Site
The castle ruins lie behind the modern city of Urasoe, on the northern edge of Naha, today the capital of Okinawa Prefecture. It sits roughly 130-140m above sea level, and consists of two sections, arranged for the most part along a northwest-southeast axis. The Kogusuku (old castle) and Migusuku together cover an area roughly 380m long by 60-70m wide, the kogusuku being on a slightly higher rise to the east of the migusuku. A series of interconnected enclosures cross the site from east-west.
As much of the site has been extensively damaged, both historically and more recently, the overall size, layout and structure of the castle is difficult to ascertain, along with many other aspects of its history and use.
A series of four separate ramparts and palisades defended the lower portion of the castle, along with a moat that has been dated to the late 14th or early 15th century. The upper portion of the castle, like many other gusuku, was situated in such a way that it was sufficiently defended by sheer cliffs and the sea and likely lacked significant defensive walls or ramparts.
The oldest Buddhist temples in Okinawa, the Ryufuku-ji and Gokuraku-ji, are nearby, along with Urasoe yōdore, the site of the royal mausolea of several kings of Chūzan, dug directly into the cliffside.
King Eiso (r. 1260–1299) ruled Chūzan from Urasoe, and is entombed near the northwest cliff of the castle. His mausoleum contains three stone coffins from China, possibly from Fujian; it is believed that Eiso is buried in the largest one, his father and grandfather in the other two. The coffins are decorated with birds, flowers, deer, shishi (lion-dogs), and various Buddhist images, along with dragons and phoenixes on the lids, which are designed to look like tiled roofs. Eiso lived in the 13th century, however, based on the style of designs and decorations on the coffins, archaeologists believe these to be of later, 15th-century, construction. King Shō Nei (r. 1597–1620), is also entombed here.
Excavations in the last decades of the 20th century uncovered a ceremonial path leading from the castle to the tombs, along with the remains of an artificial lake, a tunnel entrance to the castle, and a series of residences believed to have belonged to a noble family. Over 30,000 artifacts were recovered from these excavations.
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