was a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Agena Castle is a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' located in the north of Agena district of Uruma, Okinawa, in former Gushikawa City. It was built on a base of Ryukyuan limestone and occupies . Agena Castle sits at an altitude of , and is naturally protected by the Te ...

was built here, and the city was founded in the 17th century as . After the

Ryūkyū Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English language, English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' wa ...

was annexed by Japan and the Magiri system abolished, the area was renamed Gushikawa village in 1908. Gushikawa was elevated to city status on July 1, 1968. As of 2003, the city had an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 62,814 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

of 1,963.55 persons per km². The total area was 31.99 km². On April 1, 2005, Gushikawa, along with the city of Ishikawa, and the towns of Katsuren and Yonashiro (both from Nakagami District), was merged to create the city of

Uruma is a Cities of Japan, city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Uruma was established on April 1, 2005, when the cities of Gushikawa, Okinawa, Gushikawa and Ishikawa, Okinawa, Ishikawa were merged with the towns of Katsuren, ...

Notable people from Gushikawa, Okinawa

Tatsuo Shimabuku was an Okinawan, Japanese martial artist. He is the founder of Isshin-ryū ("One Heart Style") style of karate.) From childhood until World War II Family Tatsuo Shimabukuro was born in Gushikawa village, Okinawa on September 19, 1908. He was t ...

, Japanese

karateka (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

and founder of the

Isshin-ryū is a style of Okinawan karate founded by Tatsuo Shimabuku (島袋龍夫) in 1956. Isshin-Ryū karate is largely a synthesis of Shorin-ryū karate, Gojū-ryū karate, and kobudō. The name means, literally, "one heart method" (as in "wholeh ...

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

style *

Kikuyo Ishikawa is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist. She won the 2010 Jewels Rough Stone GP in the -48 kg category. Ishikawa was the first female mixed martial artist from Okinawa. She announced her retirement from MMA on . Background Ishika ...

, Japanese former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

External links

City of Gushikawa website
(archives)
Uruma official website
Dissolved municipalities of Okinawa Prefecture {{Okinawa-geo-stub