Historical sights of Okinawa that are worth seeing
Speaking of the historical sights of Okinawa, it is impossible not to mention the Shuri Palace and the Katsuren fortification, which together with the Yonaguni Monument are Ryukyu architectural landmarks.
Shuri Palace
The residence of the Okinawan monarchs
Shuri Palace is located in Naha, the capital of Okinawa prefecture. He built it in the 15th century. the first ruler of Ryukyu wan (wan is the highest title in the kingdom of Ryukyu; monarch-ruler) Shyo Hashi. The construction was difficult - the castle burned down several times and was rebuilt. Since then, the castle has been the residence of various rulers (first Okinawan, then Japanese). In 1944, Shuri was destroyed by the Americans, but in 1986, restoration began and the palace was successfully restored.
Fire of 2019
Unfortunately, in 2019, the Shuri Palace burned down due to an accidental fire. Now active reconstruction continues, the castle is almost restored. The Shuri Palace has a great historical and architectural significance in the cultural heritage of the Okinawans.
Consequences of the fire
Gusuku are a type of Okinawan medieval defensive fortresses scattered throughout the aforementioned archipelago. Almost all gusuku were destroyed by American bombing in 1944, although some fragments of fortifications have survived to this day. Katsuren fortress also belongs to them. Katsuren was built in the 12th - 14th centuries. and was located on the territory of the village of Khaebaru, which was the center of international trade. Valuable porcelain as well as Ottoman and Roman coins were found during archaeological research in Katsuren. Currently, Katsuren is a tourist attraction and a valuable specimen of Okinawan gusuku.
Katsuren castle: photos
Atlantis?
The Yonaguni Monument is perhaps the oldest and most mysterious of Okinawa's historical and architectural monuments. This monument can be called a kind of Atlantis, because Yonaguni is the ruins of an unknown city that scuba divers found at the bottom of the ocean near Yonaguni is.
YONAGUNI MONUMENT
The Yonaguni monument was accidentally found by divers in 1986. Immediately after that, research began. Scientists differ in their opinions - some believe that the monument was created by people, others - that it is a natural formation, or semi-natural, semi-man-made.
The man-made origin of the Monument is confirmed by numerous artifacts found at the site: drilled stones with incised symbols, scrapers, bas-reliefs (in particular, a bas-relief depicting an animal similar to a bull). In addition, clear forms of step pyramids, cube-shaped buildings, streets with sewage ditches leave no doubt about their origin. What kind of people built this monument? It is still unknown, because scientists estimate its age to be several thousand years old. Perhaps some other civilization existed there at the time and then suddenly disappeared under the water along with its city.
In addition,
In 2001, a similar giant step pyramid was found near the coast of Chatan, Okinawa. Near Fr. Kerama (also prefecture of Okinawa) is home to an underwater labyrinth. Near Fr. Aguni are mysterious cylindrical depressions. In the bay between China and Taiwan found underwater structures resembling roads and walls. Perhaps here once - thousands of years ago, when the ocean and land did not look like they do now - there was a civilization unknown to modern science with its unusual technologies and way of life, and the Okinawans are some of their descendants who have survived to this day. Scientists still cannot answer this question.