Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu

Five hundred years of Ryukyuan history, from the 12th to the 17th century, are represented by this group of sites. UNESCO says the castle ruins on their imposing elevated sites are evidence of the social structure of the period, while the sacred sites bear mute testimony to the rare survival of an ancient religion into the modern age; the islands' wide-ranging contacts gave rise to a unique culture.

Nine sites make up the listing: five gusuku castles, four of them ruins and one a reconstruction, the Tamaudun royal mausoleum, one garden and two utaki sacred sites. The gusuku rose from 1187 as chieftains called aji moved villages to higher ground; three rival kingdoms fought until Shō Hashi unified the island in 1429 and ruled from Shuri for almost 450 years. Wikivoyage says Naha and Shuri were largely destroyed in 1945, so Shuri Castle is a reconstruction, now being rebuilt again after the 2019 fire.

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