Nakijin Castle: Royal Seat of the Hokuzan Kingdom in Japan
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Japan
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page9 sections
History
Nakijin Castle is a Ryūkyūan gusuku fortress in Nakijin, Japan, on the Motobu Peninsula of northern Okinawa. A gusuku could combine fortified walls with a royal or chiefly residence and sacred places. The site served as the capital and royal seat of the Hokuzan Kingdom, one of the three kingdoms that divided Okinawa before the political unification of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Its origins are uncertain, but archaeological evidence places remains here in the twelfth or thirteenth century, while the castle acquired its final form in the early fifteenth century.
Early rulers and the Hokuzan kingdom
Lords of Nakijin existed before the formation of Hokuzan, suggesting that a chiefly residence stood on or near the site. Local traditions place the earliest construction in the time of Nakijin Seshu, a figure of legend, and preserve stories about the Seshu lineage and the Toshiyu Rebellion. The early succession is also described through chronicles, biographies, and genealogies whose details are partly legendary.
Daishun, described as the elder or half-brother of the legendary King Shunten, and Daishun’s son are said to have ruled at Nakijin. Later, the son of Shunbajunki, known as the Nakijin no Oshi, became lord of the castle. Prince Wakukawa, the second son of King Eiso, was reportedly adopted by a later Nakijin no Oshi and succeeded him. Wakukawa and his descendants governed until Hanishi killed the reigning descendant and ended the earlier lineage. This event marked the beginning of the Hokuzan Kingdom.
The earliest surviving documentary reference to Nakijin Castle and Hokuzan appears in a tribute record in the Ming Taizu Annals, compiled under Hongwu, the founding emperor of China’s Ming dynasty. The record places the castle within the diplomatic and political world of the period, although the date of its initial construction remains uncertain.
Conquest by Chūzan
In 1416, Shō Hashi, the ruler of Chūzan, conquered Hokuzan. Chūzan was one of the three principal kingdoms of Okinawa before unification. Nakijin Castle was destroyed during the conquest, and the Hokuzan king and his close vassals reportedly committed suicide after the fortress fell. Shō Hashi established the Hokuzan Kanshu, an administration that governed Hokuzan under Chūzan’s authority, and appointed his younger brother as the castle’s new commander.
After the conquest, Nakijin remained a residence for lords who administered Hokuzan in subordination to the royal capital at Shuri. The castle consequently continued to function as a royal residence or palace for roughly two centuries. In 1665, the Shimazu authorities recalled the Nakijin deputy governor to Shuri. The Shimazu were the samurai clan that governed the Satsuma Domain, a powerful feudal domain in southern Japan. After the recall, Nakijin ceased to serve as an administrative center.
Satsuma invasion and later preservation
In 1609, forces of the Satsuma Domain invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom. After fighting in the Amami Islands, they landed at Unten Harbor and attacked Nakijin Castle. The battle caused heavy casualties on both sides, but Satsuma prevailed and burned the castle. Nakijin has remained in ruins since that destruction.
The site retained religious importance after its political functions declined. Its sacred utaki, groves or sites used for worship in Ryūkyūan religious traditions, and other prayer places either predated or accompanied the fortifications. Ceramics from China and Southeast Asia found at the castle indicate the prosperity it once enjoyed and its connections beyond the Ryūkyū Islands.
Restoration of the castle walls took place from 1962 to 1967, with further work beginning in 1980. Japan designated Nakijin Castle a National Historic Site in 1972, and in 2000 it became part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu. The Nakijin Castle Ruins were selected in 2006 as one of Japan’s 100 Most Famous Castles. The site is also associated with the annual flowering of Hikan cherry trees, which bloom in northern Okinawa from approximately mid-January to early February.
Remains
The ruins occupy a rocky promontory on the Motobu Peninsula overlooking the East China Sea. A steep gorge carrying a stream separates the castle from the main Motobu mountain mass to the east, while steep drops descend toward the shoreline on the north and northeast. The fortified complex extends about 350 meters from north to south and 800 meters from east to west. Approximately 1,500 meters of limestone wall survive, defining the scale of the former stronghold.
Fortifications and harbor setting
The castle walls were built from Ryūkyūan limestone. Their masonry is very solid but comparatively rough, with stones fitted less precisely and cut less finely than in more refined masonry traditions. A small harbor inlet below the castle served the complex, while Unten Harbor, the principal port of the Hokuzan Kingdom, lay about eight kilometers to the east. The surviving walls and extensive grounds form the principal physical remains of the ruined fortress.
Royal enclosure and sacred places
The royal residence stood in the highest and most inward part of the complex. It was enclosed by a small garden containing a spring, placing the principal residence within the most protected section of the castle. Three uganju, shrine or worship places in a Ryūkyūan religious setting, stood at the highest point near the precipice. Several sacred utaki groves and other places of prayer were also incorporated into the site, linking the royal center with longstanding religious activity.
Lower enclosures and associated remains
Lower and less-internal enclosures contained residences for some vassals, administrative buildings, horse stables, and garrisons for the principality’s warriors. Together, these areas show how the castle combined political residence, administration, military organization, and religious practice within one fortified settlement. Excavated ceramics from China and Southeast Asia provide material evidence of the prosperity associated with this complex.
Shiina Castle
The same protected historical site also includes the Shiina Castle Ruins, about six kilometers southeast of Nakijin Castle in Nakijin Village. Shiina Castle was built in the thirteenth century and abandoned soon afterward. Local tradition identifies it as an earlier central base of Hokuzan and attributes the move to Nakijin to a lack of water. Visible stone-wall remains survive at Shiina, preserving a second fortified location connected with the early history of Hokuzan.
