is a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

Naha 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 i ...

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. Established at the end of the Taishō period on the site of

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 destroye ...

, the main hall of which was reused as the

haiden Haiden may refer to: *A Gewürztraminer wine * Haiden (Shinto), the hall of worship of a Shinto shrine See also * Heiden (disambiguation) {{disambig ...

(hall of worship), the shrine buildings were destroyed in May 1945 during the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. Both castle and shrine have since been rebuilt while this phase has been written out of the "

official history An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced for a government. The term also applies to commissions from non-state bodies includin ...

" currently told at Shurijō Castle Park.

Dedication

The shrine is dedicated to

Minamoto no Tametomo , also known as , was a samurai who fought in the Hōgen Rebellion of 1156. He was the son of Minamoto no Tameyoshi, and brother to Yukiie and Yoshitomo. Tametomo is known in the epic chronicles as a powerful archer and it is said that he onc ...

Shunten , also known as , was a legendary ruler of Okinawa Island. Shunten is the earliest chief in Okinawa for whom a name is known. He is said to have taken power after defeating an usurper to the throne by the name of Riyū who had overthrown the 25th ...

Shō En was a king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the founder of the Second Shō dynasty. Prior to becoming king, he was known as . Early life and rise to power Kanamaru was born into a family of peasant farmers on Izena Island,"Shō En." ''Okinawa rekishi jinm ...

Shō Kei was king of the Ryukyu Kingdom from 1713–1752. His reign, strongly guided by royal advisor Sai On, is regarded as a political and economic golden age and period of the flowering of Okinawan culture."Shō Kei." ''Okinawa rekishi jinmei jiten'' (� ...

Shō Tai was the last king of the Ryukyu Kingdom (8 June 1848 – 10 October 1872) and the head of the Ryukyu Domain (10 October 1872 – 27 March 1879). His reign saw greatly increased interactions with travelers from abroad, particularly from Europe a ...

. The first fought in the

Hōgen Rebellion In Japanese, Hōgen may refer to several words. Among them: * Hōgen (era) (保元, 1156–1159), an era in Japan * Hōgen rebellion, a short civil war in 1156 * dialect (方言) — for example: "eigo no hōgen" (English dialect) See also * ...

before making his way to Okinawa and siring there the future king

, as told in '' Ryūkyū Shintō-ki'' and ''

Chūzan Seikan , compiled in 1650 by Shō Shōken, is the first official history of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. In six scrolls, the main text occupies five and an accompanying summary the sixth. Unlike later official histories such as ''Chūzan Seifu'' and ''Kyūyō'' ...

'', a tale that was exploited during the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

and after to help legitimize the annexation of the kingdom and its reconfiguration first as the

Ryūkyū Domain The was a short-lived domain of the Empire of Japan, lasting from 1872 to 1879, before becoming the current Okinawa Prefecture and other islands at the Pacific edge of the East China Sea. When the domain was created in 1872, Japan's feudal han ...

and subsequently as

. The three Shō Dynasty kings were, respectively, the founder of the dynasty, ruler during the kingdom's golden age, and its last king.

Background

In 1889, the governor of Okinawa requested the establishment of a ''

kokuhei chūsha The was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into #Imperial shrines (''kampei ...

'', not only "to cultivate the spirit of reverence and respect", but also on the grounds that this would be "invaluable in the government of the prefecture".

Naminoue Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, the ''ichinomiya'' (primary shrine) of the prefecture. It sits atop a high bluff, overlooking Naminoue Beach and the ocean. Originally a sacred space of the native Ryukyuan religion, du ...

was proposed as the candidate. In 1910 it was proposed a new be established in honour of the fiftieth anniversary of the ascension to the

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monar ...

of the

Meiji emperor , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figure ...

. Four years later there were similarly unsuccessful proposals to establish a prefectural shrine in the grounds of Naminoue-gū. In 1915 the prefectural government proposed to the

Home Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

the foundation of a shrine dedicated to

, Amamikyo and Shinerikyo; this was rejected on the grounds that the central figures of the Ryukyuan creation myth were not part of the Shinto pantheon.

Establishment

In December 1922, the prefecture submitted another proposal for a prefectural shrine. With old

as the location, the submission was approved by the Home Ministry on 31 March 1923. The main hall of the castle, then in a state of some disrepair, was to be demolished to make way for the

haiden Haiden may refer to: *A Gewürztraminer wine * Haiden (Shinto), the hall of worship of a Shinto shrine See also * Heiden (disambiguation) {{disambig ...

. Despite the appeal of

Higashionna Kanjun also Higaonna Kanjun (14 October 1882–24 January 1963) was a Japanese scholar who specialized in the history of Okinawa. Alongside Iha Fuyū and Majikina Ankō, he is considered one of the pioneers of modern Okinawan studies. After reading ...

to the mayor of Shuri, work was already underway when approached

Itō Chūta was a Japanese architect, architectural historian, and critic. He is recognized as the leading architect and architectural theorist of early 20th-century Imperial Japan. Biography Second son of a doctor in Yonezawa, present-day Yamagata Prefectu ...

to help save the site. The pair visited Okinawa together before the prominent architect, a member of the Committee for the Preservation of Ancient Shrines and Temples, declaring the castle the "representative work of Ryūkyūan architecture", intervened to secure an emergency designation under the Historical Sites, Places of Scenic Beauty, and Natural Monuments Preservation Law. Demolition was halted. Itō proposed the main hall be used as the shrine haiden, thus qualifying it for funds for repair under the Ancient Temples and Shrines Preservation Law. On 24 April 1925, as "Okinawa Jinja haiden", it was designated a Specially Protected Building (National Treasure). This ostensibly benign episode of heritage preservation might also be viewed as a violent colonial "appropriation" of the palace of the Ryūkyū Kings, paradigmatic "marker of prior independence", for relocation within the "ideological universe" of

State Shinto was Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that emphasized the Emperor as ...

and service of the " emperor-centred Japanese nation state".

After 1945

The shrine and most of the rest of the castle were destroyed during the

, and five years later, the

University of the Ryukyus The , abbreviated to , is a Japanese national university in Nishihara, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1950, it is the westernmost national university of Japan and the largest public university in Okinawa Prefecture. Located in the S ...

was established on the former castle site in May 1950. Under

United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands The was the civil administration government in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (centered on Okinawa Island), replacing the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands (itself created at the conclusion of World War II) in 1950, and functio ...

Proclamation 16 (USCAR 16) of 1952, concerning land with uncertain ownership, the shrine grounds were transferred to the administration of Shuri City, which two years later was

merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...

into

. In 1960, a proposal to rebuild the shrine on a plot to the east of the former castle main hall was vetoed by the University. The following year a temporary shrine was erected by the entrance to Bengadake, construction work continuing into 1962. In 1969 a tenancy agreement for the land occupied by the temporary shrine was agreed with Naha City by the Association for the Realization of the Reconstruction of Okinawa Shrine. As of 2016, Okinawa Shrine is one of eleven shrines overseen by the Okinawa Prefecture Shrine Agency, a branch of the

Association of Shinto Shrines The is a religious administrative organisation that oversees about 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan. These shrines take the Ise Grand Shrine as the foundation of their belief. It is the largest Shrine Shinto organization in existence. Description ...

References

External links

*
Okinawa Jinja
{{Authority control Shinto shrines in Okinawa Prefecture History of Okinawa Prefecture Naha