Shuri Castle Audio Guide

Shuri Castle: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Shuri Castle

   Welcome to Shuri Castle, known in Japanese as 首里城, standing on a hill in the Shuri district of Naha, on the main island of Okinawa. For roughly 450 years this was the political, diplomatic and cultural heart of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It was the royal residence of the Sho dynasty kings, first the First Sho and then the Second Sho line. The kingdom sat at a crossroads, and this castle was its cornerstone for dealings with China, Japan and the countries of Southeast Asia. In 2000 it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As you look around, keep in mind that this is not a typical Japanese castle. The red gates, the curving walls and the blend of Chinese and Japanese influences all come from a separate kingdom with its own court and its own story. Over the next few stops we will look at what a Ryukyuan castle is, how the place is laid out across the hill, and how it has been lost and rebuilt, most recently after a fire in 2019. Let's begin.

2. 02

   Shuri Castle and the Idea of the Gusuku

   In Okinawa, castles are called gusuku, and Shuri Castle is the grandest of them. The old saying goes that the history of Shuri Castle is the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom itself. A gusuku usually stands on a modest hill and is wrapped in curving stone walls. Inside there are several open plazas, and often a sacred place for worship. Those traits were not unique to Shuri. They were common to the gusuku of Okinawa. Many other gusuku lost out in the competition with Shuri and faded away, while Shuri kept the gusuku character and grew into the kingdom's seat of power. So when you walk its terraces and curving lines, you are seeing the Okinawan idea of a castle in its most developed form. The hill is about 130 meters above sea level, so the setting itself is a statement. From here the royal court looked out over Naha and the sea routes that carried the kingdom's trade and diplomacy. That is a good way to picture why a place like this mattered so much for so long.

3. 03

   Gates, Walls and Colors at Shuri Castle

   The first thing many visitors meet is Shureimon, the gate bearing four Chinese characters that mean Land of Propriety. That inscription reflects the influence of Chinese culture and Confucian thought on the Ryukyu court. Shureimon and the lovely pond called Ryutan stand in the Shuri Mawashi district, while the main buildings of the castle sit in Shuri Tokura. A third part of the royal story, the royal tomb called Tamaudun, lies in Shuri Kinjo. So the whole castle is really a landscape spread across several old neighborhoods. The look of the castle is a blend. Its vivid red and gold dragon decoration speaks of Chinese and Ryukyuan taste, and the construction also shows Japanese influence. Even the castle's outer walls are a puzzle. Historical paintings show them in different colors. One folding screen shows red and white. Another painting from the early eighteenth century shows white. Several other works show black. Historians have to weigh these images against one another, so the exact color of the walls in the royal era is a lively question rather than a settled one.

4. 04

   Fire and Rebuilding at Shuri Castle

   Shuri Castle has been destroyed by war and by fire, and it has been rebuilt again and again. The most recent blow came in the early hours of October thirty-first, 2019, when a fire destroyed the Main Hall, the North Hall and the South Hall. That was painful, because those buildings had been restored over a long effort. The Cabinet Office counts the total cost of restoring the castle before the fire at about 24 billion yen, spread over the 33 years from fiscal year 1986 to fiscal year 2018. The response began quickly. In February 2020, work started to clear away the damaged buildings and roof tiles. Viewing decks and walkways for visitors were set up, along with temporary roads for construction, a timber storehouse, a processing yard and a full-size layout area. On November third, 2022, a groundbreaking ceremony for the rebuilding of the Main Hall was held in a special venue within Shuri Castle Park. Experts and volunteers began the work together. Because the rebuilding is still moving step by step, what you can walk through will keep changing. Part of the visit is simply watching a famous landmark being brought back to life.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you leave the hill, look down toward its southwest foot. There is an old stone-paved slope in the Shuri Kinjo district, more than 300 meters long, laid with Ryukyu limestone and shaded by fukugi and banyan trees. It once linked the area below the castle with the direction of Naha Port, and it still carries the atmosphere of a road about 300 years old. Getting here is part of the experience. From Shuri Station on the Yui Rail monorail, you can walk for about 15 minutes, or take a local bus and get off at the Shurijomae stop, about a minute on foot from there. If you drive, there is a paid car park at the Suimuikan building. As you go, try to notice how the castle's curving walls, red tones and stone paving all tell the same long story of a kingdom that traded, negotiated and created its own culture. Which detail will stay with you?