Our next stop is a refurbished Minka, or traditional Japanese house. Just where is the treasure? All you have to do is look up to the rooftop covered in red tiles.
When people imagine Okinawa, these red roof tiles are usually the first things to come to mind.
The red roof tiles are not only beautiful but are strong enough to withstand Okinawan weather, from its glaring sunlight to its strong typhoons. Made from Okinawan mudstone packed full of iron, the unglazed tiles are slowly heated, resulting in this rust-red color. These tiles absorb the heavy rains and strong sunlight, and they are incredibly difficult to break. The alternation of rounded and flat tiles helps to control the temperatures within the building and the gaps between the tiles have been filled with mortar to keep them from being blown off. These tiles have been born from and created for the people of Okinawa.
However, these beautiful and efficient tiles were out of reach for the common people of Okinawa for a long time.
These red tiles were used for the first time in Shuri-jo Castle in the latter half of the 17th century. During that period, roof tiles were coveted, and the only places allowed to have them other than the castle were temples, shrines, and aristocratic homes. It was only upon entering the Meiji era that common homes were permitted to use this kind of adornment. For those living in this era, when their thatch roof houses were constantly berated by the strong sunlight and the violent typhoon winds, these tile-roof houses were the thing of dreams.
The landscape of red roof tiles that reflect the sunlight of a blue sky is the result of years of dreaming and hoping by the common Okinawan people; these tiles are truly a treasure to them.
