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''Gusuku'' are Okinawan castles or fortresses and sacred sites. Known especially for their long, winding stone walls, the height of ''gusuku'' construction was in the 14th century, a time of conflict on [[Okinawa Island]]. Five are included alongside a handful of other Okinawan sites in a single group [[World Heritage Site]] as "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu]]."<ref name=unesco>"[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/972/ Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu]." UNESCO: World Heritage Convention. Accessed 15 May 2011.</ref> Though some three hundred or so ''gusuku'' sites are known throughout the [[Ryukyu Islands]] chain,<ref>"Gusuku in the Islands" gallery label, Okinawa Prefectural Musuem.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/30407278555/in/photostream/]</ref> the vast majority are today in ruins; only [[Shuri castle]] has been reconstructed.

''Gusuku'' are Okinawan castles or fortresses and sacred sites. Known especially for their long, winding stone walls, the height of ''gusuku'' construction was in the 14th century, a time of conflict on [[Okinawa Island]]. Five are included alongside a handful of other Okinawan sites in a single group [[World Heritage Site]] as "Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the [[Kingdom of Ryukyu]]."<ref name=unesco>"[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/972/ Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu]." UNESCO: World Heritage Convention. Accessed 15 May 2011.</ref> Though some three hundred or so ''gusuku'' sites are known throughout the [[Ryukyu Islands]] chain,<ref>"Gusuku in the Islands" gallery label, Okinawa Prefectural Musuem.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/30407278555/in/photostream/]</ref> the vast majority are today in ruins; only [[Shuri castle]] has been reconstructed.

''Gusuku'' varied widely in size and scale, ranging from only 100 square meters to 20,000, with the largest ''gusuku'' presiding over complexes as large as 40,000 square meters in area. While the largest ''gusuku'' can be compared to the fullest sorts of castles, with a main keep, residential and administrative palace structures, multiple courtyards, moats, gates, and so forth, some were little more than hilltop encampments surrounded by a single stone or earthen wall. While many (but not all) served to one extent or another as the residence of a local lord or as a center of political power otherwise, all ''gusuku'' included [[utaki|sacred sites]] within their walls.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 92.</ref>

''Gusuku'' varied widely in size and scale, ranging from only 100 square meters to 20,000, with the largest ''gusuku'' presiding over complexes as large as 40,000 square meters in area. While the largest ''gusuku'' can be compared to the fullest sorts of castles, with a main keep, residential and administrative palace structures, multiple courtyards, moats, gates, and so forth, some were little more than hilltop encampments surrounded by a single stone or earthen wall. While many (but not all) served to one extent or another as the residence of a local lord or as a center of political power otherwise, all ''gusuku'' included [[utaki|sacred sites]] within their walls.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 92.</ref> While there has been much scholarly debate as to whether ''gusuku'', categorically, should be understood primarily as settlements/villages, fortresses, or sacred sites, the reality seems to vary from site to site, and over time.<ref>Tokumori Yukiko 徳森由希子, "Reiwa ni miru gusuku ten," ''Monthly Photo News Okinawa Graph'' オキナワグラフ, 693 (Dec 2019), 25.</ref>

The [[Gusuku period]] of Okinawan history takes its name from these fortresses, which were at their peak at that time.

The [[Gusuku period]] of Okinawan history takes its name from these fortresses, which were at their peak at that time.