and five gusuku
Gusuku
, or just , is the term used for the distinctive Okinawan form of castles or fortresses. In standard Japanese, the same kanji is pronounced "shiro", but the word is probably cognate with a different Japanese word, "soko" , which means "fortress"...

castles sites, most of which are ruins. The sites were inscribed on the criteria that they were a fine representation of the Ryūkyū Kingdom

Ryukyu Kingdom

The Ryūkyū Kingdom was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan...

's culture, whose unique blend of Japanese and Chinese influence made it a crucial economic and cultural junction between several neighboring states.

History

The Gusuku started to be constructed throughout the islands at the end of the shell-mound period and heralded the Gusuku period and the rise of Aji Chieftains at the approach of the 12th century. During this period, people who had been living in coastlines along low-lying areas had moved to higher ground to build villages inland. Agriculture--such as paddy rice, wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

and millet

Millet

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...

--was developed further during this period. Groves called utaki were constructed within these villages to serve as sacred grounds for praying to guardian spirits of cultivation. Overseas trading was also opened when the Ryukyu Islands began to create a common culture. The existence of Sueki ware and Chinese ceramics excavated in the Amami Islands region is considered as strong evidence of its cultural development. At the beginning of the 13th century, a steady rise in the interests of the villages saw the emergence of chieftains who were called Aji or Anji and who occupied political positions within these villages. The aji mainly oversaw taxes and conducted religious rites. Trade became more developed and allowed the ajis to increase possession of good harbors in Urasoe, Yomitan, Nakagusuku, Katsuren, Sashiki and Nakijin.

The Sanzan kingdoms were formed when the regional aji dealt with struggles to defend their domains as their powers increased. The Ryukyus were divided into 3 kingdoms, the Hokuzan in the north which was situated at Nakijin Gusuku, the Chuzan

Chuzan

Chūzan was one of three kingdoms which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. Okinawa, previously controlled by a number of local chieftains or lords, loosely bound by a paramount chieftain or king of the entire island, split into these three more solidly defined kingdoms within a few years after...

in the central area which was in Urasoe Gusuku

Urasoe Castle

was an Okinawan castle, or gusuku, which served as the capital of the medieval Okinawan principality of Chūzan prior to the unification of the island into the Ryūkyū Kingdom, and the moving of the capital to Shuri....

, and Nanzan in the south which was in Shimajiri Ozato

Ozato, Okinawa

was a village located in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Japan.On January 1, 2006 Ōzato was merged with the town of Sashiki, and the villages of Chinen and Tamagusuku, all from Shimajiri District, to form the new city of Nanjō....

. The Eiso Dynasty who came to power in the central Chuzan Kingdom declined during the rise of fourth king Tamagusuku and fifth king Seii. In 1350, Satto
Satto
Satto , also known as Chadu, was a king of Chūzan, one of three kingdoms formerly on the island of Okinawa. His reign was marked by expansion and development of Chūzan's trade relations with other states, and the beginning of Okinawa's tributary relations with Ming Dynasty China, a relationship...

ascended to the Chuzan throne where he reigned for 56 years. A legend circulated at this time where it is said that in Urasoe there lived a poor farmer by the name of Okumaufuya. One day he was walking down a road going home, he stopped in the springs of Mori-no-kawa to wash his hands, there he saw a beautiful woman taking a bath in the springs. Okuma immediately hid the woman's clothes and approached her, as it turned out the woman was a celestial maiden

Goddess

A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....

. The woman searched for her clothes but Okuma did not say a word that he had hid them, the woman in despair was accompanied her to his house. A couple of years passed and the woman and Okuma had children, a girl and a boy they named Janamoi. One day, the older sister was singing her little brother to sleep with a song about the celestial robe of her mother kept in the outhouse. Their mother heard this and regained her robe this led to the woman saying goodbye to her family. The story suggests that Janamoi grew up to become King Satto.

A significant change in status for the period happened in 1609 with the invasion of the Ryukyus by the Satsuma-han of Japan. At this time Satsuma took control of the Ryukyus and placed the northern islands of Amami under direct Satsuma rule. Before this time the Sho dynasty

Genealogy of the Shō Dynasties

The First Shō Dynasty and Second Shō Dynasty ruled the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1406-1469 and 1470-1879, respectively. In spite of the names, they were unrelated. Abbreviated genealogies of the two dynasties follow here.- First Shō Dynasty :*Samekawa Unushi...

had previously governed over the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Preservation

The world heritage site Gusuku and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu represents more than 500 years of Ryukyu history specifically from the 12th to the 17th century in Japan. Unesco declared it as a world heritage on November 30, 2000 along with 60 other sites. It has passed 3 of the 10 criteria set by UNESCO namely the way it exhibits the importance of human values over a span of time (Criteria ii), in this case it’s more than 500 years of cultural and ethnic history. The site has also shown exceptional cultural tradition to a civilization which has disappeared (Criteria iii). And finally the site has been regarded for tangibly linking events and traditions with ideals and beliefs with literary and artistic works (Criteria vi).

List of sites

Name	Type	Location	Picture

}
| Mausoleum

Mausoleum

| Naha-shi

Naha, Okinawa

is the capital city of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa.Naha is a coastal city located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands...

, Okinawa-ken

Okinawa Prefecture

|
|-
|
| Stone gate at utaki
Utaki
うたき is an album by Japanese singer/pianist Misako Odani, released March 25, 1999 on the Universal label. It was co-produced by Misako and Hirokazu Sakurai from Hip Land Music...

| Naha-shi, Okinawa-ken
|
|-
|
| Gusuku
Gusuku
, or just , is the term used for the distinctive Okinawan form of castles or fortresses. In standard Japanese, the same kanji is pronounced "shiro", but the word is probably cognate with a different Japanese word, "soko" , which means "fortress"...

ruins
| Nakijin-son

Nakijin, Okinawa

is a village located in Kunigami District, Okinawa, Japan.As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 9,529 and a population density of 239.00 persons per km²...

, Kunigami-gun

Kunigami District, Okinawa

is a district located in Okinawa, Japan. Roughly translated, kunigami means "head of the country", referring to its northern location on the island of Okinawa. Compare this to Shimajiri District, Okinawa....

, Okinawa-ken
|

|-
|
| Gusuku
Gusuku
, or just , is the term used for the distinctive Okinawan form of castles or fortresses. In standard Japanese, the same kanji is pronounced "shiro", but the word is probably cognate with a different Japanese word, "soko" , which means "fortress"...

ruins
| Yomitan-son

Yomitan, Okinawa

is a village located in Nakagami District, Okinawa, Japan. As of 30 September 2005, the village has an official population of 38,532. The total area is 35.17 km²....

, Nakagami-gun

Nakagami District, Okinawa

is a district located in Okinawa, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 169,332 and the density of 1,216.03 persons per km²...

, Okinawa-ken
|

Uruma, Okinawa

is a city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.It was formed on April 1, 2005, from the merger of the old cities of Gushikawa and Ishikawa, and the towns of Katsuren and Yonashiro, both from Nakagami District....

, Nakagami-gun

Nakagami District, Okinawa

is a district located in Okinawa, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 169,332 and the density of 1,216.03 persons per km²...

, Okinawa-ken
|

Nakagusuku, Okinawa

is a village located in Nakagami District, Okinawa, Japan.As of 2008, the village has an estimated population of 16,462 and a density of 1,065 persons per km². The total area is 15.46 km²....

, Nakagami-gun

Nakagami District, Okinawa

is a district located in Okinawa, Japan.As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 169,332 and the density of 1,216.03 persons per km²...

, Okinawa-ken
|
|-
|
| Gusuku
Gusuku
, or just , is the term used for the distinctive Okinawan form of castles or fortresses. In standard Japanese, the same kanji is pronounced "shiro", but the word is probably cognate with a different Japanese word, "soko" , which means "fortress"...

| Naha-shi, Okinawa-ken
|
|-
|
| Garden
| Naha-shi, Okinawa-ken
|
|-
|
| Utaki
Utaki
うたき is an album by Japanese singer/pianist Misako Odani, released March 25, 1999 on the Universal label. It was co-produced by Misako and Hirokazu Sakurai from Hip Land Music...

| Nanjō-shi

Nanjo, Okinawa

is a city in the southern part of Okinawa Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.It was formed on January 1, 2006, from the merger of the town of Sashiki, and the villages of Chinen, Ōzato and Tamagusuku, all from Shimajiri District....

, Okinawa-ken
|
|}

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Preservation

List of sites

See also

External links