11

Viewer Comments

• Captain Chu-Hi    October 27, 2012 at 09:00 PM
  

  Amakekiru No Hirameki was developed in this very castle by Seijuro Hiko the First. I can't wait to visit it one day and see the slash marks that have survived the centuries from the edge of his sword.

• Ron    October 08, 2012 at 02:53 PM
  

  I hope I can clear some confusion here. Shuri castle was built as both a fortified castle and a royal palace. The stone fortifications are Okinawan in design and belong to a separate (and older) tradition from mainland Japanese castles. If there was any influence from one to the other it was probably from Okinawa to Japan. The wooden structures are a fusion of Chinese and Japanese elements and functions that are blended in a uniquely Okinawan way. Therefore, Shuri Castle is unique in all the world. It belongs on this site and in other works about Japanese castles because Okinawa is today a part of Japan. One more thing - the fact that it could be reconstructed after nearly being obliterated during the WW II and then having a university campus built on top of what little was left is truly a modern miracle!

• Henrietta    March 27, 2012 at 01:03 AM
  

  It's a "Japanese Castle" as in a castle that exists in Japan, but since it is from the independent Ryukyuan Kingdom, it's not a "Japanese Castle" in the sense that the Japanese built it. It is a Ryukyuan palace. A lot of people do separate the Chinese-style palaces from what we call "castles" but in Japan it is considered to be a castle and its name is Shuri Castle. I don't know what Frank's point was but the reactions are a bit hostile.

• americanalia    March 26, 2012 at 10:24 AM
  

  frank i lived in japan okay!?!?!?!!? i saw it so just stop got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????!?!?!?!?!!?!?!!!?!?!?!?!?

• Amanda    January 21, 2012 at 09:06 PM
  

  Yeah, Frank....I hate to break it to you but it is an Okinawan Castle. It has obvious Chinese influences, but it is technically a Japanese Castle (and a beautiful one at that).

• Frank T. on My Page    September 21, 2011 at 07:46 PM
  

  This is neither Japanese nor a castle, but it is a very good reconstruction of the palace. The grounds are extensive and worth some time.

• Daniel    August 01, 2011 at 10:26 PM
  

  HI I recently visited Okinawa's Shuri Castle and the architecture was heavily influenced by the Chinese. Thats why one can imagine or think the castle looks very familiar to the Chinese empires

• john    April 03, 2010 at 06:16 AM
  

  Shuri castle doesn't look much like a japanese castle, as from the outside it is very much reminescent of a chinese castle or palace, but on the inside;however you can tell

• Gaijin Okinawa    March 08, 2009 at 03:22 AM
  

  Kaisan, don't be a know-it-all. It's in Japan right? It's a castle right? Did you read what the guy wrote above? He writes how it's different than usual ones.

• Kaisan    March 07, 2009 at 07:14 AM
  

  I am not sure if the castle stand as the same class of castle of Japanese castle. Okinawa used to be a culturally and language distinct island nation than the Japanese Isles. It only got annexed and assimilated into Japanese in the recent history.

• Okinawan Boy    November 15, 2008 at 01:19 AM
  

  Visit Okinawa's Shuri Castle and realise the hard detail it took to rebuild the landmark. The Okinawans were nearly wiped out by the U.S. and the original castle still stood before WWII. Today, it's an art work by the revival of the people of Okinawa, and today, 3 million Okinawans live in the world as opposed to 1/3 being wiped out by Americans.