This castle is located on the top of a hill in the Shuri area (Naha, Okinawa Honto), 120 meters above sea level .
This is the largest castle ever built in Okinawa with 350 meters long and and 200 meters large.

The castle is circled with inner and outer walls which have a defensive function and are used to separate the King family from the rest of the population.
It also has several gates in each of the walls including the main outside wall gate, Kankaimon, which was destroy in 1945 and restored in 1974.
It also features the stone gate of Sonohyan-utaki, erected in 1519 by King Sho Shin and registered as National and UNESCO heritage.

Historians found out that a former castle was built during the 14th century at the same place.
It seems that Shuri Castle was built by Sho Hashi, the founder of the Sho dinasty, who had control over the newly created Ryukyu Kingdom. The building was used as the King main residence.
The castle was destroyed and rebuilt many times since its first appearance. At the end of World War II, the Castle was almost completely burned down. It was rebuilt in 1992 based on photographs, historical records, and memory.

About Okinawa