By contrast with Kankai-mon, the ‘front gate’ utilized by the king and his foreign guests, Kyūkei-mon is a service gate. The king used to cross through it on his way to visit the temple, and it's speculated that the women who worked inside Shuri-jo Castle also used it. These women served as ladies-in-waiting in O’uchibara, an area in the eastern part of the main palace that starts just past Shukujun-mon ahead. As an area where the king and queen carried on their daily lives, it was very private.
Within the O’uchibara you’ll find Kugani-Udun, the king and queen’s living quarters, and Yuinchi, the royal kitchen worked by ladies-in-waiting, as well as what was most likely a bath. The novel “The Tempest”, which is set in Shuri-jo Castle, describes the space: “Shuri-jo has two faces that draw the eye. The main palace is the outer face, and the Kugani-udun is the inner face.”
No men were allowed inside the Kugani-Udun besides the king. Those who broke the rules were said to be exiled or severely punished. Now, there are few records left of what life was like inside the O’uchibara, or of the lives of the female servants who worked there.
This is the unseen story of Shuri-jo Castle. Within it lies another world - one known only to the women who once labored there.
