Itokazu Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture d'Okinawa

Itokazu gusuku stands on the edge of a coral limestone cliff, west of a plateau rising to between 150 and 190 metres, in the south-east of Okinawa's main island. Built around the mid-14th century, during the Three Kingdoms period, it guarded the western flank of neighbouring Tamagusuku Castle. Tradition recorded in the royal chronicles attributes its founding to the third son of King Tamagusuku, appointed aji of Itokazu, on the site of an older sacred place, Neishi-gusuku. Protected on three sides by cliffs and steep slopes, the fortress concentrated its defences on the east, the only easy approach, where its high walls and main gate stand. Its ramparts, combining rough-faced and cut stone, reach nearly six metres and are among the best preserved in Okinawa; three lookout posts, the azana, watched over the north, south and west. Designated a National Historic Site in 1972, the gusuku can be visited freely and is part of a route linking several gusuku of Nanjō.