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Shikina-en
The gardens of are located on a small hill to the south of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa. The residence and its gardens are also known as or , as opposed to the or , laid out on a small hill east of Shuri Castle in 1677. In 1992 Hiroshi Shō, the great-grandson of Shō Tai, the last king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, donated the royal mausoleum of Tamaudun and Shikina-en to the City of Naha. Design The stroll garden features a pond with two small islands; a Chinese-style hexagonal pavilion; other pavilions with red tiles, the use of which was reserved for the upper classes; Chinese-style arched bridges; and seasonal plantings of plum, wisteria, and bellflower. This blend of Japanese and Chinese design and features has been acclaimed as "uniquely Ryukyuan" by UNESCO and advisory body ICOMOS. History The gardens were laid out in 1799 to embellish one of the residences of the Shō family, rulers of the Ryūkyū Kingdom; they were used for the reception of an envoy from China the f ...
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Shuri Castle
was a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' castle in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Between 1429 and 1879, it was the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, before becoming largely neglected. In 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa, it was almost completely destroyed. After the war, the castle was re-purposed as a university campus. Beginning in 1992, the central citadel and walls were largely reconstructed on the original site based on historical records, photographs, and memory. In 2000, Shuri Castle was designated as a World Heritage Site, as a part of the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. On the morning of 31 October 2019, the main courtyard structures of the castle were again destroyed in a fire. History The date of construction is uncertain, but it was clearly in use as a castle during the Sanzan period (1322–1429). It is thought that it was probably built during the Gusuku period, like many other castles of Okinawa. When King Shō Hashi unified the three princi ...
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Tamaudun
is one of the three royal mausoleums of the Ryukyu Kingdom, along with Urasoe yōdore at Urasoe Castle and Izena Tamaudun near Izena Castle in Izena, Okinawa. The mausoleum is located in Shuri, Okinawa, and was built for Ryūkyūan royalty in 1501Kerr, George H. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People'' (revised ed.). Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2000. p109. by King Shō Shin, the third king of the Second Shō Dynasty a short distance from Shuri Castle. Overview The site, covering an area of 2,442m²,Official pamphlet obtained on-site consists of two stone-walled enclosures, the three compartments of the mausoleum itself facing north and backed by a natural cliff to the south.Kadekawa, Manabu. ''Okinawa Champloo Encyclopedia'' (沖縄チャンプルー事典). Tokyo: Yama-Kei Publishers, 2001. p56. A stone stele in the outer enclosure memorializes the construction of the mausoleum, which was finished in 1501, and lists the name of Shō Shin along with those of eight others invo ...
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Japanese Garden
are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden designers to suggest a natural landscape, and to express the fragility of existence as well as time's unstoppable advance. Ancient Japanese art inspired past garden designers. Water is an important feature of many gardens, as are rocks and often gravel. Despite there being many attractive Japanese flowering plants, herbaceous flowers generally play much less of a role in Japanese gardens than in the West, though seasonally flowering shrubs and trees are important, all the more dramatic because of the contrast with the usual predominant green. Evergreen plants are "the bones of the garden" in Japan. Though a natural-seeming appearance is the aim, Japanese gardeners often shape their plants, including trees, with great rigour. Japanese literatu ...
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Hiroshi Shō
was the head of the Shō family, the former Ryūkyūan royal family. He was the great-grandson of Shō Tai, the last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, and was the last member of the family to hold the title of . Like most members of the ''kazoku'' system of peerage, and all heads of the Shō family since the abolition of the Ryukyu Kingdom, he lived in Tokyo for his whole life. Life Hiroshi Shō was born the eldest son of Shō Shō with Momoko Ogasawara. Upon his father's death on 19 June 1923, and at the age of five, he became head of the family and inherited the family title of Marquess. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University earning a degree in East Asian history from the Department of Literature. He served for a time as a captain in the Japanese Imperial Navy. He was also active in the business world, working with various institutions, including Shō Enterprises, where he was representative director."Shō Hiroshi." ''Okinawa konpakuto jiten'' (沖縄コンパクト事典, "O ...
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Buffer Zone
A buffer zone is a neutral zonal area that lies between two or more bodies of land, usually pertaining to countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types of buffer zones are demilitarized zones, border zones and certain restrictive easement zones and green belts. Such zones may be comprised by a sovereign state, forming a buffer state. Buffer zones have various purposes, politically or otherwise. They can be set up for a multitude of reasons, such as to prevent violence, protect the environment, shield residential and commercial zones from industrial accidents or natural disasters, or even isolate prisons. Buffer zones often result in large uninhabited regions that are themselves noteworthy in many increasingly developed or crowded parts of the world. Conservation For use in nature conservation, a buffer zone is often created to enhance the protection of areas under management for their biodiversity importance ...
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Monuments Of Japan
is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties". as historic locations such as shell mounds, ancient tombs, sites of palaces, sites of forts or castles, monumental dwelling houses and other sites of high historical or scientific value; gardens, bridges, gorges, mountains, and other places of great scenic beauty; and natural features such as animals, plants, and geological or mineral formations of high scientific value. Designated monuments of Japan The government ''designates'' (as opposed to '' registers'') "significant" items of this kind as Cultural Properties (文化財 ''bunkazai'') and classifies them in one of three categories: * * , * . Items of particularly high significance may receive a higher classification as: * * * ...
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List Of Special Places Of Scenic Beauty, Special Historic Sites And Special Natural Monuments
To protect Japan's cultural heritage, the country's government selects through the Agency for Cultural Affairs important items and designates them as Cultural Properties under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. Designated items are classified in a number of categories, one of which is . This category includes historic locations such as shell mounds, ancient tombs, sites of palaces, sites of forts or castles, monumental dwelling houses and other sites of high historical or scientific value; gardens, bridges, gorges, mountains, and other places of great scenic beauty; and natural features such as animals, plants, and geological or mineral formations of high scientific value. The government further designates "significant" monuments classifying them in three categories: , , and . Items of particularly high significance receive higher classifications: , , and respectively. As of December 17, 2022 there are 1,038 Natural Monuments, 1881 Historic Sites, 427 Places of Sc ...
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Gusuku Sites And Related Properties Of The Kingdom Of Ryukyu
The is an UNESCO World Heritage Site which consists of nine sites all located in the Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The heritage sites include two ''utaki'' (or sacred sites, one a gate and the other a grove), the Tamaudun mausoleum, one garden, and five '' gusuku'' castles sites, four of which are ruins and one of which is a reconstruction. The sites were inscribed based on the criteria that they were a fine representation of the Ryūkyū Kingdom's culture, whose unique blend of Japanese and Chinese influence made it a crucial economic and cultural junction between several neighboring states. History The construction of ''gusuku'' began throughout the Ryukyu Islands during the Gusuku Period (1187-1314) with the rise of chieftains and feudal lords called ''Aji'' 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 and mille ...
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Agency For Cultural Affairs
The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The agency's Cultural Affairs Division disseminates information about the arts within Japan and internationally, and the Cultural Properties Protection Division protects the nation's cultural heritage. The Cultural Affairs Division is concerned with such areas as art and culture promotion, art copyrights, and improvements in the national language. It also supports both national and local arts and cultural festivals, and it funds traveling cultural events in music, theater, dance, art exhibitions, and film-making. Special prizes are offered to encourage young artists and established practitioners, and some grants are given each year to enable them to train abroad. The agency funds national museums of modern art in Kyoto and Tokyo and The National ...
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Naha Shikinaen14n4272
is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is Naha is located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of Okinawa Prefecture. The modern city was officially founded on May 20, 1921. Before that, Naha had been for centuries one of the most important and populous sites in Okinawa. Naha is the political, economic and education center of Okinawa Prefecture. In the medieval and early modern periods, it was the commercial center of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Geography City center Central Naha consists of the Palette Kumoji shopping mall, the Okinawa Prefecture Office, Naha City Hall, and many banks and corporations, located at the west end of Kokusai-dōri, the city's main street. boasts a 1.6 kilometer (1 mile) long stretch of stores, restaurants ...
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List Of Historic Sites Of Japan (Okinawa)
This list is of the Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefecture of Okinawa. Much of the heritage of the Ryūkyū Kingdom and Islands was destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa. The mausoleum complex of Tamaudun, Shuri Castle, Katsuren Castle, Nakagusuku Castle, Nakijin Castle, Zakimi Castle, Sefa-utaki, and Sonohyan-utaki all form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. National Historic Sites As of 1 December 2020, forty-three Sites have been designated as being of national significance. Prefectural Historic Sites As of 1 May 2020, fifty-four Sites have been designated as being of prefectural importance. Municipal Historic Sites As of 1 May 2020, a further three hundred and six Sites have been designated as being of municipal importance, including: Registered Historic Sites As of 1 December 2020, two Monuments have been registered (as opposed to designated) as Historic Sites at a national level ...
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Cultural Properties Of Japan
A is administered by the Government of Japan, Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), and includes Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan, tangible properties (structures and works of art or craft); Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan, intangible properties (performing arts and craft techniques); Mingei, folk properties both tangible and intangible; Monuments of Japan, monuments historic, scenic and natural; Cultural Landscapes of Japan, cultural landscapes; and Groups of Traditional Buildings, groups of traditional buildings. Cultural Properties of Japan#Buried Cultural Properties, Buried properties and Conservation Techniques for Cultural Properties, conservation techniques are also protected. Together these cultural properties are to be preserved and utilized as the heritage of the Japanese people. Not all Cultural Properties of Japan were created in Japan; some are from China, Korea or other countri ...
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