Ancient Okinawa gets heritage status

Shuri Castle, now restored, is one of over 200 castle ruins from the ancient Ryukyu Kingdom

Okinawa has joined a celebrated list after a group of ancient monuments and castle ruins in the southern Japanese prefecture were awarded world heritage status.

The decision was taken on Thursday at a meeting of the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in Cairns, Australia.

The decision will encourage the people of Okinawa to be proud of their ancestors

Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine

The group of sites is comprised of ruins of five castles on the main island, including Shuri Castle just outside Okinawa's modern-day capital Naha, a royal mausoleum, a garden and two sacred groves.

Independent kingdom

They all date from the 14th to 18th centuries, when Okinawa was an independent kingdom at the heart of trade between Japan, China and Southeast Asia.

Shuri Castle incorporated Chinese styles into its gates

Okinawa Governor Keiichi Inamine welcomed the international recognition of important cultural legacies from a golden era in the islands' history.

He said, "The decision will encourage the people of Okinawa to be proud of their ancestors, who founded the Ryukyu Kingdom, left for East and Southeast Asian countries full of ambition and fostered unique traditions and culture."

In 1429 Sho Hashi united various principalities into the Ryukyu Kingdom with Shuri Castle as the centre of politics, diplomacy and culture. It was only in 1879 that the islands were incorporated into Japan by the Meiji government as Okinawa Prefecture.

For 450 years the kingdom prospered as a bridge between Korea, China and Japan. It absorbed elements from trading partners to create its own unique culture.

Chinese architectural styles and colours were combined with local coral limestone to build distinctive castles. Music and dance flourished as a form of entertainment for Chinese and Japanese envoys. Trade in textiles, lacquerware and pottery thrived.

Professional dancers entertained Shuri court, accompanied by music from a three-stringed lute

Restoration

Very little of the original castles remain today as most were severely damaged during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. Since the end of the war, though, there has been a concerted government programme to restore ancient buildings.

Shuri Castle has been rebuilt over the last 30 years.

Mayor Kosei Oyadomari of Naha, where four of the accredited sites are, said on Thursday, "We would like to make even greater efforts for preservation and protection of the cultural heritage."

Festivals are held throughout the year in the prefecture to celebrate the culture that developed during the Ryukyu Kingdom era.

The Okinawan sites are the 11th entry from Japan to be awarded world heritage status. Others on the list include Himeji Castle and the historic monuments of Japan's ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara.