The first floor of the Seiden, Shicha-gui. The glass paneling that allows you to see below the Seiden. This may be the real reason why you can to Shurijo Castle. The reason that Shurijo Castle has been made a World Heritage Site is not because of anything you have seen up to this point. It is instead due to the ruins of Shuri Castle.

The foundations you see below you are the ones for the original Shurijo Castle. There are many layers to the foundation, and the old foundations have been fortified with new ones. There ruins were fortified and enlarged when the castle was rebuilt.

The new foundations are the stones you can see below the Seiden when approaching the building. In order to protect the remains, which had become a world heritage sight, the new Shuri castle was raised 70cm, and these new foundations were built.

And just ten years later is when it happened. In the aftermath of the Battle of Okinawa of the Pacific War, Shurijo Castle once again was left to ashes.

Here we would like to take a look back at this time in history… However, there isn’t much that can be told about this period. After the dissolution of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Shurijo was on a path to its own destruction.

In the Pacific War, Okinawa became a battlefield. As a result, Shurijo Castle became a complete wasteland without a tree to be seen.

After Japan surrendered, Okinawa fell under the rule of the Americans. In the ruins of Shurijo castle, “Ryukyu University” was opened. Okinawa was occupied by American for 30 years before it was returned to Japan in 1972.

However, these words exist without audio. We want to entrust you, who has read up to this point, with them. There are many accounts of post-war Okinawa in the bookstores around here. We want you to capture these stories for yourself as well.