Sashiki Castle (Ryukyu)

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture d'Okinawa

Sashiki Castle, or Sashiki gusuku, occupies the northern slope of a hill overlooking Nakagusuku Bay, in today's city of Nanjō in the south of Okinawa's main island. This is where Shō Shishō and then his son Shō Hashi lived; Shō Hashi, lord (aji) of Sashiki, set out from this modest stronghold to seize Chūzan, destroyed Hokuzan in 1416 and then subdued Nanzan, founding the first unified Ryukyu kingdom in 1429. Occupied from the 13th century and at its height between the mid-14th and early 15th centuries, the site differs from usual gusuku: instead of high limestone enclosures, it relies on levelled platforms, scarps and palisades, with some cliff faces faced with stone using a technique unknown elsewhere in Okinawa. Excavations carried out from 2000 to 2012 uncovered post holes, so-called Sashiki-type Chinese celadons, Korean celadons and iron objects. Abandoned after unification but still revered by the royal family, the site has been home to the Tsukishiro no miya shrine since 1938 and was designated a National Historic Site in 2013.