Naminoue Shrine Audio Guide

Naminoue Shrine: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Naminoue Shrine

   Welcome to Naminoue Shrine, written 波上宮 in Japanese. It stands in the Wakasa district of Naha, on a high bluff above the water, looking out over Naha port. Okinawan speakers call it Nanmin, and local people often say Nanmin-san, the way you might talk about an old neighbor. This is the shrine most closely tied to Naha's life as a harbor. Its cliff-edge setting was a place of prayer long before the buildings you see today. Ships leaving and arriving in the port looked up at the cliff and its shrine. In the modern shrine ranking system it was classed as a small imperial shrine, and today it is a special shrine of the Association of Shinto Shrines. It also belongs to the group known as the eight shrines of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Over the next few minutes we will look at the legend of its founding, the story of Naha as an island port, the rebuilding after wartime damage, and the details of the shrine buildings. Take your time as you listen and let the sea air do some of the talking.

2. 02

   Naminoue Shrine: A Cliff Edge Facing Niraikanai

   Nobody knows the year Naminoue Shrine was founded. The story begins with a place of prayer rather than a building. Long ago, people on these islands prayed to the gods of Niraikanai, the paradise beyond the sea, asking for gentle winds and rain, good fishing and rich harvests. This cliff edge was one of the sacred places where those prayers were offered, and the shrine grew from that custom. Then there is the founding legend, and it is a good one. Long ago, a man called the village head of Sakiyama, from Haebaru, spent his days fishing. One day he found a strange talking stone on the shore. Other gods learned of it and tried to seize the sacred stone, so he fled to the hill of Naminoue, also called Hanagusuku. There an oracle spoke: I am Kumano Gongen, build a shrine on this spot, and you will protect the nation. He reported it to the royal government, and a shrine was built and honored. That is the legend as it is told, not a documented event. The shrine today honors three deities: Izanami no Mikoto, Hayatama-o no Mikoto and Kotosakao no Mikoto. Its main annual festival falls on the seventeenth of May.

3. 03

   Naminoue Shrine and the Floating Island Port

   To picture Naminoue Shrine in its early days, forget the busy roads and reclaimed land around it. In the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Naha was an island, surrounded by rivers and a much wider sea, with bridges linking it to the main island of Okinawa. In 1451 a causeway called Chokotei was built, and Naha was joined to the main island by land from Asato to Wakasa. After that, a harbor able to receive large foreign ships was developed, and many people moved in. Satsuma officials lived in Wakasa village, and settlers from China lived in Kume village. In those days this headland was called Hanagusuku, meaning the edge castle. It marked the tip of Naha and was seen as a dwelling place of the gods. Naha port was the base for the kingdom's own trade with China, the south, Korea and Yamato, which is the old name for mainland Japan. Every ship leaving looked up at this tall cliff and its shrine and prayed for a safe passage. Every ship arriving gave thanks for a voyage completed. There is another story tied to the causeway. Building it failed again and again under King Sho Kinpuku. In 1451, the tradition says, the goddess Amaterasu was invited from mainland Japan and prayers were offered, and the work was finally finished. A shrine to her was founded in Wakasa, later called Ukishima Shrine. In 1988 it was moved to a temporary shrine within the grounds of Naminoue.

4. 04

   Rebuilding and Details at Naminoue Shrine

   Naminoue Shrine was classed as a small imperial shrine in 1890, in the Meiji era, which gave it the standing of a general guardian shrine for Okinawa. The buildings of that time were damaged in the Battle of Okinawa. The main hall and shrine office were rebuilt in 1953, and the worship hall in 1961. Then came a major reconstruction in the Heisei era. The main hall and its companion buildings were completed in 1993, and the grounds were finished the following year. The first torii gate had already been rebuilt in 1990, and a second shrine office was added in 2003. In 2006 the whole shrine precinct was designated by Naha city as a historic site and place of scenic beauty under the name Nanmin. Now look closely at the buildings. Red Okinawan roof tiles and vermilion pillars stand out against the sky. In the carvings you can find fish swimming over waves and dragons racing through the sky. Instead of the usual stone guardian dogs, shisa, the lion-like guardians of Okinawa, sit watch. Deigo trees, Okinawa's prefectural flower, and palm trees sway in the wind. People come with many kinds of wishes: safe voyages, good matches, safe childbirth, success in exams, good health. Professional baseball teams are said to come to pray for a good season too.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you go, look out toward the water once more and picture the ships that once passed beneath this cliff, each crew glancing up at the shrine as they set out or came home. That glance is the oldest way of visiting Naminoue Shrine. The neighborhood rewards a slow wander. Along Naminoue street, Gokoku-ji temple and the sites of Tenpi-gu and Tenson-byo stand close by, each adding a layer to Naha's story. Below the bluff is Naminoue Beach, an artificial beach created in 1991 and the only beach within Naha city. The seaside road that runs in front was built in 2011 to link the airport with the city. As for getting here, the shrine is about eight minutes by car from Naha Airport. From Asahibashi station on the Yui Rail monorail it is a walk of roughly 15 to 20 minutes, and from the Seibumon bus stop it is about five minutes on foot. Keep one question in mind as you leave: how many of the stories told here, from the talking stone to the causeway, are still told by the people who live nearby? Ask around, and you may be surprised.