Mie Castle

History

Mie Castle was a coastal fortress built in the second half of the 16th century. Along with Yawaramori Castle on the opposite shore, Mie Castle controlled the narrow entrance to Naha Port during the Ryukyu Kingdom era. They had gun loops for small-bore firearms and some large-bore cannons mounted in them as well. There was also a chain, which could be strung out between the two fortresses, to block ships from the entering the harbour. Nineteenth century paintings of Naha Port, such as the Ryukyuboekizubyobu (琉球貿易図屏風), show Mie Castle was connected to another smaller fortress called Naka Mie Castle (仲三重城) by a stone bridge. This is in turn was connected to Rinkaiji Temple (臨海寺) before another stone bridge linked it to the main part of Naha Port. In effect, it looked akin to a long breakwater with a temple and two coastal forts. Naha Port was connected to Shuri Castle by a military road built in 1522 by King Sho Shin. In May 1609, these coastal fortresses successfully prevented the Satsuma fleet from entering the Naha Port, forcing them to land their soldiers further north up the coast. The fortresses suffered heavy damage during the Battle of Okinawa in WWII. Yawaramori Castle was completed demolished by the Americans post-war when they built Naha Military Port, while the area around Mie Castle was landfilled and built over, with a modern hotel situated right next to the remnants of Mie Castle.

Visit Notes

There isn’t much to see here at this castle ruin. There are some stone wall remnants as well as a poor post-WWII attempt to rebuild some of the walls with modern concrete and bricks. I visited this location for its historical significance as one of the places related to the Satsuma invasion of the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1609.

RaymondW wrote this castle profile and contributed all the photos.

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Gallery

Modern entrance to Mie Castle
Natural limestone and stone wall remnants
stone wall
stone wall
gate ruin
looking towards site of Yawaramori Castle
modern stone wall
Naha Port

Castle Profile
English Name	Mie Castle
Japanese Name	三重城
Founder	Unknown
Year Founded	Second half of 16th Century
Castle Type	Flatland
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	15 minute walk from Asahibashi Station (Yui Monorail)
Visitor Information	Free
Time Required	10 to 15 minutes
Location	Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture
Coordinates	26° 12' 50.54" N, 127° 39' 54.22" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2022
Contributor	RaymondW
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed

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