Fantastic Okinawa

By Jun Ikemura

Nakagusuku Village is the secondin Japan in terms of populationdensity, following Kitanaka-gusuku Village, and has also been

a key community dating to the 15th century.Located in central Okinawa, facing

Nakagusuku Bay on the west, south ofKitanakagusuku Village, west of GinowanCity and north of Nishihara TownNakagusuku is small with a population of

only 19,000, but is rich in historical her-itage. Part of the University of Ryukyuscampus is within Nakagusuku Village, andits main road is Highway 329, whichOkinawans call the west line.

We introduced KitanakagusukuVillage in a previous issue and mentionedNakagusuku and Kitanakagusuku were onemunicipality before World War II, but U.S.bases built in the middle of the village splitthe community and after the war,Nakagusuku Village was established with

its own government. One of the most famous castle ruins

on the island is the Nakagusuku castlelocated between Nakagusuku andKitanakagusuku Villages. In the 15th cen-tury, the Nakagusuku castle belonged toGosamaru, one of the most famous andpopular lords in the Ryukyu Kingdom .The 6th King of Ryukyu, Sho Taikyu, oneof the sons of the 2nd King, Sho Hashi whofirst unified the island, assigned Gosamarumove from Zakimi Castle in currentYomitan village to become the lord ofNakagusuku Castle to counter the lord ofKatsuren Castle, Amawari. Amawari hadincreased his power at that time, and ShoTaikyu ordered Gosamaru stay atNakagusuku because of its locationbetween Katsuren and Shuri, the capital.

After a while, Amawari cheated ShoTaikyu and said Gosamaru planned on ris-ing in revolt soon. Sho Taikyu believed itand let his government armies andAmawari attack Gosamaru. Seeing theapproaching force Gosamaru committedsuicide because he didn't want to opposeSho Taikyu even though he was cheated.Historians are now re-examining thisstory, and it could all be a royal trick toget rid of two lords who were becomingtoo powerful. That is because the govern-ment troops killed Amawari shortly after

Gosamaru died. Some historians also spec-ulate that Amawari’s wife, who was thedaughter of King Sho Taikyu convincedher farther that Amawari had not plottedagainst the King, and asked Gosamaru bekilled, too. But it is still a mystery.

The construction of the NakagusukuCastle is regarded to represent the highestlevel in Okinawa, and even CommodoreMatthew Perry was surprised of this highlevel construction when he visitedOkinawa in the 19th century. NakagusukuCastle ruin used to be the site of theNakagusuku Town Office until World WarII when many Ryukyu cultural assets weredestroyed. However, the NakagusukuCastle ruin was not damaged so much, andmuch remains intact today. Nakagusukucastle ruin was designated a UNESCOWorld Heritage site in 2000, at the sametime with Shuri Castle and other castleruins in Okinawa. Nakagusuku Castle wasalso chosen to the list of the top 100 castlesin Japan in 2006.

Nakagusuku Village is surrounded byContinues on page 6

Castle ruins draw visitors to Nakagusuku region

Nakagusuku Castle Ruins come to life next weekend with a huge projection mapping event depicting the life of Gosamaru.

Nakagusuku Castle is considered a mas-terpiece among all Okinawan castles forits high-level construction and design.

Commodore Matthew Perry raised anAmerican flag on this rock when he visit-ed the island in 1853.

Nov. 13, 2014 - Nov. 19, 2014 www.japanupdate.com

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2Japan Update Classifieds Nov. 13, 2014 - Nov. 19, 2014

Healthy, locally producedproducts of Okinawawill be one element ofthe coming three-day

Uruma City Exhibition, balancedby entertainment at the AEONNaha Shopping Center.

To be sure residents ofOkinawa’s largest city appreciateswhat Uruma City has to offer, theFriday, Saturday and Sundayexhibition is taking place in NahaCity at the AEON Naha ShoppingCenter, on the first floor at 5-10-2Kanagusuku. Uruma City ispulling out all the stops to attractpotential customers to learn aboutits local products, includingbrown sugar products, Awamoriand the golden sweet potato.

The exhibition runs 10 a.m. ~7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and10 a.m. ~ 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Saturday is complete with open-ing ceremonies at 11:30 a.m.,with the Uruma and Waido hero

show twice at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.On Sunday, there will be Esu Eisaperformances at 11:30 a.m. and 3p.m., Okinawa folk singer ChihiroKamiya live on stage at 2 p.m.and 4 p.m., and Ryujin no Utageperformance at 5 p.m. . ‘Ryujinno Utage’ is the comprehensivetraditional Ryukyu art perform-ance composed of Dragon dance,drum performance and traditionalart, and shows a dynamic stage

Organizers say they are surepeople who are concerned aboutthe health would like ‘NuchiAnpan’, which is bean-jam bun.This bun is made with specialcare using wild yeast, non-usebutter, eggs and milk, local salt‘Nuchi Masu’ with high con-tained minerals etc. Croquettemade by seaweed ‘Mozuku’ willbe there from a popular Tempurastore.

AEON touts Uruma products

Virtually everyone lovesgoing to flea markets,searching for bargains on

just about anything.Sunday’s flea market at

Chatan Fisharina is one with atwist; the items being sold arefood. Organizers are calling it“Okinawa FOOD FLEA” andthe vendors are all offering avariety of delicious foods. As afood-oriented flea market with avariety of different food fare,popular shops will be boastingtheir special flavors gatheredfrom throughout the island.

The venue is perfectlylocated just by the ocean in frontof a newly-opened facility called“Uminchu Wharf” in Mihama,

Chatan Town. As one observerdescribed the setting, “Sitting ina chair parasol while enjoyingthe ocean breeze, I appreciatedthe exquisite feeling with deli-cious drinks and flavors of popu-lar shops. In addition to foodshops special craft shops are alsoparticipating.

The Okinawa FOODFLEA runs from noon to 8 p.m.Sunday. There’s no charge tovisit and enjoy the offerings.Prices are said to be ‘reason-able,’ and they invite customersto “Please be healthy, be hun-gry, and enjoy the taste of popu-lar shops and eateries from eachpart of Okinawa as much as youlike!”

Unique ‘Food Flea' marketin Mihama gears up Sunday

The Food Flea takes place next to the newly opened UminchuWharf in Mihama.

Steamed "agarasaa" buns are a delicacy in the middle Okinawa.

Mozuku seaweed is an ingredient in these croquettes.