旧首里城正殿
Former Main Hall of Shuri Castle
The Main Hall of Shuri Castle, where the kings of Ryukyu governed and held ceremonies. After the kingdom ended, it was used as barracks and schools. In 1923 it was nearly torn down because it was so badly worn, but scholars campaigned to save it, and it was kept as the worship hall of Okinawa Shrine.
About this photo
The Main Hall (Seiden) was the heart of Shuri Castle, where the kings of the Ryukyu Kingdom governed and held ceremonies. Shuri Castle stands on high ground in Shuri, Naha, Okinawa. This photo appears in Okinawa Shashincho (Okinawa Photo Album), Volume 1, published in 1925 (Taisho 14).
When the kingdom came to an end in 1879, the castle was handed over to the Meiji government and used as army barracks and as schools. In 1923 it was nearly torn down because of its age, but scholars campaigned to save it, and it was kept as the haiden, or worship hall, of the newly built Okinawa Shrine. In 1925 it was designated a National Treasure (under the system of the time).
The Main Hall burned down in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. It was restored in 1992 but lost again to fire in 2019. The reconstruction now under way is scheduled to open to the public on November 23, 2026.
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- Source title
- 『沖縄写真帖. 第1輯』（大正14年）
- Held by
- National Diet Library, Japan
- Why it's free to use
- Copyright expired (public domain)
- Original item
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View in the NDL Digital Collections
View in the NDL online exhibition "Exploring Japanese Landmarks in Nishiki-e and Photographs" - Taken
- 101+ years ago
- Added to site
We have not altered what the photo shows or its source title. About historical wordingAbout image restoration
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