Looking at the ocean from here, you can see an island called Kudaka-jima. In Okinawa, it’s called Kono-shima (literally “island of the gods”).
The Okinawans believed that a utopia called a Niraikanai lay where the sun rises; and Amamikyo, the creator of Sefu-utaki, is thought to have come down to Kudaka-jima from Niraikanai and made Ryukyu.
The small island of Kono-shima is where the gods first visited Okinawa. You’re currently standing where people would once face this island and offer a prayer.
If you look to the right, you’ll see a stone-paved road. This is Ujoguchi, the entrance to Sefa-utaki. During the Ryukyu Kingdom, men were not permitted to go past here.
In Ryukyu, it was thought that females protected males with their spiritual powers and were the only ones capable of making prayers. Thus, only females were allowed to enter Sefa-utaki. Even the king, the only man with permission, had to disguise himself by arranging his kimono collar in a feminine manner to enter this space.
Males were permitted to enter after the Ryukyu Kingdom became Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. Still, Sefa-utaki remained a place of worship, and even now, multitudes of people visit to offer their prayers.
To the side of Ujoguchi are six stones. These stones are “koro”, a stand for incense sticks prepared for the gods. In front of the koro, one offers rice and sake and prays on their knees, as per the custom in Okinawa.
The koro here are regarded as alter egos of the six “uganju” (prayer sites) in Sefa-utaki. That is, praying to the six koro brings one the same benefits as praying within the utaki. Unable to enter the utaki, men during the Ryukyu Kingdom prayed here to receive favors from the gods.
You’ll catch sight of several, similar-looking koro past here, but be sure not to touch or place anything on them. Koro are precious symbols of prayer to the Okinawans.
Now, it’s time to enter inside. But, first, let’s bow to show our respect to the gods of Sefa-utaki.