Changes

King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] constructed a cobblestone road network known as Pearl Road (''shinju michi'') in [[1522]], connecting Shuri and a series of [[gusuku|fortresses]] built to defend the city. One section of that road, known as the [[Shuri Kinjo stone-paved road|Shuri Kinjô stone-paved road]], survives today a short distance south of the castle.<ref>''[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41691-storytopic-121.html Shuri Kinjô-chô ishitatami michi]," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.</ref>

King [[Sho Shin|Shô Shin]] constructed a cobblestone road network known as Pearl Road (''shinju michi'') in [[1522]], connecting Shuri and a series of [[gusuku|fortresses]] built to defend the city. One section of that road, known as the [[Shuri Kinjo stone-paved road|Shuri Kinjô stone-paved road]], survives today a short distance south of the castle.<ref>''[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-41691-storytopic-121.html Shuri Kinjô-chô ishitatami michi]," Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003.</ref>

A large marketplace, called ''ufumachi'' (大市), once stood just outside the castle grounds - north of the Shureimon and west of the Ryûtan. This was the chief marketplace in Shuri, providing food and other goods to the residents. The location is today the site of Jôsei Elementary School.<ref name=pamph>"Shuri ma~i" 首里ま～い. Pamphlet. Naha City Board of Education Cultural Properties Division 那覇市教育委員会文化財課, 1989. </ref> It was neighbored by a royal horse-riding grounds, the [[Matsuzaki riding grounds|Matsuzaki baba]], and by the Nakagusuku udun, the Crown Prince's mansion, which was moved from Aijô-ufumichi to that location, north of the Ryûtan, in [[1875]]. The Okinawa Prefectural Museum was later built on that site, but there are now plans to restore the mansion, as a culture & community center, by 2020. The Okinawa Prefectural University of the Arts is located nearby.

A large marketplace, called ''ufumachi'' (大市), once stood just outside the castle grounds - north of the Shureimon and west of the [[Ryutan|Ryûtan]] pond. This was the chief marketplace in Shuri, providing food and other goods to the residents. The location is today the site of Jôsei Elementary School.<ref name=pamph>"Shuri ma~i" 首里ま～い. Pamphlet. Naha City Board of Education Cultural Properties Division 那覇市教育委員会文化財課, 1989. </ref> It was neighbored by a royal horse-riding grounds, the [[Matsuzaki riding grounds|Matsuzaki baba]], and by the Nakagusuku udun, the Crown Prince's mansion, which was moved from Aijô-ufumichi to that location, north of the Ryûtan, in [[1875]]. The Okinawa Prefectural Museum was later built on that site, but there are now plans to restore the mansion, as a culture & community center, by 2020. The Okinawa Prefectural University of the Arts is located nearby.

Other significant religious sites in the city included the royal family temples of [[Tenno-ji|Tennô-ji]] and [[Tenkai-ji]], the shrine [[Sueyoshi Shrine]], and a number of small ''utaki'' such as [[Adani-ga-daki|Adani-gaa-daki]], as well as the residences of the ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikoe-ôgimi]]'' (royal head priestess) and of two of the [[Oamushirare|high priestesses]] under her. A post-road (''[[shuku michi]]'') led from Adani-gaa-daki to the former capital of [[Urasoe]].

Other significant religious sites in the city included the royal family temples of [[Tenno-ji|Tennô-ji]] and [[Tenkai-ji]], the shrine [[Sueyoshi Shrine]], and a number of small ''utaki'' such as [[Adani-ga-daki|Adani-gaa-daki]], as well as the residences of the ''[[kikoe-ogimi|kikoe-ôgimi]]'' (royal head priestess) and of two of the [[Oamushirare|high priestesses]] under her. A post-road (''[[shuku michi]]'') led from Adani-gaa-daki to the former capital of [[Urasoe]].

==History==

==History==

The castle may have been built as early as the 1230s,<ref>Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Revised Edition. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing (2000), 50. </ref> or sometime in the 1350s-1390s according to most sources, but it was certainly in place, in any case, by [[1427]], just before the unification of Okinawa & establishment of the Ryûkyû Kingdom under King [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]]. Shô Hashi made Shuri his capital, leaving the former royal palace at Urasoe. An earthen embankment called [[Chokotei|Chôkôtei]] was constructed in [[1452]], connecting Shuri to the port city of Naha. A secondary royal mansion, built for the Crown Prince and called [[Ufumi udun]], was built just outside the castle sometime before [[1487]]; it would later be used as a maternity hut for members of the royal family, as a secondary residence, and in the 1850s as the regent's mansion.

The castle may have been built as early as the 1230s,<ref>Kerr, George. ''Okinawa: The History of an Island People''. Revised Edition. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing (2000), 50. </ref> or sometime in the 1350s-1390s according to most sources, but it was certainly in place, in any case, by [[1427]], just before the unification of Okinawa & establishment of the Ryûkyû Kingdom under King [[Sho Hashi|Shô Hashi]]. Shô Hashi made Shuri his capital, leaving the former royal palace at Urasoe. The Ryûtan pond was built in [[1427]], and an earthen embankment called [[Chokotei|Chôkôtei]] was constructed in [[1452]], connecting Shuri to the port city of Naha. A secondary royal mansion, built for the Crown Prince and called [[Ufumi udun]], was built just outside the castle sometime before [[1487]]; it would later be used as a maternity hut for members of the royal family, as a secondary residence, and in the 1850s as the regent's mansion.

The city was considerably expanded as King Shô Shin (r. [[1477]]-[[1526]]) consolidated power into the capital, as well as under his successor, [[Sho Sei (1497-1555)|Shô Sei]] ([[1527]]-[[1555]]). [[Engaku-ji]], the chief family temple of the [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]], was established in [[1492]]. The royal mausoleum at Tamaudun was completed in [[1501]],<ref>Kerr, 109.</ref> the [[Benten]] Hall and its attached Tennyo Bridge at [[Ryutan|Ryûtan]] Pond were built the following year, and the cobblestone road to the south in [[1522]].

The city was considerably expanded as King Shô Shin (r. [[1477]]-[[1526]]) consolidated power into the capital, as well as under his successor, [[Sho Sei (1497-1555)|Shô Sei]] ([[1527]]-[[1555]]). [[Engaku-ji]], the chief family temple of the [[Sho Dynasty|Shô Dynasty]], was established in [[1492]]. The royal mausoleum at Tamaudun was completed in [[1501]],<ref>Kerr, 109.</ref> the [[Benten]] Hall and its attached Tennyo Bridge at the Ryûtan pond were built the following year, and the cobblestone road to the south in [[1522]].

In 1526, Shô Shin obliged the ''[[anji]]'' (local lords) to take up residence within the capital; by removing them from their lands, Shô Shin strengthened the royal government's control over them, and over their lands, much as the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] would do a century later in mainland Japan with the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' system, and by obliging all samurai in the [[han|domains]] (with some exceptions) to live in the castle-towns, under the watchful eyes of their respective ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]''. ''Anji'' residences were organized within the city according to the geographical location of their fiefs, with different neighborhoods being populated by the lords of ''[[magiri]]'' in northern, central, and southern Okinawa.

In 1526, Shô Shin obliged the ''[[anji]]'' (local lords) to take up residence within the capital; by removing them from their lands, Shô Shin strengthened the royal government's control over them, and over their lands, much as the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] would do a century later in mainland Japan with the ''[[sankin kotai|sankin kôtai]]'' system, and by obliging all samurai in the [[han|domains]] (with some exceptions) to live in the castle-towns, under the watchful eyes of their respective ''[[daimyo|daimyô]]''. ''Anji'' residences were organized within the city according to the geographical location of their fiefs, with different neighborhoods being populated by the lords of ''[[magiri]]'' in northern, central, and southern Okinawa.