Nakagusuku Castle

History

Nakakgusuku Castle was built by Sakinakagusuku Aji in the mid 14th Century and expanded upon by Gosamaru in the early 15th Century. Gosamaru was moved to Nakagusuku by the king to check the rising power of Amawari Aji in Katsuren Castle. In 1458 the castle fell to attacks by Amawari the lord of Katsuren Castle. The castle is made up of 6 baileys, each of a different elevation. It is said that Commodore Perry was impressed by the strength of the castle and the engineering displayed in its construction.

Visit Notes

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Gallery

stone wall
stone wall and arched gate
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
stone walls
Main Gate or Seimon(正門). Main Bailey's ishigaki in the background.
Model of Nakagusuku Castle
Main Gate or Seimon(正門)
Model of Nakagusuku Castle
South Bailey
Gun Loop
Second Bailey
Third Bailey

Castle Profile
English Name	Nakagusuku Castle
Japanese Name	中城城
Founder	Sakinakagusuku Aji
Year Founded	mid 1300's
Castle Type	Mountaintop
Castle Condition	Ruins only
Designations	Top 100 Castles, UNESCO World Heritage Site, National Historic Site
Historical Period	Pre Edo Period
Features	stone walls
Visitor Information
Access	50 min by bus from Naha Bus Terminal; 5 min taxi
Visitor Information
Time Required
Website	http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/002/001/e nak.html
Location	Nakagusuku, Okinawa Prefecture
Coordinates	26° 17' 2.40" N, 127° 48' 5.18" E
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Admin
Added to Jcastle	2015
Admin Year Visited	Viewer Contributed
Admin Visits	viewer donated

4.00

(9 votes)

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Matthew WardGunshi

2 months ago

Score 0

Fantastic, evocative ruin. I also visited Nakajin Castle and loved that one too, but I'd rate this one even higher, for the variety of stone structures. As the pictures above show, there are some arched gates, and a lot of those wonderful curved walls you see at gusukus. When I finally make it back to mainland Okinawa, I'd like to see Katsuren Castle too, as that one looks like the 3rd fantastic ruin. Anyway, this one gets 5 stars from me.

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RaymondWDaimyo

18 months ago

Score 1

Added 6 photos including ones showing a model of Nakagusuku Castle and a gun loop, which I mentioned in an earlier e-mail below. I have also added coordinates for the photos, showing where the photos were taken. The yellow flowers seen in the South Bailey are from the Leopard Plant or Tsuwabuki in Japanese. These flowers were all over the place at Nakagusuku Castle, Nakijin Castle, Shuri Castle and Urasoe Castle in late December / early January.

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RaymondWDaimyo

18 months ago

Score 0

I re-visited this castle with my wife after Katsuren Castle on New Year’s Eve, 2021. Once again, I opted to use a taxi to save time. The bus is cheaper, but if you divide up the cost of a taxi for two or more people, it is only a bit more expensive than using a bus. It costs 3,000yen from Katsuren Castle to Nakagusuku Castle.

Apparently, Katsuren Castle considers Nakagusuku Castle its competitor for tourists. It is hard to rank the two as both are fantastic castle ruins to visit. Nakagusuku feels more like a natural ruin while Katsuren seems to have more completely restored ishigaki (stone walls) and a fantastic museum. Both Ryukyuan fortresses have wonderful views of the sea and surrounding coastal area from their location perched on top of a hill. I highly recommend visiting both castles if you have time.

At Nakagusuku Castle, one can find three different styles of ishigaki: nozura-zumi, nuno-zumi, and aikata-zumi. There is a section of stone wall a bit below Third Bailey and located in the North Bailey, where you can see an example of nozura-zumi and nuno-zumi incorporating some natural rock in between the two styles of Ishigaki. Another feature of Nakagusuku Castle that I didn’t see at Katsuren Castle are gun loops in the stone wall ruins.

This is probably my favourite gusuku, Okinawan for “castle”, as it has retained that feeling of a castle ruin without being as “polished” as Katsuren Castle or have as many visitors as Nakijin Castle. I’ve been to this gusuku several times now, and the first time was particularly memorable since my wife and I were the only ones there during a thunderstorm. Also, like Katsuren Castle and Nakijin Castle, every time that I visited this castle, it was quite windy. It must be its location overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

If you want to go to the last station on the monorail line, Tedako-Uranishi Station, from Nakagusuku Castle, it costs 2,500yen. We’ve taken the taxi a few times on this route, and each time the fare was the same.

For those interested in visiting the tomb of Lord Gosamaru, the castellan of Nakagusuku and before that, Zakimi Castle, his tomb is a 5-minute walk from the carpark of Nakagusuku Castle.

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FurinkazanHatamoto

101 months ago

Score 0

To answer your question Eric, yes i visited today 2 other Okinawan castles. Nakagusukujô was first. Since the bus terminal is almost closed i took the bus #30 in front of the Ryubo department store. I told the busdriver where i was heading and he stopped at the busstop at 2 km from the site. The fee is 750¥. The site is nicely maintained and is bigger than I thought. At the admission counter you receive a leaflet in english and the indication panels are translated. Like all okinawan castles it is completely different from japanese ones, being built during the Ryukyu period.

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RebolforcesAshigaru

102 months ago

Score 0

2km walk up hill from bus stop. Fantastic spot, great views, lots of walls. #30 Bus runs from bus stop B of Naha Bus terminal

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Jcastle.oldHatamoto

163 months ago

Score 0

I was stationed on Okinawa from July 1967 to July 1969. My visits to Nakagusuku Castle are among my most memorable in Okinawa. I took a lot of photos of and from the walls and all visits were on gorgeous, blue-sky-weather days.

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