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June 11, 2015 • mccsokinawa.com
okinawalivingweekly Okinawa’s Castles
Read to the Rhythm
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Clockwise from the top right: Hallgerd/bigstock.com, Thomas Alan Smilie
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he many castles of Okinawa were built between the 12th and 15th centuries, known as the Gusuku Era, a time of castle building. During this time, villages evolved and feudal leaders—the aji—emerged. As the aji began to hunger for power, land and dominance in trade, rivalries erupted and the need arose to build fortifications for defense. Small castles of primitive walls made of stone where the aji and their people could retreat for safety sprang up amongst the wooden, thatched-roof huts of the commoners. The castles of the king and his aji were a reflection of the Ryukyu Kingdom’s extensive trading with other Southeast Asian kingdoms. The aji either built or expanded existing castles. Among the more important castles of the Ryukyu Kingdom were Zakimi Castle, Katsuren Castle and Nakagusuku Castle, which were more sophisticated than earlier castles. Stronger walls were formed with stones, cut and shaped to fit together. The palaces behind these walls were crafted of local and imported woods and capped with red-tiled roofs.
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Luxury goods were readily available to castle dwellers and nobility surrounded themselves with exquisite lacquerware, bright silks, rich brocades and gold and silver. Gardens were an essential element behind the castle walls and many contained ponds with fish and carved stone bridges. The Gusuku Era on Okinawa, with its days of battle and bloodshed, splendor and tranquility, ended in 1609, when members of the Satsuma clan from Japan invaded the tiny kingdom of Ryukyu, forever altering their lives and culture. Japan would now dictate the future course of Okinawa. As time passed the castles of Okinawa emptied—the royal kings and noble aji forever gone, the wood palaces decayed to nothing and the stones walls crumbled to ruins—leaving only expanses of grass and the whisper of days gone by. Take a step into the past and see the castle ruins such as Zakimi Castle in Yomitan (above) with MCCS Tours+. Visit mccsokinawa.com/tours for more information.
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his year’s Summer Reading Program, Read to the Rhythm, encourages everyone from children to adults to continue reading and learning throughout the summer months. Children ages 11 and under will be awarded prizes when they have reached benchmark goals from reading themselves or being read to. Grand prizes will be randomly drawn from those who have completed the program and prize winners announced at the respective end of the program. Teens and adults over 12 receive prizes for each benchmark goal completed. Grand prizes will be randomly drawn from those who have completed the program and these prize winners will also be announced at the end of the program. This year’s program begins on June 14 and runs through July 26 with a final celebration on August 1. This year’s event is sponsored in part by ANA InterContinental Manza Beach Resort. To register, visit your nearest MCCS library. For more information, call 645-6453 or visit mccsokinawa.com/libraries.
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