Changes

*''Reconstructed: 1992''

*''Reconstructed: 1992''

*''Location: [[Shuri]], [[Okinawa]]''

*''Location: [[Shuri]], [[Okinawa]]''

*''Japanese/Okinawan:''首里城''(Shuri-jou / Sui gusuku)''

*''Japanese/Okinawan:''首里城''(Shuri-jou / Sui gusuku)''

====Seiden====

====Seiden====

The chief royal residence, or Seiden (正殿), the structure at the heart of Shuri castle, faces and overlooks the ''unâ''. The largest wooden building in the Ryûkyû Kingdom, it is three stories tall, and lavishly painted and otherwise decorated in vermillion and gold, with intricate carvings and other embellishments painted in bold colors. Its construction incorporates Chinese, Japanese, and native Okinawan architectural elements, including among many other features a Japanese ''[[karahafu]]'' gabled arch over the entrance, and Chinese-style two-tiered roof modeled upon that of the Chinese Imperial Palace. Over one hundred vertical pillars are incorporated into the structure; though some have suggested this may have been aimed at protecting the structure from earthquakes, others have suggested it was more likely a measure against typhoons.<ref name=shuriqa>"Shurijô no Q&A," ''Ryukyu Shimpo'', 1 Nov 1992.</ref>

The chief royal residence at the heart of Shuri castle, the structure known as Seiden (正殿, "Main Palace") in Japanese and as Umundasui udun (百浦添御殿, J: ''Momourasoe udun'')<ref>The palace is referred to in some documents as Momourasoe udun, or the Palace (''udun'') ruling or governing (''soe'') all the many various towns (''momo ura''). Akamine Mamoru, Lina Terrell (trans.), Robert Huey (ed.), ''The Ryukyu Kingdom: Cornerstone of East Asia'', University of Hawaii Press (2017), 85.</ref> in Okinawan, faces and overlooks the ''unâ''. The largest wooden building in the Ryûkyû Kingdom, it is three stories tall, and lavishly painted and otherwise decorated in vermillion and gold, with intricate carvings and other embellishments painted in bold colors. Its construction incorporates Chinese, Japanese, and native Okinawan architectural elements, including among many other features a Japanese ''[[karahafu]]'' gabled arch over the entrance, and Chinese-style two-tiered roof modeled upon that of the Chinese Imperial Palace. Over one hundred vertical pillars are incorporated into the structure; though some have suggested this may have been aimed at protecting the structure from earthquakes, others have suggested it was more likely a measure against typhoons.<ref name=shuriqa>"Shurijô no Q&A," ''Ryukyu Shimpo'', 1 Nov 1992.</ref>

The Seiden was originally roofed with shingles; this was changed to grey or black ceramic tiles in the 1670s or 1680s, and then to the iconic red terracotta tiles sometime later. Though there was some debate as to how to tile the roof when restoring the castle in the 1980s-90s, planners ultimately decided to use red terracotta tiles, as the castle's history of red tiles had been longer and as red tiles had come to be so widely regarded as an iconic feature of Okinawan architecture. There has also been some debate as to whether certain portions of the facade or pillars were painted black or red, and historical sources are unclear as to this point. Though restoration efforts in the 1980s-90s originally began with the intention of painting these sections black, reports from repair efforts in the 1920s-30s revealed that earlier layers of red had been found when stripping down the pillars (in order to repaint them) at that time.<ref name=shuriqa/>

The Seiden was originally roofed with shingles; this was changed to grey or black ceramic tiles in the 1670s or 1680s, and then to the iconic red terracotta tiles sometime later. Though there was some debate as to how to tile the roof when restoring the castle in the 1980s-90s, planners ultimately decided to use red terracotta tiles, as the castle's history of red tiles had been longer and as red tiles had come to be so widely regarded as an iconic feature of Okinawan architecture. There has also been some debate as to whether certain portions of the facade or pillars were painted black or red, and historical sources are unclear as to this point. Though restoration efforts in the 1980s-90s originally began with the intention of painting these sections black, reports from repair efforts in the 1920s-30s revealed that earlier layers of red had been found when stripping down the pillars (in order to repaint them) at that time.<ref name=shuriqa/>