Shuri Castle's Other Histories

Like Smits’ article, the following piece by Tze M. Loo reveals a “forgotten” aspect of Okinawan history; in this case the post-1879 history behind what is contemporary Okinawa's most iconic architectural structure –the reconstructed Shuri Castle that was completed in 1992. Shuri, which is currently the eastern portion of the city of Naha, was the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom and Shuri Castle its seat of government. Given this background, it is not surprising that the reconstructed castle, a “must see” item on every visitor's checklist, has come to symbolize Okinawa's past as an “independent” kingdom and a culture distinct from that of the mainland. Most Okinawans know that the castle was destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 but are unfamiliar with or have “forgotten” the castle's convoluted trajectory in the wake of Okinawa's absorption into Japan in 1879. As Loo shows, in contrast to its current association with Ryukyuan independence and distinctiveness, in the years preceding World War II, Shuri Castle was systematically incorporated into the Japanese Empire's hierarchy of national symbols and placed in the service of Japanese nationalism. In this way, the “other histories” of the castle that Loo outlines reflect the process of Okinawa's assimilation into the Japanese Empire from 1879 to 1945 and the ambiguous, liminal status of Okinawa that was its result.