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Contained within a small set of stone walls in the ''shicha-nu-unaa'', or second plaza, near the central areas of the castle, the ''utaki'' contained [[banyan]] (''gajumaru'') and Formosa palm (''kurotsugu'') trees. The king of Ryûkyû regularly performed prayers here for a safe journey whenever leaving the castle, and ''[[noro]]'' associated with the court performed a number of other rituals at Suimui as well.
Contained within a small set of stone walls in the ''shicha-nu-unaa'', or second plaza, near the central areas of the castle, the ''utaki'' contained [[banyan]] (''gajumaru'') and Formosa palm (''kurotsugu'') trees. The king of Ryûkyû regularly performed prayers here for a safe journey whenever leaving the castle, and ''[[noro]]'' associated with the court performed a number of other rituals at Suimui as well.
Archaeological excavations prior to the 1992 postwar restoration of the ''gusuku'', aimed at finding remains which might be useful for the restoration of the ''utaki'', however, discovered very little. Scholars believe the ''utaki'' may have been deliberately destroyed in the late 19th century as part of efforts to extinguish Ryukyuan state religion, including veneration of the (former) royalty.<ref>Richard Pearson, ''Ancient Ryukyu'', Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press (2013), 254.</ref>
Following the restoration of the castle in 1992, Suimui utaki was restored in December 1997.
Following the restoration of the castle in 1992, Suimui utaki was restored in December 1997.
