Nakijin gusuku
Encyclopedia
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"...
(Ryukyuan castle or fortress) located in Nakijin
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...
, 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...
. It is currently in ruins. In the late 14th century, the Ryukyus
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
consisted of three principalities: Nanzan
Nanzan
Nanzan , sometimes called Sannan , 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...
to the south, Chūzan
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, and Hokuzan
Hokuzan
Hokuzan 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...
in the north. Nakijin was the fortress of Hokuzan. The fortress includes several sacred 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...
groves, reflecting the gusuku's role as a center of religious activity. It is famous for the Hikan cherries which bloom in northern Okinawa between mid-January and early February.
History
Though there had been LordsAnji (Ryukyu)
thumb|AjiAn aji, anji, or azu was a ruler of a petty kingdom in the history of the Ryukyu Islands. The word later became a title and rank of nobility in the Ryūkyū Kingdom. It is said to be related to the Japanese aruji , and the pronunciation varied throughout the islands. It ranked next below a...
of Nakijin prior to the creation of the Hokuzan kingdom, and thus some form of chiefly residence can be presumed to have been on or near the site before, it is believed that the gusuku form of Nakijin castle only emerged at the founding of the kingdom. It is located on the Motobu peninsula, on a rocky outcropping, facing out over the South China Sea.
The castle is separated from the main mountain mass of Motobu on the east by a steep drop into a gorge with a stream at the bottom. A steep drop to the north and northeast from the castle drops down to the shoreline. A small harbor inlet here once served the castle, while Unten harbor, the main port of the Hokuzan kingdom, lay roughly 5-6 miles to the east.
The royal residence was located at the highest and innermost part of the complex and was surrounded by a small garden with a spring. Three shrines (uganju) stood at the highest point of the precipice. In a less inner enclosure, located at a somewhat lower elevation, were residences for certain vassals, along with administrative buildings. As was typical of gusuku construction at this time, the stonework of the walls was very solid, but quite rough, with a relative lack of precision fitting or fine cutting. Roughly 1500 meters of limestone castle wall remain today.
The castle saw three generations of rulers before being attacked and destroyed by the armies of Chūzan
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 1416. Lords of Hokuzan governing in subordination to the royal capital at Shuri
Shuri
Shuri may refer to:* Shuri, Bhutan* Shuri, Okinawa - former capital of the Ryūkyū Kingdom.* Shuri Kondo...
would continue to make their residence here for several centuries afterwards.
As a tourist site, the ruins are particularly known for the beautiful view out over the South China Sea, for the impressive grandeur of the castle walls, and for the overall amount of space taken up by the castle grounds. Hokuzan in general was characterized by wider spaces, or at least less dense settlement and population, than Nanzan
Nanzan
Nanzan , sometimes called Sannan , 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...
and Chūzan, the other kingdoms on the island at that time. Nakijin is also consistently among the first places in the country to see, and celebrate, the sakura
Sakura
A cherry blossom is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called sakura after the Japanese . Many of the varieties that have been cultivated for ornamental use do not produce fruit...
blooming each year.