The is an

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

which consists of nine sites all located in the Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The heritage sites include two ''

utaki Utaki (御嶽) is an Okinawan term for a sacred place, often a grove, cave, or mountain. They are central to the Ryukyuan religion and the former noro priestess system. Although the term ''utaki'' is used throughout the Ryukyu Islands, the te ...

'' (or sacred sites, one a gate and the other a grove), the

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 i ...

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 The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in t ...

'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 The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

during the Gusuku Period (1187-1314) with the rise of chieftains and feudal lords called ''

Aji Aji or AJI may refer to: Location *Aji (town), Tieling County, Liaoning, China *Aji Island, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan *Aji, Kagawa, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan * Aji River (disambiguation), rivers with the same name Other * Aji (Go), a latent tr ...

'' 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 A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Aus ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and millet, was developed further during this period. Certain groves within these villages were designated as sacred grounds, called ''

'', 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 The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of ...

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 along with Noro priestesses. Trade became more developed and persuaded the ''aji'' to gain possession of good harbors like Naha, Yomitan, Itoman, Katsuren, Sashiki, and Unten. The

Sanzan Period The is a period in the history of the Okinawa Islands when three lines of kings, namely , and , are said to have co-existed on Okinawa Island. It is said to have started during King Tamagusuku's reign (traditional dates: 1314–1336) and, accord ...

(1314-1429) began when the regional ''aji'' dealt with struggles to defend their domains as their powers increased. Okinawa Island was eventually divided between three competing kingdoms: Hokuzan in the north with its capital at

Nakijin Castle is a Ryukyuan '' gusuku'' located in Nakijin, Okinawa. It is currently in ruins. In the late 14th century, the island of Okinawa consisted of three principalities: Nanzan to the south, Chūzan in the central area, and Hokuzan in the north. Na ...

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 so ...

in the central area with its capital at

Urasoe Castle is a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' which served as the capital of the medieval Okinawan principality of Chūzan prior to the unification of the island into the Ryukyu Kingdom, and the moving of the capital to Shuri. In the 14th century, Urasoe was the l ...

, and

Nanzan Nanzan (), also known as Sannan (山南) before the 18th century, located in the south of Okinawa Island, was one of three independent political entities which controlled Okinawa in the 14th century. The political entity was identified as a tiny ...

in the south with its capital at

Nanzan Castle , officially , is a Ryūkyūan gusuku and was the largest in, and capital of, Nanzan until 1429. It is in ruins, and is located in Itoman. History Nanzan Castle was built in the early 14th century, and became capital of Nanzan in 1314 when the ...

. The three kingdoms competed for territory in the

Okinawa Islands The Okinawa Islands ( or ) are an island group in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan and are the principal island group of the prefecture. The Okinawa Islands are part of the larger Ryukyu Islands group and are located between the Amami Islands of Ka ...

and recognition from Ming China. The Sanzan Period ended in 1429 when King

Shō Hashi was the last King of Chūzan and the first king of the Ryukyu Kingdom, uniting the three polities of Chūzan, Hokuzan, and Nanzan by conquest and ending the Sanzan period. Family * Father: Shishō * mother: daughter of Miiko * Wife: sister of ...

conquered the three kingdoms and was recognized by the Chinese Emperor as "King of Ryukyu". The newly formed

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

, with its capital at

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 ...

, then conquered neighboring islands, starting with the Amami Islands to the north by the mid 15th century and the

Sakishima Islands The (or 先島群島, ''Sakishima-guntō'') ( Okinawan: ''Sachishima'', Miyako: ''Saksїzїma'', Yaeyama: ''Sakїzїma'', Yonaguni: ''Satichima'') are an archipelago located at the southernmost end of the Japanese Archipelago. They are part ...

by 1500. Gusuku continued to be built during this period, the most notable being

Nakagusuku Castle is a ''gusuku'' in the village of Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa, Japan. It is one of a number of castles built on the island of Okinawa by the Ryukyu Kingdom now in ruins. The legendary Ryukyuan commander, Gosamaru, built the fortress in the early 1 ...

and

Yarazamori Castle was a Ryukyuan ''gusuku'' in Naha, Okinawa. It was located on the southern mouth of the Kokuba River in Naha Port. History Yarazamori Castle was built on the southern mouth of Naha Port in 1546 by King Shō Sei.Turnbull, Stephen. ''The Samurai ...

. A significant change in status for the kingdom happened in 1609 with the

invasion of Ryukyu The by forces of the Japanese feudal domain of Satsuma took place from March to May of 1609, and marked the beginning of the Ryukyu Kingdom's status as a vassal state under the Satsuma domain. The invasion force was met with stiff resistance ...

by Satsuma Domain of Japan. Satsuma destroyed both Nakijin Castle and Urasoe Castle, as well as capturing Shuri Castle, during the war. Satsuma won the war, vassalized the Ryukyu Kingdom, and annexed the Amami Islands. Gusuku-building stopped after the 17th century. After Japan annexed Ryukyu in 1879, some gusuku were used by the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

. During the Battle of Okinawa in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, most of the Gusuku used by the Japanese military, especially Shuri Castle, were damaged or destroyed. Shuri Castle was rebuilt during the 1990s, and in 2000 it and a number of gusuku and other related sites were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

Preservation

The world-heritage listing of the "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu" represents more than 500 years of Ryukyuan history, specifically from the 12th to the 17th century. On November 30, 2000, UNESCO inscribed it, along with 60 other global sites, on the World Heritage list. It was selected on the basis of three of the 10 criteria set by UNESCO. Specifically, the Gusuku sites were selected for the way that they (1) exhibit the importance of human values over a span of time (Criteria ii), in this case covering more than 500 years of cultural and ethnic history; (2) show an exceptional cultural tradition by a civilization that has disappeared (Criteria iii); and (3) are regarded for tangibly linking events and traditions with ideals and beliefs with literary and artistic works (Criteria vi).

List of sites

Notes

* *Kerr, George H. (2000). Okinawa: the History of an Island People. (revised ed.) Boston: Tuttle Publishing. *Smits, Gregory (1999). "Visions of Ryukyu: Identity and Ideology in Early-Modern Thought and Politics." Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.

References

External links