Tamagusuku Castle

Architecture, patrimoine et histoire · Préfecture d'Okinawa

Clinging to a rocky spur above the countryside of south-eastern Okinawa, Tamagusuku Castle is said to be the oldest gusuku on the main island. According to the Chuzan Seikan chronicle, it was built by Amamikiyo, the creator deity of Ryukyuan religion who came from Niraikanai, the mythical land to the east: this is a legend, and the actual construction date remains unknown. Tradition also holds that King Tamagusuku, fourth ruler of the Eiso line, lived here and enlarged it; the site later became the residence of the aji of the Tamagusuku district. Its three enclosures step down from the summit, but only the highest is well preserved: the walls of the other two were taken apart after 1945 for building material. Its most striking feature is the main gate, a round opening carved from a single natural rock, through which the dawn light passes at the summer solstice. The upper enclosure holds the Amatsugi utaki, a sacred place that concluded the royal Agari-umai pilgrimage. National Historic Site since 1987.