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[[File:Shikinaen.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The royal residence at Shikinaen]]
[[File:Shikinaen.jpg|right|thumb|320px|The royal residence at Shikinaen]]
*''Established: [[1799]]''
*''Other Names'': 南苑 ''(nan'en)''
*''Other Names'': 南苑 ''(nan'en)''
*''Japanese'': 識名園 ''(shikinaen)''
*''Japanese'': [[識名]]園 ''(shikinaen)''
Shikinaen ("Shikina Gardens") is a historic site in [[Naha]], [[Okinawa]], a former [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryukyuan]] royal villa. On account of its location a short distance south of the main royal palace at [[Shuri castle|Shuri]], Shikinaen is also known as Nan'en ("Southern Gardens").
Shikinaen ("Shikina Gardens") is a historic site in [[Naha]], [[Okinawa]], a former [[Ryukyu Kingdom|Ryukyuan]] royal villa. On account of its location a short distance south of the main royal palace at [[Shuri castle|Shuri]], Shikinaen is also known as Nan'en ("Southern Gardens").
A narrow path in the shape of an S-curve leads into the gardens, from the main gate to the main villa. This road, separating the villa from the outside, and leading to it only indirectly, served a similar function to the ''[[hinpun]]'' in typical Okinawan homes, blocking evil spirits or bad fortune from entering the home. A small guardhouse sits within the compound, just north of the side gate.
A narrow path in the shape of an S-curve leads into the gardens, from the main gate to the main villa. This road, separating the villa from the outside, and leading to it only indirectly, served a similar function to the ''[[hinpun]]'' in typical Okinawan homes, blocking evil spirits or bad fortune from entering the home. A small guardhouse sits within the compound, just north of the side gate.
Shikinaen was supplied with fresh water by a spring called Ikutokusen (育徳泉), surrounded by walls of Ryukyuan limestone in the ''aikata-zumi'' style. Prior to WWII, the spring was sheltered by a cypress-shingled roof, but this roofed structure has not been reconstructed. A pair of stone stele were erected next to the shrine by the chief envoys of two Chinese investiture missions - [[Zhao Wenkai]] in [[1800]], and [[Lin Hongnian]] in [[1838]] - reading, respectively, Itokusen and ''kanrei enrei'' (甘醴延齢, ''sweet saké, long life''). These were severely damaged in World War II, but have been restored.
Shikinaen was supplied with fresh water by a [[spring]] called Ikutokusen (育徳泉), surrounded by walls of Ryukyuan limestone in the ''aikata-zumi'' style. Prior to WWII, the spring was sheltered by a cypress-shingled roof, but this roofed structure has not been reconstructed. A pair of stone stele were erected next to the shrine by the chief envoys of two Chinese [[investiture]] missions - [[Zhao Wenkai]] in [[1800]], and [[Lin Hongnian]] in [[1838]] - reading, respectively, Itokusen and ''kanrei enrei'' (甘醴延齢, ''sweet saké, long life''). These were severely damaged in World War II, but have been restored.
Two stone bridges passing over the pond were constructed in a southern Chinese style, using techniques also from southern China, to create tall, high arches, allowing boats to pass underneath more easily. The stones used in these bridges, pieces of Ryukyuan limestone from the wave-battered seashore, were chosen for their resemblance to the rocks of [[Lake Tai]], treasured for their twisted and pockmarked appearance and displayed as [[scholars' rocks]].
Two stone bridges passing over the pond were constructed in a southern Chinese style, using techniques also from southern China, to create tall, high arches, allowing boats to pass underneath more easily. The stones used in these bridges, pieces of Ryukyuan limestone from the wave-battered seashore, were chosen for their resemblance to the rocks of [[Lake Tai]], treasured for their twisted and pockmarked appearance and displayed as [[scholars' rocks]].
The garden & villa were destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, and some dugouts created by soldiers during the Battle can still be seen in the grounds. Shrapnel, possibly from an American shell, was also discovered on the site. Reconstruction of the garden and buildings was completed in 1995, and the site is now administered by the City of Naha. It is a nationally-designated "site of scenic beauty," and was designated a [[World Heritage Site]] in 2000 alongside a number of other sites, comprising the collective World Heritage Site "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu."
The garden & villa were destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, and some dugouts created by soldiers during the Battle can still be seen in the grounds. Shrapnel, possibly from an American shell, was also discovered on the site. Reconstruction of the garden and buildings was completed in 1995, and the site is now administered by the City of Naha. It is a nationally-designated "site of scenic beauty," and was designated a [[World Heritage Site]] in 2000 alongside a number of other sites, comprising the collective World Heritage Site "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu."
==Neighborhood==
The gardens originally occupied nearly the entire village of Shikina, but the ''[[yaadui]]'' phenomenon of the 1700s marked the beginning of the expansion of the area outside of the garden as a residential area, as [[Scholar-aristocracy of Ryukyu|scholar-aristocrats]] in financial difficulties began moving from [[Shuri]] in search of more affordable places to live. The residential district thus created came to be called Maji. Residents formed a ''[[kyodotai|kyôdôtai]]'' (local administrative collective) in the early [[Meiji period]], and in [[1909]] part of this neighborhood was split off as the new district "Hantagawa." Maji was formally made an official district in 1916.
The area features a number of significant natural springs, including the Itokusen, as well as many [[Okinawan tombs|graves]]. The latter were formally grouped into the Shikina Cemetery (''Shikina reien'') in 1956; the graves of a number of notable historical figures, including [[Tei Junsoku]] and [[Nomura Ancho|Nomura Anchô]], were among those incorporated into the cemetery.
[[Shikina Shrine]] and its associated temple, [[Jin'o-ji|Jin'ô-ji]], as well as an equestrian grounds known as Shikina baba, were also located in the area. Of these, only the shrine remains today.
==References==
==References==