1
By the monorail, it took about 10 minutes to go from Miebashi Station to Shuri Station [首里駅], and then one walked for another 10 minute to the Shuri Castle [首里城]. It was free to go into the accompanying park in the World Heritage, even part of the castle. The route of visit was well-planned, and one would follow the arrow to enter Kankai gate [歓会門] first. The stone walls that surrounded the castle, and the stairway too, were built of hexagon stone bricks, which were polished very evenly and were tightly packed. I wondered how they cut the stone bricks so precisely in that age. The stone, except for the fern and grass in the fissure, didn’t appear to be so old, but it was definitely genuine, not restored.
Figure: Walls around Shuri Castle.
Figure: The Kankai-gate.
2
There was a gate, inside which one had to pay to visit. I was given a plastic bag, which was strange at first, and was asked to take off my shoes. Along the planned route of visit, one could see various artifacts, for example a mold for a big bell, peony-carved bricks, dragon-shaped pillow remnant, the Ryukyu kings’ crown and seal, and a series of portraits of kings, all of them in Chinese-style costumes. From what was shown here, the Ryukyu kings probably wrote calligraphy as skillfully as the Qing emperors. And there were the tatami-mats where the king must have sat and looked down at his people proudly. To call servants in another room, they pulled a bell, which appeared funny to me. While these were interesting, I found the stone-wall-building artistry to be most impressive.
Figure: Temple of a Ryukyu king.
Figure: Calligraphy by a Ryukyu king.
3
At the highest point there was an observation. One could see the China sea, the Tomari port I had been to, the buildings which Naha city was, and the red roof tiles of the palace where I was just moments ago.
I left the castle, and found a wood pavilion at the center of the lake, which would have been a nice resting place if it hadn’t been so hot. A sign explained that, in WWII, intense battles took place here, and the US seized Okinawa, causing most ruins to be destroyed. While the Ryukyu Kingdom had once dominated the archipelago, and in its prime vowed to be the port of “thousands of countries”, all that now was left afterwards was a broken castle.
Figure: The main palace.
Figure: The palace seen at a vantage point.
4
The sentiment was all very noble, but I was hungry again. Close to the castle a restaurant called Suimuikan [首里社館] seemed to be the only decent place. I ordered a soba-noodle, similar to what I had had in the America Village. The stewed pork often contained cartilage and fat, which I didn’t like.
Incidentally, on the way back I helped an elderly Thai woman—who lost her way back, couldn’t speak English, and couldn’t access Wifi—go to a police station. Though it would be quite a while before the flight was to take off, I chose to get to the Naha airport earlier to pick some Aloha shirts hard to see in Taiwan. (Or are they?)
❧ July 11, 2019; revised July 11, 2021
It was unfortunate that Peiling didn’t manage to see the aquarium, nor the Shuri Castle. The day they planned to visit the aquarium, Fangyi was waiting for Peiling at the aquarium at noon, but Peiling missed the bus. When she got to the aquarium at about 7pm, it wasn’t only closed, but they also had to take a taxi back to Naha, which wasn’t cheap. Nor did she visit the castle, because she was busy working remotely.
More devastating news followed. October 31, 2019, 4 months after my trip, a fire destroyed most of the Shuri palace. The buildings were ashes again.