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A Circular Garden Incorporating Chinese, Japanese and Ryukyuan styles

It has been the villa of the royal family of Ryukyu Kingdom, located on a plateau about 2 km south of Shurijo Castle, also known as the Nan-en (Southern Garden). It was built around 1799, and was used to welcome sapposhi, the envoys of the Chinese emperor. The garden is built around a pond in the shape of the chinese character for “heart,” and visitors can enjoy taking a walk around the pond. The pond has two large and two small islands, a Chinese-style pavilion called Rokkakudo, and large and small arch gates. To the north is Ikutoku-sen, the source of the pond’s water, and to the southwest is a viewing platform called Kankoudai.
Registered as a World Heritage Site in December 2000 as part of the “Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu.”

Shikinaen Royal Garden

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Historical Cultural Assets designated as World Heritage Sites, such as the Ruins of Shurijo Castle Site

As of December 14, 2019, most parts of the building are open to visitors, except for the Seiden Main Hall.For the latest and detailed information on open sections, events, guided tours, etc., please visit the official website.

Shurijo Castle Park is a park consisting of paid and free areas of the castle around the Shurijo Seiden Main Hall, and the surrounding cultural assets such as the Shureimon Gate, the Sonohyan-Utaki Ishimon Stone Gate, the ruins of Enkakuji Temple, and the Bezaitendo Hall. The Suimuikan Rest Center, where the general parking is located at, is also a rest center where the park information desk, a restaurant and a store is located which is used by many visitors as a rest stop for sightseeing.

The date of its founding is unknown, but it is recorded that it was established as a royal fortress after the unification of the Sanzan (Three Principalities) by the First Sho Dynasty. It was expanded and improved by King Sho Shin of the Second Sho Dynasty. There were two gates outside the castle, including the Shureimon Gate, and castle gates such as the Kankaimon Gate, the Zuisenmon Gate, and the Hakuginmon Gate were installed on the walls made of hewn Ryukyu limestone. The Seiden Main Hall called the Momourasoe-udun is located within the walls, with the Nanden South Hall and Hokuden North Hall built facing each other to the forward left and right of the Seiden Main Hall. It was burned down during the Battle of Okinawa, but was partially restored and opened as “Shurijo Castle Park” in 1992.

Shurijo Castle Park

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A Stone Gate with a Flat Chinese-style Gable through which the King Prayed for Safety of his Journeys

Sonohyan-Utaki Ishimon Stone Gate was a place of worship for the Ryukyu King during the Ryukyu Kingdom era, and refers to the stone gate on the left side of the road behind the Shureimon Gate and the area called Hantan-yama. Whenever the king left the castle, prayers for safety on his round trip were offered at this gate. It was also the first place of worship to be visited during the “Agari Uma-i,” a pilgrimage to places of worship in the east for royal events, and the “Oara-ori,” a ritual for the inauguration of the new Kikoe Okimi (Supreme Priestess of Ryukyu Kingdom). Although a gate with a flat chinese style gable wholly of stone except for its doors, roof plaques of carved stone are attached to both gable decorations as an expression of wooden architecture.

Sonohyan-Utaki Ishimon Stone Gate

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The Mausoleum of the Second Sho Dynasty, guarded by a Carved Stone Lion

This is the mausoleum of successive generations of the Second Sho lineage, and is said to have been built around 1501 by the third king, Sho Shin. Surrounded by a stone wall, the tomb chamber was made by cutting a hole in the natural cliff wall that ran east to west, and three successive chambers were built. The east chamber held the remains of the king and queen after the bones were washed, the middle chamber held the remains until the bones were washed, and the west chamber held the remains of other family members. The exterior of the mausoleum resembles a wooden structure with the family crest of the Sho family and arabesques with peonies and jewels carved on the ridge, and lion statues carved out of stone sits on the left and right towers to guard the mausoleum.

Tamaudun Royal Mausoleum

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A Stone-paved Path where the History of the Ryukyu Kingdom can be Felt

The Kinjo-cho Stone Paved Path is part of the “Madama-michi (Pearl Road)” that was built in the 16th century as a main road from Shuri to Naha Port and the Southern Okinawa Main Island. It was a stone-paved road made of Ryukyu limestone, that stretched for about 10km at that time, but only about 300m of stone-paved road can be seen in Kinjo-cho today. The area is lined with red-tiled houses, and you can enjoy taking a walk while feeling the history of the Ryukyu Kingdom era. However, please note that it is slippery on rainy days.

Kinjo-cho Stone Paved Path

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The Pond in the Outer Garden of Shurijo Castle where Reception Parties for the Envoys were held

This is an outer garden pond dug in the shape of a dragon head, at the northwest of Shurijo Castle. The water from the Ryuhi Water Spring within Shurijo Castle flows down Hantan-yama, fills Enkanchi Pond, and then flows into Ryutan Pond. It was built during the reign of King Sho Hashi (1422-39), and Ankoku-zan area was built with the excavated soil. Since many fish were found in the pond, it was also called Iyugumui (fish pond). During the Choyo no en (9th day of the 9th lunar month), boats were floated on the pond and a dragonboat race (ha-ri-) was held to entertain the envoys from China.
Today, it is a place of relaxation for citizens.

Ryutan Pond